White House Falsely Claimed Rove Only Had A ‘Casual Relationship’ With Abramoff
White House Falsely Claimed Rove Only Had A ‘Casual Relationship’ With Abramoff
A House Government Reform Committee report documents at least 82 contacts between Karl Rove’s office and Jack Abramoff’s lobbying team. The Committee describes at least ten “direct contacts” between Abramoff and Rove, seven of which were instances of lobbying.
And yet, Karl Rove told Scott McClellan that his relationship with Abramoff was “more of a casual relationship” than a business one.
MCCLELLAN: Yes [Rove] knows Mr. Abramoff. They are both former heads of the College Republicans. That’s how they got to know each other way back — I think it was in the early ’80s. And my understanding is that Karl would describe it as more of a casual relationship than a business relationship. That’s what he has said. [White House Press Briefing, 1/17/06]
But excerpts from the House report indicate that there was an extensive business relationship between Rove and Abramoff:
On March 6, 2001, Abramoff wrote in an e-mail to Dennis Stephens that he had a “great meeting” with Karl Rove to discuss an appointment to the Department of Interior. (p. 33)
On April 5, 2002, Abramoff sent an e-mail to his assistant asking the assistant to add to his schedule “a Karl Rove/SagChip breakfast on the 16th at 8 am. Location tbd.” According to the documents, this was an event with Karl Rove and “tribal representatives and leaders” from the Saginaw Chippewa tribe. (p. 37)
In one e-mail to a client, Abramoff expressed the view that Rove did not want to be perceived publicly as taking actions that benefited Abramoff. … “It gives me a lot of cover, which is one of the things Karl was worried about. It does not benefit them to be doing stuff on this publicly for me, as you can imagine, and he was really worried that we would cause a NYT like piece.” (p. 38)
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
‘Flat Daddies’ deploy to help Maine military families
September 30th, 2006 at 10:11 amByTuesday, August 29, 2006 – Bangor Daily News
Please read…
September 30th, 2006 at 10:14 am‘Flat Daddies’ deploy to help Maine military families
ByTuesday, August 29, 2006 – Bangor Daily News
Well, since no one at T.P. is going to get on with the miserable bills of last week I am off topic and going to ask some big questions…..
First… for the legal minds that are here often, like BnF, what can be done to repeal or get these bill’s passed last week reversed?…
Second….Where is the left on the number of seat’s needed to take back the house and senate.? Any one have those figures.?
Third…..If the representatives on the left voted for these bills, why would we want to continue to vote for them…If they are all voting like Lieberman aren’t we just putting in more disguised Rep’.s instead of true Dem’s.?……Think and study before you vote, I am……Blessings All, we need them
September 30th, 2006 at 10:17 amJust change it from “Casual” to “Causal” and there claim is accurate.
September 30th, 2006 at 10:20 amYeah, just like Mark Foley (R-Bahrain) only had casual relationships with that page.
Well, until I finish my truly kick-ass Assclowns of the Week this weekend (which will feature teen heartthrob Maf54), all I have to offer for now is Maureen Dowd’s take on Borat’s invasion of the White House. Enjoy.
September 30th, 2006 at 10:23 amIt depends what your definition of Casual is.
September 30th, 2006 at 10:24 amA “casual relationship”? Is that like casual sex?
“Hey Jack, stop by, I NEED you!”
September 30th, 2006 at 10:28 amAnd my understanding is that Karl would describe it as more of a casual relationship than a business relationship.
Oh, I get it, God Karl said “let it be a casual relationship” and it was.
Tell that to the prosecutor.
September 30th, 2006 at 10:40 amStand and Deliver…
“There are 72 House pages, 48 of whom were selected by Republicans and 24 by Democrats. The House page program is administered by the Office of the Clerk and supervised by the House Page Board, chaired by Representative John Shimkus (R-IL). Members of the Page Board include Representatives Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Dale Kildee (D-MI), as well as the Clerk and the Sergeant at Arms of the House.”
