Over the weekend, the Times of London reported that Bush fundraiser and federal lobbyist, Stephen Payne, was caught on tape offering access to White House officials, including Dick Cheney or Condoleezza Rice, in exchange for “six-figure donations to the private library being set up to commemorate Bush’s presidency.”
Yesterday, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino tried to downplay the long relationship between Payne and Bush, saying only that the President had “probably met [Payne] on a number of occasions.” When asked if the public would be allowed access to the White House visitor logs to “show whether or not” Payne had brought clients to the White House, Perino demurred: "I’d have to check with counsel’s office. And, obviously, we’ve been down this road before with visitor logs. And there’s lawsuits and things. So I’ll have to check with (inaudible) visitors’ log."
As you remember, this newly exposed case of bribery caught on videotape by this very close associate and mega-fundraiser for Bush and his gang, Stephen Payne, is felony count #687 for those of you at home keeping score.
