WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2006
GOP Activists' Bush Access Revealed
White House Releases Records In Wake Of Abramoff Lobbying Scandal
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Grover Norquist is head of the nonprofit Americans for Tax Reform. Combined with former Christian Coalition leader, Ralph Reed, the two men had more than 100 visits to the Bush White House between 2001 and 2006. (AP (file))
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Ralph Reed ran an unsuccessful bid to become Georgia's Lt. Governor earlier this year. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)
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Interactive Wheeling & Dealing Learn more about the scandals involving former lobbyist Jack Abramoff
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Timeline Abramoff, Kidan & SunCruz Follow the events that led to the sentencing of former lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his business partner
Documents unearthed by congressional investigators showed Abramoff and business partner Michael Scanlon routed about $4 million from Indian tribes to Reed-controlled entities for grassroots work aimed at blocking rival casinos.
The White House also released records showing White House appointments landed by some of Abramoff's former lobbying associates. Among them:
The release of the visitor records settles lawsuits by the Democratic Party and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
In a court filing earlier this month while settlement discussions were ongoing, Justice Department lawyers representing the administration said information about the Norquist and Reed visits should be protected from public disclosure under the doctrine of "deliberative process privilege."
That privilege lets the president and executive branch officials seek advice and deliberate policy decisions in private without having to disclose such information under the Freedom of Information Act.
It is similar to executive privilege, a power made famous by President Nixon, that lets a president keep information secret even from Congress or the courts on the grounds that it would hurt his ability to get candid advice.
Executive privilege was the focal point of major legal battles in the Watergate and Clinton impeachment cases.
Bush administration lawyers wrote that Norquist and Reed were "prominent advocates of particular tax policies and other conservative policies" and that releasing information about their White House visits would "inherently reveal the structure and nature of deliberative processes."
"In making decisions on personnel and policy, and in formulating legislative proposals, the president must be free to seek confidential information from many sources, both inside the government and outside," the lawyers wrote in citing a favorable court ruling from 2005 involving Vice President Dick Cheney.
Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Karen Finney said she saw a pattern of the White House trying to avoid answering legitimate questions.
"By trying to extend a special privilege typically reserved for U.S. government employees, to protect their Abramoff cronies like Grover Norquist, and Ralph Reed, the Bush administration showed just how willing they are to manipulate the law to hide the truth and protect their political interests," Finney said.
The administration lawyers, meanwhile, also argued against releasing information about the White House visits of former federal procurement official David Safavian on the grounds that it would violate Safavian's privacy. Safavian was recently convicted of trying to cover up his dealings with Abramoff.
Administration officials said the Justice Department never invoked the privilege mentioned in the court filings because a settlement was reached.
Former White House lawyer Lanny Breuer, who handled many of President Clinton's privilege claims, said that administration routinely released White House entry records to the public and never "came close to making a claim like the one being suggested in this instance."
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- What is the point to all of this investigation? The chimp has the backing of the Republican Party. This administration is so corrupt it is unbelievable, yet no one does anything about it. A second year law student could find numerous laws broken just in the Halliburton contracts, no one is investigating. The chimp has lied to the American people so many times I can%u2019t count all of them, no one does anything about it. The Supreme Court elected the chimp in the last election, against the law; no one did any thing about it. The 9/11 commission report was a farce, and no one did anything about it.
So now the press covers an old story, going no where, and it is supposed to be news? What joke!
We need to look seriously at political reform, quickly. The American people cannot afford to indulge party politics to the point where it supports the kind of uncaring, and dispassionate people we have in the Whitehouse. We must have a more responsive method for dealing with unresponsive party politics. - Reply to this comment
- Welcome to out here in the middle, getcentered. We are headed for a re-run of late 19th century American politics, when honor and priciple were returned to government, only after the bosses and machines were taken out. Progressive political reform is easier and more effective after big upheavels in governmental workings. Corruption will never go away, but the upcoming elections will at least send the message, (though they will deny and rationalize that too), that the American people deserve much, much more respect than they have shown. (Seriously, they're still not gonna get it.)
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- "He is one of a number of individuals who worked to advance fiscal responsibility, which is one of the key aspects of the president's agenda," Perino said.
FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY!!?? Key Aspects?
The White House, and everybody in it, is F-ing corrupt! These people don't even know what it is to be a Republican. Record deficits at wartime while still cutting taxes and easing import tariffs. An expensive as hell, Medicare "benefits". Republican? Yea right!! Now we come to find out that VERY FEW PEOPLE drafted the major policy decisions. With no ability to listen to opposing opinions, they made huge mistakes!
What do you think of that?
Shame on Republicans for their lack of imagination, their cursory performance as leaders and their willful ignorance when adapting policies that effect the lives of every American. Mr. President you and your talking point robots of a constituency have lost my confidence. My vote is not going to be aligned with the GOP. Your party shows no willingness to show individuality, intelligence, and a freewill.
Mr. President, you and the GOP have failed us. WE WILL REMEMBER. - Reply to this comment
- Me thinks when this scab is peeled all the way off your going to see a whole bunch of people caught up in the web for bucks all the way up the chain to the top! One can only hope there will be someone in D.C. who will have the kahonas to do something about it. Thanks
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Author Thomas Friedman on Obama's Afghanistan plan and the war on terror.
