Photo shows Bush meeting Marianas governor (Abramoff client)

[rawstory]

Photograph shows Bush meeting now-Governor of Marianas Islands, who helped Abramoff get millions

John Byrne and Ron Brynaert

President Bush with Beningo Repeki FitialOn the heels of a Time Magazine article revealing the existence of photographs of President George W. Bush with fallen conservative superlobbyist Jack Abramoff, RAW STORY has found another photograph of Bush with a leading Abramoff client.

The President appears in a snapshot with Beningo Repeki Fitial, then-Speaker of the House for the Northern Marianas Islands. Fitial is vice president of Tan Holdings – the family conglomerate which owns numerous clothing factories on the islands that were a routine stop for Abramoff-flown lawmakers. Tan Holdings was one of the firms which made up the Saipan Garment Manufacturers’ Association, an Abramoff client.

He was also, incidentally, chairman of the Bush for President Committee for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
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The photograph appears to have been taken the same day Bush met Raul Garza Sr., the former chairman of the Texas Kickapoo tribe who Time says was photographed with Bush. Abramoff, once the largest lobbyist in Washington, pled guilty to bribery charges earlier this month and his work has drawn new scrutiny to D.C.'s $4 billion lobbying business.

Much more -- & photo at link: http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Photograph_shows_Bush_meeting_nowGovernor_of_0123.html

[havocmom]

1. Hey Raw Story: Great Catch!

can we get this on greatest page and keep it kicked for a day or 5?

[pk_du]

2. and dont forget he's an ex-employee (VP) of "Tan Holdings" n/t

[dave29]

3. I did not know that Beningo

or have reltaions with his lobbyist

[MercutioATC]

4. Worthless.

Bush didn't say that he didn't recall meeting Fitial or Garza. He said that he didn't recall meeting Abramoff. Abramoff associates don't count. We need proof that Bush met Abramoff in something other than a group setting or that he knew him. Nothing else really matters.

[YOY]

6. Good point

Guilt by association won't work here. Many seem to forget that.

[Little Star]

7. Jacko was part of Bush's transition team in 2000

And one of Bush's top Pioneers. Sure Bush doesn't know him.

[MercutioATC]

8. Prove it.

I agree with you, but conjecture gets us nowhere. We need proof, not mere evidence. A picture of them together in a non-public setting, correspondence...that sort of thing.

[StuckinKS]

21. Well...

I suppose it's conceivable we could find a blue dress in Bush's closet with Jack Abramoff spunk on it.

[Little Star]

22. Proof????

Will this do? There are more links at the bottom.

The Washington Post.com
By E. J. Dionne Jr.
Friday, January 6, 2006; A19


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/05/AR2006010501903_pf.html

snip>
Roll Call reported on March 12, 2001, that "GOP leaders on and off Capitol Hill are organizing a new drive to lean on major corporations and trade associations to hire Republicans for their top lobbying jobs." The article spoke of a "Who's Who of Republican lobbyists" who had held a meeting on the subject the week before. At the top of the list was Jack Abramoff.

Abramoff was always there for his party, with sound bites as well as money. In a May 2, 2001, article in the Hill newspaper (it ran under a wonderful headline: "Lobbyists Approve of Bush's Businesslike Style"), reporter Melanie Fonder noted that "Abramoff said the Bush team's careful and deliberate approach to leadership is the exact opposite of the Clinton team."

She quoted Abramoff directly: "The feeding frenzy which started even before Clinton was inaugurated, and continued to the final pardon, was perhaps best exemplified by the reckless and unprofessional handling of his responsibility to appoint honorable public servants."

This careful judge of what it means to be an "honorable public servant" had reason to prefer the Bush administration's taste in appointees. After the 2000 election, Abramoff was named to the Bush transition team for the Interior Department, which regulates the Indian casinos that paid Abramoff his inflated fees.

