McClellan: No scandal
at Texas Lottery

At today's White House press briefing, presidential press secretary Scott McClellan referred to a denial by then-Gov. George W. Bush's office in relation to allegations Harriet Miers approved a huge no-bid contract while head of the Texas Lottery Commission as part of a political payoff.

As WorldNetDaily reported, questions have been raised about a contract to GTECH, which was represented by former Texas Lieutenant Gov. Ben Barnes, the man who says he pulled strings to get Bush into the National Guard decades ago. In 1997, with the company embroiled in controversy over allegations of political kickbacks, payoffs and overcharges, Barnes' contract was bought out by the company for $23 million.

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Furthermore, The Texas Lottery Commission, headed by Miers, renewed its contract with GTECH, a Rhode Island company, despite receiving lower bids from other companies.

WND asked during today's briefing: "Did Harriet Miers continue the Texas Lottery's contract to GTECH without bid, so that Barnes received a $23 million payoff as part of the deal authorized by Miers?"

McClellan responded, " I would encourage you to go back and look at news reports at the time, because the governor's office at the time denied any connection that you may be asserting within your question. That's an issue that's already been discussed, and I think that Ben Barnes has said the same."

WND pressed further, asking McClellan about the former executive director of the Texas Lottery, Lawrence Littwin, who in 1997 filed a lawsuit alleging he lost his job as a result of political influence wielded by Barnes.

"Since this Littwin suit was settled out of court for $300,000, what is the White House response?" asked WND.

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"The allegations have been disputed previously by both the governor's office and – by the governor's office at the time and by Mr. Barnes," McClellan said. "I would encourage you to go back and look at the comments that were made at the time. I'd be glad to provide those to you if you would like."

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