WP pg1: HOW ROVE DIRECTED FEDERAL ASSETS FOR GOP GAINS

[DeepModem Mom]

How Rove Directed Federal Assets for GOP Gains
Bush Adviser's Effort to Promote the President and His Allies Was Unprecedented in Its Reach
By John Solomon, Alec MacGillis and Sarah Cohen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, August 19, 2007; Page A01


Bush adviser Karl Rove detailed his plan early in the president's first term. (By Joe Marquette -- Bloomberg News)

Thirteen months before President Bush was reelected, chief strategist Karl Rove summoned political appointees from around the government to the Old Executive Office Building. The subject of the Oct. 1, 2003, meeting was "asset deployment," and the message was clear: The staging of official announcements, high-visibility trips and declarations of federal grants had to be carefully coordinated with the White House political affairs office to ensure the maximum promotion of Bush's reelection agenda and the Republicans in Congress who supported him, according to documents and some of those involved in the effort....

Many administrations have sought to maximize their control of the machinery of government for political gain, dispatching Cabinet secretaries bearing government largess to battleground states in the days before elections....But Rove, who announced last week that he is resigning from the White House at the end of August, pursued the goal far more systematically than his predecessors, according to interviews and documents reviewed by The Washington Post, enlisting political appointees at every level of government in a permanent campaign that was an integral part of his strategy to establish Republican electoral dominance....

***

In the past few months, revelations about a few dozen political briefings that Rove's team conducted at federal agencies and several election-related slides from those briefings have touched off investigations into whether the White House improperly politicized federal workers or misused government assets to win elections. Investigators, however, said the scale of Rove's effort is far broader than previously revealed; they say that Rove's team gave more than 100 such briefings during the seven years of the Bush administration. The political sessions touched nearly all of the Cabinet departments and a handful of smaller agencies that often had major roles in providing grants, such as the White House office of drug policy and the State Department's Agency for International Development.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel and the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee are investigating whether any of the meetings violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits government employees from using federal resources for election activities. They also want to know whether any Bush appointees pressured government for favorable actions such as grants to help GOP electoral chances.

"What we are seeing is the tip of a whole effort to make the federal government a subsidiary of the Republican Party. It was all politics, all the time," Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the oversight committee, said last week....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/18/AR2007081801182.html?nav=hcmodule

[tabatha]

1. He left because

he cannot do that anymore, and needs all his time to find another way to game the system.

[L. Coyote]

24. Because the punishment for Hatch Act violations is leaving government service

and because, once you leave the USG payroll, you are outside the reach of the Hatch Act. He was fired, in effect, although he was probably told by OSC what was to come and he saved face be resigning.

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

At the same time, it is important to remember that the long arm of the law has far more than Hatch Act violations in store for those who use federal funds for political purposes. That is a far more serious crime than the one that forced Rove out, and one he and the administration must still answer for.

[bleever]

2. Does this photo document a Hatch Act violation?

Rove running the Bush re-election efforts from the White House dining room. Susan Ralston, Jack Abramoff's former secretary, is at his side.

Rove was very carefully following precinct-level election returns. Probably just so he'd be the first to know how it was going, right? Or was he managing the red shift that miraculously turned election day around?

In any case, he's doing on the People's property.


K&R for his machinations finally gaining "mainstream" exposure.

[rodeodance]

34. umm. is the WH dining room not part of the WH??

[bleever]

40. He could have had the decency to steal the election

from somewhere else. :)

[Oilwellian]

44. Ah yes, Susan Ralston

Singing like a birdy lately. :D

[Maraya1969]

45. Our tax dollars hard at work keeping the republican party warm and fed.

And supplied with phones, faxes, computers and other office necessities.

[Octafish]

3. Turd Blossom's Sunk

The evidence is there -- the NAZI Roverer and the Monkey House gamed the system, from the voting boot to the Congressional committees. They used government to get rich and used their riches for political gain.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely. I hope the American people get the full story about Foggo, Wilkes, Cunningham, MZM and all the rest that demonstrate how Rove and his ilk really are traitors. There won't be a place on earth where they will be safe from prosecution.

