White House withholds 600 pages of Abramoff docs.
Today, House Oversight Committee chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) wrote to White House Counsel Fred Fielding and requested that the administration hand over more than 600 pages of documents relating to the White House’s activities with fallen lobbyist Jack Abramoff. From Waxman’s letter:
Despite the refusal of key witnesses to provide testimony, the Committee has learned that some senior White House officials had regular contact with Mr. Abramoff. Former White House political director Matt Schlapp cooperated with the Committee’s investigation and provided voluntary testimony in a deposition. Mr. Schlapp estimated that he had “monthly” contact with Jack Abramoff on subjects that often involved official government business. He also told the Committee that Mr. Abramoff and his associates “had many friends in the administration”; that Mr. Abramoff was regarded as a “point of information” because of “his knowledge and his experience and his judgment on issues surrounding politics and policy and how the town works”; and that Mr. Abramoff’s lobbying team was “viewed by many as a very respected lobbying team.” […]
The withholding and redacting of documents that describe internal White House deliberations relating to Mr. Abramoff is not appropriate. As you know, the Committee takes the position that responsive documents that are relevant to the Committee’s investigation cannot be withheld unless the President makes a valid assertion of executive privilege, No such assertion has been made in this case. Therefore, I request that you provide these documents to the Committee by November 6,2007.
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56 Responses to “White House withholds 600 pages of Abramoff docs.”
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WH’s excuse:
Well, if we give them to you, we all go to jail. So, you see, we’d be crazy to give them to you.
October 31st, 2007 at 12:51 pm“…requested that the administration hand over more than 600 pages of documents relating to the White House’s activities with fallen lobbyist Jack Abramoff.”
Yeah — good luck with that. Oh, and while you’re at it, see if you can get them to fork over the missing e-mails?
October 31st, 2007 at 12:54 pmThe White House answer: “Ney!”
October 31st, 2007 at 12:54 pmnot one word about MSNBC’s censoring of Mike Gravel last night? What is wrong with you people?> do you not care about free speecj? Or being Allowed yourselves to listen to a man tell you the truth?
WHAT IS GOING ON IN THIS COUNTRY!!!
October 31st, 2007 at 12:54 pmAnother letter? Really? Why would they repspond to this letter when they gave ignored all the other letters?
October 31st, 2007 at 12:54 pmThe White House is just playing kick-the-can until Jan. 2009, at which point the pardons will be issued. Every time they hold something back, there’s another letter and another deadline–don’t you guys get it yet? No more deadlines. You’re being played.
October 31st, 2007 at 12:55 pmI am just about ready to snap. It is ridiculous that Waxman can’t get any of the documents that he requests. The president’s favorite line with regards to domestic spying is “if you’re not doing anything wrong, you ought not be afraid.” Well Bush, why are you afraid?
October 31st, 2007 at 12:55 pmIsn’t it time to start enforcing those subpoenas yet?
October 31st, 2007 at 12:55 pmBan all scissors, shredders and other forms of tearing in the White House. Congress should mandate that all inspections of trash bags and brief cases be done BY the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representative. Overrall inspections of the W.H. should be mandated by the leaders of the chambers of congress, as well.
Comment by republicans hate facts — October 31, 2007 @ 12:56 pm
And how are you going to monitor the toilets?
October 31st, 2007 at 12:58 pmYup. “Classified - National Security”
*eyeroll*
October 31st, 2007 at 12:58 pmDon’t request documents. Demand them. Issue a subpoena.
Failure to comply with a subpoena is Contempt of Congress.
Contempt of Congress is punishable by not less than one month nor more than twelve months in jail and a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 - for each offense.
Stop. Playing. Softball.
October 31st, 2007 at 1:02 pmThe president’s favorite line with regards to domestic spying is “if you’re not doing anything wrong, you ought not be afraid.†Well Bush, why are you afraid?
Comment by imorgan82 — October 31, 2007 @ 12:55 pm
Bush won’t ever admit that his seemingly endless cover-up activity has anything to do with his wrongdoing and fear of getting caught. He just drags out the old “national security” excuse and everybody just falls in line.
Allegations of pressuring telecom companies to support warrantless wiretapping before 9/11? National Security.
Allegations of firing U.S. Attorneys for political reasons? National Security.
Allegations of collaboration with a crooked lobbyist? National Security.
The list goes on…
October 31st, 2007 at 1:03 pmComment by republicans hate facts — October 31, 2007 @ 1:00 pm
A perfect solution! Somebody should “tap” him for the job.
October 31st, 2007 at 1:05 pmSo Bush is going to claim executive priviledge to hide his relationship with “Abramamoff”.
October 31st, 2007 at 1:07 pmAh, but you see, Georgie can’t issue pardons for crimes they haven’t been indicted for yet.
October 31st, 2007 at 1:08 pmIf indictments aren’t issued until 2009 (by AG Fitzgerald), then all these suckers go to jail, including Bush and Cheney.