"What the Republicans need is 50 Jack Abramoffs," his friend Grover Norquist told National Journal in 1995. "Then this becomes a different town." Norquist got his different town. It's why the place so badly needs cleaning up. snip<

Also:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/12/15/233135/47

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/007397.php

http://www.texasobserver.org/showForPrint_new.asp?ArticleID=13

There is more if you google.

[MercutioATC]

23. That's all evidence, but not PROOF.

Abramoff was on the transition team so Bush MUST have known him? No proof of that.

Abramoff had over 200 contacts with the WH so some of them HAD to have been conversations with Bush? No proof of that, either.

Abramoff was a major fundraiser and was at gatherings of fundraisers that were also attended by Bush so Bush MOST have known him? Nope, no PROOF.


Proof would constitute some recording (photo, video, etc) of a private meeting between the two, correspondence between the two, or a Bush quote directly naming Abramoff. I haven't seen any of that yet. Without that, we really just have conjecture and unverified (and unverifiable) statements.

[Little Star]

24. OK I cry uncle.

I really do get what you mean. I think it will come out in the not to far future. At least I pray it will.

[MercutioATC]

25. I'm with you. I think the proof is there, we just don't have it yet.

:hi:

[YOY]

9. Yes, but that's not the topic of the conversation

Bush's relationship with Beningo Repeki Fitial as direct evidence of he and Jack knowing each other IS THE TOPIC! This relationship is not direct evidence, but guilt by association. There must be direct evidence, but this is not it!

[onenote]

14. I believe that chimpy was quite familiar with Mr. Abramoff, but

the fact that he was on the transition team doesn't prove much. There were nearly 500 transition team members and, based on experience from the Clinton administration, not everyone who gets invited to be on these teams necessarily is that tight with the pres.

As I said, I think chimpy was quite familiar with Mr. Abramoff, but we still have to find something more solid than the fact he was on the transition.

oneto

[cantstandbush]

11. Oh, yes it will. Republicans do it all the time. n/t

[YOY]

27. Yes, but they are idiots who accept faulty logic. We're not. n/t

[EST]

10. It may not add a big indictment of the booshvict junta...

but, in terms of one more straw on the camel or one more bucketful behind the dam, the trickle becomes a torrent. In this ethically challenged nation, one single, bright strike just won't do it. So many times, in the last five years, we've just known the latest example of abject corruption would bring this morally derelict regime to a shuddering stop - and in normal times, it would have - only to discover that the next bigger scandal covered up the previous one and the deterioration continued. They need to ride their own water board, with too much of their own disgusting koolaid to keep swallowing.

[Blue_Roses]

5. there is so much scandal coming from

this WH that it's hard to keep up with it all:eyes:

[Tight_rope]

12. Well that's just one of many more photo's to come!

[chat_noir]

13. Marianas Mafia?

GOVERNOR-ELECT Benigno R. Fitial says he will cooperate with federal authorities in the ongoing investigation of Rep. Tom Delay and former Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, whom he once described as his “close friends.”

SNIP

In 1999, Mr. Abramoff's contract with the CNMI government was suspended, with no clear prospect of renewal.1 At the same time, an Abramoff supporter, Mr. Benigno Fitial, was a candidate for Speaker of the CNMI's House of Representatives. Mr. Fitial, however, was two votes behind his opponent, Mr. Heinz S. Hofschneider, according to press reports of a letter signed by 10 out of the 12 CNMI Republican House members in support of Mr. Hofschneider, including Representative Alejo Mendiola and Representative Norman S. Palacios. These 10 Republican legislators were enough to secure Mr. Hofschneider the election.2

New reports by the Los Angeles Times and Marianas Variety confirm that in 1999 Mr. Fitial did indeed meet with Mr. Buckham and Mr. Scanlon - who was still on Mr. DeLay's payroll at the time. At the meeting, Mr. Fitial recommended that the two men meet with Representatives Mendiola and Palacios, both of whom had signed the letter in support of Mr. Hofschneider, to encourage them to switch their votes for Speaker.3

When Mr. Scanlon and Mr. Buckham met with the two legislators, they reportedly promised to help secure money for local projects in exchange for their votes for Mr. Fitial, including federal resources for repairing a breakwater on the island of Tinian, a priority for Mr. Palacios. They were successful, and Mr. Fitial was elected Speaker. Mr. Abramoff's contract was subsequently renewed.4

much more here:
http://www.dccc.org/stakeholder/archives/004025.html

[Judi Lynn]

15. Here's a tiny photo of Fitial with Conrad Burns, and also with Tom Delay

http://www.saipantribune.com/archives/defaultarch.aspx?archdte=4/6/2001%2012:00:00%20AM

I don't know how to make them larger....