Among the Republican explanations during the night:
_The congressional sponsor of the page, Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La., said he was asked by the youth’s parents not to pursue the matter, so he dropped it.
_Alexander said that before deciding to end his involvement, he passed on what he knew to the chairman of the House Republican campaign organization, Rep. Thomas Reynolds, R-N.Y. Reynolds’ spokesman, Carl Forti, said the campaign chairman also took no action in deference to the parents’ wishes.
_Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., chairman of the Page Board that oversees the congressional work-study program for high schoolers, said he did investigate but Foley falsely assured him he was only mentoring the boy. Pages are high school students who attend classes under congressional supervision and work as messengers.
_The spokesman for Speaker Dennis Hastert, Ron Bonjean, said the top House Republican had not known about the allegations. Shimkus said he learned about them in late 2005.
I feel no pity for Rep. John “Mark” Carr Foley. Countdown to admission of drinking problem and abuse by priest as a child…
http://patrickjfitzgerald.blogspot.com
September 30th, 2006 at 10:58 amOf course Rove is a liar, he’s a political hack. Just like George Bush said he didn’t know Kenny Boy Lay, only to find out he did, in fact knew him well enough to attend his funeral.
Also don’t forget that Rove was FIRED by Bush Sr. for leaking to the press. The guy is a liar. Now what kind of ‘compassionate conservative’ is that?
January 25, 2001….there you have it folks, the do-nothing Neo-Cons sitting on their hands. Bush is WEAK on National Security.
September 30th, 2006 at 11:06 amBoy, they are dropping like flies. Guess what goes up (neocons egos), must come down (apparently their pants around teenage boys). About time the mighty began to fall.
Guess they didn’t know their October Surprise would be on them. Good.
Happy October 1st.
Even CNN is asking “Does the election have to do with the low gas prices?” Uh, duh?
September 30th, 2006 at 11:09 amCondi-liar Rice
September 30th, 2006 at 11:10 amIf they are all voting like Lieberman aren’t we just putting in more disguised Rep’.s instead of true Dem’s.?…
Comment by Sharon Cox — September 30, 2006 @ 10:17 am
Good morning Sharon! Astuste and valid observations – as always :)
Many people I know are voting anti-encumbent. I’m voting Independent. I refuse to support the corrupt Republicrats (or Democans). I no longer believe there is any real distinction between the two parties. As I told BnF, I think they are simply little more than the left and right arms on the same monster (pedophile)…
It’s almost time for the second American Revolution.
September 30th, 2006 at 11:13 amBoy, they are dropping like flies. Guess what goes up (neocons egos), must come down (apparently their pants around teenage boys). About time the mighty began to fall.
Guess they didn’t know their October Surprise would be on them. Good.
Thanks for the laugh UB.
September 30th, 2006 at 11:17 amThanks for the laugh UB.
Comment by Quadrajet — September 30, 2006 @ 11:17 am
Howdy! How are you?
September 30th, 2006 at 11:21 amthanks for posting that dowd link, jurassicpork! …i have been waiting for YOU to post it since i found the link on google news this morning…
i saw the borat news conference on the daily show – hilarious!
September 30th, 2006 at 11:27 am#15 – Just fine down here UB, and you? Kinda torn between looking forward to November and being afraid of what the bush syndicate might have planned as a distraction. It’s gonna have to be a whopper – other than being given the authority to lock anyone up for any reason for any length of time things haven’t been going well for the goons in the white house.
September 30th, 2006 at 11:29 amthings haven’t been going well for the goons in the white house.
Comment by Quadrajet — September 30, 2006 @ 11:29 am
Glad to hear you’re well. I’m great. Busy as hell, but enjoying it.
I don’t believe in divine retrobution or anything remotely close, but I did learn in high school chemistry about stasis – which is basically universal balance. I think that it’s simply not possible for anything to remain in an extreme situation forever. Eventually, the pendulum must swing back in the other direction, after it cannot go any higher… The neocons have essentially run out of time and the laws of nature are forcing the pendulum back into the opposite direction. What a relief. I only hope they don’t do anything desperate, or we will be fighting the terrorists over here.
