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HATCH ACT News:

20080514

Scott Bloch - Lurita Doan - Karl Rove - Politics - Government - Hatch Act - Investigation - "Six Degrees of Scott Bloch: A Scandal Scorecard." ... "Several [Republican President] Bush administration officials have become ensnared in an interlocking set of investigations into allegations of Hatch Act violations, whistleblower misconduct and other prohibited personnel practices. At the center of these investigations is Scott Bloch, head of the U.S. [United States] Office of Special Counsel. Characters drawn into the drama include former General Services Administration chief Lurita Doan, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and top Bush adviser Karl Rove." [SEE: "relationship each actor had with Scott Bloch."] -By Ross Gianfortune, Melanie Bender, and Robert Brodsky -GovExec.com

20080507

Scott J Bloch - Criminal - Government - Computer - Censorship - Politics - Workers - Law - Virginia - "Federal Agents Raid Office of Special Counsel." ... "Nearly two dozen federal agents yesterday raided the Washington headquarters of the agency that protects government whistle-blowers, as part of an intensifying criminal investigation of its leader, who is fighting allegations of improper political bias and obstruction of justice." ... "Agents fanned out yesterday morning in the agency's building on M Street, where they sequestered Office of Special Counsel chief Scott J. Bloch for questioning, served grand-jury subpoenas on 17 employees and shut down access to computer networks in a search lasting more than five hours." ... "Bloch, who was nominated to his post by [Republican] President Bush in 2003, is the principal official responsible for protecting federal employees from reprisals for complaints about waste and fraud. He also polices violations of Hatch Act prohibitions on political activities in federal offices." ... "Bloch has long been a target of criticism, some of it by his agency's career officials, but the FBI's [Federal Bureau of Investigation's] abrupt seizure of computers and records marked a substantial escalation of the executive branch's probe of his conduct. Retired FBI agents and former prosecutors called the raid an unusual, if not unprecedented, intrusion on the work of a federal agency." ... "Agents from the Office of Personnel Management's inspector general's office, who have been investigating Bloch for more than two years, visited his home on Stockade Drive in Alexandria [Virginia] yesterday. They left carrying boxes of files." ... "Complaints from [whistle-blowers lawyer Debra] Katz's clients and others ultimately prompted the inspector general at the Office of Personnel Management to begin examining Bloch's treatment of workers and his handling of cases involving whistle-blowers at other agencies. During the probe, Bloch hired the technology service Geeks on Call to erase his computer hard drive and those of two aides, giving rise to new allegations that he was obstructing justice." (1, 2) -By Carrie Johnson and Christopher Lee with contributions by Stephen Barr and Daniela Deane and research editor Alice Crites -WashingtonPost
Scott J Bloch - Lurita Alexis Doan - Illegal - Political - Government - Workers - Hatch Act - Computer - Censorship - 2004 Election - Travel - "FBI seizes Doan, Rice case files in raid of OSC chief's office." ... "About 20 FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] agents and administrative investigators executed search warrants Tuesday on the U.S. [United States] Office of Special Counsel in a daylong raid that appeared at least partly focused on finding information on the office's high-profile investigations into alleged illegal political activity by [Republican President] Bush administration officials." ... "Last year, the OPM IG's office began looking into Bloch's hiring of private computer technicians to remove files from his office computer and those of aides. The files had been sought by investigators, but Bloch has described the files as personal and not relevant to the probe." ... "But OSC employees said the grand jury subpoenas seek a wide range of information that goes beyond Bloch's deletion of computer files or treatment of agency employees." ... "Investigators have demanded all files on OSC's investigation last year into allegations of improper political activity by Lurita Doan, the former head of the General Services Administration, who was forced to resign last week by the White House." ... "OSC found that Doan, in a January 2007 meeting to discuss Republican congressional races with the agency's political appointees and a White House political operative, violated the Hatch Act, which bars federal employees from using government resources for partisan politics. But the finding generated criticism from House Republicans, who accused Bloch of leaking results of the Doan investigation to the news media." ... "During Tuesday's raid, investigators did not seek files from the wider Hatch Act probe, but they subpoenaed at least two OSC employees who are part of the unit looking into the suspected political activities. They also sought Bloch's expense and credit card records, information regarding his use of storage facilities or safety deposit boxes and material related to testimony he has delivered at congressional hearings." ... "In addition, investigators demanded documents related to OSC's investigation into allegations that Secretary of State Rice used federal resources to travel to campaign appearances supporting President Bush's re-election in 2004. Bloch's office closed the case, finding no violation by Rice." -By Dan Friedman -CongressDaily via -GovExec.com
Scott J Bloch - Karl Rove - Criminal - Government - Workers - Politics - Hatch Act - History - Computer - Data - Censorship - "FBI Raids Special Counsel, Seizes Data." ... "Federal agents raided the Office of Special Counsel, a government agency involved in several high-profile and politically sensitive investigations. The agents seized computer files and documents from its chief, Scott Bloch, and his staff." ... "Mr. Bloch, who was appointed by [Republican] President Bush, has been under investigation since 2005 by the Office of Personnel Management for employee claims that he abused his agency's authority, retaliated against its staff and dismissed whistleblower cases without adequate examination." ... "The Justice Department joined the case as the inquiry was widened last year to include possible obstruction of justice, which is a criminal offense. The Wall Street Journal reported [November] Nov. 28 that in the midst of the inquiry Mr. Bloch used an agency credit card to hire a commercial firm, Geeks on Call, to erase data from his computer and those of former staff." ... "The Office of Special Counsel, created in the 1970s in the wake of the Watergate scandal, probes sensitive personnel and whistleblower claims by government workers. It also enforces the Hatch Act, which forbids the use of federal resources for partisan political purposes." ... "Among the office's recent inquiries was whether former [Republican President Bush] White House political director Karl Rove and others improperly used U.S. [United States] agencies to help elect Republicans." ... "Mr. Bloch's investigation of the White House political operation began after a Rove deputy gave a series of political presentations to government agencies on Republican prospects in specific congressional races. Mr. Bloch's office wanted to know whether such presentations violated the Hatch Act." -By John R. Wilke -WSJ.com