Just watch the mainstream media downplay or ignore this story. Every time my local paper discusses congressional corruption it leads with Jefferson or some other rare Democrat and leaves the flesh of the scandal, the GOP, for a one sentence comment at the end of the piece.
October 31st, 2007 at 1:08 pmModern propaganda, subtle omission and distortion.
You can’t beat it.
It really works.
Subpoena everyone in the White House - from the President down to the night custodian. Someone who knows even a little something is bound to be afraid of a fine and jail or, one can hope, there is someone with enough integrity to respond truthfully. I don’t care if Congress “wastes” the rest of Bush’s term, I want oversight. Without it, nothing else matters, we are a dicatator-led country.
October 31st, 2007 at 1:09 pmMaybe if Waxman got off his butt and summoned some responsible law authority (if there is such a thing) to arrest and haul off to the nearest jail these clowns that ignore the law and will of the people.
October 31st, 2007 at 1:10 pmContempt of Congress is punishable by not less than one month nor more than twelve months in jail and a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 - for each offense.
Stop. Playing. Softball.
Comment by Bush is a four letter word — October 31, 2007 @ 1:02 pm
That’s right! All they need to do is get the Department of Justice to enforce the subpoenas, right?
October 31st, 2007 at 1:13 pmAh yes. More Congressional Oversight to waste the President’s time with. No wonder Bush was throwing hissy fits yesterday. The damn Congress won’t stop wasting his time with oversight. Move along there Waxman, don’t you know the Pres has more important things to do than to comply with your “requests”?
/snark
October 31st, 2007 at 1:14 pmWaxman will see any relevant documents Judge Crater brings them over to the committee!
October 31st, 2007 at 1:16 pmGood ol’ Matt Schlapp.
Now working for Koch Industries, since 2005.
Koch industries, you may remember, was a major player in the Triad fundraising scandal in 1996 - the one where the GOP cut all sorts of illegally funded attack ads against Dems.
I bet ol’ Matt is getting ready to do it again in ‘08.
October 31st, 2007 at 1:16 pmhttp://www.prairieghosts.com/crater.html
October 31st, 2007 at 1:16 pmold hack - this link is for you. I would have done this on the thinkfast general thread but that thread is a mess. Read some of the comments in the link. A lot of those people are as upset as you are.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/ archive/ 2007/ 10/ 22/ 423509.aspx
October 31st, 2007 at 1:17 pmHas Abramoff been waterboarded yet? Since this administration hasn’t been able to state if waterboarding is illegal why don’t we get Abramoff transferred to the jail in the Capital. We could have Linseed Graham and Arlen Sphincter take turns in waterboarding him until we get the information we need.
I’m sure Exley would approve.
October 31st, 2007 at 1:17 pmWhat?!?!? TCDon the fascist authoritarian isn’t here defending the White House come hell or high water?!?!?
October 31st, 2007 at 1:22 pmI thought Busch didn’t know Abramoff. What’s to hide ?
∞
October 31st, 2007 at 1:25 pmVerbalKint, just make sure you don’t post the name three times - I think that magically calls the trolls here.
October 31st, 2007 at 1:25 pmDon’t request documents. Demand them. Issue a subpoena.
Failure to comply with a subpoena is Contempt of Congress.
Contempt of Congress is punishable by not less than one month nor more than twelve months in jail and a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 - for each offense.
Stop. Playing. Softball.
Comment by Bush is a four letter word — October 31, 2007 @ 1:02 pm
I cannot even begin to tell you how much I agree with you!
It’s time to get tough and, as you say, DEMAND whatever they need for their investigations. No more nice, polite “requests”!
October 31st, 2007 at 1:26 pmComment by PatrioticLiberalChristian — October 31, 2007 @ 1:25 pm
Thanks for the warning. I will take it to heart.
October 31st, 2007 at 1:30 pmLove the photo. It’s from a Baltimore fundraiser in 2003.
Did you know that Ken Mehlman was also at that event, and he brought his parents?
He was only 2 clicks away in the photo line.
Noose tightening a bit, Kenny Boy?
October 31st, 2007 at 1:32 pmGW666 believes he is untouchable.
He has been stringing congress along till his term ends and he will either:
1. Have a fake attack on the US and blame Iran, then Bomb Iran and call for Martial Law, call off the elections till he can secure all Middle Eastern Oil fields.
2. Finish converting all those “Pallets of lost cash” to gold or Euros and have that jet ready for South America.
3. Rig the election by claiming a 90% victory by Write-Ins (this is a joke of course)
Buck Fush
October 31st, 2007 at 1:40 pmabramoff looks like a little pixy guy next to the dubya…
October 31st, 2007 at 1:50 pmmaybe he has “compensation” issues… too…
…
If I willingly ignored a congressional subpeona, what would happen to me?
Exactly.
October 31st, 2007 at 1:51 pmThat picture was taken when Abramoff was at his lightest — he was on a sushi diet, but reaching dangerous mercury levels in blood.
He bulked up after that.
