UPDATE: Isikoff Confirms Abramoff Shopped Bush Photos
UPDATE: Isikoff Confirms Abramoff Shopped Bush Photos
Over the weekend, Time magazine and the Washingtonian both reported on five photos of President Bush with Jack Abramoff, but neither publication revealed its source.
Yesterday, ThinkProgress laid out the case for why the source for the photos was likely Abramoff himself. Last night, our hunch was confirmed.
Appearing on MSNBC, Newsweek correspondent Michael Isikoff reported that it was indeed Abramoff who floated the photographs to Washingtonian. Watch the video:
Full transcript below:
ISIKOFF: As a general rule, if you’re the president … you don’t like pictures out there of you with convicted felons. It sounds like … there’s at least one picture of him with at least one convicted felon and another indicted, so it’s probably not a picture the White House is eager to have out there. The other interesting aspect of this is, while the White House hasn’t put these out, Jack Abramoff has clearly shown them to people. I don’t know anything about Time sources, but I do know that he showed them to Washingtonian magazine, which suggests he may be playing a little bit of a game here. He has, of course, pled guilty already to the Justice Department. But it does raise a question in my mind at least as to whether Abramoff is maybe sort of sending some sort of signal out here: “Hey, I’ve got this stuff.” Maybe he wants something from somebody at the White House, or he wants someone at the White House not to do something, and just sort of subtly playing with people here.
You heard it here first.
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86 Responses to “UPDATE: Isikoff Confirms Abramoff Shopped Bush Photos”
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these are the most talked about and least seen pics ever! someone leak the damn things! the White House has already said no way…
January 24th, 2006 at 3:23 pmWhat do you expect from Jack? For him to all of the sudden change his ways?
January 24th, 2006 at 3:25 pmGood job TP!
Maybe the “hide the pictures” game is a ploy by the WH to build them up a whole bunch so that they fall flat? HEE!
January 24th, 2006 at 3:27 pmThat’s $25,000 per plate that Amramamoff charges to see the PREZ. Like a freak show. And the sad part is, if I had $25,000 they wouldn’t let me in! Now THAT’S Pay to Play good buddy! Gotcha!
January 24th, 2006 at 3:30 pmGee, ya think!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 24th, 2006 at 3:36 pmHelp, I’m a crook and I can’t stop!!!!
January 24th, 2006 at 3:41 pmDamn, this story just keeps getting stranger, and if you can believe it, dirtier. Blackmail? Quid pro quo (read pardon)? Just plain ol’ capitalism at work? Can’t keep Jack down.
January 24th, 2006 at 3:43 pmhevkuva job jack
January 24th, 2006 at 3:43 pmAlmost forgot. Isn’t it time for the wingers to start calling for Spikey’s scalp, again?
January 24th, 2006 at 3:44 pmCan’t keep Jack off, either.
January 24th, 2006 at 3:44 pmOnce again hip tip TP. I guess my idea of a staffer was WRONG.
January 24th, 2006 at 3:44 pmI think we need to take up a collection amongst all the progressives and the reality-based community in this country, to quickly outbid the tabloids and get our hands on the Bush-Abramoff photos. At least that way, they’d get released into the right context and have their proper impact, rather than appearing in some rag along with stories about Britney Spears’s latest piercings or Angelina Jolie’s latest sperm donor…
January 24th, 2006 at 3:46 pm#7 David
Your fingers are faster than mine. You just posted my thoughts. Jack Abram Off had no intentions of selling the pictures. It was just a wake-up call to King George the Dumb: You pardon my butt or I will hang yours. The problem is that if KGtD is impeached he can’t pardon Jack so for Jack to threaten to blow the whistle is really an idle threat. He would be better off peddling the pictures to the prosecutors for a few months off if he helps bring down KGtD.
January 24th, 2006 at 3:50 pmsounds like jacko is still very much into bribery, eh? he is shopping the photos, but at the same time, bribing the shrub? this is amerika
January 24th, 2006 at 3:54 pmSpy on Jack Abramoff and Tom Delay. Looks like they should be spied on. Maybe even spy on George Bush, Jr. Me thinks they’re all up to no good.
“It’s that kind of weather. Jacket on, jacket off.”
January 24th, 2006 at 3:57 pmBLACKMAIL
January 24th, 2006 at 4:12 pmIs anyone else receiving “Word Press” Error pages when trying to view comments, it has happened to me all day and this was the only thread I could get to on TP.
January 24th, 2006 at 4:20 pmForty, forty, forty. Do I hear forty-five? We have forty. Do I hear forty-five? Forty-FIVE! Forty-five, forty-five, forty-five. Do I hear fifty? FIFTY from the man in the flowing robe and crown! Mr. Rove, please sit down, you’re still under investigation, remember? We have FIFTY from the man in the flowing robe and crown. Do I hear fifty-five…?
