I don’t think that anyone doubts that Jack Abramoff has been to the White House to meet with the President. Little Scottie wouldn’t be deep into his third week of stonewalling the press if the answer was a simple “no.”

The news that there are pictures only confirms that:

As details poured out about the illegal and unseemly activities of Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, White House officials sought to portray the scandal as a Capitol Hill affair with little relevance to them. Peppered for days with questions about Abramoff’s visits to the White House, press secretary Scott McClellan said the now disgraced lobbyist had attended two huge holiday receptions and a few “staff-level meetings” that were not worth describing further. “The President does not know him, nor does the President recall ever meeting him,” McClellan said.

The President’s memory may soon be unhappily refreshed. Time has seen five photographs of Abramoff and the President that suggest a level of contact between them that Bush’s aides have downplayed. While Time‘s source refused to provide the pictures for publication, they are likely to see the light of day eventually because celebrity tabloids are on the prowl for them.

In light of all the antique typewriter experts who came out of the woodwork to shriek about superscripts and the like during the 60 Minutes dustup, who wants to bet against the likelihood that when these photos see the light of day, Little Green Racists and Instahack will all of a sudden become Photoshop pros. I can hardly wait for the shadow analysis, RGB color corrections, grain comparisons, and lens angle regressions.

I’m sure the ensuing coverage will be fair and balanced.