Yesterday, CREW learned of yet more outrageous conduct by the former head of the General Services Administration (GSA) Lurita Doan. An investigation conducted by the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) -- acting at the request of GSA’s inspector general -- concluded that there was absolutely no merit to Ms. Doan’s accusations that auditors at GSA’s OIG intimidated contracting officers assigned to a negotiation with Sun Microsystems. Ms. Doan had chaffed publically at the oversight conducted by GSA’s own inspector general, which included a critical look at Ms. Doan’s actions as GSA administrator. Apparently acting on the belief that the best defense is a good offense, Ms. Doan in response leveled accusations at the GSA OIG.

In writing to the OIG about the results of his investigation, David Williams described the Federal Acquisition Service as “dysfunctional,” the management structure at GSA as “virtually collapsed,” and stated that “GSA leadership appeared to be signaling its employees to favor the commercial interests of certain large vendors. The report from the Postal Service's OIG can be found

Corruption and political pressure in government contracting is nothing new. But what is new is the level it has reached in this administration, as documented by the investigation into the nation’s top contracting official, Lurita Doan. This investigation highlights the critical oversight role that inspectors general play, especially in the face of an administration that has declared itself immune from oversight.

The Inspector General from the GSA forwarded the information to Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA). That letter is here.

The story of Lurita Doan is, unfortunately, not an unusual story about the ethics of the Bush administration: 

The White House blandly praised Ms. Doan as it pushed her out. There was no mention, of course, of gross misbehavior when she suggested turning her agency into a patronage clubhouse. Nor was there mention of the fact that her call to the aid of the party came during a briefing for top G.S.A. managers — organized by the White House and delivered by a Karl Rove political operative — on targeted Democratic politicians.

She denied any violation, but she made her philosophy of government clear early on in trying to cut the funding of her agency’s inspector general office. Inspector generals are supposed to track complaints of waste and fraud. She called them bureaucratic “terrorists.”

Her one undeniable service for taxpayers was in laying bare the partisan diktat that so deeply scars the Bush administration’s approach to government service. Evidence of such chicanery extends from regulatory agencies packed with pro-industry appointees, to the purging of nine United States attorneys responsible for enforcing justice, not the Republican Party’s agenda.

Considering the usual stonewalling, it is surprising that Ms. Doan wasn’t allowed to stay on through the final months of the Bush presidency. She exits as a minor but revealing character in a far more sweeping tale of the partisan undermining of public service.

Last year, Lurita Doan, the controversial leader of the General Services Administration (GSA) was named by CREW as one of the 25 most corrupt officials in the Bush Administration. Since that time, she has faced scrutiny from Congress and the Office of Special Counsel for potential violations of the Hatch Act.

Yesterday, at a meeting at the White House, it was "requested" that Ms. Doan submit her resignation:

Lurita Doan, the embattled head of the General Services Administration, resigned at the request of the White House, sources said Tuesday.

According to people familiar with the matter, the controversial agency administrator was summoned to the White House for a late afternoon meeting Tuesday, during which she was asked to step down.

Doan's ouster comes nearly 11 months after the independent Office of Special Counsel concluded an investigation of Doan and called for President Bush to fire her for violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from using government resources for partisan politics.

"I would rather get fired for something I believe in, and a cause I was willing to fight for, rather than to believe in nothing worth being fired for," Doan told Government Executive in an e-mail message.

Seems like she got her wish.

Rough day on Capitol Hill for Lurita Doan. Her claims that she didn't engage in politics didn't convince many. The Chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform basically told her to quit already:

Lurita Alexis Doan, the GSA administrator, made her second appearance this spring before the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which is examining allegations that she violated the Hatch Act by asking political appointees how they could "help our candidates" during a Jan. 26 briefing at the agency by a White House official.

Doan testified that she did not recall the remark. But she asserted that she operates her agency without regard for political concerns.

"I'm not engaged in partisan political activities," she told lawmakers. "And I have haven't directed anyone to do anything."

Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) was unconvinced. Citing allegations about her leadership of the GSA, including the approval of a $20,000, no-bid arrangement last July with a business run by a friend, Waxman said he believed Doan could no longer be effective.

"I don't see any other course of action that will protect the interests of your agency and the federal taxpayer," Waxman said. "I would urge you to resign."

