Following Mr. Abramoff's guilty plea in January, President Bush and other top White House officials issued repeated statements that Mr. Abramoff was a virtual stranger to the White House. The documents reviewed by the Committee tell a different story. They show that between January 2001 and March 2004, there were 485 lobbying contacts between Mr. Abramoff and his associates and White House officials.

These documents, if accurate, provide evidence that White House officials took multiple actions that benefited Mr. Abramoff and his clients, including:  ensuring the release of $16 million for the construction of a jail for the Mississippi Band of the Choctaw; pressuring a Senate office to advance legislation to resolve a land dispute affecting the Sandia Pueblo of New Mexico; endorsing or declining to endorse political candidates; and intervening to secure the termination of a State Department employee who had taken positions contrary to those advocated by Mr. Abramoff.

In addition, the records indicate that Mr. Abramoff and his associates billed clients over $24,000 for meals and drinks with White House officials and offered White House officials tickets to 19 events, including floor seats to Wizards games and tickets to U2 and Bruce Springsteen concerts.  At current prices, the face value of some of the tickets exceeded $1,000.