20080430

Lurita Doan - Money - Politics - Hatch Act - Investigation - Election - Law - "GSA Head Doan, Under Fire From Democrats, Resigns (Update1)." ... "Lurita Doan resigned as head of the [Republican President Bush run] General Services Administration following criticism from Democrats about her political activity and handling of contracts." ... "A House committee has investigated whether Doan used her office to support Republican political candidates and the awarding of a contract to a company that had been accused of fraud in earlier contracts." ... "GSA [General Services Administration], the government's acquisitions and property management agency, awards approximately $69 billion in contracts each year." ... "Doan has been investigated for allegedly asking GSA officials during a briefing how they could ``help our candidates,'' referring to Republicans, win the next election." ... "The Hatch Act prohibits partisan activity on government property. Six GSA political appointees who appeared before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voluntarily testified that she made the statement about helping Republicans." -By Christopher Stern -Bloomberg

20080227

Karl Rove - Political - Government - Computer - E-Mails - Communications - Archives - Laws - Presidential Records Act Law - Hatch Act Law - History - Data - Censorship - Investigation - "GOP Halts Effort to Retrieve White House E-Mails." ... "After promising last year to search its computers for tens of thousands of e-mails sent by [Republican President Bush] White House officials, the Republican National Committee has informed a House committee that it no longer plans to retrieve the communications by restoring computer backup tapes, the panel's chairman said yesterday." ... "The move increases the likelihood that an untold number of RNC [RNC=Republican National Committee=Republican Party] e-mails dealing with official White House business during the first term of the Bush administration -- including many sent or received by former [Republican President Bush] presidential adviser Karl Rove -- will never be recovered, said House Democrats and public records advocates." ... "Administration officials have acknowledged that Rove and many other White House officials routinely used RNC accounts for government business, despite rules [Laws: the Presidential Records Act Law and the Hatch Act Law] requiring that they conduct such business through official communications channels. The RNC deleted all e-mails until 2004, when it exempted White House officials from its e-mail purging policy." ... "About 80 White House aides used RNC accounts for official government business, committee staff members said. Rove, for example, sent or received 140,000 e-mails on RNC servers from 2002 to 2007, and more than half involved official ".gov" accounts, the panel has said." ... "The RNC dispute is part of a broader debate over whether the Bush administration has complied with long-standing statutory requirements to preserve official White House records -- including those reflecting potentially sensitive policy discussions -- for history and in case of future legal demands." ... "The committee is investigating allegations that vast stores of official Bush administration e-mails have also gone missing from the White House, which scrapped a [former Democratic President] Clinton-era archiving system and has struggled with data retention problems." -By Dan Eggen -WashingtonPost

