No evidence Abramoff swayed Bush
Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff influenced some White House decisions by lavishing exclusive sports tickets and meals on political staff members, but there is no evidence that President Bush was involved, a congressional panel said in a draft report.
The findings of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, led by Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills), show that the White House had more contacts with Abramoff than it had acknowledged. But investigators said they found no evidence that Abramoff lobbied Bush on the six occasions the two met nor that the president took action in response to any request from the lobbyist, now in prison for fraud.
Abramoff’s activities are the subject of an ongoing federal investigation that has yielded more than a dozen convictions of congressional aides, lobbyists and public officials.
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