Abramoff Probe Again Brushes Ehrlich Aide

Lobbyist Sought to Direct $9 Million to Miller's Former Company, Papers Show

By Matthew Mosk
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 11, 2005; B03



The Silver Spring company once owned by a top aide to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has surfaced again in disclosures about the federal investigation into Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Documents recently released by a U.S. Senate committee investigating Abramoff offered evidence that Abramoff attempted to direct millions of dollars in fees to Grassroots Interactive, a firm founded in May 2003 by Edward B. Miller, who later became deputy chief of staff to the Republican governor.

The documents, as reported yesterday in the New York Times, showed that on Aug. 7, 2003, Abramoff drew up a draft contract with the African nation of Gabon that called for $9 million in fees to be paid to Grassroots Interactive. The contract was never signed.

This disclosure comes after the September testimony of a former Tyco International Ltd. official, who revealed that Abramoff asked client Tyco to send Grassroots Interactive a $2 million payment, purportedly for lobbying work.

A federal grand jury issued a subpoena this summer to Miller, who stepped down as the company's resident agent in September 2003 after taking a job with the Ehrlich administration.

Miller was traveling in Israel with Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele yesterday and could not be reached. His attorney, Aron U. Raskas, responded to questions with a brief statement by e-mail.

"Mr. Miller was not connected in any way to, nor did he have any knowledge whatsoever of, any proposal or project relating to Gabon," Raskas wrote.

A spokesman for Ehrlich said the governor would not expand on a statement his office released in September. It said Ehrlich "is aware that Ed has been extremely helpful to the [Abramoff] investigation" and remains "a valued member of our team."

The spokesman would not say whether the governor had personal knowledge of Miller's activities with Grassroots Interactive.

Democrats in Annapolis said Ehrlich should be more forthcoming. "I think the governor should be on top of this and ask Ed Miller to come clean or ask him to resign," Terry Lierman, chairman of the Maryland Democratic Party, said. "There's a lot of smoke. I haven't seen any fire yet, but that's why he needs to explain it."

Abramoff and his wife, who live in Maryland, donated $16,000 to Ehrlich's 2002 campaign and $7,750 to the Maryland Republican Party, according to state records. Abramoff also was a guest at the governor's December 2003 Hanukkah party at the executive mansion.

Abramoff, under indictment on wire fraud and conspiracy charges in Florida, remains the focus of a lengthy investigation by a task force led by prosecutors at the Justice Department that also includes investigators at the Internal Revenue Service and the Interior Department.

The probe has focused on whether Abramoff bilked Native American tribes that paid him tens of millions of dollars in lobbying and other fees, as well as other matters.

Staff writer John Wagner contributed to this report.


© 2005 The Washington Post Company

The Raw Story | Democrats ask White House to turn over Abramoff-related documents

Filed by RAW STORY


House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and the ranking Democrat on the Government Reform Committee, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), have asked White House counsel Harriet Miers to provide Congress with documents relating to lobbyist Jack Abramoff's request for $9 million to arrange a meeting between President Bush and the President of Gabon, RAW STORY has learned.

The New York Times reported in Thursday's paper that President Bush met with Gabon's President Omar Bongo in May 2004, ten months after lobbyist Jack Abramoff asked President Bongo for $9 million to arrange such a meeting.

The White House said the meeting was part of an outreach to African leaders and that Abramoff played no role in the deal.

Their letter follows.

#
November 11, 2005


Ms. Harriet Miers
Counsel to the President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500


Dear Ms. Miers:

Yesterday's New York Times reported that President Bush met with Gabon's President Omar Bongo in May 2004, ten months after lobbyist Jack Abramoff asked President Bongo for $9 million to arrange such a meeting. Mr. Abramoff's offer and the size of the requested payment raise questions about what role Mr. Abramoff may have played in the scheduling of this meeting between President Bush and President Bongo.

We are writing to request that you provide us with all White House and State Department documents and correspondence regarding the arrangement of the meeting.

According to the Times, a draft agreement between Mr. Abramoff and Gabon dated August 7, 2003, asked for $9 million in lobbying fees to pay for a "public relations effort related to promoting Gabon and securing a visit for President Bongo with the President of the United States."[1] The Times reports that this draft agreement came just 10 days after Mr. Abramoff wrote to President Bongo on July 28, 2003, suggesting that "he had unusual influence to arrange a meeting with President Bush." In that letter, Mr. Abramoff noted: "Without advance resources, I have been cautiously working to obtain a visit for the president to Washington to see President Bush."

White House spokesman Trent Duffy told the Times that arrangements for the visit by the President of Gabon were not unusual and went through "normal staffing channels." However, it is impossible for Congress and the public to assess this assertion without access further documentation from the White House.

We therefore request the following documents:

· All records relating to any contacts or communications between White House staff and Jack Abramoff, the firm Greenberg Traurig, and the firm GrassRoots Interactive regarding a visit by representatives of Gabon.

· All records relating to any contacts or communications between the State Department and Jack Abramoff, the firm Greenberg Traurig, and the firm GrassRoots Interactive regarding a visit by representatives of Gabon.

· All records relating to any direct contacts or communications between White House staff and representatives of Gabon.

· All records relating to any direct contacts or communications between the State Department and representatives of Gabon.

We request that you provide these materials by November 30, 2005.

Sincerely,

Nancy Pelosi
House Democratic Leader

Henry A. Waxman Ranking Member Government Reform Committee