Susan Ralston stuck in my craw like bad spinach

On friday, when the news came out that susan ralston was resigning her "White House position", due to her abramoff links, a big cry went up about the Friday-at-5 newsdump. Well and good. My immediate reaction was--holy cow-(I am from Chicago) this is the woman who supposedly left her position in 2005 for the Commerce Dept. after her association with Plamegate in Rove's office.

So why wasn't she resigning from the Commerce Dept?

It's more than the compulsive lies of this administration. A big time-worn yawn to "ok, they said she was leaving to go to Commerce, but she never did. they know how to take the heat and the spotlight off, with their "resignations" and investigations-that-never-come-to-a-conclusion."

But sure enough, Susan Ralston disappeared, and Foleypie holds the attention of everyone.

Foleypie is a symptom, Susan Ralston is a deliciously major/minor conduit in the culture of corruption.

_

Let me apologize in advance for the incomplete nature of this diary, but frankly, I have never had my computer crash so many times while making an effort to research a story. (it has crashed frequently when looking at an Al-jazerra in English on-line, and more recently with Chris Albritton's "Back to Iraq" blog.)Additionally, my fashion preference in hats runs to fine felt rather than tin-foil.  

_

And I am asking for your collaboration on the Susan Ralston story, because I dredged this muck up from Wikipedia:

Susan Bonzon Ralston (born October 15 </wiki/October_15&gt, 1967 </wiki/1967&gt), an administrative assistant to Jack Abramoff </wiki/Jack_Abramoff&gt and Ralph Reed </wiki/Ralph_Reed&gt later hired as a White House aide. On October 6 </wiki/October_6&gt, 2006 </wiki/2006&gt, Ralston resigned her White House position.[1]

Preston Gates & Ellis

Ralston was hired in 2001 as the most senior assistant to Karl Rove </wiki/Karl_Rove&gt.
In July of 2004, she was promoted from "Executive Assistant to the Senior Adviser" to "Special Assistant to the President and Assistant to the Senior Advisor" at the White House.[4]
Sometime before December 2005, Susan Ralston may have moved to the United States Department of Commerce </wiki/United_States_Department_of_Commerce&gt but remained on the White House roster.[citation needed </wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources&gt]
On October 6, 2006, Ralston resigned her White House position.[1]

(my bold)

-

Email records from 2000 suggest that Susan Ralston helped Jack Abramoff </wiki/Jack_Abramoff&gt pass checks from eLottery to Lou Sheldon </wiki/Lou_Sheldon&gt's Traditional Values Coalition </wiki/Traditional_Values_Coalition&gt (TVC) and also to Grover Norquist </wiki/Grover_Norquist&gt's Americans for Tax Reform </wiki/Americans_for_Tax_Reform&gt (ATR), en route to Ralph Reed </wiki/Ralph_Reed&gt's company, Century Strategies <http://www.censtrat.com>:
"I have 3 checks from elot: (1) 2 checks for $80 K payable to ATR </wiki/Americans_for_Tax_Reform&gt and (2) 1 check to TVC </wiki/Traditional_Values_Coalition&gt for $25 K," wrote Ralston in 2000, "Let me know exactly what to do next. Send to Grover </wiki/Grover_Norquist&gt? Send to Rev. Lou </wiki/Lou_Sheldon&gt?"

-

On July 29 </wiki/July_29&gt, 2005 </wiki/2005&gt, Susan Ralston testified before federal grand jury prosecutor, Patrick J. Fitzgerald </wiki/Patrick_J._Fitzgerald&gt, investigating whether government officials illegally disclosed the identity of CIA officer Valerie Wilson </wiki/Valerie_Wilson&gt. Matthew Cooper </wiki/Matthew_Cooper&gt made a call sometime in July of 2003 to Karl Rove </wiki/Karl_Rove&gt but there were no records of the call. Susan Ralston claimed there were no records because they had transferred his call. [5] <http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/03/politics/03leak.html?ex=1138424400&en=e5e4642b413b02dc& ;ei=5070>

-

Isn't there something incredible about some Administrative Asst. being linked to

Rove
Abramoff
Plamegate
Grover Norquist
Ralph Reed
Lou Sheldon

and being all the while a "Special Assistant" to our very special preznit?