October 31st, 2007 at 1:52 pmmary - old hack is really a ron paul nut…
October 31st, 2007 at 1:52 pmhe’s just tryin’ to stir up trubble…
…
Like they say: if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about. The almighty Commander Guy doesn’t seem to know Jack Schitt, but I’ll bet dollars to donuts he knows Jack Abramoff.
October 31st, 2007 at 1:54 pmWaxman’s letter quotes Mehlman saying “Abramoff isn’t someone we know a whole lot about … except for what is read in the press.”
Ken, did you forget that you attended a Passover seder at Abramoff’s house about two years before that?
October 31st, 2007 at 2:00 pmIf only there were at least one true patriot inside this criminal circle that would step forward and shine the light of day on these filthy cockroaches that currently occupy the White House. THERE would finally be someone actually deserving of an immunity deal if I ever heard of one. He/she would be a true hero to this nation, carried on shoulders through the streets of D.C. while Little Georgie and the Dick are towed behind in a circus cage while the cheering throngs cascade our hero with flowers and hurl curses, rocks and birdshot at our disgraced leaders while their filthy enablers in Congress, the Senate, the Justice, State and every other damned department are exiled to Gitmo on the very next redeye . Honestly, though it truly would do this country and the world’s view of America some good to show this bunch of colluding, hypocritical thieves just what a tase of oversight really is. It might be like peeling a dirty bandage off of a deeply infected and rotting wound. Fetid, putrid and unappealing it very well may be but the American people deserve to see precisely the depths of corruption that this criminal mal-administration has been involved in lo these past seven years. This country cannot begin to heal until the infection has been cut out by it’s roots which travel directly to the White House.
October 31st, 2007 at 2:01 pmTake the documents FROM THEM ALREADY.
we are talking national security.
October 31st, 2007 at 2:11 pmWhy do these people even have a security clearance still?
October 31st, 2007 at 2:11 pmJackoff exemplifies the whole K St mentality.
Bush exemplifies why K St exists.
Put the two together & what do you have?…
Corporate interests feeding Fascist Pigs.
What happened to America?
October 31st, 2007 at 2:12 pmCheck this out.
Isn’t the people that are breaking their oath of office the VAST MINORITY?
in other words, there are LESS OF THEM then there are US.
October 31st, 2007 at 2:15 pmWhat are they going to do, point the military at the people of the United States?!
The Military being YOUR AN MY KIDS?!
October 31st, 2007 at 2:17 pmCops is one thing, there’s corruption there too. But it isn’t the MAJORITY
October 31st, 2007 at 2:18 pmWell, it’s fianlly apparent to me why so many investigations and subpeona’s, don’t seem to be going anywhere.
Re: “I request that you provide these documents to the Committee by November 6,2007.”
-’I request?’-
With all do respect to House Oversight Committee chairman Henry Waxman, you don’t ‘request’ anything! YOU NOTIFY!!!
YOU PUT THEM ON NOTICE!!!
(i.e. ‘So and So TO SUBMIT such and such to the committee by whenever’, or ‘So and So TO COMPLY with such and such notice TO SUBMIT to the committee by whenever.’)
It’s called ASSERTING AUTHORITY Mr. Waxman. You put them on notice to comply within a certain time period or they FACE CERTAIN CONSEQUENCES! PERIOD!!!
October 31st, 2007 at 2:21 pmNow, lets get ‘er done!
EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
October 31st, 2007 at 2:31 pmThat’s right! All they need to do is get the Department of Justice to enforce the subpoenas, right?
Any action by the Executive Branch to interfere with proper execution of constitutional authority by the Legislative Branch’s will be met with impeachment.
Stop being a tool, toaster. Authority is not equal to power.
October 31st, 2007 at 2:33 pmWhite House withholds 600 pages of Abramoff docs.
October 31st, 2007 at 2:35 pmBusiness as usual with the Bush Crime Family. Nothing but thugs.
mary - old hack is really a ron paul nut…
he’s just tryin’ to stir up trubble…
…
Comment by katy — October 31, 2007 @ 1:52 pm
That’s funny katy because in the comments on that link (on Gravel) Ron Paul supporters showed up and were asked to stop spamming the thread! lol
October 31st, 2007 at 2:38 pmIt must be for their national security,
October 31st, 2007 at 3:36 pmnot my nation’s.
Well, there’s one good thing. The deadlines are getting shorter.
October 31st, 2007 at 4:09 pmComment by missmolly — October 31, 2007 @ 12:58 pm
Larry Craig should be mandated to do just that. He’d get a “kick†out of it, anyways.
Comment by republicans hate facts — October 31, 2007 @ 1:00 pm
Hey, WHO ARE YOU, and why are you posting under my ID?
October 31st, 2007 at 4:37 pm“never met the guy!”
October 31st, 2007 at 5:33 pmCan you explain to me any way at all that Abramov’s visitor logs would belie the national security ?
October 31st, 2007 at 6:16 pmDidn’t Bush say that he did not know him?
November 1st, 2007 at 10:09 am