Probe Targets GSA Chief
Email Another federal investigation is targeting a Bush administration official, this time for possibly using government resources for partisan political purposes. The Office of Special Counsel confirmed to ABC News it has launched an investigation into General Services Administration chief Lurita Doan, probing concerns she may have violated a ban against conducting partisan political activity at government expense by participating in a meeting featuring a presentation by a White House political aide on GOP election strategy. Doan’s agency spends over $56 billion a year on paper clips, office space, car fleets and other necessities for federal agencies. In January, Doan attended a meeting at which senior White House political aide W. Scott Jennings briefed Doan, a White House appointee, and other officials at a GSA facility on Republican plans to win seats in Congress. After the presentation, according to some witnesses contacted by congressional investigators, Doan encouraged other attendees to find ways GSA could help "our candidates" in the 2008 election. Doan has told Congress she doesn’t recall making the statement, and other witnesses interviewed by congressional investigators are said to have backed her up. Click Here for Full Blotter Coverage. Doan has also faced scrutiny from Congress and her agency’s own internal watchdog on unrelated matters, including concerns over a GSA service order involving a company connected to one of Doan’s friends. But Doan may not have been the only top official to host a White House political official at her agency. The White House political office has been giving presentations similar to the one at GSA since at least 2002, briefing officials throughout the government on Republican campaign information, according to a recent book by two Los Angeles Times reporters. "[White House political adviser Karl] Rove and [former Bush campaign chief and one-time Republican National Committee head Ken] Mehlman ventured to nearly every cabinet agency to share key polling data" leading up to the 2002 midterm elections, wrote Tom Hamburger and Peter Wallsten in their book, "One Party Country," "and to deliver a reminder of White House priorities, including the need for the president’s allies to win in the next election." While previous administrations had sent officials to cabinet agencies, the duo wrote, "Such intense regular communication from the political office had never occurred before." Some believe those meetings are cause for further investigation by Congress and the Office of Special Counsel. "They should be looking at whether this particular meeting is part of a larger pattern and practice of violating the Hatch Act," said Melanie Sloan, director of the left-leaning government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). The Hatch Act prohibits government resources – including employees’ time or space in a government building – from being used for partisan politics. Congressional Democrats are on the Doan case. House Oversight and Government Reform Commmittee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., last week grilled the GSA chief and asked the White House for information on whether the January GSA presentation has been given at other government agencies. On Wednesday, his office asked the Republican National Committee to turn over any e-mails in its possession relating to such briefings. In a statement e-mailed to ABC News, a GSA spokeswoman said that Doan was "fully complying" with the OSC probe, which was first noted by the web site GovExec.com, and that the organization could not comment further on an open investigation. An OSC official confirmed that the probe was begun before Waxman’s hearing last week.
This post has been updated.
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Does anyone remember the uproar in 2000 about whether or not Vice President Gore made a political fund raising phone call from his government office? Today, we have Karl Rove’s ethical standards (oxymoron alert!).
Posted by: Bill Hall | April 5, 2007, 5:01 pm 5:01 pm
The new Democratic President will have a major task to eliminate cronyism, incompetence, and blind, mindless loyalty to an idiot from the federal workforce. Meanwhile, these BushCheney criminals should be prosecuted fully under the Hatch Act and every other law on the books. The disgrace of this administration must be corrected.
Posted by: BCAM | April 5, 2007, 5:05 pm 5:05 pm
Who cares. Am I to believe that Democrats don’t polotic on my dime? What about special interest 501′s coordinating with Dems on judicial votes among other issues?
Posted by: Peach | April 5, 2007, 5:09 pm 5:09 pm
Shorter Peach: do not defame loyal Bushies like myself! Look, a missing blonde woman!
Posted by: ahem | April 5, 2007, 5:40 pm 5:40 pm
Peach,
And when Gore called from the WH did you say “Who cares”? The point is that the GOP took the moral high ground when Bush was eleceted and yet everytime we turn around they are doing anything but!
Posted by: David Conklin | April 5, 2007, 5:43 pm 5:43 pm
Peach: “Who cares.”
Apparently, only those of us who don’t want to live in a fascist state.
Posted by: chimpeach | April 5, 2007, 5:49 pm 5:49 pm
when will it end?? things always look different when a republican is doing all these things.