20080122

Alberto Gonzales - Pete Domenici - Heather Wilson - Criminal - US Attorneys - Politics - Hatch Act - Federal - Law - Civil Rights - 2006 Election - 2008 Election - New Mexico - Minnesota - "Attorneys probe deepens." ... "The federal investigation into the firing of nine U.S. attorneys could jolt the political landscape ahead of the November [2008] elections, according to several people close to the inquiry." ... "Washington’s attention has been diverted from the scandal since the August resignation of Alberto Gonzales as attorney general, and has focused instead on Democrats’ efforts to hold White House officials in contempt for ignoring congressional subpoenas to testify on Capitol Hill about the firings." ... "But recent behind-the-scenes activity in several investigations suggests that the issue that roiled Congress in 2007 could re-emerge in the heat of the [2008] election year. Two inquiries by the House and Senate ethics committees are examining whether several congressional Republicans, including one running for the Senate this year, improperly interfered with investigations." ... "As potent as the congressional probes might be, they appear to be far narrower than a sprawling inquiry launched by the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR)." ... "Investigators from these offices have been questioning whether senior officials lied to Congress, violated the criminal provisions in the Hatch Act, tampered with witnesses preparing to testify to Congress, obstructed justice, took improper political considerations into account during the hiring and firing of U.S. attorneys and created widespread problems in the department’s Civil Rights Division, according to several people familiar with the investigation." ... "The internal Justice Department probe cannot bring charges but can refer findings to a U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia or a special prosecutor, who could then pursue a criminal investigation." ... "[Former New Mexico U.S. Attorney David] Iglesias’s case is in the crosshairs of all three investigations. Testifying before Congress, he alleged last year that Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) and Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) pressured him to accelerate an investigation of a Democratic politician in New Mexico ahead of Wilson’s tight [2006] reelection bid. Iglesias said he did not plan to bring charges before the November elections, and was fired in December 2006." ... "In a sign that the investigation has widened beyond the nine fired attorneys, Justice last summer interviewed Thomas Heffelfinger, U.S. attorney in Minnesota, who resigned before it was revealed that he was targeted for dismissal." -By Manu Raju -TheHill.com

20071020

Alberto Gonzales - Karl Rove - Randy "Duke" Cunningham - Criminal - US Attorneys - Politics - Government - Law - Hatch Act - Washington - 2004 Election - New Mexico - San Diego - California - "Gonzales could be prosecuted, McKay says." ... "The U.S. Inspector General may recommend criminal prosecution of [Republican President Bush's] departed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales at the conclusion of an investigation, possibly as early as next month, the fired former U.S. attorney for Western Washington told a Spokane audience Friday." ... "His refusal to open a federal criminal investigation into voter fraud allegations in Gov. Chris Gregoire’s razor-thin victory over Republican challenger Dino Rossi in 2004 [election] may be the reason he was fired, John McKay told the Federal Bar Association." ... "Appointed by President Bush in October 2001 to the top law enforcement job in western Washington, McKay said he believes he and seven other U.S. attorneys were fired last December by Gonzales for political reasons, perhaps with former White House chief of staff Karl Rove pulling strings." ... "Gonzales “lied about” reasons for the firings when questioned under oath in July by the Senate Judiciary Committee and now has hired a lawyer and is refusing to answer questions from the Inspector General, McKay said." ... "“There was a conspiracy to politicize the Justice Department,’’ the former U.S. attorney said, “and they did not get away with it.”" ... "[Former New Mexico U.S. Attorney David] Iglesias has filed a Hatch Act complaint, alleging Rove and other White House officials may have violated that federal law in his firing." ... "[Former San Diego, California U.S. Attorney Carol] Lam has said she believes her firing was tied her office’s aggressive investigation of Rep. [California Republican Representative] Randy “Duke” Cunningham, a Republican congressman who later pleaded guilty to conspiracy and tax evasion." -By Bill Morlin -SpokesmanReview.com

