White House Names Names in Abramoff Scandal

ABC News
White House Names Names in Abramoff Scandal
The Associated Press

— - The Bush administration on Wednesday released records showing White House appointments landed by several figures in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Among them:

--Conservative anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, who was cleared for 97 visits to the White House complex between 2001 and 2006, including a half-dozen events with the president.

-- Republican activist Ralph Reed, former head of the Christian Coalition, who had 18 appointments, including two events with Bush.

-- Former Abramoff lobbying associate Neil Volz, a former aide to Ohio Republican Rep. Bob Ney, with 18 appointments. Volz has pleaded guilty to conspiring to corrupt Ney and others with trips and other largess.

-- Former Abramoff lobbying colleague Shawn Vasell, who also had 18. Two were Bush events, likely a February bill signing and a Ford's Theatre gala, that occurred this year, when Vasell was no longer working with Abramoff.

--Abramoff business partner Michael Scanlon, a former aide to then-Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, who may have had one appointment. The White House couldn't say for certain whether the name in the Secret Service log was the same person. Scanlon has pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe public officials while lobbying on behalf of Indian tribes.

--Tony Rudy, a former DeLay aide and Abramoff lobbying team member, had 13, none with Bush. Rudy has pleaded guilty to conspiring with Abramoff.

-- Former Abramoff lobbying associate Kevin Ring, a former aide to California Republican Rep. John Doolittle, who had 21, none with Bush.

--Two former Abramoff lobbying colleagues who joined Bush's administration, David Safavian and Patrick Pizzella, show up in the appointment logs often. Pizzella, an assistant secretary of labor, had 48, none with Bush. Among the many meetings for Safavian, a former Bush administration procurement official who pleaded guilty to trying to hide his dealings with Abramoff, just one was with Bush, a 2004 event that likely was an employee holiday reception.