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11-14-2005, 03:39 PM
GOP Lobbyist Sought $9M Fee to Set Up Bush Meeting
By PHILIP SHENON
Published: November 12, 2005
WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 - House Democratic leaders called on the White House on Friday to release documents showing whether a powerful Republican lobbyist had a role in arranging an Oval Office meeting last year between President Bush and the president of the West African nation of Gabon, whose government had been asked by the lobbyist to pay $9 million to help arrange such a meeting.
In a letter to the White House counsel's office, the House Democratic leader, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, and the senior Democrat on the Government Reform Committee, Representative Henry A. Waxman of California, said they wanted copies of "all records relating to any connections between White House staff" and the lobbyist, Jack Abramoff, "regarding a visit by representatives of Gabon."
The White House and the State Department have said that the meeting with President Omar Bongo of Gabon on May 26, 2004, was routine and that there was no evidence of any involvement by Mr. Abramoff.
"However," Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Waxman wrote, "it is impossible for Congress and the public to assess this assertion without further documentation from the White House."
The White House has said the meeting had special importance because Gabon held the presidency of the United Nations General Assembly last year and because of the Bush administration's interest in AIDS prevention in Africa. The Gabon Embassy in Washington has not responded to written questions from The New York Times about the meeting.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Abramoff, who is under indictment in Florida and under investigation by a federal grand jury in Washington, would not discuss the lobbyist's approach to President Bongo, whose government has often been criticized by the State Department as having a poor record on human rights.
The White House had no comment Friday on whether it would release documents to the House Democrats, who also requested material from the State Department about President Bongo's meeting.
A White House spokesman, Trent Duffy, said, "President Bush met with President Bongo because he believes in good U.S.-Africa relations, and if Democrats question that, that's their business."
Mr. Abramoff's contacts with Gabon were disclosed last week when the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, which is investigating his lobbying for Indian tribes and their gambling operations, released hundreds of pages of documents from his files, including a July 2003 letter in which Mr. Abramoff wrote to President Bongo to urge Gabon to hire him as a lobbyist.
Other documents obtained by The Times show that Mr. Abramoff and his colleagues drew up a draft contract in August 2003 that called for Gabon to pay $9 million for a "public relations effort related to promoting Gabon and securing a visit for President Bongo with the president of the United States."
By PHILIP SHENON
Published: November 12, 2005
WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 - House Democratic leaders called on the White House on Friday to release documents showing whether a powerful Republican lobbyist had a role in arranging an Oval Office meeting last year between President Bush and the president of the West African nation of Gabon, whose government had been asked by the lobbyist to pay $9 million to help arrange such a meeting.
In a letter to the White House counsel's office, the House Democratic leader, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, and the senior Democrat on the Government Reform Committee, Representative Henry A. Waxman of California, said they wanted copies of "all records relating to any connections between White House staff" and the lobbyist, Jack Abramoff, "regarding a visit by representatives of Gabon."
The White House and the State Department have said that the meeting with President Omar Bongo of Gabon on May 26, 2004, was routine and that there was no evidence of any involvement by Mr. Abramoff.
"However," Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Waxman wrote, "it is impossible for Congress and the public to assess this assertion without further documentation from the White House."
The White House has said the meeting had special importance because Gabon held the presidency of the United Nations General Assembly last year and because of the Bush administration's interest in AIDS prevention in Africa. The Gabon Embassy in Washington has not responded to written questions from The New York Times about the meeting.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Abramoff, who is under indictment in Florida and under investigation by a federal grand jury in Washington, would not discuss the lobbyist's approach to President Bongo, whose government has often been criticized by the State Department as having a poor record on human rights.
The White House had no comment Friday on whether it would release documents to the House Democrats, who also requested material from the State Department about President Bongo's meeting.
A White House spokesman, Trent Duffy, said, "President Bush met with President Bongo because he believes in good U.S.-Africa relations, and if Democrats question that, that's their business."
Mr. Abramoff's contacts with Gabon were disclosed last week when the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, which is investigating his lobbying for Indian tribes and their gambling operations, released hundreds of pages of documents from his files, including a July 2003 letter in which Mr. Abramoff wrote to President Bongo to urge Gabon to hire him as a lobbyist.
Other documents obtained by The Times show that Mr. Abramoff and his colleagues drew up a draft contract in August 2003 that called for Gabon to pay $9 million for a "public relations effort related to promoting Gabon and securing a visit for President Bongo with the president of the United States."