20070819

Karl Rove - Christopher Shays - Government - Money - Political - Media - Marketing - Employees - Hatch Act - Law - 2004 Election - 2006 Election - Connecticut - "How Rove Directed Federal Assets for GOP Gains: [Republican President] Bush Adviser's Effort to Promote the President and His Allies Was Unprecedented in Its Reach." ... "Thirteen months before President Bush was reelected [in the 2004 election], chief strategist Karl Rove summoned political appointees from around the government to the Old Executive Office Building. The subject of the Oct. 1, 2003, meeting was "asset deployment," and the message was clear:" ... "The staging of official announcements, high-visibility trips and declarations of federal grants had to be carefully coordinated with the White House political affairs office to ensure the maximum promotion of Bush's reelection agenda and the Republicans in Congress who supported him, according to documents and some of those involved in the effort." ... ""The White House determines which members need visits," said an internal e-mail about the previously undisclosed Rove "deployment" team, "and where we need to be strategically placing our assets."" ... "Under Rove's direction, this highly coordinated effort to leverage the government for political marketing started as soon as Bush took office in 2001 and continued through last year's congressional elections [2006 election], when it played out in its most quintessential form in the coastal Connecticut district of [Republican Representative] Rep. Christopher Shays, an endangered Republican incumbent. Seven times, senior administration officials visited Shays's district in the six months before the election -- once for an announcement as minor as a single $23 government weather alert radio presented to an elementary school. On Election Day, Shays was the only Republican House member in New England to survive the Democratic victory." ... "The U.S. Office of Special Counsel and the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee are investigating whether any of the meetings violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits government employees from using federal resources for election activities." (1, 2, 3) -By John Solomon, Alec MacGillis and Sarah Cohen -WashingtonPost

20070817

Karl Rove - Political - Government - Money - Law - 2002 Election - 2004 Election - 2006 Election - "Commerce, Treasury funds helped boost GOP campaigns." ... "Top Commerce and Treasury Departments officials appeared with Republican candidates and doled out millions in federal money in battleground congressional districts and states after receiving White House political briefings detailing GOP election strategy." ... "Political appointees in the Treasury Department received at least 10 political briefings from July 2001 to August 2006, officials familiar with the meetings said. Their counterparts at the Commerce Department received at least four briefings — all in the election years of 2002, 2004 and 2006." ... "The House Oversight Committee is investigating whether the White House's political briefings to at least 15 agencies, including to the Justice Department, the General Services Administration and the State Department, violated a ban on the use of government resources for campaign activities." ... "Under the Hatch Act, Cabinet members are permitted to attend political briefings and appear with members of Congress. But Cabinet members and other political appointees aren't permitted to spend taxpayer money with the aim of benefiting candidates." ... "The briefings are part of the legacy of [Republican President Bush's] White House political adviser Karl Rove, who announced this week that he's stepping down at the end of the month to spend more time with his family." -By Marisa Taylor and Kevin G. Hall -McClatchyDC.com

