Waxman Confirms Existence Of Rove’s Politicization ‘Teams’

Someone's paying attention! :applause: :applause:


http://thinkprogress.org/2007/08/21/waxman-asset-deployment/

Waxman Confirms Existence Of Rove’s Politicization ‘Teams’


On Sunday, the Washington Post reported on Karl Rove’s politicization of the federal government. The article highlighted that Rove had organized “asset deployment teams” that allowed the White House “to coordinate the travel of Cabinet secretaries and senior agency officials” to secure GOP victories:

In practical terms, that meant Cabinet officials concentrated their official government travel on the media markets Rove’s team chose, rolling out grant decisions made by agencies with red-carpet fanfare in GOP congressional districts, and carefully crafted announcements highlighting the release of federal money in battleground states.

This morning, House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) wrote to the heads of 18 federal agencies who attended the briefings, confirming the existence of the teams:

Agencies, documents at link: http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1459

As part of our investigation, the Committee has received documents that confirm the existence of this “asset deployment team.” According to the documents, the White House invited 18 federal agencies, including yours, to asset deployment meetings in 2003.

Those efforts extended up to the 2006 midterm elections. In his letter, Waxman reveals an e-mail from the White House Surrogate Scheduler “asking 18 federal agencies to provide press clippings from events that the agency heads did at the suggestion of the White House Office of Political Affairs.” The text of the e-mail reads:

WH Liaisons -

If you could, please have your press shops send me any good clips from the media on surrogate events your principals have done (Secretary and Sub-Cabinet), especially if they were as a result of an OPA request.

Folks over here get very excited when they see the results of all the hard work you and your agencies do on these events.

The White House has already admitted that roughly 20 agencies received PowerPoint briefings created by Rove’s office “that included slides listing Democratic and Republican seats the White House viewed as vulnerable.”

The existence of the “asset redeployment teams” adds more fuel to the controversy surrounding Rove’s unparalleled politicization schemes.

Waxman requested that information from the agencies concerning the details of meetings and coordination with the White House be turned over by Sept. 7.

YEAH!

Reid, Conyers, Waxman. Don't forget Waxman.

One thing for people to remember is that these guys are working hard on this stuff, and it's slow work. I'm finally feeling confident that we're on our way to something big. Reid's conference was not just lame talking.

And he gets stuck at the same brick wall as everyone else.

The maladministration has gone to the mattresses and are going to be very hard to smoke out.

IMPEACH CHENEY FIRST.

They work in DC. What, they had blinders on?

Most of us here on DU postulated this unprecedented step many years ago.

I am sure Waxman was aware of a lot of the illegalities that were going on, but as a minority member had little ability to investigate this. As he said last January, his problem wasn't finding things, it was where to start...especially with a regime that has stonewalled and obstructed every step of the way. The going has been slow since he can't get the phone records and emails that would verify these things going on. Instead, it appears Henry has found some cooperating witnesses...but again, it's difficult to prove as without documentation to back up the charges, any claims become a he said/she said game.

Waxman needs the evidence and I firmly believe the only way he'll get it is through inherent contempt citations...or we'll deal with a court battle to blow away this regime's ludicrious Executive privilidge claims.

Did they have blinders? Some did...but many like Waxman had sand thrown in their eyes...to paraphrase a well-known prosecutor familiar with trying to investigate this regime.

This incenses me particularly and I shall be writing hard copy letter to my congressman and both my Senators - all red, red Repubs.

Both Republicans and Democrats ignore my area of Texas because they automatically assume we will vote majority GOP, which is true. However, what this means is that monies and attention that could have gone to my area went to another part of the state/nation because we were a "safe bet" as far as Republican candidates were concerned.

This is the issue underlying the Doan scandal.

GSA Chief Is Accused of Playing Politics - washingtonpost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/25/AR2007032501048_pf.html

GSA controls $60 billion in spending, and the idea is to direct that money at the service of the GOP, often in no-bid contracts to GOP friends making huge campaign contributions.

