Abramoff Said to Claim Close Ties to Rove [AP]

[demdiva]

Was Abramoff claiming a close relationship to the White House to help his career or is the White House denying a close relationship to Abramoff to keep them far away from the Abramoff scandal? Either way, both Abramoff and the White House still have a lot of explaining to do.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060214/ap_on_go_pr_wh/rove_abramoff

WASHINGTON - Three former associates of Jack Abramoff said Monday that the now-disgraced lobbyist frequently told them during his lobbying work he had strong ties to the White House through presidential confidant Karl Rove.

New questions have arisen about Abramoff's ties to the White House since a photo emerged over the weekend showing Abramoff with Bush. Also surfacing were the contents of an e-mail from Abramoff to Washingtonian magazine claiming he had met briefly with the president nearly a dozen times.

One said he was present when Abramoff took a call from Rove's office to confirm a White House meeting had been approved between Malaysia's prime minister and Bush in May 2002. Abramoff was being paid by Malaysia for helping it in Washington, according to evidence the Senate has made public.

Abramoff's former assistant, Susan Ralston, went to work for Rove in 2001. Abramoff's legal team declined comment Monday night.