Waxman: White House Withholding Abramoff Docs

[cal04]

Even though Jack Abramoff is about to celebrate his one year anniversary of reporting to prison, House sleuth Henry Waxman (D-CA) hasn't forgotten about the convicted briber.

Oversight committee chairman Waxman is continuing to press for evidence of the lobbyist's ties to the White House, and in a letter to White House counsel Fred Fielding today, he reveals that that the administration has turned over 3,700 pages of documents related to Abramoff, but refused to turn over 600 pages more, because they “contain internal deliberations among White House employees, or that otherwise implicate Executive Branch prerogatives.”

Waxman tells the White House to either follow through and claim executive privilege for the documents or hand them over. He also muses with (one imagines) a crafty grin, "Given the prior statements by White House officials, it is surprising that there would be this volume of documents of internal deliberations involving Mr. Abramoff."

The scandal created when Waxman released a report last year about Abramoff's significant contacts with the White House forced the resignation of Karl Rove's aide Susan Ralston (who also, coincidentally, used to be Abramoff's personal assistant). Our favorite revelation remains an email where one of Abramoff's associates calls then-White House political director Ken Mehlman a "rock star" for being such a helpful ally.

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004615.php

[simmonsj811]

1. aahhh to hell with it

they ain't giving up $hit alright already :wtf:

[aquart]

2. I don't care if we impeach on his last day in office.

But it needs to be done.

[Bandit]

3. I think if I was a lazy staffer I would abslutely hate being on Waxman's staff

Lazy staffers belong on GOP staffs where no real work gets done and lots of bennies show up in greased palms. Waxman's staff must go twenty-four hours a day because they sure have a lot of irons in the fire..

[The Stranger]

4. What does the Nancy Disaster think about all of this?

[Rageneau]

5. Can we 'waterboard' these docs out of them?

Even if we can't I'd like to try.