That is just one agency. Look at the Defense Department for another mother lode of money.

What is needed is a comprehensive database of GOP donations and indirect donations (via lobbyists) with a correlation study of federal spending received by the same persons/entities. This is where Waxman's investigation is going, and the GOP is ordering a truckload of diapers on this account! The RNC is messing its pants big time.

But all I can see happening is more hearings, at this point. Maybe after a few years of a trial, some of them can get jail time. But we need to impeach the bush administration whole hog in order to get this whole mess straightened out.

:kick:

:wow: Why, even Republicans would be up in arms.

which we don't.

I hate to be skeptical, but I cannot see anything short of them performing child molestation in the public square on blone-haired orphans (brown skinned orphans wouldn't work, the Busheis and Faux News could sweep that under the rug) convicting them of a single crime.

$60,000,000,000 stolen by the Republic Party, essentially. Well, it was for National Security (keeping the Democrats out of Power IS considered National Security by both Bushies and Nazis), so it's OK.

I'll believe a single crime will be prosecuted against the Loyal and Royal Bushies directly involved in White House lawlessness, well, when a single crime is prosecuted against the Loyal and Royal Bushies directly involved in White House lawlessness.

I'm sorry to say.

quick - he may slither back to where he spawned from...

That is why Rove, et.al, are out, fired in effect.

However, that is the maximum penalty for Hatrch Act violations, removal from government service.

MORE: Has Rove's Egg Hatched? The Firing of KARL ROVE or Why His Family Needs Him Now.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1591504

Nonetheless, it is important to uncover every single Hatch Act violation and register a complaint about it, specifically to remove thes cretins from the USG forever. We need to build a Hatch Act Investigation Team to get rid of them forever. And, a law removing pensions would be a good idea too.

But, I feel Waxman may be gearing up for more, I'm sure there is something else to pin on the turd.

Agencies receiving this request:

Departments of Justice, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, Labor, State, Agriculture, Commerce, Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency, Small Business Administration, General Services Administration, United States Agency for International Development, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

:kick:

Full text of letter to Justice (AG Gonzales) is here (pdf file, seven pages):

http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20070821105616.pdf

:kick:

rove is going into seclusion to hatch up different ones. If we think he is off the payroll and we aren't still going to pay his salary we ought to think again. I wish there was someone who could check it out.

I have been thinking the same thing -- Out of sight does not mean out of business

And when he did, he also practiced routine discrimination because minorities generally side with the Democrats, and when you use the government to hurt Democrats the way Rove did, you can't help but have an adverse effect on minority welfare.

All of his life he's been a ruthless dirty player.
He lusted for total control at the top and he got it. Finally, the WHITE HOUSE. Ta -Da!
That disgusting mind-set and infiltration even worked it's way into the National Park Service.
If you were a Park Ranger(even with many years of service)you were over looked for advancement or promotion if you didn't pass the Re-Thug smell test.
They have their political officers installed in every Government Agency.
(Not to mention gutting the personnel at the Park Service and out-sourcing it to private vendors)
Have I mentioned how much I detest these guys?

who challenged them, and rewarding those who went along. I remember reading somewhere where a lawyer claimed that her father was punished by the city because she dared to challenge them. By the time I moved in, there was an established culture, the community pillars per se, and it's a weird environment where anyone who challenges them either gets turned, and if not turned, then turned in. Everybody else moves out.

But it will mean nothing if it isn't used to impeach the crooks.

Guess I'm only a visitor here...:(

That is another remedy because once they violate the act (Hatch Act) they are no longer legally employed and so every dime of pay they got after that has to be repaid to the Government.

Hit every single person who gave the presentations and every person at the Agency's who worked to assist in their production, and every person who attended as well. There will be a couple of thousand firings but it will send just the right message to any Federal Employee who violates the act in the future.

If we can write laws after the fact so torturers are not held accountable ...........

:grr: