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Ranchers.net

Doan Ends Her Stormy Tenure as GSA Chief
Resignation Comes at White House's Behest


By Robert O'Harrow Jr. and Scott Higham
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, May 1, 2008; Page A01

General Services Administration chief Lurita Alexis Doan has resigned as head of the government's premier contracting agency at the request of the White House, ending a tumultuous tenure in which she was accused of trying to award work to a friend and misusing her authority for political ends.

"I have been asked by the White House to resign," Doan said in a voice-mail message left with a Washington Post reporter. She added in a statement: "It has been a great privilege to serve our nation and a great President."

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Waxman's committee began investigating Doan after articles in The Post revealed that she had approved a $20,000, no-bid procurement order last July with a firm run by a friend who had served as Doan's public relations consultant when she was in private business. Doan said she terminated the order after she became aware that it did not comply with contracting rules.

The committee investigation also turned up evidence that Doan may have violated the Hatch Act in January 2007 by allegedly asking political appointees how they could "help our candidates" at an agency briefing conducted by a White House official, according to several of the appointees present for the briefing.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, a government watchdog agency, conducted its own probe of those claims and concluded that she made the remarks and violated the Hatch Act, which generally prohibits employees of federal agencies from using their positions for political purposes. In a letter last June, Special Counsel Scott J. Bloch urged President Bush to discipline Doan "to the fullest extent," which included removing her from office.

In the ensuing months, the White House said it was considering Bloch's recommendation but made no further comment. A White House official yesterday declined to say whether that recommendation played a role in her resignation.

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Doan had also been under scrutiny by GSA Inspector General Brian Miller for alleged conflicts of interest and by Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. Grassley was examining Doan's role in the reauthorization of a contract with Sun Microsystems.

"The GSA is an integral component of the federal government's ability to keep costs low for the American taxpayer," Grassley said in a statement yesterday. "In my oversight of the GSA, including the Sun Microsystems contract, it appeared that the taxpayer was not the Agency's top concern. Instead we found questionable actions, finger-pointing, and stonewalling. I hope that changes will now be made to ensure the taxpayer gets the best possible deal when GSA and other agencies negotiate contracts."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/30/AR2008043001271.html?hpid=sec-politics

Yep- GW and his Gang that couldn't shoot straight might be very responsible for the reasoning behind these numbers :wink: :lol: :p :p :(


Government Ethics and Corruption is a Very Important issue for 71% of Likely Voters. The Democrats have a huge advantage on this issue—45% now trust them while just 26% prefer the GOP. That lead has also widened since last month, when the Democrats had only a six-point advantage.
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