U.S. House requests Abramoff documents

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- The chairman of a U.S. congressional oversight committee requested that the White House hand over documents withheld in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.

Rep. Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif., called on the White House to release 600 pages of documents withheld in the investigation by the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee into contacts Abramoff, a former lobbyist, had with White House officials, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

Waxman’s letter to White House Counsel Fred Fielding said the investigatory body would consider examining the documents first to assess their applicability to the investigation.

Fielding expressed favor to Waxman’s flexibility, stating the White House would “seek to accommodate our respective interests in the documents we have withheld.”

The White House previously refused to release documents that contain “internal deliberations among White House employees, or that otherwise implicate Executive Branch prerogatives,” the Post said.

Waxman’s letter alleges that senior White House officials had regular contact with Abramoff.

Abramoff pleaded guilty in 2006 to felony charges relating to defrauding American Indian tribes and the bribery of public officials.