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20070804

Alberto R Gonzales - Karl Rove - Sara M Taylor - Political - Federal - Employees - Media - Markets - California - 2004 Election - 2006 Election - 2008 Election - "Gonzales Now Says Top Aides Got Political Briefings." ... "Justice Department officials attended at least a dozen political briefings at the [Republican President Bush] White House since 2001, including some meetings led by Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser, and others that were focused on election trends prior to the 2006 [election] midterm contest, according to documents released yesterday." ... "Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales told the Senate Judiciary Committee last week that he did not believe that senior Justice Department officials had attended such briefings. But he clarified his testimony yesterday in a letter to Congress, emphasizing that the briefings were not held at the agency's offices." ... "Internal guidelines forbid partisan meetings at the Justice Department and sharply restrict the ability of employees to participate directly in election campaigns or other political activities, a Justice official said yesterday." ... "[California Democratic Representative Henry] Waxman is investigating whether the meetings violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity on federal government property." ... "Top ambassadors in early January learned from Rove and [Sara M.] Taylor the top 36 targets among House Democratic incumbents in the 2008 [election] races, while State Department employees at a White House meeting in 2001 learned what the most critical media markets were for Bush's reelection in 2004 [election]." -By Dan Eggen and Paul Kane -WashingtonPost

20070618

Government - E-Mail - Politics - Presidential Records Act - "'Extensive Destruction' Of White House E-Mails Found." ... "Using campaign accounts for official White House business and destroying administration records are violations of the Hatch Act and Presidential Records Act, respectively. The committee's report can be found here [PDF]." -TheGate -NationalJournal

20070612

Lurita Doan - Scott Jennings - Government - Politics - 2006 Election - 2008 Election - "White House urged to punish GSA chief to 'fullest extent'." ... "[Republican President Bush appointee] General Services Administration chief Lurita Doan should "be disciplined to the fullest extent" for violating the law that limits political activity in [federal government] agencies, the head of the independent agency investigating the matter said in a letter to President Bush Friday." ... "The four-page letter [pdf], released by the Office of Special Counsel late Monday, stated that Doan also should be punished for failing to cooperate fully and honestly with OSC's investigation." ... "Special Counsel Scott Bloch said in the letter that the investigation concluded Doan violated the Hatch Act's prohibition against using her authority to interfere with or affect an election through her role in a Jan. 26 meeting at GSA headquarters. After a presentation by White House official Scott Jennings, Doan allegedly asked a question about helping Republican candidates [for the 2008 election], though accounts of her exact wording vary." ... "The letter does not address whether the presentation itself, which included a 28-slide PowerPoint presentation that analyzed the results of the 2006 midterm election, was a violation. OSC is investigating this issue separately." -By Daniel Pulliam -GovExec.com

20070604

Bradley Schlozman - Goodling - Gonzales - Government - US Attorney - Civil Rights - Politics - Missouri - "DOJ Probes Turn to Civil Rights Division: Judiciary Committee to question ex-official [Bradley] Schlozman while internal investigation looks at hiring practices." ... "Schlozman will testify Tuesday about his activities not only in the Civil Rights Division but also in his brief stint as interim U.S. Attorney in the Western District of Missouri, where he replaced Todd Graves -- one of nine U.S. Attorneys to have been fired by the Justice Department last year." ... "In particular, Democrats plan to press Schlozman about his role in the hiring of career attorneys into the voting and appellate sections of the Civil Rights Division, and whether Schlozman inappropriately considered the political loyalties of candidates -- a potential violation of the Hatch Act and civil service laws governing federal hiring." ... "The allegations are similar to the admission last month by Monica Goodling, the former senior adviser to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, that she had inappropriately taken politics into account in making hiring decisions for career federal prosecutors and immigration judges." ... "Congress, of course, isn't the only body reviewing Schlozman's tenure at the Civil Rights Division. Last week the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility and Office of the Inspector General, which are conducting a joint investigation into the U.S. Attorney firings, announced that they had broadened their probe to include allegations of politicization in hiring at the Civil Rights Division." -By Jason McLure -LegalTimes.com via -Law.com

