From the Wall Street Journal:
Justice Probes Abramoff Ties
To White House
By SCOT J. PALTROW
April 16, 2007; Page A7
The Justice Department's Public Integrity Section is investigating connections between disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the White House, a probe that may be affected by missing White House emails.
Lawyers involved in the case said that beginning more than a year ago, federal prosecutors and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents interviewed Mr. Abramoff and other cooperating witnesses at length about
numerous contacts between Mr. Abramoff and White House officials, including presidential adviser Karl Rove.One focus of the Justice inquiry has been whether
Mr. Abramoff obtained official favors in exchange for giving Bush administration officials expensive meals and tickets to sporting events and concerts. The White House has denied this.
Disclosures last week that large numbers of Mr. Rove's White House email messages and those of other White House officials were erased and possibly permanently lost raised concern on Capitol Hill about possible destruction of evidence relevant to the Abramoff-White House inquiry.
People with direct knowledge of the investigation say that all of Mr. Abramoff's email correspondence was preserved and turned over to prosecutors, including those with the White House. But it isn't clear to what extent Mr. Rove and others in the White House may have exchanged messages among themselves, or with others outside, pertaining to Mr. Abramoff, and whether any of these may have been erased. The White House didn't respond to requests for comment.
Separately, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has been looking into Mr. Abramoff's links to the White House, and a spokesman for committee Chairman Henry Waxman said the congressman is concerned that lost emails may hinder the committee and Justice Department inquiries.
Nonpartisan watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government, or CREW, which last week disclosed that millions of emails may have been deleted from White House servers, also noted possible impact on the Abramoff investigations.
In October 2006, the then Republican-controlled House Government Reform Committee issued a report that Mr. Abramoff and his associates had more than 400 lobbying contacts with the White House, including at least 10 meetings with Mr. Rove, from 2001 through March 2004.
It hasn't been clear until now that the Justice Department followed up with its own inquiry into the disclosures.
Lawyers for several cooperating witnesses said they don't know if the lengthy questioning of their clients about White House ties to Mr. Abramoff have led prosecutors to any conclusion about whether criminal violations occurred. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment on the pending Abramoff-related investigations.
One individual debriefed at length by prosecutors and the FBI about Mr. Abramoff's White House relations is Susan Ralston, who was Mr. Abramoff's executive assistant before taking on a similar job for Mr. Rove at the White House. She resigned her White House job in October 2006 after disclosures that she had been the main go-between for the two men.
Ms. Ralston's lawyer, Bradford Berenson, said she is a cooperating witness and not a target in the case. He confirmed that she has answered questions about Mr. Abramoff's involvement with the White House, adding, "She's been interviewed numerous times by investigators looking into all aspects of the Abramoff affair."
Mr. Abramoff pleaded guilty in January 2006 to conspiracy to bribe public officials, including a member of Congress and several congressional staffers. He was sentenced to prison and, as required by his plea agreement, he has cooperated extensively with prosecutors.
Several former Abramoff associates who have pleaded guilty in related cases and are cooperating also have been questioned by prosecutors about Mr. Abramoff's ties to the White House.
Write to Scot J. Paltrow at scot.paltrow@wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117668592739670828-NtqMNcTNQjBgap7BI5jhmnL_xXM_20070423.html
