Moyers on America
Capitol Crimes
Wednesday, October 4, 9:00pm
CHANNEL 5 (KNME)
Debut: Bill Moyers examines issues in the news, ranging from political corruption to the future of the Internet. First up: a look at the Jack Abramoff scandal, detailing how the lobbyist rose to power in Washington, D.C.
Report Says Rove Aide Accepted Abramoff Gifts By James V. Grimaldi and Susan Schmidt, Washington Post Staff Writers
A top aide to presidential adviser Karl Rove passed along inside White House information to superlobbyist Jack Abramoff at a time when she was also accepting his tickets to nine sports and entertainment events, according to e-mails released yesterday in a bipartisan congressional report. …
White House contacts with Abramoff have been the focus of heated interest in Washington since he pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges earlier this year. Although the committee report documents that Abramoff’s lobbying team billed their clients for more than 400 contacts with White House officials over three years, it remains unclear what results Abramoff obtained. …
She told Abramoff and his associates that she passed messages and documents to Rove, but the committee report did not confirm that she had done so. On Feb. 21, 2001, Ralston e-mailed Abramoff lobbyist Todd A. Boulanger: “Thanks for breakfast. I showed KR the binder. . . . He gave the binder to Mehlman to read cover to cover and to be prepared.” Ken Mehlman was then the White House political director.
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