20070525

Gonzales - Goodling - US Immigration - Political - Government - Enforcement - "Hiring of immigration judges may have violated laws: Officials say Justice Department considered applicants' political ties." ... "Over the last two years, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has appointed more than two dozen individuals as federal immigration judges." ... "One thing missing on many of their resumes: a background in immigration law." ... "These lawyers are joining the ranks of a growing number of the more than 200 immigration judges around the United States who have little or no experience in the law they were appointed to enforce." ... "The admission by former Justice Department official Monica Goodling this week that federal immigration judges were screened for their political credentials and loyalty to the Republican Party in possible violation of civil-service laws is drawing new attention to the usually low-profile immigration bench." ... "Considering political affiliation in filling civil service positions is a violation of the Hatch Act, which is designed to keep party politics separate from the day-to-day operations of the federal government." -By Richard B. Schmitt -LAtimes via -Chron

20070524

Lurita Alexis Doan - J Scott Jennings - Karl Rove - 2006 Election - 2008 Election - Political - Government - Employee - "GSA Chief Violated Hatch Act, Special Counsel's Report Alleges." ... "The U.S. Office of Special Counsel has found that General Services Administration chief Lurita Alexis Doan violated the federal Hatch Act when she allegedly asked GSA political appointees during a January briefing how they could "help our candidates" win the next [2008] election, according to a report by the office." ... "The Hatch Act restricts executive branch employees from using their position for political purposes. The special counsel's office, which investigates alleged violations of the law, said it would recommend that President Bush take disciplinary action against Doan, including possible removal from office." ... ""Her actions, to be certain, constitute an obvious misuse of her official authority and were made for the purpose of affecting the result of an election," investigators said in a copy of the 19-page report obtained by The Washington Post. "One can imagine no greater violation of the Hatch Act than to invoke the machinery of an agency, with all its contracts and buildings, in the service of a partisan campaign to retake Congress and the Governors' mansions."" ... "The special counsel's investigation was spurred by allegations that Doan solicited agency employees "to participate in political activities during a meeting held at GSA headquarters on January 26," the report said. The meeting, a "brown bag" luncheon, featured a presentation by J. Scott Jennings, deputy director of political affairs in Karl Rove's office at the White House." ... "Jennings gave a PowerPoint presentation of polling data about the 2006 midterm elections. In a slide called "2008 House Targets: Top 20," the presentation named 20 Democrats on whom Republicans intended to focus in 2008. Another slide, called "2008 House GOP Defense," listed GOP candidates to be protected." (1, 2) -By Robert O'Harrow Jr. and Scott Higham -WashingtonPost

20070522

Lurita Doan - Scott Jennings - Political - Government - Job - 2008 Election - "GSA chief violated Hatch Act, OSC report finds." ... "An Office of Special Counsel report has found that General Services Administration chief [Republican] Lurita Doan violated the Hatch Act, which bars federal officials from partisan political activity while on the job, sources say." ... "The report addresses a Jan. 26 lunch meeting at GSA headquarters attended by Doan and about 40 political appointees, some of whom participated by videoconference. During the meeting, [Republican] Scott Jennings, the White House deputy director of political affairs, gave a PowerPoint presentation that included slides listing Democratic and Republican seats the White House viewed as vulnerable in 2008, a map of contested Senate seats and other information on 2008 election strategy." ... "According to meeting participants, Doan asked after the call how GSA could help “our candidates.”" ... "Doan has until June 1 to respond to the OSC report, which was delivered to her May 18, according to officials. The officials asked to remain anonymous because the report has not been made public. " -By Daniel Friedman -FederalTimes.com

