Does this photo show Rove & Ralston breaking the law? You be the judge.

[bleever]

Election night, November 2004, in the White House:




Remember how Al Gore got in all sorts of trouble because he might have made a few campaign-related phone calls from the VP's office, instead of leaving the building to use a different phone? The relevant law is called the Hatch Act. Here's a little history, and what the law actually says as it applies to the activities in the above photo.

'Many Republicans, however, were convinced that WPA workers had gone further, intimidating staff members, pressuring clients, and using public funds for political purposes. This concern explains the Hatch Act's most restrictive provision—that persons below the policymaking level in the executive branch of the federal government must not only refrain from political practices that would be illegal for any citizen but must abstain from "any active part" in political campaigns.'

http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/rcah/html/ah_040900_hatchact.htm

'In 1993, Congress passed legislation that significantly amended the Hatch Act as it applies to federal and D.C. employees (5 U.S.C. §§ 7321-7326). (These amendments did not change the provisions that apply to state and local employees. 5 U.S.C. §§ 1501- 1508.) Under the amendments most federal and D.C. employees are now permitted to take an active part in political management and political campaigns. A small group of federal employees are subject to greater restrictions and continue to be prohibited from engaging in partisan political management and partisan political campaigns.'

http://www.osc.gov/ha_fed.htm

And getting down to the nitty-gritty:

'Permitted/Prohibited Activities for Employees Who May Participate in Partisan Political Activity

These federal and D.C. employees may-

* be candidates for public office in nonpartisan elections
* register and vote as they choose
* assist in voter registration drives
* express opinions about candidates and issues
* contribute money to political organizations
* attend political fundraising functions
* attend and be active at political rallies and meetings
* join and be an active member of a political party or club
* sign nominating petitions
* campaign for or against referendum questions, constitutional amendments, municipal ordinances
* campaign for or against candidates in partisan elections
* make campaign speeches for candidates in partisan elections
* distribute campaign literature in partisan elections
* hold office in political clubs or parties

These federal and D.C. employees may not-

* use official authority or influence to interfere with an election
* solicit or discourage political activity of anyone with business before their agency
* solicit or receive political contributions (may be done in certain limited situations by federal labor or other employee organizations)
* be candidates for public office in partisan elections
* engage in political activity while:
- on duty
- in a government office
- wearing an official uniform
- using a government vehicle
* wear partisan political buttons on duty'

http://www.osc.gov/ha_fed.htm

So whether or not this photo depicts Rove in the act of stealing the election with his bank of computers following precinct-level voting returns, it would seem to constitute prima facia evidence of an egregious violation of the Hatch Act, on his part and that of Susan Ralston.


See also this previous thread, with more good info and analysis:

"Susan Ralston: Traitorgate, Abramoff scandal, AND election theft witness?"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5467221



A federal prosecutor looking to untangle the activities of certain persons of interest might find this information of value.

:)

[LincolnMcGrath]

1. Excellent Post

K & R

[FreedomAngel82]

4. Definitely

Last night I was watching an older "West Wing" and Josh got an Email from the daughter of a family in New Hampshire who was thinking of voting for another candidate instead of Bartlet and he wanted Donna to call them and talk to them about why they were voting for this person and what they could do to change their mind. Donna was going to call at her desk but Josh quickly said no and to go outside and use a cell phone and she took his coat and went out. So it is illegal since they wouldn't do it in a fake storyline.

[Double T]

2. Just add this to the long list of rove violations.......

sooner or later something has to stick to this guy so he can be removed from office.

[lovuian]

3. Wonder if Mr. Fitzgerald is aware he needs to keep in mind that

violation!!!

[chelsea0011]

5. You know, I have lost track of all the bullshit the repukes

through at the Clinton and Gore. Thanks for the reminder. Last week, Bill Press I think, said the the Republicans spent more time investigating whether or not Clinton was tampering with the Holiday/Xmas list and adding more Dems than they have spent investigating prisoner torture.

[understandinglife]

6. I suggest you call Mr. Fitzgerald's office (number below) and ...

... request a fax number so you can send them this post.

PATRICK J. FITZGERALD Special Counsel Office of the United States Attorney Northern District of Illinois 219 South Dearborn Street Chicago, Illinois 60604 [phone]

Randall Samborn's numbers (handles press contacts for Mr Fitzgerald):
[phone]
[phone]


Peace.

[helderheid]

7. excellent suggestion

[bleever]

13. Thanks. I phoned Mr. Samborn and left a message requesting

a Washington fax number. I'll mail it to him the old-fashioned way if I need to.

