A US newsmagazine published a photo of President George W. Bush with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, but said the White House continued to assert Bush did not recall having met him.


President Bush shaking hands in 2001 with Chief Raul Garza of the Kickapoo tribe of Texas. In the background at left is the lobbyist Jack Abramoff; Karl Rove, the president"s top adviser, is at the right.

<##IMAGE##>Time"s online edition, at www.time.com, said it was the first published photo showing Bush with Abramoff, at a meeting in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House on May 9, 2001.

The publication of the photo came amid a mushrooming scandal of influence-peddling in Washington, and threatened to raise fresh questions about Abramoff"s link to the Republican administration.

The once-powerful lobbyist on January 3 pleaded guilty to conspiracy, fraud, and tax evasion linked to his Washington lobbying activities.

The photo shows Abramoff in the background as Bush greets one of Abramoff"s clients, Time said.

The magazine in January revealed the existence of photos showing the president with Abramoff, but did not publish them.

"We were only allowed to view the photos before. As soon as we could publish, we did," Time spokesman Ty Trippet told AFP.

In its online edition Saturday, Time reported: "The White House, however, has continued to assert that the president had no recollection of ever meeting Abramoff."

Shown the photograph, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the White House had "found no record of Abramoff"s presence but confirmed that it is Abramoff in the picture," Time said.

Asked to comment on the report, a White House spokeswoman told AFP: "The photo is not relevant to the Justice Department investigation" of Abramoff.

"The president dropped by a meeting of some two dozen state legislators in 2001 to thank them for passing resolutions supporting tax relief, as we have previously pointed out," spokeswoman Maria Tamburri said. "We now know that Mr. Abramoff attended the meeting.

"The president has taken countless tens of thousands of pictures. It does not mean he has a personal relationship with those in the pictures."

Abramoff, a major fund-raiser for Bush"s re-election campaign, has entered a plea deal with the government and agreed to cooperate in ongoing investigations of lawmakers who may be implicated in his web of influence-peddling.