20070424

Scott J Bloch - Karl Rove - Government - Employees - Investigation - 2004 Election - Travel - Politics - E-Mail - US Attorney - Hatch Act - Law - Mass - "Rove Investigator Faces Own Allegations." ... "The senior government official who says he is investigating [Republican President Bush's aide] Karl Rove for allegations he influenced government activity for partisan purposes is himself facing allegations of similar behavior." ... "In interviews yesterday with reporters, Scott J. Bloch disclosed that his Office of Special Counsel was opening a broad probe of the White House political office and its interaction with government agencies. The investigation will cover the use of private e-mail accounts by White House aides, the firing of at least one U.S. attorney and presentations of political data by White House aides to other officials in government, Bloch told the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post." ... "But government watchdogs have accused Bloch himself of similar behavior. In April 2005, they and others complained the White House appointee had allowed his office to "sit on" a complaint that then-White House National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice used government funds to travel in support of President Bush's [2004] re-election bid." ... "By contrast, they said, Bloch ordered an immediate on-site investigation of a complaint that Bush's challenger for the White House, [Massachusetts Democratic Senator and 2004 Presidential Candidate] Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., improperly campaigned in a government workplace, which had been filed around the same time." ... "Bloch's obscure but important office investigates violations of a law banning the use of public resources for partisan political purposes, known as the Hatch Act. In January, his office said Kerry did not violate the act." -By Justin Rood -ABCNEWS.com

20070412

Karl Rove - Government - E-Mail - Law - US Attorneys - Politics - Internet- Archive - VT - "Leahy Says Bush Aides Lied About E-Mails." ... "[Republican] President Bush's aides are lying about White House e-mails sent on a Republican account that might have been lost, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy [Vermont Democratic Senator] said Thursday, vowing to subpoena those documents if the administration fails to cough them up." ... ""They say they have not been preserved. I don't believe that!" Leahy shouted from the Senate floor." ... ""You can't erase e-mails, not today. They've gone through too many servers," said Leahy, D-Vt. "Those e-mails are there, they just don't want to produce them. We'll subpoena them if necessary."" ... "Democrats say the firings might have been improper, but that probe yielded a weightier question: Whether White House officials such as political adviser Karl Rove are purposely conducting sensitive official presidential business via non-governmental accounts to evade a law [the Hatch Act] requiring preservation — and eventual disclosure — of presidential records." ... ""E-mails don't get lost," Leahy insisted. "These are just e-mails they don't want to bring forward."" ... "The revelation about the e-mails escalates a standoff between the Democrat-controlled Congress and the White House over the prosecutor firings." -By Laurie Kellman -AP via -SFGate.com

20070402

Lurita Doan - Karl Rove - J Scott Jennings - Government - Money - Employee - Law - California - "Doan hearing focuses on improper politics: Waxman seeks information about whether GSA's leader and others violated Hatch Act." ... "[California Democratic Representative] Rep. Henry Waxman lived up to his firebrand reputation by grilling General Services Administration Administrator Lurita Doan about allegations of inappropriate — possibly unlawful — behavior." ... "The California Democrat is now directing his investigation to the White House. Waxman, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, wants to know whether a Jan. 26 meeting for political appointees at GSA's headquarters, on federal time about partisan issues, was a one-time occurrence or part of a pattern involving other federal agencies and potentially a violation of the Hatch Act, which prohibits government employees from engaging in political activity while at work." ... "Waxman gave Karl Rove, President Bush’s deputy chief of staff, until April 13 to answer a series of questions about a PowerPoint presentation that J. Scott Jennings, Rove’s deputy, made at GSA’s headquarters Jan. 26. Waxman is also awaiting a ruling by the Office of Special Counsel on whether the January meeting violated the Hatch Act before he decides whether to pursue further hearings." ... "“This appears to be a textbook example of what should never happen at a federal agency,” Waxman said of the January meeting. “You can’t engage in partisan political activity on government time.”" ... "The alleged Hatch Act violation was just one of several accusations leveled at Doan in recent months. Waxman’s March 28 hearing tried to ferret out Doan’s involvement with the White House presentation, her attempt to push a $20,000 contract to a friend and her possible intervention in awarding a contract to Sun Microsystems." -By Matthew Weigelt -FCW.com

