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."

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."

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.

The White House political operation is under investigation by the Office of Special Counsel for its political activity, but the White House spokesperson claims there is nothing to investigate:

Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino said no laws were broken and that the White House counsel's office signed off on the effort.

"It's not unlawful and it wasn't unusual for informational briefings to be given," Perino said. "There is no prohibition under the Hatch Act of allowing political appointees to talk to other political appointees about the political landscape in which they are trying to advance the president's agenda."

She added: "These briefings were not inappropriate, they were not unlawful, they were not unethical."

We shall see. 

The Washington Post reported today that Bush administration officials may have regularly violated the provisions of the Hatch Act: 

White House officials conducted 20 private briefings on Republican electoral prospects in the last midterm election for senior officials in at least 15 government agencies covered by federal restrictions on partisan political activity, a White House spokesman and other administration officials said yesterday.

The previously undisclosed briefings were part of what now appears to be a regular effort in which the White House sent senior political officials to brief top appointees in government agencies on which seats Republican candidates might win or lose, and how the election outcomes could affect the success of administration policies, the officials said.

Last month, CREW's counsel, Ann Weismann, described the potential for Hatch Act violations based on a political presentation by White House personnel at the General Services Administration:

[I]f 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.

Based on today's Post article, it appears there was regular participation in partisan political activity at many government agencies during work hours.

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.