January 24th, 2006 at 4:27 pm#17 Comment by Bushllit — January 24, 2006 @ 4:20 pm
YES
Very often today.
Maybe the CIA is Haxing the blog?
Just a thought.
January 24th, 2006 at 4:27 pmLOL
Excellent, Nico. You read slimy criminal minds well.
January 24th, 2006 at 4:31 pm“…maybe…just sort of subtly…”
uh-huh…abramoff subtle?
this was on hardball? what was matthew’s reaction? curious…
January 24th, 2006 at 4:36 pm#17, same here
January 24th, 2006 at 4:40 pmJacks just letting his buddies (aka the gang of crooks) that he has alot more dirt to expose and he’ll do a data dump on the media not the DOJ if he can’t get a get out of free card from king george.
January 24th, 2006 at 4:41 pm#17 Oops sorry about that. We’re working on that bot now, everyone. We’re wokring hard to get our snooping done nice and quiet so you can commit your thought crimes without our bot getting in the way. Thanks for your concern. Rmember, or job IS intelligence.
January 24th, 2006 at 4:44 pm#17 - I think it’s because the high traffic on the posts.
Soemthing I do when I get the “Error” page:
Click ‘back’ (or alt/left arrow) then click on Comments again.
It may take two ir three times to get the ‘comments’ link to work correctly, but it does eventually work!
January 24th, 2006 at 4:48 pmI think a medical exam will find out that this guy only has one kidney because he sold one.
January 24th, 2006 at 5:08 pm##17 Oops sorry about that. We’re working on that bot now, everyone. We’re wokring hard to get our snooping done nice and quiet so you can commit your thought crimes without our bot getting in the way. Thanks for your concern. Rmember, or job IS intelligence.
Comment by Porter Goss — January 24, 2006 @ 4:44 pm
Say wouldnt you have to have intelligence to get intelligence, So if George couldnt answer question from Sophomore, then hes not intelligent, and therefore Intelligent isnt he, so Bushs Intelligence isnt intelligence..And cheney, by flock of feather law, isnt intelligent, so whos running the Intelligence department? If its cheneys libby he lied, and that wasnt intelligence, so I watched hannity, also no Intelligence like coulter, whom spoke alot of what she read, or was given, about intelligence, how does hannity know its good intelligence, The WMD intelligence was Bad, as Was Chalabi? Wolfowitz proved hi intelligence when he said The War will pay for itself. Powell also showed his intelligence by repeating two Liars, Franklin and Libbies intelligence. Rumsfeld who shook Saddams hand did an unintelligent thing, Bush Gave Tenet medal of freedom, yet tenet said slam dunk, perhaps george in his intelligence thought of meant medal of intelligence. The if Cheneys not intelligent, then PNAC isnt intelligence, nor is Think Tanks Intelligence…
Oh my, I’ve gone ‘WHITE HOUSE’ and twisted myself in knots
January 24th, 2006 at 5:22 pmPorter you fool, shut up! Idiot. Jeez sometimes I wish for simpler times - it was much easier just saying “OK Pedro, now here’s your gun, that way’s Nicaraugua and yes, no one cares what you do when you get there.”
January 24th, 2006 at 5:33 pmisn’t the ability to blackmail the White House a major threat to National Security?
January 24th, 2006 at 5:48 pmi predicted that Getty Images, AP, etc, would “lose” any photos of bush and abramoof from their studiously maintained archives. no-one mentions that it should never have been THAT hard to locate these pictures, anyway. Now on TPM, there is mention that Reflections Photography seem to have quietly removed a picture of smiling Bush and Abramoff from their online catalogue.
January 24th, 2006 at 5:48 pmSounds like Jack’s got a death wish.
January 24th, 2006 at 6:33 pm28- Shhhhhhhhhhhh, you’ll ruin it for the rest of us spooks.
January 24th, 2006 at 6:35 pmIf Jack Abramoff was up on charges, would you help Jack off?
January 24th, 2006 at 6:43 pmI love this. The right has worked in evil the way some artists worked in oils or watercolor, it is their true medium. They have worked their evil in a concerted effort against the left for five years. Now they are using it on each other.
This is the definition of poetic justice.
January 24th, 2006 at 7:05 pmLooks to me like this a behind the scenes threat by Abramoff that says
“I get a Presidential Pardon or these pictures (and more) get published.”
January 24th, 2006 at 7:12 pmScary, ain’t it? But that’s what happens when you have no grounding and see your administration as above the law - you wind up in pictures with felons like Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay, Bob Ney, Kenny’boy Lay, Duke Cunningham and the rest of the gang.