Posted by: bpb | April 5, 2007, 6:08 pm 6:08 pm
They are all crooks and liars!
Sue F
Posted by: Sue Filutze | April 5, 2007, 6:20 pm 6:20 pm
Not like this and if they do they should pay. This selective memory these folks seem to have under oat and the double talk is a joke. This woman acted like she thought the committee hearing was a farce and she could just play dumb. Mrs. Smith goes to Washington act isn’t going to cut it. Where is Patrick J Fitzgerald when we need him. Oh, thats right, they took him off the list. He’s still in Chicago fighting Evil Doers.
Posted by: John Evans | April 5, 2007, 6:25 pm 6:25 pm
Doan has told Congress she doesn’t recall making the statement, and other witnesses interviewed by congressional investigators are said to have backed her up.
What other witnesses? I watched the testimony and as I recall, several of those who attended the presentation did not back her up but instead said she made the remarks about how GSA could help our candidates.”
Posted by: Bob | April 5, 2007, 6:54 pm 6:54 pm
This is news? Haven’t you been paying attention? Since it took office this administration has used all government resources in everything it has done for partisan political purposes. Everything has been to benefit the political elite right wing and their corporate supporters.
Posted by: JelloBiafra | April 5, 2007, 7:03 pm 7:03 pm
I would still rather have all of this BS – than one minute with Kerry as President…
Posted by: George Washington | April 5, 2007, 9:08 pm 9:08 pm
She coordinated talking points about Iraq lies.
“Run on the War.”
“She’s fair game.”
It would come back to Plame.
The GSA was the place where AWOL’s talking points were distilled towards a unified narrative.
Posted by: Mr.Murder | April 5, 2007, 9:44 pm 9:44 pm
During Waxman’s hearing she told the Congressmen that “you can get to know me better”. Yeah, they’ll get to know her a whole lot better during her lengthy investigations.
Posted by: Deidroni | April 5, 2007, 10:33 pm 10:33 pm
Ho hum . . .
Much ado about nothing.
Posted by: George | April 5, 2007, 10:57 pm 10:57 pm
Michelle Goldberg pegged it…”Kingdom Coming”…looks like it’s closer than we think.
Posted by: adsosletter | April 5, 2007, 11:11 pm 11:11 pm
It does bother me when they call thee folks before a committee they don’t remember anything. If they are that incompetent that they don’t know what is going on then who the hell put them in charge?
Posted by: Tim | April 5, 2007, 11:38 pm 11:38 pm
“left-leaning government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)”? Why are people considered left-leaning when they care about ethics of the government? Is it because the right-leaning clearly don’t mind unethical behavior in government? It is truly moronic to elect people who does not believe government can and should do good. That is the right-leaning thinking at work. Who cares? These dumb people who pays taxes and don’t care about being robbed blind.
Posted by: Angela Zong | April 5, 2007, 11:40 pm 11:40 pm
Waxman and Leahy are showing you how your country was stolen. Wait till the RNC emails emerge. The big picture is of grand larceny, I bet, grand larceny on a grand scale.
Posted by: 10 Inch High Samurai | April 5, 2007, 11:47 pm 11:47 pm
Please explain further what is “the Office of Special Counsel.” Is it executive? Part of GSA, GAO. It’s important to the story, for those of us in the dark. Thanks.
Posted by: geep | April 5, 2007, 11:49 pm 11:49 pm
Oops…I just googled it; discovered answer. But my question stands; it’s an important part of the story and I can’t be the only citizen reading this who is (however temporarily) in the dark.
Thanks again.
Posted by: geep | April 5, 2007, 11:53 pm 11:53 pm
The best the about conservatives is their wonderful tendency to hang themselves with the tangled rope of their own hypocrisy.
I can’t wait to watch Sean Hannity blame this on a Democratic senator from 1973 while he waves a piece of paper over his head.
PRICELESS!
Posted by: Matthew | April 6, 2007, 5:49 am 5:49 am
Many of them may be crooks and liars but our responsibility (as voters) in a democracy is to try to elect people who are NOT crooks and liars.
Who cares? I do, and everyone who doesn’t want a dictatorship should care. Or stop caring and see the U.S. turn into a country like the “stans” (former soviet oil countries).
