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Blog Entry from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

Lurita Doan did violate Hatch Act says Office of Special Counsel

Lurita Doan did violate the Hatch Act according to the agency charged with making those determinations according to Federal Times:

An Office of Special Counsel report has found that General Services Administration chief 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, 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.”

When this story first broke, CREW's Anne Weismann wrote a blog post that explained why a political briefing at GSA HQ violated the Hatch Act:

At yesterday's hearing on misconduct at the General Services Administration before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, some very revealing emails were disclosed that indicated further use by White House officials of RNC email accounts.

These emails accompanied a PowerPoint presentation prepared by the White House Office of Political Affairs targeting the most vulnerable democratic members of the House and Senate. The White House will undoubtedly continue to defend White House staffers' use of RNC email accounts as required by the Hatch Act, which allows certain White House staff to conduct political activities while at the White House but prohibits them from using government resources to do so.

Here’s the hitch, however -- if these materials were truly “political,” then GSA administrator Lurita Doan and others violated the Hatch Act when they allowed and participated directly in partisan political activity at GSA headquarters during working hours.

 

 

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