Sickening stuff, especially for a team that originally ran on a pledge to bring a great big dose of integrity back into the White House. Of course they dropped that one a looooong time ago.
http://www.hairytruth.blogspot.com
January 24th, 2006 at 7:16 pm#35 Comment by Rick B — January 24, 2006 @ 7:12 pm
Agreed.
BLACKMAIL
Abramoff’s way of saying, “You’re going down with me if you can’t take the heat off of me.”
January 24th, 2006 at 7:24 pmBetter Red…,
Evil is only part of their artistic media. Theirs is a montage of evil and cowardice. Which is why none of them have served in the military that they shoved into a war rationalized with lies.
bok bok Chicken Hawks
January 24th, 2006 at 7:25 pm#18, Good show, I guess you are saying “forty, forty, forty” you mean forty million. These crooks don’t mess around with petty cash. They are all in it for the big bucks. God, how do these people sleep at night?
January 24th, 2006 at 7:44 pmno honor among thieves, eh?
January 24th, 2006 at 8:09 pmCarville-Dowd in 08! or Dowd-Carville!
January 24th, 2006 at 8:17 pmIRI ,,,, when scottie quits you can call your ex-business partner, Jeff Gannon to put a good word in for you, remember to bring the knee pads and towel so you can wipe your chin before the breifings
January 24th, 2006 at 8:33 pmSo Abramoff is trying to sell his pics of himself with Bush > Why should anyone be surprised? Since Bush refuses to admit he ever met Jack the pics must be published! Now if Jack has juicier evidence on Bush, then now is the time to sell it!
January 24th, 2006 at 8:39 pmLooks like Jack will get himsellf a deal! You can bet those pictures will not see the light of day, and the Bush Pigs’ story will stick - again.
January 24th, 2006 at 9:07 pmI think he may be hankering for a more plush prison, or a Presidential pardon alltogether,
Bartering Price?
Numerous Photos that expose the President for being the leader of the Corrupt Religious Wrong.
The Chinese are not allowed to contribute to US campaigns.
Elections are the sole domain and possesion of voters. Why then are outside entities allowed to medle and contribute money?
Only the voters of the election district involved should be allowed to give direct campaign contributions to a candidate.
All outsiders are only allowed free speech on issues of concern and allowed NO interfering direct comments about candidates.
Lobbyists should have NO direct contact with elected officials. They are allowed only to mail/send fact sheets about issues, which are carefully scrutinized for accuracy and for not misrepresenting the facts.
This should help dry up the Washington cesspit of excess money.
This will stop [most of] the Prostitution of Elected officials by Lobbyists,
January 24th, 2006 at 9:10 pmAnd will get the Elected officials doing their ACTUAL job:
Representing the voters and only the interests of the voters.
I think he may be hankering for a more plush prison, or a Presidential pardon alltogether,
Bartering Price?
Numerous Photos that expose the President for being the leader of the Corrupt Religious Wrong.
The Chinese are not allowed to contribute to US campaigns.
Elections are the sole domain and possesion of voters. Why then are outside entities allowed to medle and contribute money?
Only the voters of the election district involved should be allowed to give direct campaign contributions to a candidate.
All outsiders are only allowed free speech on issues of concern and allowed NO interfering direct comments about candidates.
Lobbyists should have NO direct contact with elected officials. They are allowed only to mail/send fact sheets about issues, which are carefully scrutinized for accuracy and for not misrepresenting the facts.
This should help dry up the Washington cesspit of excess money.
This will stop [most of] the Bribery of Elected officials by Lobbyists,
January 24th, 2006 at 9:13 pmAnd will get the Elected officials doing their ACTUAL job:
Representing the voters and only the interests of the voters.
I wonder if he may be hoping to fall back on an argument of, hey, I was just an innocent patriot who was sucked into the whirlpool of deceit that is the Bush Administration.
January 24th, 2006 at 9:39 pmthere’s also the fact that the corporate controlled media may squash the photos, despite their eminent news value on orders from the White House. jack abramoff is busy being turned into a non-person, a la 1984
January 24th, 2006 at 9:45 pmWiretapping is the tip of the iceberg compared to other crimes that have been committed. There is much more that most people don’t know.
I was in a family for more than 26 years who joined Organized Crime. This isn’t any ordinary Organized Crime System my ex-wife’s family joined. In our area, they call them “The Ou0tfitâ€, my ex-in-laws call them “The Guysâ€. It would be wise to accept that being in a family for more than 26 years presents a good picture with what the family does for a living. This is considered to be a Multi-Faceted Very Wide Scale Organized Crime System. As one example of many, my experience in this family crosses with Gus Boulis’s story. Only then, Gus was alive.
Believe me they are involved in other higher levels of crime activities that are far worse than wiretapping. If you think snooping is shocking — wait till the other crimes surface! However, it’s important to accept that wiretapping is very important as it guarantees the ability to manage and secure the other criminal activities. Without, it would become difficult to stay one step ahead.
