Lobbyists’ gifts didn’t influence Bush, say reports

Then-lobbyist Jack Abramoff influenced some White House decisions by lavishing exclusive sports tickets and meals on political staff members...

Then-lobbyist Jack Abramoff influenced some White House decisions by lavishing exclusive sports tickets and meals on political staff members, but there’s no evidence that Bush was involved, a congressional panel said in a draft report.

The findings of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee show that the White House had more contacts with Abramoff than it previously acknowledged. But congressional investigators said they found no evidence that Abramoff lobbied Bush on the six occasions the two met or that the President took action in response to any request from the disgraced lobbyist, now in prison.

In January 2006, after Abramoff pleaded guilty, then-White House press secretary Scott McClellan said he had “checked” into contacts at the executive mansion and found “only a couple of holiday receptions that he attended and then a few staff-level meetings”. Neither McClellan nor his successor, Tony Snow, had checked with five staff members who were key points of contacts for Abramoff’s lobby team. Primary among successes by Abramoff’s team was persuading Bush officials to seek the removal of Alan Stayman from the State Department position overseeing the relationship with the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a major client of Abramoff’s and his firm, Greenberg Traurig.

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Abramoff’s activities are the subject of an ongoing federal investigation. Abramoff is cooperating with investigators while serving a sentence on a related fraud charge. He awaits sentencing in the lobbying scandal.

“High-level White House officials held Abramoff and his associates in high regard and solicited recommendations from Abramoff on policy matters,” the draft report said.

The document was the second bipartisan review of contacts between Abramoff and the White House issued by the committee, now chaired by Republican Henry Waxman. The report found that tickets were given to staffers and that lobbyists billed clients for more than 400 contacts with White House officials from 2001 to 2004.

Among those getting tickets was senior advisor Karl Rove, who paid Abramoff $150 for three tickets to the NCAA basketball tournament on March 17, 2002.

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Jennifer Farley, associate director of the office, attended two Orioles games and a Yanni concert. On occasion, Farley apparently used a code word — “fruit — “to refer to tickets when conversing with Abramoff lobbyist Kevin Ring, who is under investigation in the matter.

“Do you have any kind of fruit tonight?” Farley wrote Ring on December 12, 2002. “No games tonight,” Ring replied. In another e-mail about an issue of interest to an Abramoff client, Ring wrote, “The fruit is going to happen. Just trying to make sure it is picked on the right day.”

The report said Farley did not respond to questions about the matter and indicated she would invoke her Fifth Amendment rights if compelled to respond.

On three occasions, White House employees turned down free tickets. Schlapp, a deputy director, declined a ticket offer from Abramoff associate Tony Rudy. Rudy later pleaded guilty in the Abramoff scandal.