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Bush and Abramoff Meet: Four New Photos
Late this afternoon the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released six photographs cited in today's report that show President Bush meeting with jailed uber-lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
The pictures contradict the White House's previous statements that the President met with Abramoff only two times:
While the Committee obtained no evidence that Mr. Abramoff ever personally lobbied the President or that the President personally directed an action in response to a request by Mr. Abramoff, the Committee did receive evidence that Mr. Abramoff met the President and was photographed with him six times. Four of the six photographs occurred at political receptions.
In a statement today, the White House spokesman Tony Fratto responded to the House committee report "There's nothing new of any significance in it. it is warmed-up leftovers. It confirms what has become clear in all of this -- Abramoff was spectacularly unsuccessful in influencing administration policy."
The photos released by the committee actually look like black and white photo copies of the originals. They are very dark and grainy. We have lightened the picture below to make it more discernible. It is, according to the committee, a photo of Mr. Abramoff, Pam Abramoff, President Bush, and First Lady Laura Bush taken at a December 10, 2001, Hanukkah party at the White House.
The rest of the photos are below the fold:
A photo of Mr. Abramoff, one of his children, and President Bush at a August 29, 2002, political dinner in Little Rock, AR
A photo of Mr. Abramoff, one of his children, and President Bush taken at an October 2, 2002, political reception in Baltimore, MD.
A photo of four of Mr. Abramoff's children with a member of Congress and President Bush taken at a March 12, 2002, Keep Our Majority PAC reception in Washington, DC.
A photo of Mr. Abramoff shaking hands with President Bush taken at the President's May 9, 2001, meeting with state legislators and others in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
A photo of Mr. Abramoff, one of his children, and President Bush taken at a political reception in Washington, DC, on September 24, 2002.
Josh
Zachary
Do many Americans understand that Rove was meeting Abramoff on street corners?
Why didn't Karl think it was safe even to use his own phone? How much did he know about TSA and illegal surveillance?
What email address was Abramoff using to send K-k-k-karl messages? Were the accounts on RNC servers? Are the messages among the 'missing' 5,000,000?
Curious minds want to know.
June 9, 2008 6:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
The stink coming from the White house is overwhelming, yet the media seems more interested in Obama's crappy bowling skills and McCain's tasty BBQ.
Thank God for TPM. In a sane world people would care that Bush turned Govt into a whorehouse. At least there is one outlet to find out this information and not let the ransacking of The People's Treasure by gilded barbarians these last eight years fall into the dustbin of history completely unmentioned.
June 9, 2008 6:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Billo rocks Flock of Seagulls style! Now that's what I'm talkin about>
June 9, 2008 8:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
They have changed the Press Release...it no longer includes his name!
June 9, 2008 6:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
Great photos. Let's drop a picture of McCain on the Prez' other side and get those suckers on TV.
June 9, 2008 7:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
"In a statement today, the White House spokesman Tony Fratto responded to the House committee report "There's nothing new of any significance in it."
How true... no news here. The Bush Administration continues to lie and our other representatives continue to let them slide....
June 9, 2008 7:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Neener. Neener. Neener. Neener. Neener. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA . . .
June 9, 2008 7:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, sure, he may have met Abramoff several time, but I'm sure he "can't recall" ever meeting the man.
PEACE
June 9, 2008 7:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wait, you mean the White House lied about how many times Bush met Abramoff?! That's hard to believe from an administration that has been so forthright and honest with the American people.
June 9, 2008 8:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
First and foremost, Jack was a fattie in 2001 and 2002.
By 2003, he had dropped considerable weight. One of the publicly known photographs dates from December 2003.
http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/27078
TPM wrote about this photo in January 2006. CREW released it in December 2006.
June 9, 2008 8:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
I've been spectacularly unsuccessful in influencing administration policy and I haven't been invited even once. What's so special about Abramoff?
June 9, 2008 8:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Second, we know that Jack was at a December 10, 2001 Hanukkah party at the White House.
How? Because he references it in an e-mail, where he said he was plugging for a job for Mark Zachares. Page one of this email compilation:
http://www.newsfollowup.com/docs/abramoff_attach_1.pdf
Fear not, though, Zachares continued to work with Abramoff and was one of the first convictions in the Abramoff case....
June 9, 2008 8:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thirdly, you need to link to Josh Marshall's January 26, 2006 story about the disappearing photos:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/152750.php
June 9, 2008 8:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Can we impeach him now?
ITMFA
June 9, 2008 9:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Just send the Pillsbury doughboy to Guantanamo for an extended vacation.
June 9, 2008 11:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
I wonder if Abramoff is in this picture---evidently he was at the event, a hanukkah celebration in honor of Daniel Pearl:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/12/images/20071210-3_p121007jb-0258-515h.html
It's hysterical how terrible the pictures are. It's obvious that all effort was made to make the pictures dark and unappealing, as if the poor image quality minimizes the implication behind the pictures themselves.
June 9, 2008 11:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thirdly, you need to link to Josh Marshall's January 26, 2006 story about the disappearing photos:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/152750.php
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/06/the_house_committee_on_oversig.php
“(…) Did the White House send out the word to deep-six those Bush-Abramoff pics?
Scott McClellan won't answer our questions (i.e., in January 26, 2006). But this mystery would not be difficult to solve by a press outlet with sufficient juice to get a question answered by Scott McClellan. Has the White House or anyone working at the White House's behest instructed Reflections Photography to destroy or remove from its archives photographs of President Bush and Jack Abramoff?
Simple question. I doubt it has a simple answer.”
…
.. What about now, after Scott McClellan’s book?
June 10, 2008 6:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
People need to realize that for all his venality, there is no Jack Abramoff without George W. Bush, Karl Rove and Tom DeLay. They made his corruption possible. They are the real culprits.
June 10, 2008 8:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
it would be nice to hear from those in the msm who have been copping to pressure on the iraq war to let us know whether or not there is any pressure on them to avoid discussing impeachment.
i mean, if this president doesn't deserve impeachment... we may as well read it out of the constitution.
btw, i am very familiar with the cons... not enough votes, it's a distraction, not worth it, not enough time... etc.
and yet the complete lack of media coverage on this administration's crimes is enabling members of congress to duck the issue.
meanwhile, cheney is still in office. impeach them both and let pelosi run things until obama's sworn in.
otherwise, there's a very good chance cheney will take further military action.
June 10, 2008 12:52 PM | Reply | Permalink