Posted by: SSBILL | April 6, 2007, 6:55 am 6:55 am
Is there no place that the Republican corruption does not permeate!!!!
Posted by: cheryl | April 6, 2007, 10:24 am 10:24 am
This scandal is just another example of a hypocrite from the do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do Republican variety. When will all this corruption stop? How many Bush Administration scandals will the American public endure before it is enough? This administration has no shame, and no conscience…
Posted by: Savannah52 | April 6, 2007, 11:11 am 11:11 am
If you missed the You-Tube video of her testimony, I wrote a poem about it that should give you an idea of how things went.
The Lurita Shuffle
You know I don’t remember, I really can’t recall,
I have no recollection of saying that at all,
I just can’t say you know I think my memory is poor,
But then I guess that’s what they say that Ginko Biloba’s for.
Posted by: kb_man | April 6, 2007, 1:15 pm 1:15 pm
“I would still rather have all of this BS – than one minute with Kerry as President…
Posted by: George Washington | Apr 5, 2007 9:08:38 PM”
Well, stupid is as stupid posts. You have the corrupt facist government you deserve; the rest of us deserve much better and we won’t rest until we get it.
Posted by: t-bone | April 6, 2007, 1:31 pm 1:31 pm
Peach & George Washington:
Just in event you want the facts
as to L. Dorn’s testimony, I strongly recommend you go to C&L’s
webpage and check out for yourself as to
what the hell we(concerned citizens) are upset about. The
l o n g video of her testimony
can be found under date of 3/29/07
Posted by: Doggiebobo | April 6, 2007, 3:45 pm 3:45 pm
At least one government agency appears to be doing their job without political directives from the Whitehouse. Republicans need to ask themselves if they would support a Democratic administration using federal agencies, and their near unlimited resources, to advance their party come election time? Because something tells me they would be screaming from the rafters if the case were reversed. Rightfully so I might add.
Posted by: Seldona | April 6, 2007, 3:46 pm 3:46 pm
The neocons snivel, whine, and lie whenever they get caught up in the illegal activities they pursue! The ongoing investigations will continue to produce evidence of crimes, and the legal system will continue to take down these crooked cronies! I wonder if there will be a Republican party left when all is said and done! AND SO DO THE REPUBLICONS!
Posted by: ChingarraSan | April 6, 2007, 3:50 pm 3:50 pm
can we use the RICO Act to jump start the prosecutions?
Posted by: frostygray | April 6, 2007, 4:29 pm 4:29 pm
Kerry would have made a great president if one is comparing him to Bush. Although, that isn’t really saying much when it is understood that the young blonde woman on “The View,” would also be considered great when compared to Bush.
Kerry’s one disappointing act was to concede the fraudulent election to a bunch of no good thieves,”for the good of the country.”
The Skull and Bones” thing must be deeper than allegiance to the voters in our nation.
Posted by: gc_wall | April 7, 2007, 6:45 am 6:45 am
Fitzgerald’s name was probably taken off the list when he assured the White House that no one else, especially Rove, would be indicted. He made a deal, I keep my job, Rove won’t be indicted.
Posted by: hettiemae | April 7, 2007, 9:35 am 9:35 am
To the person who said I’d rather have these guys than one minute of Kerry and such, well it’s a shame you do not love this country since you have no clue. EVERYTHING the Republicans have accused the Dems of before Bush won has been trumped by these folks and worse…..SHAME ON YOU for either now knowing any better
and choosing your policies over that of the CONSTITUTION!!!!!
Posted by: NickB | April 8, 2007, 9:49 am 9:49 am
You can’t have a democracy or any other type of government when it is full of cronyism, corruption, and lies. We have no government of checks and balances thanks to greed.
The Constitution and Bill of Rights? Do any of them remember their oath to us?
They only remember their oath at election time and lie to us. There are Dems as well as Repubs who have a lot to answer to the people.
History will not be kind.
Posted by: Judith | April 12, 2007, 10:51 am 10:51 am
We all should be so lucky to have Gore as president.
Bush’s group of crooks want to extent their stay in power.
I hope to see many more of these folks brought up on charges.
Posted by: mo | April 12, 2007, 2:33 pm 2:33 pm