Marty Didier
January 24th, 2006 at 9:51 pmNorthbrook, IL
Wouldn’t it be great if one of the pictures was of 43 goosing jackieBoy as a typical 43 school boy prank. Not only would you have political intrigue, but the public would also get to question his sexuality. Have people sort of trying to put in together that with a picture like this, and the way he flinched answering the brokeback mtn question the other night at Kansas St U, that maybe he’s bi for godz sake.
January 24th, 2006 at 10:36 pm(go here re brokeback)
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/01/23.html#a6831
Even have Laura scratching her head a bit too.
Then have the spin machine go into overdrive and say, “oh w was just smashing a bee, so JackieBoy wouldn’t get stung, being the true Christian that w is and allâ€!
The lies and corruption are getting a tad boring. Turn the heat up, and let the games begin.
The Theater of the Absurd…
Abramoff pimps himself to the media…
January 24th, 2006 at 11:32 pmGeorge….. you can’t sell out to EVERYONE…..
January 24th, 2006 at 11:47 pmGeee…I thought I was your best friend….
He’s hoping to get his own reality show out of it…
January 24th, 2006 at 11:57 pmJack Abramoff is a petty con-artist and swindler of Indian Tribes! He would sell his mother into prostitution for money, so I am not surprised he is trying to get big bucks for pics of himself with George Bush his buddy!
January 25th, 2006 at 1:04 amWould Bush be amenable to a December pardon for balck-hat Jack, if it would help save the Nov. elections?
January 25th, 2006 at 1:30 amMaybe W can have a few mil sent to a Cayman bank account as well?
See The Great Texas Bank Job at http://www.geocities.com/jurisnot The FACTS are simple The Clinton GANGSTAS and many others have used FRAUD RACKETTS to raise cah for elections for DECADES. WAKE UP NEO the Matrix Has You
January 25th, 2006 at 1:49 amWell spotted. But it kind of scares me for y’all that you were cynical enough to see it coming.
Get some rest, okay? Have you eaten today? You need to eat. How much coffee have you had?
January 25th, 2006 at 1:52 am[…] Though Bush is trying to distance himself, going towards that “Abramoff? Never heard of him” route, there were reports of pictures of Abramoff with Bush that existed and were being shopped around to Time and others. Well, it turns out that it was Abramoff doing the selling. Over the weekend, Time magazine and the Washingtonian both reported on five photos of President Bush with Jack Abramoff, but neither publication revealed its source. […]
January 25th, 2006 at 2:16 amSooo, Abramoff trots out his stained blue dress, soiled by the fruits of Republican exuberance. Next we’ll discover that “Abram” is a code word for “Republicans.”
Jack is just sending the exact same message to George that Monica sent to Bill: “you WILL acknowledge me and all I’ve done for you.” Ironic to now hear Bush emphatically declare that he doesn’t know Jack… we’ve been saying that all along.
January 25th, 2006 at 2:48 am
January 25th, 2006 at 4:25 amIf anything, this proves that Abramoff had links to Bush AND that he is not adverse to selling out the Republicans for his own good.
We know that the White House is frantically trying to get rid of pictures linking the two. What does Abramoff do? He damn near puts his on eBay to pay for legal fees, etc. Simple equation here.
$$$$ > GOP
I cannot wait to see what gifts he bears for GOP critics. Sounds like my birthday is coming early this year.
January 25th, 2006 at 4:27 amGoddam Clinton again. When will us poor conservatives stop paying for his crimes!
boo hoo hoo
I’m so scared of terrorists. Those Dem traitors are all working for Al Qaeda. We need a strong leader like president Bush to protect our freedoms from the terrorists.
blah blah blah
talking point talking point talking point
January 25th, 2006 at 6:24 amQuestion basically this: Would you buy a used car from either the President or Abramoff?
January 25th, 2006 at 6:58 amThe Rapter
bush will pardon abramoff and it will be before the linkage to the Oval Office. With the game that scottie the puppy is playing in the Gaggle of dodging and weaving questions its will happen. Abramoff knows everyone’s name…..
bush will also pardon two others..Scottie and Delay….
Then Americans will gulp and tirn their eyes away and say that’s just the way it is….in The United States Of Lost…
January 25th, 2006 at 7:19 am[…] Who has them? Who shopped them around? Could it be…..? J.A. Isikoff Confirms Abramoff Shopped Photos Great catch by Think Progress. Over the weekend, Time magazine and the Washingtonian both reported on five photos of President Bush with Jack Abramoff, but neither publication revealed its source. Yesterday, ThinkProgress laid out the case for why the source for the photos was likely Abramoff himself. Last night, our hunch was confirmed […] […]
January 25th, 2006 at 7:36 amDid Jack’s dad call out Jack on national TV and tell him to stop making his grandaughter cry?
