GSA's Lurita Doan -- Again

By Lee Russ

Wednesday, April 04, 2007 at 08:26 PM

I wrote about Lurita Doan's tenure at the GSA a few days ago, but didn't really go into much depth on the claim that she presided over a meeting of GSA employees, on fed property, at which a Rove aide spent considerable time doing a slide show on the upcoming 2008 elections for the House, Senate, and Governorships. But that issue, and it's Hatch Act implications, is heating up.

If you want to see the slides from the "briefing" that Rove’s deputy, Scott Jennings, gave to Lurita Doan and 40 other political appointees at the GSA during a January luncheon and teleconference, go to this site. Federal employees, apparently on federal property, during federal work hours, listening and watching a Rove aide discuss which Democrats the Repubs plan to target in 2008 House races, the state of Repub defense in 2008 House races, and how the 2008 Governor and Senate battles shape up.

Why, what could be improper about that? It isn't like the Hatch Act prohibits fed employees from participating in partisan political activity on fed time, right? Oh, yeah, that's right, that's exactly what the Hatch Act does prohibit.

Actually, Doan's status exempts her from the specific Hatch Act prohibition against "political activities" on the job or in federal offices, but she remains barred from using her position to affect election outcomes or, most notably, from asking employees who are not exempt to participate in partisan activities.

What does Doan herself say to all this? A few days ago, according to Government Executive magazine, Doan told the House Committee investigating the meeting's propriety that she could not remember the details of the meeting, other than that people arrived late, quite a few were absent and there were "cookies on the table."

Isn't that amazing? Another top executive who can't remember the details of a meeting that occurred only a few months ago, involving a top aide to the President's top adviser. What could possibly be noteworthy about that?

And of course the supposedly "good government" Republicans don't find this politicking on the federal dime and time disconcerting in the least. Not as long as it's them and their wonder boy Rove doing the politicking. So Tom Davis (R-Va), the Committee's ranking Republican hangs his hat on the fact that the meeting supposedly was called to a close when participants started to discuss specific elected officials likely to be running for reelection in 2008.

Hatch Act violation or no Hatch Act violation? Depends on who you believe, of course. And since all the actual participants were Republicans ...