Doan: Details of controversial lunch meeting unclear

The day the White House made a presentation listing 20 Democrats to target in 2008 at a brown-bag lunch at the General Services Administration was a busy one for GSA Administrator Lurita Doan, she said, explaining to a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee why she cannot recall the details of the meeting.

The Jan. 26 luncheon at which White House Deputy Director of Political Affairs Scott Jennings gave a PowerPoint presentation led to allegations that Doan and others violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits political activities using government equipment or on government time. The Office of Special Counsel is reviewing the issue.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said GSA’s top political appointees gathered at the meeting to find ways to help Republican candidates in next year’s election. And this was done in a federal building during working hours at taxpayers’ expense, he added.

“This appears to be a textbook example of what should never happen at a federal agency,” Waxman said. “You can’t engage in partisan political activity on government time.”

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