•  maybe SusanHu

  should be in charge of this whodunnit.

  you could ecoli me at devore.net, but it wouldn't work.

  by Miss Devore on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 03:09:32 PM PDT

•  Susan Ralston is key.

  She is the most blatant link to massive corruption in the White House.

  We cannot allow them to just make her disappear as a footnote.

  The media needs to pull their head out of their ass and start asking hard questions about Susan Ralston and David Safavian(sp?).

  by Scout Finch on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 03:12:05 PM PDT

  •  Absolutely

    This "inconspicuous" babe is at the heart of a lot of the current corruption. She knows tons. And she should be made to sing. Loudly.

    by JuliaAnn on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 03:45:40 PM PDT

    •  Think about how much you could get done

      at work if your boss could pardon you for anything.  Heck, I would even work in the complaint department on a gig like that.

      by Friend of the court on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 04:02:32 PM PDT

  •  PS - Please recommend this diary.

    Keep Susan Ralston's name front page news.

    by Scout Finch on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 05:21:16 PM PDT

•  Strange ...

  that CREW, the same outfit that is involved in Foleygate, sent out an FOIA request on Sue Ralston and the Commerce department.

  The text reads as follows (and this was requested on March 13, 2006, btw):

  Specifically, CREW seeks any and all records from any and all contacts, including but not limited to in-person contacts, Susan Ralston, has had, from December 1, 2005, to the present with the White House, any Members of Congress, and the U.S. Department of the Interior. As used herein the term "White House" includes, but is not limited to, any staff member of the Executive Office of the President and the Office of the Vice President. CREW also requests all calendars and any other daily logs for Susan Ralston from December 1, 2005 to the present. CREW further requests all documents that reflect Ms. Ralston's duties and responsibilities at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

  So go figure.

  by Nightprowlkitty on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 03:27:29 PM PDT

  •  Can't wait to hear what that turns up....how

    long do those FOIAs take to process? Anyone know?

    That CREW attorney is one sharp lady. Saw her on CSpan a couple of days ago.

    This is very very suspicious. To go to Commerce from that position, it had to be they wanted her quietly out of the way where she could collect her paycheck but not be under media scruitiny, no?

    She is in the thick of it as seen in the emails. I always wondered about her and thought it would be interesting to see what she did and how she passed info from Rove to Jack and the others. What an inbred group of crooks. Reminds me of the five Watergate burglers, but there are more. Hope these end up in jail too.

    Gosh, I'm so sick of Republians selling their influence to get rich. The White House gravey train has got to stop.

    by Gorette on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 04:11:57 PM PDT

    •  Well ...

      ... I find the Repubs "analysis" beyond absurd, that somehow now that Ralston has resigned, the "case is closed."  How on earth could Ralston have had that kind of influence if it were not for Rove?  And why would Abramoff turn to her if it were not for Rove?  I don't buy the "good friends" kind of stuff, that's just foolishness.

      by Nightprowlkitty on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 04:30:03 PM PDT

    •  About the move to Commerce

      From a December 2005 Phillippine News story - Is Ralston Still at the White House?:

      The former Special Assistant to President Bush and deputy to presidential adviser Karl Rove has reportedly moved to the Department of Commerce, Philippine News learned from a source close to Ralston.

      Asked for the reason for the transfer, the source quoted Ralston as saying, “Too much pressure (on the job).”

      The media office of the Commerce department said they are not making any statement. A White House operator says Ralston remains in the White House roster.

      As the highest-ranking FilAm close to Bush, Ralston was able to provide access to American officialdom for certain segments of the community, especially those of Filipino veterans and community affairs. She also paved the way for a presentation at the White House on the issue of the Balangiga Bells.

      “Susan is an asset to the Filipino American community, and I am so proud to have opportunities to work with her on some occasions. She is dedicated, hardworking, efficient, an exemplary professional to follow, admire and be proud of,” said Vellie Dietrich Hall, one of two FilAms appointed by Bush to the White House Commission for Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs.

      What the heck are Balangiga Bells?

      by musing graze on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 04:55:17 PM PDT

      •  Aha

        Bells of the church at Balangiga, on Samar Island, which were taken by Americans as war booty after their retaliatory massacre in the Phillippine-American War of 1901.

