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Blog Entry from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

Lurita Doan's lawyer attacks Scott Bloch over leaking report about her Hatch Act Violations

Earlier this week, several news outlets reported that the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) had determined that Lurita Doan did violate the Hatch Act. We're no big fans of Scott Bloch, the highly controversial head of the OSC.  In fact, upon learning that Bloch would be investigating the White House political scandals, Melanie Sloan said, "Having transformed OSC into a virtual black hole for legitimate complaints of retaliation, Bloch is decidedly not the right person to tackle the issues of misconduct and illegality that surround top White House officials. There is a serious question as to whether Bloch will just provide cover for an administration that has been covering for him."

Bloch and his office are now under fire from Doan's lawyer for leaking the report about her:

Lurita Doan, administrator of the General Services Administration, is firing back at Special Counsel Scott Bloch because of a leaked report on his office’s investigation into Doan’s alleged Hatch Act violation.

Michael Nardotti Jr., an attorney with Patton Boggs who represents Doan, wrote a letter to OSC May 24 “to express utter outrage that the confidentiality of the report concerning allegations against her has not been maintained.”

“It would be beyond reason to conclude that the leak of the reports is from any source other than your office,” he wrote. “The obligation to maintain the confidentiality of the report lies with your office and ultimately with you as the special counsel.”

In the letter, Nardotti said he intends to take the issue to the Executive Office of the President and encouraged Bloch to reject the report and hand the investigation to another body.

“The matter has been irreparably damaged,” he wrote.

Strong attack on the process, but does not addressing the underlying issue of whether Doan violated the Hatch Act.

Ms. Doan has been asked to testify at the House Government Reform Committee on June 7th.

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