September 30th, 2006 at 11:37 amComment by PJF — September 30, 2006 @ 10:58 am
shimkus is my rep here in s.illinois, 19th…
a really “nice guy”… but also just another rubberstamper…
i don’t know of much that he has done to HELP us… but i know what he’s done to HURT the country…
DANNY STOVER is running for that congress seat… this is a strong republican area, so it’s an uphill battle… if not for chicago, illinois would be red… stover is not well known – i’m trying to help out…
any other southern illinoisians out there in TP land?
September 30th, 2006 at 11:38 am…
sharon - i know you read through all this, so you do already know most of the answers to your questions…
i will concede this much about voting 3rd party THIS november – IF there is such a candidate that can beat out a repug, then go for it…
http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/ has good info about the torture bill…
also http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/reports/listing.asp …
g’ day! the moon changes today, so i’m taking it easy!
September 30th, 2006 at 11:46 am…
Jack who?
September 30th, 2006 at 12:17 pmRove deserves every word of contempt hurled at him! Please uncover him trolling for boys like Foley, then he would be forced to resign and flee DC!
September 30th, 2006 at 12:48 pmGood Morning Unbelievable and Katy,…….How’s it going.?….Yep! I will have to do a write in, gonna pick the same Dem I voted for in the primaries..Cantwell will likely win against the Rep. running but not with my vote….I tend to be pretty one way, based on their preformance about my voting..Lot’s of study and remembering just what these people do dictates my decesions….I will not vote for Republican lite’s, what’s the point, just more republican’s in office no matter what they claim to be….Like Lieberman, vote rep. that’s what you are.
Still warn out with all the crap that went through the house and senate this last week.. No matter what we did with calls and email’s as usual. The do nothing congress has turned out to be the do nothing good congress..Sad day’s to remember and worst yet to come, I am afraid…
Rest up Katy, the full moon is on Friday…..Ya all know what that does to all the freak’s, keep in mind how this bunch loves to do crap all week and then the grand fanallies on Friday’s…I’m speakin of the Republicans of course….LOL
Hay, Zooey, cool weather on the way, cloudy and cool here this morning. Rain this evening. Ofcourse you already knew that…..I’m off and otta here untill later, much transplanting and yard work to do…Already ran the Bear and fed and hugged the tree’s…Hugged a Muggo pine for you today and some 15ft. tall Abrovites……Hope they will do……Blessings All….Don’t play nicely, it makes everything mundane….Go kicking and screaming into home plate.
September 30th, 2006 at 1:38 pmPlease be careful in voting independent. Everyone should vote their conscience but remember that if Ralph Nader had chosen not to run in 2000 Gore would be president today. It also shows that Nader did not care about the issues he was running on because he allowed George Bush to become president to destroy the environment, etc, knowing that if he had dropped out it would have been impossible for Bush to win. Republicans always vote Republican no matter how corrupt they get and they would love it if more people voted independent and split the Democratic vote. If we split the Democratic vote then all branches of government will be Republican and facism will take complete control.
September 30th, 2006 at 1:54 pm…Still warn out with all the crap that went through the house and senate this last week.. No matter what we did with calls and email’s as usual. The do nothing congress has turned out to be the do nothing good congress..Sad day’s to remember and worst yet to come, I am afraid…
Comment by Sharon Cox — September 30, 2006 @ 1:38 pm
i know what you mean, sharon… i had to get outside and do some digging and raking to burn off some steam…
but, i think now there was little we could do about that…
the torture bill was sprung on us all… it was pushed, rushed through for stricktly political purposes… it’s all about the race…
no regard to ramifications… no regard for the future…
if there is no gain in the house this november then we will all need to be afraid of what is to come… that is where all oversight – and subpoena power – starts from… it’s the only way to start the healing…
September 30th, 2006 at 1:55 pm…
OG. Sorry, I disagree….Nadar was not the main problem. The percentage of Nadar votes was only 3% nation wide last report I read…The election was clearly rigged by the reich and besides the ballott, hanging chad’s debacle, thousands were not permitted to vote and then the judge steped in and sealed the fate.Boxes of discarded votes all over the country have been found that were never counted….Sorry I don’t have any link’s to give you but know this, our tabulation of voting and accountability is in the crapper and I personaly listend in on the Dibold hearing’s in the senate and heard the head guy say ” we will give you the win in the coming election “. I will no longer vote by machine, absentee ballott only….Even that is not safe but better than the rigged machines.
