Abramoff in Vanity Fair

JACK ABRAMOFF HAS been off the front pages for a couple of weeks, but that's likely to change when he gets a chance to tell his story in Vanity Fair. In an issue set for release next week, Abramoff tries to clear up some issues related to the 'doesn't-yet-have-a-cool-name' scandal. One issue he tries to clear up is who he knew and who knew him. The TPM Muckraker has a little preview:

President Bush, who claims not to remember meeting Abramoff - the lobbyist says Bush once joked with him, "What are you benching, big guy?"

RNC Chair Ken Mehlman, who said he didn't really know Abramoff - it turns out he had Sabbath dinner at Abramoff's house, did him political favors, and even offered to pay Abramoff's tab at Signatures, the lobbyist's restaurant.

Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT), who says Abramoff never influenced him - "Every appropriation we wanted [from Burns' committee] we got. Our staffs were as close as they could be. They practically used Signatures as their cafeteria."

Former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich, whose spokesman says Newt wouldn't have known Abramoff "if he fell across him" - "I have more pictures of [Newt] than I have of my wife."

The official GOP Discrediting Team should be running full throttle by early next week. Stay tuned to Fox News for more...