January 25th, 2006 at 9:04 amIS IT GOING TO BE A JACKOFF DAY…
January 25th, 2006 at 9:16 amthe pic must be really juicy. I can’t even imagine…
January 25th, 2006 at 9:20 amWednesday, January 25, 2006
MORE — Blogging about Tribal Leaders and their troubles - from the Sacramento Bee
Tribal leaders fear Abramoff scandal fallout
By Peter Hecht — Bee Capitol Bureau
Thursday, January 12, 2006
PALM SPRINGS - California tribal leaders, including the chairman of an Indian band that paid $10 million to disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associates, said Wednesday that they were victimized by the corruption scandal and now fear they may lose political clout.
Abramoff, a powerful lobbyist who raked in millions of dollars to represent the interests of Indian gambling tribes, pleaded guilty on charges of conspiracy to commit bribery for doling out lavish vacations, golfing trips and other perks, including jobs for family members, to members of Congress.
The tribes have become major political players in Washington and in state capitals as Indian gambling has flourished and they have pushed for casino expansions. They now believe the money they paid Abramoff was diverted from their core interests.
On Wednesday, the specter of the Abramoff scandal dominated discussions on the opening day of the annual conference in Palm Springs of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, the state’s leading tribal gambling group.
And one tribal leader, Richard Milanovich, chairman of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in Riverside County, went so far as to apologize to the dozens of other tribes for having worked with the disgraced lobbyist.
“It really pains me, hurts me to know that this falls on all of us and is affecting all of Indian country,” said Milanovich, whose tribe directed $10 million through Milanovich for lobbying services. “We apologize to all of your people.”
In the opening address to the conference, Anthony Miranda, chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association and a member of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, said he fears the scandal may close the doors of Congress to gambling and non-gambling tribes that want their issues heard.
“The same people who want to take away our rights are those who will use the disgraceful acts of … Abramoff to advance their cause,” Miranda said. “This man violated the trust of members of Congress, Indian tribes, banks, major corporations and charitable organizations.”
Miranda said Indian tribes should consider bypassing Washington’s legendary K Street lobbying establishment, saying: “Now, more than ever, it is vital, absolutely vital, that tribal leaders be the ones to walk the halls of Congress themselves.”
But that may not be easy.
“That guy (Abramoff) has done an awful lot of damage to Indian tribes,” said former two-term Colorado Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, who now works for a prominent law firm representing gambling tribes. “What happened in D.C. is that a lot of people who were very helpful toward Indian tribes are now scared to death to deal with them.
“But one person - Abramoff - was the perpetrator, and the tribes were the victims.”
In an interview, Milanovich said the Agua Caliente Band, working with Abramoff, directed one-third of the $10 million to Abramoff’s law firm, Greenberg Traurig, and two-thirds to Abramoff’s business partner, Michael Scanlon. A public relations consultant, Scanlon also pleaded guilty in the political scandal.
Milanovich said much of the money was intended to help lobby Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and California lawmakers to renegotiate tribal gambling compacts for casinos the Agua Caliente Band operates in Palm Springs and near Rancho Mirage. But, without offering specifics, he said the money may have been diverted by Abramoff for political influence-peddling in Washington.
“I don’t think he used that money to our best interests,” said Milanovich, whose tribe has not been implicated for any wrongdoing in the Abramoff scandal.
In his plea agreement, Abramoff, who at times represented tribes with competing gambling interests, admitted that he lied to his clients and overcharged them by tens of millions of dollars. He could face up to 30 years in prison, but federal prosecutors have indicated they will reduce the sentence by as much as two-thirds in exchange for his cooperation in a continuing investigation of members of Congress.
Abramoff admitted in the plea agreement that he and Scanlon, who pleaded guilty before him, “engaged in a course of conduct … and provided a stream of things of value to public officials in exchange for a series of official acts and influence.”
Lawmakers who received gifts or large contributions from Abramoff and his associates and voted favorably for his clients, or whose spouses or former staffers went on to work for Abramoff, include former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas; Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio; Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville; Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont.; [who has big problems: the Montana/Wyoming Tribe he tried to donate his contribution to will not accept the cash], and Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. All have denied any wrongdoing.
Even if they committed no misdeeds, Campbell said Wednesday the scandal has cast a pall over Congress and that as many as 20 senators or representatives could face trouble in the 2006 elections.
“I know some of the Democrats say it is a Republican problem,” Campbell said. ” … It is a problem for both sides of the aisle.”
Many federal lawmakers who received contributions from Indian tribes represented by Abramoff are now returning the money or donating it to charity.
For example, on Monday, Shelley Berkley, a Democratic congresswoman from Nevada, said she was returning a $500 contribution she received in December 2003 from Milanovich on behalf of the Agua Caliente Band.
