You can tell in the grip and how he grasps Beningo's, 'Benni''s, elbow and how all the others in the background are so happy to see the two of them 'exchange pleasantries'. After all, 'Benni' may be a foreigner, and sweat-shop owner, but he's a big-dollar campaign contributor and he real big buddy of Jack Abramoff.
On the heels of a Time Magazine article revealing the existence of photographs of President George W. Bush with fallen conservative superlobbyist Jack Abramoff, RAW STORY has found another photograph of Bush with a leading Abramoff client. The President appears in a snapshot with Beningo Repeki Fitial, then-Speaker of the House for the Northern Marianas Islands. Fitial is vice president of Tan Holdings – the family conglomerate which owns numerous clothing factories on the islands that were a routine stop for Abramoff-flown lawmakers. Tan Holdings was one of the firms which made up the Saipan Garment Manufacturers’ Association, an Abramoff client. He was also, incidentally, chairman of the Bush for President Committee for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. ...The AP reported last May that records show Abramoff’s Marianas lobbying team met members of the Bush Administration at least 195 times between February through November 2001. “The documents show his team also had extensive access to Bush administration officials, meeting with Cheney policy advisers Ron Christie and Stephen Ruhlen, Ashcroft at the Justice Department, White House intergovernmental affairs chief Ruben Barrales, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, Deputy Interior Secretary Steven Griles and others,” the AP wrote. A month before Bush was photographed with Fitial, the president appointed Patrick Pizzella, a former Abramoff lieutenant, as Deputy Undersecretary of Labor. Pizzella had aggressively worked the Marianas account with Abramoff, leaving his retinue just months before. According to the New Republic, the former conservative lobbyist handpicked Pizzella for his Marianas lobbying team. A 2001 report by The New Republic indicates Pizzella made a whirlwind number of trips with congressmen to the islands, saying he extended personal invitations to at least 11 members of Congress. The Wall Street Journal estimated that 100 representatives visited the islands during Pizzella's tenure. It's unknown who paid for these trips, or even who these congressmembers are. Abramoff praised Bush’s appointment of Pizzella in a letter to the Commonwealth. Notably, Abramoff seemed to reference Pizzella’s new post in a January 2001 letter even though he wasn’t officially appointed until April 2001. "Our standing with the new administration promises to be solid as several friends of the CNMI (islands) will soon be taking high-ranking positions in the Administration, including within the Interior Department," Abramoff wrote. Former DeLay aides, Fitial got Abramoff Marianas contract Along with two former aides to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), Fitial helped Abramoff sink the Marianas lobbying deal. “Using promises of U.S. tax dollars as bartering chips, [former DeLay chief of staff] Edwin A. Buckham and Michael Scanlon traveled to these remote Pacific islands in late 1999 to convince two local legislators to switch their votes for speaker of the territory's 18-member House of Representatives,” the Los Angeles Times revealed in May 2005. “They succeeded.” Benigno Fitial was “an underdog contender” for speaker of the House, the Times wrote. DeLay’s former aides targeted two key members of the legislature and promised to help get money for needed projects, ensuring their support for Fitial. Soon thereafter, the Fitial-led House passed two resolutions enjoining the island’s governor to hire a lobbyist, “including a July 26, 2000, resolution calling for selection of Abramoff's firm,” the Times wrote. A few days later, the island’s governor, Pedro Tenorio, hired the firm for $100,000 a month. Fitial defended Abramoff earlier this month The photograph of Bush and Fitial is sure to drag the president into a new firestorm over his connections to Abramoff and his clients. The Marianas have since accused Abramoff and his staff of overcharging the islands for some $1.2 million in unsupported expenses. The charges included travel, telephone, photocopy, computer research and outside-professional fees. Pizzella was not named by auditors, though was among the most traveled members of Abramoff’s group. But this didn’t stop now-Governor Fitial from defending Abramoff just last week when asked if he regretted working with the lobbyist. “I will not comment about what Abramoff did outside of the commonwealth,” Fitial told the Marianas Variety Online. “But if you ask me what he did for the commonwealth, (Abramoff) protected our Covenant.” Covenant is Fitial's political party. Fitial was elected governor of the Northern Marianas in November.