[Patsy Stone]

8. I'm with UL

Give Pat a call. I'm sure he'd love to hear from you. :hi: K&R.

[bleever]

16. I've scoured the DOJ and OSP sites for phone and fax numbers,

but it looks like I'll need to mail it, unless Mr. Samborn returns my call.

The Chicago office gave me a fax number there, but the OSP site specifically states that all info should go to the Washington office.

Maybe I should get on a plane, and deliver it personally, along with some real Chicago-style pizza, hot dogs, and other foods he's probably missing.


:hi:

[Patsy Stone]

20. And Italian Beef sandwiches

The East Coast welcomes you. I know a great bar in DC. :)

What about this number?
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/osc/documents/miller_cooper_brief_oppose_cert.pdf

[MelissaB]

25. Thanks for doing this, bleever!

I still believe! :hi:

[izzybeans]

9. I thought this going to be a thread about sodomy in Texas

but find this to be much more rewarding intellectually.

Nice posting.

Thanks for the info.:)

[hvn_nbr_2]

10. Dontcha know? Laws don't apply to Republicans.

Sheesh! Didn't you get the memo? :sarcasm:

But seriously, for the folks suggesting sending this to Fitzgerald, I don't think that's very useful. As special prosecutor, Fitzgerald has a very specific assignment, not a general mandate to look for any wrongdoing of any kind anywhere. (If it happened in northern Illinois where Fitz is the U.S. Attorney, that would be different.) Unlike Starr, Fitzgerald has some principles.

What might be useful would be to send it to media outlets, along with clips from the same outlets about hounding Gore over fundraising calls. Rub their noses in their perfidy.

[deminks]

11. I have wondered for a long time just what was going on in this

photo. Rove had a completely different set of numbers later than anyone else. It would be very interesting for Fitz to look at this. PBS's program Frontline used some of these pictures as well. They may have video.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/architect/view/

[bleever]

12. Thanks! There's another photo at that site, plus lots of info.

Here's their synopsis of the program, including that stomach-turning moment:

The program begins on Election Day 2004. As the president emerged from the Crawford, Texas, fire station after voting, the press corps was surprised by what they saw. "The people around him were very concerned that they had lost," Washington Post reporter Mike Allen tells FRONTLINE, "and you see the aides, including the president's daughters … looking like they were at a funeral."

And as the day went on, early exit polls delivered to Karl Rove on Air Force One seemed to show a substantial victory for Sen. John Kerry.

"The air went out of the airplane," said Bush chief media strategist Mark McKinnon. "The air just got sucked out."

But Rove, who had spent years courting what he called the Republican conservative base, immediately crunched the numbers to see if all the handholding and political deal making with that group would yield the turnout he expected. Before long Rove knew the exit polls were wrong.

Of course, how he "knew" this is another story, and therein lies a terrible tale.

[jokerman93]

14. Laws?

We don't need no freepin' laws!

Laws are for limp wristed latte drinking Libruls!

[texpatriot2004]

15. Caught on film...red handed. n.t

[Catherine Vincent]

17. I'll send this to Fitzgerald right away! Thanks!

;-)

[chat_noir]

18. Political Activity ("Hatch Act")

Inquiries about the Hatch Act may be made in writing or by telephone to:

Hatch Act Unit
U.S. Office of Special Counsel
1730 M Street, N.W., Suite 218
Washington, D.C. 20036-4505
Tel: (800) 85-HATCH or [phone]
[phone]

Requests for Hatch Act advisory opinions (only) may be made by e-mail to: [email protected]


http://www.osc.gov/contacts.htm

[mod mom]

19. I set up election day staging sites for the Kerry campaign and we were

very careful to pay for use of sites at a fair market value. I guess when your a republican certain rules/laws don't apply.

[cally]

21. This may be in the private part of the White House

I remember the Gore attack and he's allowed to make political calls from his private residence. The previous thread indicated that this is the old private dining room so perhaps it's considered part of the private residence. If so, they can conduct campaign operations there. I think.

[MADem]

dupe, sorry

[MADem]

54. That isn't "the residence"

The ceilings are too high.