Wow.  Lurita Doan, named by CREW as one of the 25 most corrupt officials in the Bush Administration, testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today.  She claimed to be expecting a "motivational speech" when she gathered the political appointees in her department to hear from Scott Jennings, a top aide to Karl Rove in the White House political operation.

GSA chief Lurita Doan is accused of violating federal law after she hosted a partisan PowerPoint briefing delivered by top Karl Rove deputy Scott Jennings, and then asked her agency employees to think up ways to help GOP candidates. During her hearing today, Doan claimed she didn’t know it would be a political meeting. “I thought we were going to have a motivational speech,” Doan told Rep. John Mica (R-FL).

Wow. 

In the wake of the scathing report accusing Lurita Doan of violating the Hatch Act, the embattled Administrator of the General Services Administration will appear at a House hearing today:

Democrats on a House committee will question the head of the General Services Administration (GSA) today about accusations that she improperly engaged in partisan politics, but committee Republicans are expected to turn the session into a bare-knuckled free-for-all.    

GSA Administrator Lurita Doan was accused in a report given this week to the White House by the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) of engaging in partisan politics during a Jan. 26 PowerPoint presentation to 30 GSA political appointees on the 2006 midterm elections and prospects for the 2008 elections.   

U.S. Special Counsel Scott J. Bloch, who heads OSC, told President Bush in the report that Mrs. Doan engaged in "the most pernicious of political activity" banned by the 1939 Hatch Act and recommended that she "be disciplined to the fullest extent."    

Ironically, Bloch, who has been criticized by CREW, among others, for his partisanship, will face an attack from GOP members of the House committee:

Republicans, angry about the report and its conclusions, are expected to turn the tables on Mr. Bloch during the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing, seeking instead to talk about what they have described as his "flawed conclusion and analysis."    

"Mr. Bloch's report concerning Mrs. Doan begins and ends with extreme exaggeration," said a high-ranking Republican congressional source. "The fact that he can't imagine a more egregious violation of the Hatch Act boggles the mind; that Mrs. Doan engaged in pernicious political activity boggles the mind.

Scott Bloch, who heads the Office of Special Counsel, finally reported to President Bush that Lurita Doan violated the Hatch Act and should be punished.  Pretty strong condemnation:

The head of the main federal contracting agency, a longtime GOP supporter, should be "punished to the fullest extent" for violating a ban on political advocacy on government time, a watchdog agency concluded. 

The Office of Special Counsel, in a letter to President Bush released late Monday, said General Services Administrator Lurita Doan engaged in "the most pernicious of political activity" banned by the 1939 Hatch Act when she asked, at a meeting of General Services Administration political appointees, how they could help Republican candidates.

"I recommend that Administrator Doan be disciplined to the fullest extent for her serious violation of the Hatch Act and insensitivity to cooperating fully and honestly in the course of our investigation," wrote Scott Bloch, special counsel for the independent investigative and prosecutorial agency.

Not only did the Office of Special Counsel find that Lurita Doan violated the Hatch Act, the Federal Times reports that the accuracy of Ms. Doan's sworn testimony was brought in to question:

The OSC report went on to pick apart virtually all aspects of Doan’s sworn testimony during the investigation. Among the chapter headings in Bloch’s report: “OSC was unable to corroborate Administrator Doan’s testimony regarding her BlackBerry use,” “None of the witnesses corroborated the administrator’s testimony regarding the San Francisco building,” “Administrator Doan’s allegation that the witnesses were biased against her is not supported by the evidence,” and “Administrator Doan unsuccessfully attempts to exonerate herself by shifting the focus from her lack of memory to the witness’ memory.”

For her part, Doan said she will contest inaccuracies in the report, although at press time she had not specified what those are.

The OSC report, obtained by Federal Times and other publications but not yet officially released, goes well beyond dry legality in its condemnation of Doan’s conduct.

“The GSA Administrator displayed no reservations in her willingness to commit GSA resources, including its human capital, to the Republican Party. … 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 Governors’ mansions.”

CREW named Doan one of the 25 most corrupt officials in the Bush Administration in our February 2007 report, Criminals & Scoundrels.

Also, an editorial in today's NY Times calls on President Bush to dismiss Doan "for violating one of the most hallowed laws of fairness in government service."

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.

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.