White House Fails Self-Examination
By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
A glimpse of what "internal review" means to this White House supports the theory that top Bush aides have little interest in self-examination or public disclosure.
After a Sept. 2006 Congressional report based on records from convicted influence peddler Jack Abramoff's lobbying firm revealed 485 contacts between Abramoff and his associates and White House officials, then-press secretary Tony Snow promised White House lawyers would take a "good hard look" at the relationship with Abramoff. "We'll let you know what they found out," Snow said. "That's an important concern, and it's worth looking into."
Four days later, an assistant to political guru Karl Rove was jettisoned from the White House. Susan Ralston, who had worked for Abramoff before Rove, had accepted tickets to nine events from her old boss while providing him information and access.
And with that, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino announced: Our review of the House Government Reform Committee's report is complete. . . . We expect nothing more after our thorough review."
How thorough was that review? A new Abramoff report released by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee yesterday -- this one based on documents and testimony from White House officials -- finds no evidence of any review at all.
(Continued here.)
Special to washingtonpost.com
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
A glimpse of what "internal review" means to this White House supports the theory that top Bush aides have little interest in self-examination or public disclosure.
After a Sept. 2006 Congressional report based on records from convicted influence peddler Jack Abramoff's lobbying firm revealed 485 contacts between Abramoff and his associates and White House officials, then-press secretary Tony Snow promised White House lawyers would take a "good hard look" at the relationship with Abramoff. "We'll let you know what they found out," Snow said. "That's an important concern, and it's worth looking into."
Four days later, an assistant to political guru Karl Rove was jettisoned from the White House. Susan Ralston, who had worked for Abramoff before Rove, had accepted tickets to nine events from her old boss while providing him information and access.
And with that, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino announced: Our review of the House Government Reform Committee's report is complete. . . . We expect nothing more after our thorough review."
How thorough was that review? A new Abramoff report released by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee yesterday -- this one based on documents and testimony from White House officials -- finds no evidence of any review at all.
(Continued here.)
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