[RedOnce]

22. Kick!

[Catherine Vincent]

23. kick again

[wicket]

24. kick

:kick:

[bleever]

26. E-mails have been grounds for prosecuting (Dems) under Hatch Act

There isn't a very high threshold for flagging violations of the Hatch Act (although with a Bush partisan appointed Special Counsel in charge of Hatch Act violations, apparently some are more at risk than others). Even forwarding a political e-mail while at work or from a government computer can get you in trouble:

Air Force machinist Donald Thompson didn’t think twice last November when he forwarded an e-mail he received criticizing President Bush. He saw nothing wrong with passing on to 70 friends and acquaintances a lampoon of the president’s qualifications from the union office in Warner-Robins, Ga., where he served as president of the American Federation of Government Employees’ Local 987.

/snip/

But the Office of Special Counsel saw it differently. The office claims that Thompson violated the Hatch Act, the 65-year-old law that restricts the political activities of federal, state and local government employees. Now, Thompson is fighting for his job. If the Merit Systems Protection Board, which adjudicates Hatch Act complaints filed by the OSC, finds Thompson violated the law, he could be suspended or fired.

/snip/

But when a federal employee sends an e-mail that advocates the support or opposition of a partisan candidate running for office and does so from a government computer, in a government building, or while on duty in a federal job, he or she violates the law, Bloch said.

http://www.federaltimes.com/index2.php?S=383338

[WiseButAngrySara]

27. Excellent post! You have proven to me that he broke the law...I asked

you this very question on another related thread. Very good work.

:kick: and Recommended!

[bleever]

29. I remember. So when I realized that it was Susan Ralston sitting

there, it tied things together.

:toast:

[WiseButAngrySara]

48. She's gonna be in trouble.....

:toast: and :yourock:

[bleever]

28. The WH has played fast-and-loose with the Hatch Act

in a number of cases:

On Aug. 16, the Department of Veterans Affairs e-mailed its public affairs officers a two-page "fact sheet" titled, "Supporting and Strengthening the Military and Military Families." The document, which was created by the White House and touted Bush's record on veterans issues, was, in turn, e-mailed to all VA employees in the Tampa area. An identical version was posted on the official Bush-Cheney campaign Web site two days later.

In early April, shortly before federal tax returns were due, the Treasury Department issued a news release that read, in part: "America has a choice: It can continue to grow the economy and create new jobs as the President's policies are doing; or it can raise taxes on American families and small businesses, hurting economic recovery and future job creation." The language appeared verbatim on an April 2 fact sheet put out by the Republican National Committee.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6892-2004Oct4.html

But they haven't been charged, so it must be alright, right? Well, here's the scoop on Scott Bloch, appointed by Bush to oversee the Hatch Act:

From 2001-2003, Mr. Bloch served as Associate Director and then Deputy Director and Counsel to the Task Force for Faith-based and Community Initiatives at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he worked on First Amendment cases, regulations, intergovernmental outreach, and programmatic initiatives.

http://www.osc.gov/specialcounsel.htm

Which might have something to do with large-scale violations by the administration being ignored, while one email from a union office gets federal attention.

Military and civilian employees at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque received an unusual e-mail inviting them to attend an Aug. 26 campaign rally for President Bush.

"The White House has extended an invitation to TEAM KIRTLAND to attend President Bush's speech downtown at the Convention Center," read the message, sent by Deborah Mercurio, the director of public affairs for the 377th Air Base Wing. "Doors open at 12:00 p.m. and no one is to arrive later than 2:00 p.m. For those interested, please stop by the Wing PA office for tickets."

/snip/

"They basically rounded up the people and told the military, 'Don't wear your uniforms and get over to the convention center and root for the president,' " said John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal employee union. The "party, the administration, whoever, just seems to be using our military and our civil service as a prop for campaign events."

Gage and other union leaders are keeping track of such incidents. They say government officials have used agency computers to e-mail federal workers memos highlighting presidential accomplishments and posted politically charged language on a Cabinet department's Web site.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6892-2004Oct4.html

[Loge23]

30. Like Delay, KKKarl IS the governement!

They do what they want.
It's all theirs.

[spooky3]

31. Great work, Bleev!

[David Zephyr]

32. Good stuff, bleever!

:thumbsup: Happy to kick this up.

[FogerRox]

33. K&R good stuff bleever -- EOM

[roseBudd]

34. I don't know about that one, but this one most definitely does, look

[bleever]

35. LOFL. I thought about that picture every time I looked at the one

in the OP.

:hi:


:)

[Patsy Stone]

36. Look who has 43 recommendations!

Proud to know ya! :thumbsup:

[WillyT]

39. Make That 44 !!!

:kick::nuke::kick:

[Patsy Stone]

40. Up to 45!

It looks like we don't like Rove or something... :evilgrin:

[BattyDem]

37. DEFINITELY! Oh ... wait a minute ...

they're Republican.

