The latest on the lobbyist who Bush just can't remember meeting:
WASHINGTON -- When the government of Malaysia sought to repair its tarnished image in the U.S. by arranging a meeting between President Bush and its controversial prime minister in 2002, it did what many other well-heeled interests in Washington did: It called on well-connected lobbyist Jack Abramoff for help.
It was a tall order. The prime minister, Mahatir Mohamed, had been chastised by the Clinton administration for repeated anti-Semitic statements and for jailing his political opponents. But it was important to the Malaysians, according to an Abramoff associate who attended meetings with the Malaysian ambassador and Abramoff.
Abramoff contacted presidential adviser Karl Rove on at least four occasions to help arrange a meeting, according to an eyewitness to the activities.
Finally, this former associate said, Rove's office called to tell Abramoff personally that the Malaysian leader would soon be getting an official White House invitation.
In May 2002, Mahatir met with Bush in the Oval Office and his photograph with the president was beamed around the world.
Abramoff received $1.2 million from the Malaysian government for his lobbying services in 2001 and 2002, according to an Abramoff associate. Documents obtained by Senate investigators appear to confirm at least $900,000 of that amount.
It's not clear how central Abramoff was in arranging the Oval Office session that was of such import to the Malaysians. The White House says the meeting was arranged through normal White House and State Department channels.
But it was clear, the former associate said, that Abramoff took credit for arranging the session. His reputation for close relationships with the White House and congressional officials enabled him to charge stratospheric fees from his lobbying clients -- and the president's meeting with Malaysia's prime minister enhanced that reputation.
The Malaysia episode sheds new light on the practices of Abramoff, the man at the center of a burgeoning corruption scandal, and suggests a closer tie than previously acknowledged between the now-disgraced lobbyist and the highest levels of the Bush White House[...]
Sounds like Abramoff and Rove were pretty tight, to say the least. Does Bush still not recall meeting Abramoff? It gets better:
The Malaysian payments were made to the American International Center, a bogus "international think tank" that an Abramoff partner, Michael Scanlon, set up at a Delaware beach house. Abramoff and Scanlon used the center to collect millions from their lobbying clients.
By routing the money in that way, Abramoff identified his client on federal lobbying disclosure forms as the Delaware-based International Center and thus avoided having to register with the Justice Department as an agent of a foreign government.
After the Malaysian leader's White House meeting, a former associate said, Abramoff was invited to a dinner honoring the prime minister at the Malaysian embassy and given a seat near the head table.
At least one other Washington lobbying firm -- Alexander Strategies, which was run by an Abramoff friend and former chief of staff to then-House majority leader Tom DeLay -- was also compensated during this period for helping boost Malaysia's reputation in Washington. That firm, too, was given credit in some circles for helping to arrange the White House meeting as well as separate trips for leading members of Congress, including DeLay and several Democrats, to Malaysia.
The eyewitness was the only person to observe Abramoff's direct contacts with Rove and even then he only heard Abramoff's end of the conversation. He recalled Abramoff picking up his ringing cell phone, flashing the Caller ID and saying, "It's Karl." Abramoff listened for a few seconds and gave the associate a thumbs-up. The lobbyist then closed his phone and said the official invitation was forthcoming. "Call the ambassador."
"It's Karl." And this isn't the first time that Abramoff has been alleged to buy a meeting with Bush for a foreign leader.
Lobbyist Sought $9 Million to Set Bush Meeting
by Philip Shenon
The lobbyist Jack Abramoff asked for $9 million in 2003 from the president of a West African nation to arrange a meeting with President Bush and directed his fees to a Maryland company now under federal scrutiny, according to newly disclosed documents.
The African leader, President Omar Bongo of Gabon, met with President Bush in the Oval Office on May 26, 2004, 10 months after Mr. Abramoff made the offer[...]
The White House is quite literally up for sale. Clinton sleepovers in the Lincoln Bedroom, Al Gore Buddhist Temples, doesn't even hold a candle to this. By far.
"The President does not know him, nor does the President recall ever meeting him," McClellan said.