Counsel’s Report on GSA Chief Goes to the White House The government’s special counsel urged President Bush to discipline GSA Administrator Lurita Doan “to the fullest extent” for her violation of the Hatch Act’s prohibition against partisan political activity. Discipline could include removal from office. Special Counsel Scott J. Bloch found that Doan violated the act when she asked subordinates how they could “help our candidates.” She allegedly made the remark at the conclusion of a January 26 political briefing at GSA headquarters. Doan’s attorney, Michael Nardotti, accused the counsel of bias and urged President Bush to reject the findings. He said the counsel’s conclusion was “pure hyperbole and completely out of place in a purportedly objective, impartial and fair report.” A White House spokeswoman said the counsel’s report would be reviewed. Doan declined to comment. The investigation grew out of a briefing for GSA political appointees by J. Scott Jennings, a deputy to White House political aide Karl Rove. The special counsel said, “Numerous GSA political appointees testified under oath that during a question and answer session the Administrator asked a question about, ‘How can we help our candidates?’” That “is a per se violation of [the Hatch Act],” the counsel’s report stated. “It is inherently coercive for Administrator Doan to ask and/or encourage her subordinates to engage in political activity.” Doan told investigators she did not remember making the remark and was paying little attention to the briefing. Her lawyer said that even if she made a comment in violation of the Hatch Act, the violation was “de minimus” and did not result in any action. He noted that she was speaking to political appointees, not civil servants. But the special counsel wrote, “Despite engaging in the most pernicious of political activity prohibited by the Hatch Act, Administrator Doan has shown no remorse and lacks an appreciation for the seriousness of her violation.” He concluded, “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.” The Hatch Act states that a federal employee can be removed from office for a violation. Because Doan is a presidential appointee confirmed by the Senate, the president is empowered to decide what, if any, action to take. The special counsel is conducting a separate investigation into whether the political briefing itself, and similar ones conducted at other agencies, violated the law. The White House has said the briefings for political appointees were proper. At a June 13 hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Chairman Henry Waxman of California said Doan had threatened to retaliate against GSA employees who testified against her, when she said they would not be getting bonuses or awards because of poor performance. Doan said the employees’ performance reviews came before she spoke to the special counsel and denied she had retaliated. The committee’s ranking Republican, Tom Davis of Virginia, told her,“There is zero – zero – evidence that you retaliated against anyone.” Under attack by committee Democrats, she accused them of “playing a game of political gotcha with me as the ‘gotchee.’”