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Politics : FREE AMERICA -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: longnshort who wrote (12342)	10/6/2006 5:34:41 PM
From: Mr. Palau	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 14758

drip, drip, drip wonder what will come out next friday? "White House Aide to Rove Resigns By DEB RIECHMANN ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) - A key aide to presidential political strategist Karl Rove resigned Friday in the wake of a congressional report that listed hundreds of contacts between disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the White House. Susan Ralston, special assistant to President Bush, submitted a resignation letter to him less than five weeks before congressional elections in which corruption and scandal are emerging as key issues for voters. "She did not want to be a distraction to the White House at such an important time and so we have accepted her resignation," White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino said. "We support her decision and consider the matter closed," Perino said. Critics have pointed to Ralston as evidence that Rove - and thus Bush - are possibly closer to Abramoff than the White House has acknowledged. Ralston was Abramoff's administrative assistant at his lobbying firm and, after Bush took office, assumed the same post with Rove. The House Government Reform Committee last week issued a report saying that based on documents supplied by Abramoff's former lobbying firm, he had 485 lobbying contacts with White House officials over three years, including 10 with Rove. At the time, the White House said it was unclear whether all the listed contacts were legitimate because they were based on sometimes-sketchy information provided by Abramoff himself. The report also said that Abramoff and his team offered White House officials tickets to 19 sporting events and concerts, and that Ralston was the most frequent recipient. Ralston's job at the White House involved organizing and coordinating the day's events and messages of the day. Perino said the resignation of Ralston, who helps organize and coordinate the day's events and message of the White House, follows a White House review of the congressional report. "Our review of the House Government Reform Committee's report is complete," Perino said. "We expect nothing more after our thorough review. She recognized that a protracted discussion of these matters would be a distraction to the White House and she's chosen to step down."