Never mind. Nothing to see here ... move along. :eyes:

[Time for change]

38. This issue that you bring up

more than anything else that I can think of demonstrates the tremendous hypocrasy and irresponsibility of our news media. Gore was hounded about those infringements from the day they first came to the attention of the news media until the day that he conceded the 2000 election. It probably cost him 10% of the vote in the 2000 election IMO, so that if not for that he would have won in a landslide. Yet much worse infractions by Republicans are barely commented upon.

This is so disgusting.:mad:

[Patsy Stone]

41. It's a good thing there wasn't oral sex involved

Just imagine the outrage then!

[Time for change]

58. I think that you mean oral sex involving a Dem., right?

I don't believe that our MSM considers other kinds of oral sex important.

Remember all the fuss about Gary Condit, just because he knew a young female intern who disappeared, and may have had an affair with her? That was the biggest news item on TV for several weeks. At about the same time, Joe Scarborough, a Republican Congressman, had a young female intern found dead in his office, and that was barely mentioned on TV.

[bleever]

43. Keep fighting, tfc. Truth is a powerful ally, and it's ours.

:thumbsup:

[Time for change]

59. Yes, truth is a powerful ally

We just need to find a way to take the airwaves back, so as to give truth more of a chance to get out. Once that happens most Republicans would have a hard time winning 40% of the vote (IF counted accurately) unless they move way to the left.

[DistressedAmerican]

42. Kicker and Nod 46! Good Find!

[bleever]

44. Thanks, DA.

BTW:

:yourock:


But you knew that.

[EFerrari]

45. Is Kkkarl's machine on line?

:wow:

[Ellipsis]

46. The bleever bites like a Shark I know.

Chomp! Chomp!


:thumbsup:


Beautiful!

[Justice Is Comin]

47. Hope it gets media legs and goes somewhere

But it would probably be best sent to someone Like Senator Durbin or Reid for a look-see.

Nice work keeping the heat turned up Bleev.

[blue neen]

49. This is brilliant, bleever.

Rove maneuvers another blatant disregard for the law.

[autorank]

50. My God! This is even better than the first version. Rec to Buzz Flash Now

They run DU stuff every now and then.

Let's all do it!

auto

[suigeneris]

51. I hate this bastard and nobody would more like to see

him make the frog march out of the White House than I would but it seems to me he skates on the Hatch Act because he's a policy maker. From your post:

"...the Hatch Act's most restrictive provision—that persons below the policymaking level in the executive branch of the federal government must not only refrain from political practices that would be illegal for any citizen but must abstain from "any active part" in political campaigns."

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Karl_Rove
"In February 2005, Rove was appointed (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/02/20050208-13.html) Assistant to the President, Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor."

[xiamiam]

52. great job...this is why i love DU...thanks....nt.

[Zynx]

53. It would certainly appear to be the case.

[Swamp Rat]

55. Kick and recommended ... you ROCK bleever!

:yourock:

[leveymg]

56. Maybe Rover was just ordering a pizza? Extra cheese. eom

[mopinko]

57. i always thought so. np

[bleever]

60. Ralston spent 95% of her time in the WH while working on the campaign.

In her own words:

Ralston told (http://www.asianfortune.com/aug04/Articles/PROFILE%20Susan%20RALSTON.htm) Jennie L. Ilustre in a pre-presidential election 2004 interview for Asian Fortune that she was then "the White House Liaison to the Bush-Cheney ’04 (BC’04) campaign. As such, she has been very much involved in the reelection campaign. 'I work on the coordination of all activities between the campaign and the White House, including the Republican National Convention,... I spend 95 per cent of my physical time at the White House, but do go over to the campaign headquarters for meetings.'"

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Susan_B._Ralston

She was certainly not working from the private residence portion of the WH. How is this remotely legal??

[troubleinwinter]

62. I assume she was on WH payroll, not RNC? Hmmmmm.

[robbedvoter]

61. here's a good companion piece:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3987237.stm

Early exit polls quoted by media seemed to give Mr Kerry the edge, but colleagues said Mr Rove indicated right away that they did not tally with his information.

He used his own data to put Ohio and Florida in the Bush column - bringing cheers from the president and his family when he went into the Roosevelt Room and told them

[bleever]

63. I saw you post this in another thread, and it sure is chilling.

"He used his own data"...

:mad: