Lobbyist Access to White House Revealed in Logs (Update1)

By Michael Forsythe and Catherine Dodge

Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Anti-tax advocate and lobbyist Grover Norquist visited the White House at least 74 times over the last five years, according to Secret Service logs released yesterday that illustrate the access that he and other Bush administration allies enjoyed.

Norquist was one of nine people with links to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff who were listed in the 1,646 pages of documents showing dates and times of appointments registered with the Secret Service.

Lobbyists who worked with Abramoff, including Tony Rudy, Neil Volz, Kevin Ring and Shawn Vasell, had among them at least 70 appointments at the White House from 2001 to 2005, according an administration official who briefed reporters on the documents. Records released earlier this year show Abramoff had at least seven White House appointments from 2001 to 2004.

The files were released by the Bush administration to settle a lawsuit filed by the Democratic National Committee. Democrats have sought to link President George W. Bush's administration with Abramoff, 47, a Republican fund-raiser who pleaded guilty in January to conspiring to corrupt public officials and defrauding American Indian tribes that were his lobbying clients.

``This settles the claims brought by the DNC,'' White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

Battle Over Records

The DNC said that the records released aren't complete, because many other documents that would list appointments and visits were transferred by the Secret Service to the White House, making them exempt from disclosure. The Bush administration initially argued that some of the Secret Service records, including those of former Christian Coalition Executive Director Ralph Reed and Norquist, didn't have to be released because they involved policy discussions.

``By trying to extend a special privilege typically reserved for U.S. government employees to protect their Abramoff cronies like Grover Norquist, and Ralph Reed, the Bush administration showed just how willing they are to manipulate the law to hide the truth and protect their political interests,'' DNC spokeswoman Karen Finney said in a statement.

Among the appointments listed for Norquist, 49, was one on Feb. 4, 2005, with David Safavian, then the government's top procurement official. That was just weeks before Federal Bureau of Investigation agents interviewed Safavian, 39, to ask about his connections with Abramoff.

Prior Ties

Safavian had ties to Norquist pre-dating his job with the administration. He worked at a lobbying firm founded by Norquist called Janus-Merritt Strategies in Washington.

Safavian was convicted last June of making false statements about his relationship with Abramoff. Norquist's business ties to Abramoff were detailed during a June 2005 Senate hearing on the congressional influence peddling scandal.

The logs also show Norquist had at least four appointments in 2001 with Karl Rove, Bush's chief political adviser. Perino said Norquist is ``one of a number of individuals who worked to advance fiscal responsibility, which is one of the key aspects of the president's agenda.''

Norquist, founder and president of the advocacy group Americans for Tax Reform, didn't return two calls made to his Washington office seeking comment.

The documents list appointments on the White House grounds including the West Wing, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and the South Lawn. They give few details beyond names and times and dates. In some cases the records show whom the visitor was scheduled to meet.

Purpose of Visits

Some of the people listed, including Safavian and Assistant Labor Secretary Patrick Pizzella, made regular trips to the White House compound as part of their jobs. Pizzella, who once worked with Abramoff at a lobbying firm, hasn't been implicated in any Abramoff-related court case or other hearing.

Many of Norquist's visits may have been for large events. One, on June 7, 2001, coincided with Bush's signing a $1.35 trillion tax cut. He was cleared to enter the White House grounds a total of 97 times, according to the administration official. His visits are noted in summary sheets included with the documents at least 74 times.

A person named Michael Scanlon spent more than an hour on the White House grounds on Saturday, March 6, 2004, according to the logs. The records aren't clear whether he is the same Michael P.S. Scanlon who was a business partner of Abramoff and who pleaded guilty last November to conspiring to corrupt public officials. Another Washington lobbyist, Michael F. Scanlon, wasn't at the White House on that day, according to his office.

Rudy and Volz, who worked at Abramoff's lobbying firm, pleaded guilty to similar charges earlier this year.

Vasell and Ring are the two other lobbyists from Abramoff's firm, Greenberg Traurig LLP, whose names were listed on the White House logs. They haven't been charged with wrongdoing.

Request for Delay

Abramoff was set to start his prison sentence on Oct. 2. This week government lawyers asked a Miami judge to extend the date by three months because they were still interviewing him, according to Genevieve McGee, court deputy for U.S. District Judge Paul Huck. Huck hasn't ruled on the request.

The document release marks the third time this year that the Secret Service has released information about White House visits by Abramoff or his associates in response to demands from government watchdog groups and the Democratic National Committee.

The Abramoff corruption probe has ensnared members of Congress. Representative Robert Ney, an Ohio Republican, agreed to plead guilty last week to charges he accepted gifts and cash from Abramoff in exchange for legislative favors. Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Republican from Texas, resigned from Congress in part because of his relationship with Abramoff. He hasn't been charged in connection with the Abramoff case.

Bush has denied knowing Abramoff, saying at a Jan. 26 news conference, ``I, frankly, don't even remember having my picture taken with the guy.'' Time magazine in February published a photo of them together, which White House officials dismissed as one among hundreds of pictures the president poses for each year.

To contact the reporters on this story: Michael Forsythe in Washington at mforsythe@bloomberg.net ; Catherine Dodge in Washington at cdodge1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 21, 2006 13:00 EDT

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