I have met Gore in person and he would of been a good president, sadly he did not fight long enough or hard enough…Now it is all water over the levy..
For us to continue to vote in soft Dem’s or Rep.lite as I call them only buy’s into more rubber stamping and look what that has gotten us….The worst administration in my life time……Let all the dem’s that are spinless and not holding to our values as a country and upholding our constitution for the people take a hike with these war mongers. Not my vote. No more picking the lesser of two evils….Bull shit I say. They got 45 years of my work and dedication, now for 5 year’s they haven’t even responded to me or our countries needs. Only a handfull are worthy of my time and contribution’s. As you can see I am adament about this, I have a right to be…Do as you choose and I will also…..Let every vote be counted and verafied from the left, right and center……I’m thinking it is time to realy clean house and boot out every one who has not been doing their job and has only been self serving…..Blessings
September 30th, 2006 at 2:27 pmPlease be careful in voting independent. Everyone should vote their conscience but remember that if Ralph Nader had chosen not to run in 2000 Gore would be president today.
Comment by Open Government — September 30, 2006 @ 1:54 pm
The problem was actually Florida. Nader didn’t impact the other states results enough to have over-turned those. It was limited to Florida. And no matter what had happened (because Gore actually did win there), the neocons would have done what they did. We were hijacked. And, like Sharon said so well, I must vote my conscious hoping others will as well. It’s only if people vote DEM out of fear that it won’t work.
September 30th, 2006 at 3:05 pmThough, for me, it is probably a moot point as even the Democratic candidate for governor is more conservative than the republican already in place. The Dem wants internet regulations and favors the death penalty for non-murderers…
September 30th, 2006 at 3:09 pmWhite House Falsely Claimed Rove Only Had A ‘Casual Relationship’ With Abramoff,
Well any other kind of relationship they could have is NOT officially sanctioned by the GOP(greedy old preverts), so they have to maintain appearances. However this is the same time frame as Jeff Gannon, so who knows what all they did behind the scenes, Woodards book is kind of silent on this issue.
September 30th, 2006 at 3:38 pmSure. Al Gore is an immense difference from George Bush. I wouldn’t debate that. But I’m talking about November and the elected officials in the Senate and Congress who are up for vote. There are a handful of Dems who are doing a good job – Kerry, Kennedy, Obama, Murtha, Feingold, and their minority. The rest are just behaving because they aren’t in charge. People like Lieberman who might as well change their affiliations to the Fascist Party.
If you can get Al Gore to run in 2008, I’d happily vote for him – even if he had to run as a Republican. I really couldn’t care less about the title – more about those who do their jobs with honor and integrity. It’s why I’m an Independent, and will be until someone corrupts that system. And I’m pretty sure someone will. With more people than the planet can comfortably support, human toxicity and proverbial cannibalism are simply a given. Like global Easter Island Syndrome. The few of us who can control ourselves will just watch the system swing between the extremes.
In 1994, it was the Dems who were corrupt. In 2006, it’s the Republicans. I just don’t see the difference in the general scheme of things. Especially when Democrats voted for and helped pass Bush’s anti-humanity bill this week.