[Judi Lynn]

16. Creepy description of Fitial's special skills.....

In a mock legislative hearing held at the Aqua Resort last Saturday, workshop participants were divided into two groups lobbying for and against H.B. 14-61, a bill to extend to two years the privilege of having nonresident workers with special skills and qualifications to fill hard-to-fill vacant positions within the Public School System in the areas of Special Education and foreign language.



"House Speaker Fitial was part of our mock hearing," said Thomas J. Camacho, the executive director for the CNMI Council on Developmental Disabilities. "He was briefed that this venue participants understand what to expect when advocating for a bill in the future."

Fitial served as a resource to workshop participants by listening to both groups and provided feedback on how to effectively lobby for desired legislation. He listened to the presentations of both groups and determined which group delivered the stronger, more persuasive, presentation.

House leadership spokesman Charles P. Reyes Jr. noted that Fitial is well versed on the subject of lobbying for needed legislation, having served as Speaker of the House in the 3rd, 12th, and 14th CNMI Legislatures.

"Speaker Fitial knows a thing or two about lobbying for legislation and was delighted by Tom Camacho's invitation to share his knowledge and experience with disability advocates," Reyes added.

In his letter accepting Camacho's invitation, Fitial noted that he preferred the workshop's innovative interactive approach to a traditional presentation and accepted the invitation as a contributing panelist or role player rather than as a formal guest speaker.
(snip/...)

http://www.saipantribune.com/archives/newsstoryarch.aspx?cat=1&newsID=41302&archdte=10/22/2004%2012:00:00%20AM

[Judi Lynn]

18. More on Burns' relationship with Fitial. Should be big in Montana.

Donation follows Burns’ meeting

By Jennifer McKee - 01/21/2006

HELENA — U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., met with a Marianas official with close ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff in the weeks before Burns received an Abramoff-related $5,000 contribution from the Marianas and reversed his earlier position on a bill about the islands.
The politician, Gov. Benigno Fitial, has said he will cooperate with the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into potential bribery of public officials involving Abramoff, a man Fitial once described as a “close friend,’’ according to Pacific Magazine, a Hawaii publication that covers the Pacific region.

Burns, who a little more than a year before had not opposed an identical Marianas measure, voted against a bill in May 2001 that would have strengthened U.S. oversight over the commonwealth’s labor and immigration laws. He has come under scrutiny for changing his position on the bill after receiving the donation, which came from an Abramoff client.
(snip)

Burns has said the money had nothing to do with his 2001 stance on the bill. Rather, the senator told Lee Newspapers this month he was persuaded to vote against the measure after reading two government reports about the islands and meeting with Fitial, who was then speaker of the Marianas House of Representatives.

Initially, Burns said he didn’t know why he adopted his later position on the bill.

Burns’ records show the senator met with Fitial for 15 minutes on the afternoon of April 3, 2001.
(snip/...)

http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2006/01/21/newsstate/hjjdjihijjgafh.txt

[Ronbrynaert]

26. cool

Dr. Rita Inos was his running mate when he ran for governor that year.

[rainbow4321]

17. Fitial is "cooperating" w/ the Justice Dept investigation

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2048796&mesg_id=2059229


The politician, Gov. Benigno Fitial, has said he will cooperate with the Justice Department's ongoing investigation into potential bribery of public officials involving Abramoff, a man Fitial once described as a “close friend,” according to Pacific Magazine, a Hawaii publication that covers the Pacific region. Burns' records show the senator met with Fitial for 15 minutes on the afternoon of April 3, 2001.