        The heavy-handed reprisal by American soldiers on hapless civilians, resulting in untold thousands dead, brought a court-martial upon Gen. Jake "Howling Wilderness" Smith who had ordered the massacre of everyone ten years old and over. Reprimanded but not punished, Smith lost his command for the most sordid affair in Philippine-American War annals of such affairs.

        This incident and the subsequent retaliation remains one of the longest-running and most controversial issues between the Philippines and the United States. Conflicting records from both American and Filipino historians have muddled the issue.

        Apparently one church bell is still at a US base in South Korea, and two others are at Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

        by musing graze on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 05:20:42 PM PDT

      •  She is of Filipino descent. I don't know if

        there's a connection, but many of the abused workers in the Marianas Islands scandal were from the Philippines.

        When Ralston came through for Abramoff, it often was in relatively minor ways. On Oct. 21, 2001, Ralston e-mailed Abramoff that Rove had read an Abramoff memo about a political endorsement in an obscure race in the Mariana Islands. Ralston reported back to Abramoff that Rove had agreed, writing in an e-mail the next day: "You win :)"

        Ralston also informed the Abramoff team about possible political appointees. But there is no evidence that Rove knew or approved of Ralston's actions.

        Report Says Rove Aide Accepted Abramoff Gifts

        Again, Rove seems to be off the hook, while everyone around him falls.  This article is from Sept. She accepted gifts from Abramoff, it says. Sounds like an indictment is on the way. Then maybe she too will talk. I think it was Josh Marshall who said that 'she knows where all the bodies are buried'.

        How she could work for this people, especially on a 'political appointment in the Marianas Islands' when she must have been aware of the abuse going on there. Bills were before Congress trying to stop the forced labor, rape and forced abortions, while Abramoff was lobbying hard to kill any such legislation.

        by Catrina on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 06:10:47 PM PDT

    •  You just reminded me of another story

      that got lost in the Foley coverage this past two weeks. It was reported that Abramoff knew about the war in Iraq one year before it started. From downingstreetmemo.com

      Blogger jorndorff makes an important observation today based upon one of the emails of corrupt Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, whose texts were released recently. In this message, dated March 18, 2002, Abramoff mentions in an off-hand manner "the upcoming war on Iraq". Here is Abramoff's email (from page 26 of this PDF):

      From: Jack Abramoff To: 'octagon1' Monday, March 18, 2002 8:31 AM Subject: RE: Sunday

      I was sitting yesterday with Karl Rove, Bush's top advisor, at the NCAA basketball game, discussing Israel when this email came in. I showed it to him. It seems that the President was very sad to have to come out negatively regarding Israel, but that they needed to mollify the Arabs for the upcoming war on Iraq. That did not seem to work anyway. Bush seems to love Sharon and Israel, and thinks Arabfat, is nothing but a liar. I thought I'd pass that on.

      March 2002 is precisely the time when, as a series of leaked British documents show, the Blair government was gearing up to coordinate with Bush to engineer an invasion of Iraq. And in April 2002, as we learn from the British Cabinet Briefing Paper dated July 22, 2002, Tony Blair would make a promise to Bush that Britain would take part in an invasion of Iraq as long as a few preconditions were met.

      A Year in Advance, Jack Abramoff Knew Bush Would Invade Iraq

      This is what I thought of when I heard that Susan Ralston had resigned. But then there was the other story about all the Abramoff connnections with Rove in the WH. And now, the accusation that she took gifts from Abramoff.

      by Catrina on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 07:47:54 PM PDT

      •  Hard to get the skinny on the thick of things

        It's worse than Russian novels, isn't it?

        by musing graze on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 08:33:17 PM PDT

        •  Yes it's hard. When I read this

          email, which sounds so casual, as if he is talking about a shopping trip, rather than a war that would kill so many people, and the Downing St. Memos, which prove beyond a doubt that they were lying and that war was inevitable, I feel both incredibly sad and angry beyond belief.

          As for Susan Ralston?  She had a few moments in the sun while she aided and abetted the destruction of so many lives, and now it's over for her.  I wonder how she feels now ... she was, after all the glory, just another fall guy for the Bush administraion, who will most likely deny they knew her very well.

