Demagogue

It took a lawsuit to force the White House to finally release its logs tracking visits by the cronies or associates of Jack Abramoff. What did these logs show? According to the Los Angeles Times:

All told, nine people associated with Abramoff or others linked to recent corruption scandals paid 236 visits to the White House from 2001 to the beginning of 2006, according to the records.

The account of the visits fleshes out well-established connections between figures in the Abramoff scandal and the White House.

... The records show that (Grover) Norquist was cleared for 97 White House visits and (Ralph) Reed 18. A Senate investigation reported in June that Abramoff worked with Norquist and Reed to help fund an Indian tribe's lobbying on gambling issues.

... Among those whose White House visits were made public were Tony Rudy and Neil G. Volz. Rudy, who was an aide to former Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), pleaded guilty in federal court here to a charge of conspiracy in connection with the Abramoff scandal. He admitted accepting favors, cash and other gifts while working in DeLay's House leadership office and after leaving to become a lobbyist.

Volz, once a top aide to Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) and then an associate of Abramoff, admitted that he took illegal gifts while he was a federal employee ...

In May, the Secret Service released logs showing two visits by Abramoff himself, but the president of the conservative group Judicial Watch (one of 2 groups seeking the logs) said there is "reason to believe there are additional details about Jack Abramoff's visits to the White House that have not been disclosed."

White House aides have already confirmed that Abramoff attended holiday parties and some "staff-level meetings" that also are not documented in the logs.