20070330

Karl Rove -J Scott Jennings - Lurita Doan - Government - Employee - Law - '08 Election - 2006 Election - Calif - "Panel Asks Rove for Information on '08 Election Presentation." ... "The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee sought more information yesterday about a presentation by a White House aide given to political appointees at the General Services Administration that discussed targeting 20 Democratic congressional candidates in the next [2008] election." ... "In a letter to [Republican President Bush's] White House political affairs director Karl Rove, the committee chairman, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif. [California]), asked about the Jan. 26 videoconference by Rove deputy J. Scott Jennings, which was directed to the chief of the GSA and as many as 40 agency officials stationed around the country." ... "Jennings's 28-page presentation included 2006 election results and listed the names of Democratic candidates considered beatable and Republican lawmakers thought to need help. At a hearing Wednesday about the GSA, Waxman said the presentation and follow-up remarks allegedly made by agency chief Lurita Alexis Doan may have violated the Hatch Act, a law that restricts federal agencies and employees from using their positions for political purposes." -By Scott Higham and Robert O'Harrow Jr. -WashingtonPost

20030730

Karl Rove - Gordon Smith - Environmental - Science - Politics - River - Animals - Agricultural - Corporation - Government - Hatch Act - Law - 2002 Election - WVa - California - Portland - Oregon - "Oregon Water Saga Illuminates Rove's Methods With Agencies." ... "In a darkened conference room, [Republican President Bush] White House political strategist Karl Rove was making an unusual address to 50 top managers at the U.S. [United States] Interior Department. Flashing color slides, he spoke of poll results, critical constituencies -- and water levels in the Klamath River basin." [The Klamath River runs from Oregon into California] ... "At the time of the meeting, in January 2002, Mr. Rove had just returned from accompanying [Republican] President Bush on a trip to Oregon, where they visited with a Republican senator facing re-election [2002]. Republican leaders there wanted to support their agricultural base by diverting water from the river basin to nearby farms, and Mr. Rove signaled that the administration did, too." ... "Three months later, Interior Secretary Gale Norton stood with [Oregon Republican Senator] Sen. Gordon Smith in Klamath Falls and opened the irrigation-system head gates that increased the water supply to 220,000 acres of farmland -- a policy shift that continues to stir bitter criticism from environmentalists and Indian tribes." ... "Though Mr. Rove's clout within the administration often is celebrated, this episode offers a rare window into how he works behind the scenes to get things done. One of them is with periodic visits to cabinet departments. Over the past two years Mr. Rove or his top aide, Kenneth Mehlman -- now manager of Mr. Bush's re-election campaign -- have visited nearly every agency to outline White House campaign priorities, review polling data and, on occasion, call attention to tight House, Senate and gubernatorial races that could be affected by regulatory action." ... "On [January] Jan. 5, Mr. Rove accompanied the president to an appearance in Portland [Oregon] with Mr. Smith. The president signaled his desire to accommodate agricultural interests, saying "We'll do everything we can to make sure water is available for those who farm."" ... "The next day, Mr. Rove made sure that commitment didn't fall through the cracks. He visited the 50 Interior managers attending a department retreat at a Fish and Wildlife Service conference center in Shepherdstown, W.Va. [West Virginia] In a PowerPoint presentation Mr. Rove also uses when soliciting Republican donors, he brought up the Klamath and made clear that the administration was siding with agricultural interests." ... "His remarks weren't entirely welcome -- especially by officials grappling with the competing arguments made by environmentalists, who wanted river levels high to protect endangered salmon, and Indian tribes, who depend on the salmon for their livelihoods. Neil McCaleb, then an assistant Interior secretary, recalls the "chilling effect" of Mr. Rove's remarks. Wayne Smith, then with the department's Bureau of Indian Affairs, says Mr. Rove reminded the managers of the need to "support our base."" [note: the Hatch Act prohibits political activities in federal offices.] ... "A National Marine Fisheries Service biologist, Michael Kelly, has asked for protection under federal "whistle-blower" laws, saying he was subjected to political pressure to go along with the low-water plan and ordered to ignore scientific evidence casting doubt on the plan. This month, a federal judge ruled the administration violated the Endangered Species Act in the way it justified the water diversion." -By Tom Hamburger -WallStreetJournal via -OregonWild.org

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