Susan Ralston, special assistant to President Bush resigned Friday "in the wake of a congressional report that listed hundreds of contacts between disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the White House.... Critics have pointed to Ralston as evidence that Rove - and thus Bush - are possibly closer to Abramoff than the White House has acknowledged. Ralston was Abramoff's administrative assistant at his lobbying firm and, after Bush took office, assumed the same post with Rove. "
Photo credit: George Bush & Susan Ralston. (ThinkProgress.org)
Also see:
- Rolling Stone : Connecting the Dots: Abramoff and Rove
- Capitol Hill Blue: Stealth resignation
"The White House finally caught a break on scandals. Thanks to the uproar over former GOP Rep. Mark Foley's steamy e-mails, the departure of a top aide to White House political guru Karl Rove passed, as planned, almost unnoticed....
Before joining the Bush White House "as the right hand to the president's closest adviser," as The Washington Post described her job, Ralston had worked for Jack Abramoff, a prominent lobbyist with extensive Republican connections who has since been convicted in an influence peddling scandal.
Abramoff continued to contact Ralston in her new position and she, at least occasionally, passed on inside information to her former boss, according to a report by the House Government Reform Committee.
The report said Abramoff's records claimed 485 contacts with the White House over three years. The report did not say how many were real and substantive and how many might have been Abramoff boasting to clients but it is clear that his contacts were more extensive than the White House let on...." - The White House and Mr. Abramoff - New York Times
"The sordid Mark Foley controversy has diverted public attention from another major Washington ethics scandal - the influence peddling involving the disgraced former superlobbyist Jack Abramoff. That's good news for the Bush administration, given freshly heightened suspicion that its dealings with Mr. Abramoff and his sleazy K Street operation were far cozier than it is willing to admit."
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