Milanovich said the tribe so far has been sent back some $11,000 in political contributions, which the tribe will donate to children’s charities. But he said he was offended by the implications of the money being returned.
“We are receiving refunds on contributions made directly by us, implying that somehow we were involved in the subterfuge (by Abramoff),” Milanovich said. “I resent that. All of us resent that.”
Miranda of the Pechanga tribe said he was disappointed that Milanovich felt compelled to apologize to the conference for having dealt with Abramoff.
“The tribe did nothing wrong. I don’t want to see Chairman Milanovich apologize,” Miranda said. “The tribe paid a lobbyist to do a job. How he did that job they had no control over.”
Despite Miranda’s call for Indian tribes to shun lobbyists and represent themselves in the halls of Congress, the CQ Weekly reported that many of Abramoff’s former clients - including the Mississippi Band of Choctaws, the Hope and the Mashpee Wampanoag tribes - are lining up to sign on with new lobbying firms on Capitol Hill.
“We have to maintain lobbyists,” said Milanovich, who said Wednesday his tribe is going through a “cleansing process” of reflection in the wake of the scandal. “We need a presence in Washington. We’re no different than a steel company or a pharmaceutical company that has lobbyists in Washington. But we will just be much more diligent on who we are retaining to represent us.”
About the writer:
The Bee’s Peter Hecht can be reached at (916) 326-5539 or phecht@sacbee.com.
###
posted by HighViz PR at 8:18 AM | 0 comments
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Damage Control for Tribal Members - who is repping the rez?
Thoughts on: “Indian Tribes ‘hurt’ by Abramoff scandal - MSNBC’ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10824532/ and the “Damage Control” behind it
I posted the link above a couple of weeks ago about the victims of the Abramoff scandal. Nancy Conrad, who was the Marketing Director of the Cabazon Mission Indians in Cabazon, California is now spokesperson for Richard Milanovich of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians (my client while under GT Laws/Team Abramoff’s charge),spoke for Richard to MSNBC. She is now doing a great job in meeting the press for Richard re: aftermath, and moving forward. Richard & Company were quick to pick up another high-powered lobbying firm (Akin Gump)* early on, in 2004, as were many others (the Hopi even hired back Kevin Ring after he left GT Law, I believe, who is at Barnes & Thornburg, LLP).
http://www.indianz.com/News/2006/011992.asp
Indian leader offers apologies (AP 1/12)
Agua Caliente’s Chief Richard Milanovich did the right thing by going right to his public and saying I am responsible, too, although I am also a victim of good works that mainly went unrealized for several reasons. My question remains what about all of the other tribes, tribal officers and tribal management that are left in the dust? EXPLANATION: They hired law firms in Washington for the betterment of their tribes, or did they? And if they did (and I worked for several since 2000, and can vouch for them for some, having worked in the Old Exceutive Office Building and several agencies for GT LAW) who is fairly representing them, strategizing their “damage control” (not for the dollar) and watching their interests now?
Abbe Buck, Spokesperson/Representative
(((PS - Michael Scanlon made things pretty bad for me to do MY JOB, too - you should see my W-4’s for 2004!)))
*(from The Hill, in 2004: INDIAN TRIBES. As federal prosecutors and a congressional panel scrutinize its former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the Agua Caliente tribe has hired Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld to help guide the tribe through the investigation and continue its lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill. Leading Akin Gump’s team is Partner Steven R.Ross, who was seen accompanying one of the tribe’s leaders at a Senate hearing last week. Ross was general counsel to the House of Representatives under Speakers Tip O’Neill (D-Mass.) and Jim Wright (D-Texas).
posted by HighViz PR at 6:36 AM | 1 comments
January 25th, 2006 at 9:31 amThis smells like a Karl Rove setup to me. If these are just “clicks” as was reported by TIME, they’ll use that to discredit the idea that Bush knew Abramoff. It’s a similar strategy to what they did about Bush’s TANG record. Once the successfully put the documents in doubt (wonder if Rove planted those too), it was “end of story” on Bush’s record.
January 25th, 2006 at 10:48 amGrrrrr, I really hate it when people post whole articles in comments.
January 25th, 2006 at 10:50 amI thought there were laws against felons benefiting from their own crimes.
And can Bush pardon Abramoff if he has already pleaded guilty? That doesn’t quite make sense to me.
January 25th, 2006 at 11:41 amHm. Usually ThinkProgress posts get trolled pretty heavily. Guess it’s pretty hard to spin photos of Bush gettin’ cozy with a convicted felon.
