Secret Service Reveals More Abramoff Visits

[cal04]

The Secret Service on Friday revealed four more visits to the White House in 2001 by disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, including one to see a domestic policy aide to Vice President Dick Cheney.

The newly released records of Abramoff's access to the White House bring the total number of his known visits to seven.

One Abramoff White House visit, according to Secret Service logs, was on April 20, 2001, to see Cesar Conda, at the time Cheney's assistant for domestic policy.

Five days after the Conda meeting, one of Abramoff's former lobbying colleagues, Patrick Pizzella, was nominated by the president as assistant secretary of labor. The Secret Service logs do not state why Abramoff met with Conda.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5937376,00.html

[Jackpine Radical]

1. In the Guardian, huh?

I spose Fox forgot to mention this little tidbit on the news tonight.

[GA Dem]

2. Not in AP/Guardian

Raw Story says these records were "unexpectedly discovered" by the govt.

[cal04]

4. here's what the CREW website has

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) posted new documents, detailing additional visits from former Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff' to The White House. The documents are a partial response to a suit by CREW against the Secret Service.

CREW will continue to aggressively litigate its case against the Secret Service for records yet to be released, including those relating to visits made by Michael Scanlon, Neil Volz, Tony Rudy, Shawn Vassell, Kevin Ring, Edwin Buckham and Patrick Pizzella between January 1, 2001 and February 2, 2006.

http://www.citizensforethics.org/press/newsrelease.php?view=138

[Nothing Without Hope]

9. Welcome to DU, GA Dem!!!!

Glad to have you with us! :hi:

[newyawker99]

14. Hi GA Dem!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[burythehatchet]

3. Was this the meeting

that was the same day as the Hannukah reception?

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

8. Not unless Hannukah was in April that year

Duh.

[ShockediSay]

5. ShockediSay! n/t

[DrZeeLit]

6. What does "disgraced" mean? Bad manners? Illegitimate child? Or....

BIG LYING BASTARD CROOK SLIME BALL?????

I just love the nuances of language, don't you?

[truthisfreedom]

7. fun friday news dump.

typical. now watch Abramoff have a heart attack. and die. despite the best medical care.

[cal04]

10. Josh Marshall:Ken Mehlman

From MSNBC, June 30th, 2006 ...
The (Justice Department IG) report also contained evidence of Abramoff's strong ties to the Bush White House. One White House political official, Leonard Rodriguez, told Fine's investigators he kept Abramoff aware of information relevant to Guam "at the behest of Ken Mehlman, the White House Political Director," the report said. There was no explanation of why Mehlman would have wanted the information shared with Abramoff.

Ken Mehlman, quoted in Vanity Fair, May 2006: "Abramoff is someone who we don't know a lot about. We know what we read in the paper"
http://www.vanityfair.com/commentary/content/printables/060320roco04?print=true


links
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13642769/
http://www.vanityfair.com/commentary/content/printables/060320roco04?print=true

[cal04]

11. JWatch:U.S. Secret Service Forced to Release More White House Logs

U.S. Secret Service Forced to Release More White House Logs Detailing Abramoff Visits

Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that the United States Secret Service has released to Judicial Watch new logs detailing additional visits of corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff to the White House. The documents were released late Friday afternoon. Judicial Watch had filed a “motion to compel” with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on May 17 after the Secret Service failed to comply with an April 25 court order to release all official logs detailing the Abramoff visits without redaction. The new logs are available on Judicial Watch’s Internet site, www.judicialwatch.org. (Pages 47 and 53 provide the clearest representation of the visits.)


The first set of documents released to Judicial Watch on May 10 indicated that Abramoff only made two visits to the White House on March 6, 2001 and January 20, 2004. The new documents show an additional seven data entries concerning Abramoff appointments on the following dates: March 1, 2001; March 6, 2001; April 20, 2001; May 9, 2001; May 17, 2001; December 7, 2001; and December 10, 2001. According to the cover letter accompanying the documents, “The…data reflect appointments involving Jack Abramoff, but do not necessarily reflect actual visits to the White House Complex.”

(snip)
While the Secret Service acknowledged receipt of Judicial Watch’s FOIA request on February 2, 2006, they failed to produce the records. Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit on February 22, and on April 25, 2006, Judge Penn executed a joint stipulation and agreed order directing the Secret Service to produce the requested records by May 10, 2006. The documents provided by the Secret Service were not official White House logs and contained incomplete information, prompting Judicial Watch to file its “motion to compel.”


“Obviously we wish the Secret Service had complied with the original court order, but we’re pleased to have forced the release of additional documents regarding Abramoff’s visits to the White House,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “The public has a right to know why an admitted felon had appointments with the Bush White House.”

http://www.judicialwatch.org/abramoff-july7.shtml

[Eugene]

12. The Secret Service "unexpectedly discovered computer files"

New Links Between Abramoff, White House
Logs Show 6 Appointments There

By Susan Schmidt and James V. Grimaldi
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, July 8, 2006; Page A02

<snip>

In May, the Secret Service released partial data showing two White House visits by Abramoff.
In a letter faxed to Judicial Watch yesterday, a Justice Department lawyer said that the Secret
Service had recently learned of other visits when it "unexpectedly discovered computer files"
containing entry and exit logs on the visits.

<snip>

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/07/AR2006070701317.html

Very interesting how that happened, especially since the logs drag some important names into the spotlight.

[Rose Siding]

13. He met with the daughter of Rep Ryun who got a deal on a DC townhouse

Laura Rozen reminds:

I think Justin Rood could have some fun with this (from deep down in today's Post piece about Abramoff's half dozen visits to the White House):

Among those with whom Abramoff met in the spring of 2001 was Cesar Conda, then assistant to the vice president for domestic policy, and Catharine Ryun, executive assistant to the director of the faith-based office and daughter of Rep. Jim Ryun (R-Kan.).

Didn't Justin discover a few months back that Jim Ryun had bought a Capital Hill townhouse under market price from the Buckham's US Family Network charity, and turned it around quickly for a nice little profit? Is he wired into the White House faith based programs in a way we didn't know before? Did we know his daughter worked for the White House before? 'nother question. Did the US Family Network ever get "faith-based" White House/US government funds? How much of a slush fund was it? And just out of curiosity, I'd be interested to know how many close relatives of members of the House and Senate work in the White House? There's got to be more than a few?

http://www.warandpiece.com/

[goforit]

15. Interesting release of information.

Quite frankly, it has been shocking to watch how stupidly devoted
the Secret Service has been to this administration.

What a waste of your own life trying to protect these bozos.

[Miss Chybil]

16. They'll just let them trickle out and hope we can't add, I guess. nt