Campaign finance records and reports in Pacific Magazine show Fitial is a former executive of Tan Holdings. Eloy Inos, another Tan Holdings executive, donated $5,000 to Burns' Friends of the Big Sky on April 20, 2001, a little more than two weeks after Fitial's meeting with the senator.

[nautibits]

19. THATS THE SMOKING GUN WE NEED

LETS FIND MORE PICS LIKE THAT

[Judi Lynn]

20. Great timeline on Abuses of the Northern Marianas Islands starts with

a very important item:

Timeline on the Abuses in the Northern Mariana Islands
• Early 1990s: US Rep. George Miller (D-CA), works to stop the sweatshop exploitation going on in the Northern Mariana Islands.

• Oct. 11, 1995: Abramoff sends a Mariana Islands official a letter about a Washington Times newspaper article praising the island commonwealth's economy and attributing it to a lack of federal control over the territory. Abramoff tells the official he will try to call her "this evening after I return from an event for Majority Whip DeLay, where I shall give him a copy of the article!"

• 1996: Jack Abramoff is hired by the Commonwealth of Marianas Islands' Governor Frolian Tenorio, and the Saipan Garment Manufacturers Association, a trade group. The two groups paid Abramoff's firm $4.5 million. Abramoff billed the territorial government more than $350,000 for travel expenses from visits from several members of Congress, including DeLay. Abramoff was hired to help protect the 1986 Charter of the Commonwealth, which allowed the territory to create its own immigration and minimum wage regulations. The loose immigration policies allowed the territory to pay the workers $3.10 an hour, and allowed to them to import foreign workers and garments by luring workers to Saipan to work in the abysmal conditions and their territorial status allowed the manufacturers to claim the garments were "Made in the USA." For a $2,000 -5,000 fee, the foreign workers were lured to Saipan for a chance to work in "America" and many of the women were forced in prostitution. ABC's 20/20 expose, "The Shame of Saipan," aired on May 24, 1999 cast the national spot light on the abuses going on in Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands.

• Sept. 5, 1996: Abramoff writes Mariana Islands Gov. Froilan Tenorio a letter telling him Abramoff and his lobbying team have so far been successful in blocking a congressional measure they view as unfavorable to the islands, though it's not over yet. "Getting the bill off the schedule for next week, however, should enable us to use our connections within the leadership to ensure that, even if the Resource Committee does pass the delegate bill out of committee, it will not come to the floor.
(snip)

and ends with the Republicans very much in charge:

• 7/26/2001: George Miller introduces HR 2661, which would prohibit the factories in the Northern Mariana Islands to use the "Made in the USA" label if they operated under sweatshop conditions. The bill was referred to the Committee on Trade and never brought to a vote.

• 10/3/2002: Concorde Garment Manufacturing Corporation, a company headed by Willie Tan, gives $25,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee.
(snip/...)

http://www.cleanercongress.org/documents/timeline-marianas.php

Remember Rep. George Miller has been on this for years, and not working to line his pockets, like the Republicans.



Rep. George Miller, California

[Catrina]

28. Miller, one of the heroes in all this corruption ~ he fought hard

for the victims of the sweatshop owners. I wonder if he knew at the time, what he was up against?

I read passionate speeches he made on the floor of Congress regarding these abuses. Once again, the media failed to report the fight for human rights going on right here in our country. With the help of the Republican Party, the abuse continued.

I hope this is brought up again now. It's a great time to get a bill passed instituting a minimum wage and stopping the criminal abuse of those working for the likes of Bush's friends, the Tan family ~

[Judi Lynn]

30. You're right. The timing could never be better. n/t

[Fuzz]

29. Abramoff related meeting? If the media allows the term Abramoff related

money going to Democrats, they should be saying "Abramoff related meeting" just as frequently.

[donkeyotay]

31. When the full extent of GOP corruption comes to light

we can thank the likes of rawstory for connecting the dots. Here, let me beat the rush and say, "thank you."