Bush, Abramoff Posed for Photos Five Times, Magazines Report
Jan. 23 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush posed for photographs with Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff at least five times since taking office, and one included an Indian tribal leader later indicted for embezzlement, Time magazine reported.
Time said its reporters were shown the photographs by a source whom it didn't identify. It said the source declined to make the photos available for publication. Washingtonian magazine also reported on its Web site that it had seen five photos of Bush and Abramoff.
One photograph taken in 2001 shows Bush, Abramoff and Raul Garza Sr., who was then chairman of the Kickapoo Indian tribe, an Abramoff client, Time reported. Garza was indicted in 2004 for allegedly embezzling more than $300,000 from his tribe. Another photo bears Bush's signature and shows the president shaking hands with Abramoff. Three others are of Bush, Abramoff and one of the lobbyist's three sons, according to Time.
Disclosure of the existence of the photos is likely to fuel demands from Democrats that the Bush administration release records of any contacts it had with Abramoff, who's at the center of a federal corruption probe. The Democratic National Committee yesterday sent out an e-mail highlighting the Time report about the photographs.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino dismissed the images as a few among the ``tens upon thousands'' of pictures that Bush has taken with White House guests or supporters.
``It would not be surprising if the president met him at some of the widely attended events we know they both attended,'' Perino said yesterday. Bush doesn't recall meeting Abramoff, she said, repeating past administration statements. She declined to comment further on the photographs.
Abramoff Guilty Plea
Abramoff, 46, pleaded guilty Jan. 3 to conspiracy to corrupt public officials and has agreed to cooperate in a federal investigation into political corruption. Democrats are signaling they will use the probe to raise the issue of ethics in the November congressional elections.
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said last week that Abramoff attended White House Hanukkah receptions in 2001 and 2002 and ``a few staff-level meetings.'' McClellan refused to say whom Abramoff met with or what the meetings were about. He didn't address occasions where Bush and Abramoff may have crossed paths at events for political donors.
Abramoff raised at least $100,000 from other contributors for Bush's 2004 campaign, qualifying him as a Bush ``Pioneer'' fundraiser. The Republican National Committee said after Abramoff's guilty plea that the campaign had donated to charity $6,000, representing three $2,000 contributions made by Abramoff, his wife and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe he represented.
Links to Congress
Bush has not been linked to any of Abramoff's dealings. In Congress, the investigation has ensnared former top aides to ex- House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, as well as Representative Bob Ney, an Ohio Republican, who stepped aside as chairman of the House Administration Committee because of allegations he received gifts from Abramoff.
Perino said Abramoff was engaged in ``outrageous wrong- doing'' and now the Justice Departments is ``holding him to account for his misconduct and investigating other who may have acted outside the law.''
According to Time, Garza's meeting with Bush took place in 2001 in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House. Garza said the session was arranged with the help of Abramoff and Republican activist Grover Norquist, the magazine reported. Norquist has close ties to the Bush White House.
Kickapoo Casino
Garza's Kickapoo tribe owned a casino in Bush's home state of Texas. There is no indication the administration acted to benefit the tribe at Abramoff's behest, Time said.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid last week called on the administration to make public all contacts Abramoff has had with Bush or White House staff, something the president's aides have refused to do.
Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress have introduced proposals to restrict lawmakers from accepting gifts, meals and travel from lobbyists.
Abramoff, along with his clients and associates, contributed $1.4 million to lawmakers between 2001 and 2004, with 66 percent going to Republicans. All of Abramoff's personal donations were made to Republicans.
Fifty-eight percent of the U.S. public views the Abramoff case as evidence of ``widespread'' corruption in Washington, in a Jan. 5-8 poll by the Washington Post and ABC News.
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