          So much for her perception that she was such an important member of the administration. In the end, she was merely just another useful facilitator of 'evil doers' which the history of the world is littered with.

          by Catrina on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 09:30:35 PM PDT

•  i'd completely forgotten...

  they said she had moved to commerce! thanks for the reminder. it's certainly worth asking about.

  p.s. love the name 'foleypie.'

  by isis2 on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 03:30:55 PM PDT

•  Has she entered "rehab" ?

  I hear that the "Where the Aspens Grow" rehab center is lovely this year.

  by Friend of the court on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 03:35:23 PM PDT

  •  they are all connected

    at the Kellog, Burton and Root.

    (couldn't pass it up)

    by Miss Devore on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 03:44:31 PM PDT

    •  sheesh!

      "Brown" not "Burton"

      (heckuvajob, devore)

      by Miss Devore on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 03:48:38 PM PDT

      •  That's nothing. I once mispelled KBR.

        by Friend of the court on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 03:52:06 PM PDT

    •  Most excellent, Miss Devore.

      by Friend of the court on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 03:49:19 PM PDT

  •  No, they usually wait until

    1. they are indicted or 2) they are about to be indicted.  Unless it involves pages, in which case you get yourself to rehab asap.

    by gmb on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 04:08:57 PM PDT

  •  Maybe she has a problem with her nanny.

    Or, more likely, she's leaving to spend more time with her family.

    by Scout Finch on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 05:12:31 PM PDT

•  Ralston

  as in the Purina fortune?  Another corrupt idiot child of our collapsing elite?

  by ActivistGuy on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 04:05:22 PM PDT

  •  She isn't, but wanna look into her hubby?

    Again from Sourcewatch:

    Susan is the eldest of four children of Teotimo D. Bonzon, originally from Rizal province in the Philippines, and Purificacion Lagman Bonzon of Quezon City. She’s married to Troy Alan Ralston, Regional Director of Operations for Keller Graduate School of Management, at DeVry University.

    by musing graze on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 04:39:14 PM PDT

    •  Susan's MBA

      She got her MBA at her husband's graduate school. I didn't even know you could get an MBA from DeVry.

      by Pompatus on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 06:17:46 PM PDT

•  Add Tyco Int'l as another funky association

  Did some digging on Ralston the other day and came up with a mention in this September 2005 WaPo story about Abramoff's efforts for the Bermuda-based, crime-ridden tax dodging corporation:Tyco Exec: Abramoff Claimed Ties to Administration.

  Tyco -- whose executive L. Dennis Kozlowski had just departed under an ethics cloud -- was worried that the Bush administration might embrace legislation promoted by Democrats that would impose higher taxes on domestic-centered companies that had moved offshore to cut their tax bills. The legislation was motivated by popular anger over such offshore moves, and carried the additional penalty of barring such firms from receiving federal contracts.

  Lobbying disclosure statements filed by Abramoff listing his work for Tyco cite the "Executive Office of the President" as one of his lobbying targets on the tax and contracts issues. Others were the Department of Commerce, the General Services Administration and Congress. Greenberg Traurig records submitted to Tyco describe specific contacts with the White House legislative office, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday.

  Rove's personal assistant at the time, Susan Ralston, formerly worked as Abramoff's secretary. It could not be learned yesterday whether she was among those contacted by any of the 14-person Greenberg team recorded as working on the Tyco account.

  More shortly.  Oops, almost forgot:

  Tyco was among a raft of companies, including Ingersoll-Rand and Noble Corp., that hired an army of lobbyists to stall the legislation and ultimately kill most of it. House Republican leaders argued that corporate flight was merely a symptom of a much broader problem with the U.S. tax code that should be treated in a larger tax reform package.

  by musing graze on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 04:08:52 PM PDT

•  I thought...

  the thing about bad spinach is that it wouldn't stick.

  by ek hornbeck on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 04:12:08 PM PDT

•  She got a big raise in 2005

  According to articles cited in Sourcewatch, Ralston's salary went from $64,700 in 03 to $67,600 in 04 to $92,100 in 05. (For links to verify  numbers see comment here.  Given Miss D's HTML difficulties above, I'll give myself a shortcut here.)

  That's quite a hike, ain't it?  

  There are some other intriguing citations at Sourcewatch link, well worth exploring.

