Given all of the various scandals we’ve seen from this White House, I suppose it’s a little tough to get worked up about Hatch Act violations. In fact, unlike some of the other breathtaking controversies, this one seems less serious precisely because it doesn’t surprise anyone. “Of course Karl Rove’s office was trying to manipulate executive branch agencies for partisan ends,” the political world says. “That’s his job.”
But let’s not be too hasty in dismissing the significance of this one. For one thing, Rove’s office clearly violated the law and got caught. For another, the White House can’t seem to come up with a coherent defense for it.
If you’re just joining us, Rove’s office arranged 20 private briefings on Republican electoral prospects at 15 executive branch agencies, everything from NASA to HHS to the Small Business Administration to Homeland Security. At these briefings, Rove or one of his acolytes would explain to hundreds of federal employees, at their workplaces, exactly which Republican candidates were vulnerable and in need of support. The same briefings would emphasize which Democratic candidates were being targeted, and where the GOP challenger could use a hand. All of these briefings were held in government offices shortly before a congressional election, despite the Hatch Act, which prohibits political coercion of federal employees and use of federal resources — including office buildings — for partisan purposes.
With this in mind, consider Dana Perino’s response to an easy question on this.
Q: Okay, on the political briefings, there seems — there’s no shortage of political information out there. Why does the White House feel it’s necessary to give these employees these briefings in the first place?
PERINO: I think that’s kind of ridiculous question. I mean, there’s — sorry, I usually don’t say those things, but I do think that that one was. Look, there is nothing wrong with political appointees providing other political appointees with an informational briefing about the political landscape in which they are working….. [T]he reason that you’re here working for the President is that you want to support his policies and his agenda, and so it’s good to get information from time to time.
Think about how silly this really is. We’re talking about bureaucrats at 15 federal agencies, none of whom actually work in a “political landscape.” Are there really NASA employees who need to know which House Republicans are considered vulnerable by the NRCC? Do Treasury staffers need to know who the top Dem targets are? If so, why?
According to Perino, even asking is “ridiculous.” But for the acting press secretary, the desperation was just getting started.
Q: Well, I’m trying to get to the motivation for this, and it’s 20 briefings —
PERINO: The motivation is to provide people information.
Q: But why? Why do they need this information —
PERINO: Why are you asking me these questions? You’re asking information, as well.
See, it’s all the same! Reporters are seeking information from the White House about administration activities and Rove’s office is giving information to federal employees about key races in the midterm cycle. There’s no difference at all, right?
Please. This is a special kind of stupid. To hear the White House’s explanation, 20 detailed political briefings at 15 federal agencies were all just one big FYI. Rove’s office just wanted to pass along comprehensive information about congressional races nationwide to hundreds of federal employees in case they were curious. Rove and his acolytes had nothing better to do with their time.
For some reason, Henry Waxman isn’t buying it.
A House committee chairman asked 27 federal departments and agencies yesterday to turn over information related to White House briefings about elections or political candidates, substantially widening the scope of a congressional investigation into the administration’s compliance with the law that restricts partisan political activity by government employees.
Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, made the requests after the White House acknowledged that aides to Karl Rove, President Bush’s chief political adviser, had presented 20 briefings on the “political landscape” to senior federal appointees, last year and this year. An undetermined number of briefings were held in previous years, a spokesman said.
Waxman asked that the information be submitted by mid-May, including the dates, times, locations and names of attendees of briefings that occurred from 2001 until this month, as well as any related “communications and documents.” Waxman’s committee has the authority to subpoena the data if the Bush administration declines to provide them voluntarily. This week, the panel endorsed three subpoenas on unrelated matters.
Just another headache for a scandal-plagued White House.