January 25th, 2006 at 12:03 pm[…] Last night on MSNBC, Newsweek’s Michael Isikoff suggested that the source of the photos is Jack Abramoff himself, and that he’s using them to keep the White House in line! But it does raise a question in my mind at least as to whether Abramoff is maybe sort of sending some sort of signal out here: “Hey, I’ve got this stuff.†Maybe he wants something from somebody at the White House, or he wants someone at the White House not to do something, and just sort of subtly playing with people here. […]
January 25th, 2006 at 1:13 pmJack shopped photos to press…
On Thinkprogress: Over the weekend, Time magazine and the Washingtonian both reported on five photos of President Bush with Jack Abramoff, but neither publication revealed its source. Yesterday, ThinkProgress laid out the case for why the source for th…
January 25th, 2006 at 1:52 pmOh let’s just impeach the guy and get it over with.
January 25th, 2006 at 2:19 pm[…] 2) GOP discipline must be an outmoded concept because as one party works desperately to keep the Bush/Abramoff snapshots hush hush and confidential another party is trying to share share share. […]
January 25th, 2006 at 2:55 pmGheez Jack!…You Have Enough Problems without peddling the Dirty Pic’s of you and Bush together! Seems like you’re becoming very UNSOUND in your GOP capitalistic way of Thinking and my NEED a rest trip to the Roach Motel up in the Mountains. Don’t be too Alarmed if the “Boys” just stop by and pack few things for the Trip like plenty of Valuim 10 mg’s, lots of Booze, a typewritten Letter and an untraceable handgun of your Choice.
January 25th, 2006 at 6:51 pmHugs & Kisses,
Karl
p.s. Please EAT and Destroy your Blackberry after recieving this Message!
[…] Think Progress: Isikoff Confirms Abramoff Shopped Bush Photos […]
January 25th, 2006 at 10:48 pmShould anyone be surprised that the WH refuses to release the pics of W. and an admitted felon (not to mention a staunch Bush “Pioneer”)? These corrupt self-serving fascists have, from day one, never had the best interests of the American people at heart and for any of the fringe fruitcakes who still support this joke of a “President” all I can say is, be careful what you wish for. You will be shockingly disappointed when Sammy “Machine Gun” Alito is confirmed and you folks in the red-states heartland are no longer needed to further their imperialistic and capitalistic agenda. You’ll be kicked to the curb faster that any liberal ever was. When they’ve finally gained total control over every branch of government the Republican “leaders” in Congress will get together with Dubya and his goose-stepping pals on the Supreme Court for a little Rose Garden barbecue. Of course they’ll use the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as kindling considering that they’re only “goddamn pieces of paper”. So all you evangelicals and racist rednecks who rabidly promoted this idiot and defended his every illegal action because you mistakenly thought he cared about your “values” and “morals” and was actually going to restore “honor and dignity” to a White House sullied by that anti-Christ, Bill Clinton (by the way guys, how many Americans came home in body bags as a result of Clinton’s lie about a blow job?)think again! He used you to achieve an ultimate goal. He came to office dreaming of this country as dictatorship and himself and his corrupt GOP cronies as the dictator and the “new” Politburo. Once Scalito is confirmed it will only be a matter of time before their “unitary executive” theory will come to fruition and our other two “branches” of government are nothing more than a rubber stamp extension of the all powerful executive! Then all your support and hard work in propping up and making excuses for this miserable failure of a “Campaigner-in Chief” will be unnecessary and you will be thrown on the slag heap with the rest of us (”liberals and moderates and anyone else who doesn’t dance to the fiddle of this modern day Nero). Welcome to the new and improved Soviet Union folks, it ain’t here yet, but it’s coming and sooner than you think. Once they have the stranglehold on all three branches of government, kiss any and all your freedoms goodbye. Illegal wiretapping will be the least of our worries then. The CIA and the NSA will become the new KGB and it won’t just be people deemed by our “Supreme Leader” to be “enemy combatants” who are rendered to the gulags for torture, it will be average Joe Sixpack who in what used to be First Amendment protected free speech stands up and says anything derogatory about the way these crooks are running things. Oh, and look for the Jack Abramoff pardon that’s sure to be in the works already. Dubya learned a valuable lesson from “Poppy” Bush about how to dodge any pesky criminal charges when he pardoned all the scumbags who were “convicted” for their oath of omerta in Iran-Contra. And that’s why the pictures or any other incriminating documents pertaining to Casino Jack’s ties to the White House and his personal relationship with Incurious George will never see the light of day. Nor will any others that could prove what an incompetant, crooked and megalomaniacal stain George W. Bush really is on U.S. politics and American history.
January 26th, 2006 at 12:11 pmIt would be interesting to know who took those pictures at the White House. Probably an official White House photographer but wouldn’t he or she have copies? Wish the WH press corps would ask Scott McClellen the next time he lies about George and Jack having no relationship. Oh well, just a thought. Theyve no doubt destroyed their copies by now.
January 26th, 2006 at 12:38 pmCan anyone name (2) honest republicans?. Ok. how about (1)? Will the american people vote for these bums again. No health care. No jobs. No pensions.No future for our kids. No president for (all) the people,not just for the few.
January 26th, 2006 at 1:51 pmNot sure where I read it, but somewhere there is a comment in a media article that the FBI has the Abramoff pics. Maybe copies? Abramoff still has the pics? Or the copies? Anything related to the investigation is now in the hands of the FEDS. Including the 8×10 glossies.
January 26th, 2006 at 3:50 pmAhhh, come on. Jackoff Abramoff has pictures of Jeff Gannon humping someone at the White House, we just need to guess whether it’s him and the twins or daddy or the librarian…
January 26th, 2006 at 11:05 pmhello [url=http://www.casino-en-linea.net]
February 8th, 2006 at 11:48 amAmerica’s Wildfire: Anything to Preserve the Majority
Whether it’s the aftermath of Katrina, the looming wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the proceeding events leading up to 9/11, and the recent overly friendly email exchange between a Congress and a 16 year old Congressional Page, from the White House to Capitol Hill, the Republicans have engineered a policy of cover up.
No matter what the issue, if reporters snoop to close, if winds of bad news hit the American People, immediately begin an aggressive spin campaign to either cover up, smooth over, and push back to discredit the source. Do anything to preserve our majority. Paint the democrats as weak on defense, even as credible evidence surface that depicts the Administration as dysfunctional and uninterested, when told of the eminent threat to this country.
Katrina was just a collapse at all levels of government, but especially at the federal level. The other day while watching a major award show for news anchors and news sponsored documentaries, Brian Williams from NBC received an award for his reporting on Katrina. I thought long and hard about his last response. He said, and I paraphrase, it was amazing to see that a television network could provide food and shelter for its staff when our government failed so miserably. I thought that was a profound statement. I will let you think about that one.
Next, you have the War on Terrorism. It’s been over five years now and just to mention the world “terror†evokes fear as we reflect on the manner in which thousands lost their lives in a short span of time. The world stood with us. On that day, many of our enemies became our friend. No one desires to see terrorism strike, but it did. Now, republicans throw the word around like a nerf football in a park.
Just yesterday the president said that democrats are week on defense. Last week, in Alabama, the President said that the Democratic Party is the party of cut and run. Once again the terrorism card has been pulled- the “Hail Mary†of republican politics. When your domestic policies fail most Americans, when you are fighting a war that’s losing popularity with the America People, throw that pass. When you have failed to secure our borders, when you have, conceded Afghanistan to the Taliban and outsourced our efforts in that country to the NATO. Yes, this is true. Google it! Does Tora Bora ring a bell; Administration outsourced the job of capturing or killing Osama Bin Laden to warlords operating in Tora Bora, instead of sending our best trained Special Forces who are more than adequate to accomplish the mission.
Then we have Iraq. Yesterday, while talking to a co-worker about the Congressman Foley Scandal, we were talking about the challenges that lie ahead for the Republican Party. He asked me, “What is our mission in Iraq?†Now this guy is independent leaning republican. I responded by say that is the problem of the Administration. The targets for success move as the situation changes. For example, we’ve gone from weapons of mass destruction, to we believed he had a nuclear program, to we had to get rid of a brutal dictator. Then the story changed to, we need to establish a flourishing democracy. Now the call is we have to defeat the terrorist; if we don’t fight them over there, we will fight them here at home. Iraq is a failure and our troops our national treasure is now refereeing a civil war. In the past week 13 troops have been killed. What a tragedy. And this president has the audacity to say that the dems are weak on defense.
Anyone can start a fire, but the real question is can you put it out. Ask Mr. Bush to put the fire out in Iraq right now; there’s no plan. Have him put the fire out in Afghanistan where the Taliban is gaining strength and the commanders are calling for more troops. Have him put that fire out. America has a wild fire on her hands and unfortunately it’s not contained. Read the snippet of the intelligence estimate released by the White House. Dems have called for the release of the whole report. The wildfire is spreading. As Bob Woodward said in a recent 60 Minutes interview, the Administration stamps secret any information that paints a grim picture of the war in Iraq. Declassify the report so that the American People know how big the fire really is. One hundred Iraqis killed daily, an attack every four hours, and our service members still dying weekly. The fire is spreading.
Finally, we have the overly friendly email scandal. Mr. Foley’s actions were deplorable, but my question is to what degree did the republican leadership know about this, and why did they try to cover it up. Absolute power breeds corruption folks and the cover up, as I see it, was a blatant attempt to hold on to that power; to preserve the status quo in Washington. There needs to be a change in Washington. If you want change, that change can only occur with new leadership. I say this as a centrist democrat, who’s not afraid to vote republican if it’s good for the country.
October 4th, 2006 at 2:00 pm