[These pix will appear on SpinShield as they become available…which they inevitably will. See below --SpinShield]
[Presidential press secretary Scott McClellan] declines not only to provide the photographs of Mr. Bush with Mr. Abramoff, but any records whatsoever of the lobbyist's visits to the White House. He has admitted only that Mr. Abramoff met with unnamed "staff" on unspecified occasions to discuss unspecified matters.
And the President -- for whom Mr. Abramoff gathered contributions of at least $100,000 in 2004, which is by far the largest amount that the lobbyist collected for any politician of either party -- insists that he doesn't know the guy.
It is obvious that Mr. Abramoff was no stranger to the Bush White House from the very beginning. Well before the President took office, Mr. Abramoff was named to the Bush transition team for the Department of the Interior. He may not have had any discernible qualifications to oversee that department's appointments, but he had clients on tribal reservations and in the Marianas Islands whose businesses were regulated by Interior officials.
He has been a friend of Karl Rove, the deputy chief of staff and Presidential political advisor, for more than a quarter-century. His personal assistant soon showed up as the personal assistant to Mr. Rove. His associate David Safavian, since indicted, became the administration's chief procurement officer. He told his friends and clients that he could get into the Bush White House -- and get whatever he wanted there.
He proved that boast on May 9, 2001, only four months into the first Bush term, when the President met with two Native American tribal leaders represented by Mr. Abramoff. According to a report published in the Texas Observer last June, that meeting was arranged in cooperation with conservative strategist Grover Norquist, another longtime comrade of Mr. Rove. The Texas magazine uncovered documents showing that Mr. Abramoff and Mr. Norquist used their White House access to squeeze money from clients. There are probably photographs of that May 2001 event, and they must be among the photos that the White House is refusing to release.
Source: "Picturegate inspires no media outrage" by Joe Conason - The New York Observer - 01.27.06
President Bush shaking hands in 2001 with Chief Raul Garza of the Kickapoo tribe of Texas. In the background at left is the lobbyist Jack Abramoff; Karl Rove, the president's top adviser, is at the right.
Source: NY Times - 2/12/06