  Here's a 2003 article from Phillippine News Online -  Filipinos in White House circle of power which features a charming photo of Ralston and Dear Leader in hand-lock.

  by musing graze on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 04:22:32 PM PDT

  •  From Phillippine News story

    how 'bout these apples:

    Indeed for her it has been one “amazing experience” after another. On that fateful day on September 11, when terrorists hijacked planes that they used as bombs on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Rove was with the President.

    Susan was in constant touch with her boss, who was relaying her information to Bush. “New York Governor George Pataki and Mayor Rudy Giuliani were trying to reach the President, and they called me. They knew our office was an important link to the President.”

    by musing graze on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 04:29:29 PM PDT

  •  Wasn't there also

    a Filipino spy in the WH some time ago?  I don't have much time to google right now, but if memory serves, didn't Ralston have something to do with that too ...  sorry, don't mean to be a tease, just dont' have time for research now.

    by Jules Beaujolais on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 04:30:25 PM PDT

    •  I think those cases began before

      the Rove/Bush years, although I gather the actual spying did continue, and the indictments came along in 2005.  But if I recall correctly, Bush Co milked the arrests a bit to imply security was lax in the previous admin.

      by musing graze on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 05:08:28 PM PDT

  •  thanks SO much

    sourcewatch was the site that kept crashing on me!

    by Miss Devore on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 04:32:50 PM PDT

    •  Welcome

      Any chance you can just edit out some of the non-functional HTML in the diary?  The Sourcewatch entry on Ralston is quite a soup of links and quotes and footnotes, but the cut-and-paste to diary obviously made all that coding go kerflooey.

      It would be nice to get more snoopers on the case. . . .

      by musing graze on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 05:34:04 PM PDT

      •  apologies again

        I was so damn aggravated for the repetitive computer crashes, I guess I just threw up via cut and paste.

        by Miss Devore on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 07:47:45 PM PDT

        •  I feared the spinach had struck

          the innards of Computer Devore.

          by musing graze on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 08:27:05 PM PDT

          •  it's a bitch

            bigger than myself.

            I'm trying to get my employer to set me up with a laptop that has OSX and Windows capability.

            And then I could bring it home.

            by Miss Devore on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 08:46:53 PM PDT

            •  Two words

              Go, girl!

              by musing graze on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 08:55:21 PM PDT

              •  you know

                I think one of the Guerilla girls is a friend of mine. Brazilian woman photographer.

                by Miss Devore on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 09:07:21 PM PDT

                •  Revolving cast and continuous state of mind

                  the way I see it.  Cool.  

                  PC alternative:  If they won't give you a mobile laptop, make them upgrade your work desktop and buy the castoff for $50, or the like.

                  I drive a somewhat tarnished, urine-colored parachute from a previous gig myself.

                  by musing graze on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 09:14:47 PM PDT

•  You're right, it was reported that Susan Ralston

  was no longer Rove's aide after she testified several times in the Plame case. So, why have reporters not questioned this report?

  She resigned after the reports confirming the hundreds of contacts Abramoff had with the WH. She was his main contact, emails revealed earlier in this story.

  As I recall, all calls to Rove were answered by Susan Ralston. I also remember reading that Grover Norquist made decisions as to which calls should be put through to Rove. Ralph Reed was another contact who seemed to have easy access to Rove, from the Abramoff emails some of which were released and showed Abramoff asking Reed to 'talk to Karl' about various matters.

  It's interesting that she would quit now, right after the confirmation of the access Abramoff had to the WH. I wonder if an indictment is expected?

  The press is reporting that she is a 'key aide to Rove' when we were told she had left that position, as Miss Devore said.

  A key aide to presidential political strategist Karl Rove resigned Friday in the wake of a U.S. congressional report that listed hundreds of contacts between disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the White House.

  Susan Ralston, special assistant to President George W. Bush, submitted a resignation letter to him less than five weeks before the Nov. 7 elections.

  Key Aide To Karl Rove Resigns

  Maybe the press needs our help to report on the earlier reports that she was no longer working for Rove. I do remember doubts about that being expressed at the time, but that was the official story. They should be made to explain this discrepencey.

  by Catrina on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 05:39:40 PM PDT

•  great work here n/t

  by aphra behn on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 09:31:53 PM PDT