September 30th, 2006 at 6:41 pmOMG, that’s hilarious. Bag of butts…
September 30th, 2006 at 6:43 pmHere in Orygun, I had an email exchange with the Nader Sec of State candidate during the run up. He was completely sanguine at the thought of a Bush win. He said, “It will serve the Democrats right.” And, most chillingly, “Besides, Bush won’t dare to do anything seriously wrong; just look at Reagan.” I am rarely rendered speechless, but that did it. Do the words “Iran-Contra” and “Fiscal Federalism” mean anything to anyone? Guess they didn’t to the Naderites. It is true that Bush stole two elections by fraud. However, the first one was handed to him on a platter by Nader. Only Bush is served by 3rdP candidates. Votes that go to them were never his to begin with, and the Bushies know it. Therefore, be careful of anyone promoting the 3rdP way. I consider them all wolves in sheeps clothing.
September 30th, 2006 at 7:04 pmTherefore, be careful of anyone promoting the 3rdP way. I consider them all wolves in sheeps clothing.
Comment by dyspeptic — September 30, 2006 @ 7:04 pm
I suppose I could blame everyone else in teh world for why I haven’t gotten certain things in my life, or I could take some level of personal accountability and say that perhaps I didn’t work hard enough.
Do you really think blaming Nader is valid? I don’t. But, then again, I don’t let my cats roam free in my neighborhood, I don’t cut people off in traffic and I chose not to eat animals because I wouldn’t want anyone to have me as dinner. Yes, that clearly makes me a wolf.
Stop blaming Nader for what happened to Gore. It really had little if anything to do with Nader, and everything to do with Gore not campaigning as effectively as he should have (he shunned Clinton who was the darling of the Democrats despite the Impeachment nonsense, making him look soft) – and Bush’s friends stealing him the election.
Nader had every right to run. Denying him that is unconstitutional.
September 30th, 2006 at 7:22 pmthis reminds me of when randi rhodes interviewed nader… her first show on airamericaradio… she got so pissed off at him… she said, ralph, i love you, but we can’t have this now… there’s a pair of shoes i love, but i can’t afford them now… RALPH, WE CAN’T AFFORD YOU NOW !!!…
he hung up on her…
that was paraphrased, of course – except her last line…
October 1st, 2006 at 1:19 ambut it’s still true – we can’t afford that now…
I think this story fits well with the other Rethuglican stories filed under Liar, Liar Pants on Fire!
October 1st, 2006 at 7:36 amfrom unbeliever-
You have to prove that (Nader voters) would have… voted for Gore…without that proof, you are just speculating.
You don’t have to prove. That’s absurd.
This is a question of likely effects – positive and negative.
That Nader’s candidacy plausibly contributed to Bush’s victory is beyond question.
And for that, he deserves some degree of condemnation.
October 1st, 2006 at 7:11 pmUnbelievable, LOL you guys are STILL whining about the 2000 election? My god you are pathetic. You had a chance to vote him out in 04 and you lost again. Get a life. But, since you want to discuss it, here are the actual facts:
Gore didn’t win any recount whatsoever. It was his cronies in FL that wanted to count ballots where more than one candidate was chosen as votes for Gore. It was Gore’s cronies that wanted to ignore thousands of military absentee ballots, and the USSC voted to create a single standard by which those votes could be counted not the “eh whatever looks like a possible vote for Gore IS a vote for Gore”.
Gore Lost Bush won, get over it
October 3rd, 2006 at 2:37 pmNo, we’re still pointing out the truth. Your false condescention doesn’t intimidate us. And we’re too smart to fall for your bully tactics. You guys are the cheaters and we call you on it routinely. Stop cheating (then you’d never win an election though) if you don’t want to be called out for it…
You couldn’t detect the truth if it introduced itself as such.
You offered not one fact, just juvenile ad hominen attacks. Yawn…
October 4th, 2006 at 3:19 pmPreteen Preteen Lolitas Innocent Preteens
I can not agree with you in 100% regarding some thoughts, but you got good point of view
March 19th, 2008 at 4:19 amTeen Girls Teen Titans Raven Tiffany Teen
I can not agree with you in 100% regarding some thoughts, but you got good point of view
March 24th, 2008 at 4:21 am