Thank you for a most important article, DeepModem Mom.

PS: Wow. That photo really does capture a most satanic expression on monkey.

[proud patriot]

4. Give the American People our Money back Rove

:grr:

[ellenfl]

5. k&r eom

[L. Coyote]

30. K&R

[rockymountaindem]

6. I gotta say it. I'm gonna regret it, but I have to say it:

The more that this comes to light the more rediculous it is that people piss all over Kerry for "losing" the election, or assert that some other candidate could have won. Any Dem, ANY Dem, would have faced practically insurmountable obstacles in 2004 the likes of which had, as this article indidcates, not been seen before. *This* is why the Bin Laden tape came out right before the election, etc. These were challenges no challenger's campaign had ever faced before. Couple that with the constant atmosphere of fear and war, I'm still surprised we came as close as we did.

[DeepModem Mom]

8. I think you make a good point, rocky. nt

[YvonneCa]

42. Right you are...

...rockymountaindem. And thank you for saying it.:patriot:

[Kingofalldems]

7. I wonder if his buddy Mr. Timmy will ask him about this

tomorrow.

[Tatiana]

9. Thanks for this article, DeepModem Mom! I'm more convinced than ever.

Rove resigned because investigators are getting closer. I wonder who is singing? Abramoff?

[DeepModem Mom]

10. I forgot about Abramoff. I think maybe we DID read a while back that he was singing. nt

[Tatiana]

15. I think his plea agreement requires him to cooperate, which the WSJ reports he is doing.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/22/AR2005092202204.html">Tyco Exec: Abramoff Claimed Ties to Administration

By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 23, 2005; Page A06

Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff bragged two years ago that he was in contact with White House political aide Karl Rove on behalf of a large, Bermuda-based corporation that wanted to avoid incurring some taxes and continue receiving federal contracts, according to a written statement by President Bush's nominee to be deputy attorney general.

Timothy E. Flanigan, general counsel for conglomerate Tyco International Ltd., said in a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee last week that Abramoff's lobbying firm initially boasted that Abramoff could help Tyco fend off a special liability tax because he "had good relationships with members of Congress," including House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.).

Abramoff later said "he had contact with Mr. Karl Rove" about the issue, according to the statement by Flanigan, who oversaw Tyco's dealings with Abramoff and his firm and received reports from Abramoff about progress in the lobbying campaign. Flanigan's statement is the latest indication that Abramoff promoted himself as having ready access to senior officials in the Bush administration.

(more...)


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article2250878.ece">Profile: Karl Rove

<snip>

The Jack Abramoff affair. The mid-term elections defeat. The CIA spy leak. The firing of federal prosecutors. Mr Rove's name was dragged into a series of Republican scandals, but his precise role and responsibilities never revealed — and not without people trying to find out.

He was questioned in front of a grand jury five times before prosecutors decided not to charge him in the CIA leak case. During the trial of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, who was eventually jailed for obstructing the investigaton, lawyers tried to pin the blame on Mr Rove but, as the Washington Post reported, "his job was never fully explained. His influence was never clearly defined".

It was the same in the attempt to get to the bottom of firing of eight federal prosecutors by the Bush administration last year. As the inconsistent US Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, has been dragged back and forth at congressional hearings, the Democrats have sought the head of Mr Rove. When he was ordered to appear before the Judiciary Committee last month, Mr Bush intervened to block his testimony.

(more...)


http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117668592739670828-NtqMNcTNQjBgap7BI5jhmnL_xXM_20070423.html">Justice Probes Abramoff Ties To White House
By SCOT J. PALTROW
April 16, 2007

The Justice Department's Public Integrity Section is investigating connections between disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the White House, a probe that may be affected by missing White House emails.

Lawyers involved in the case said that beginning more than a year ago, federal prosecutors and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents interviewed Mr. Abramoff and other cooperating witnesses at length about numerous contacts between Mr. Abramoff and White House officials, including presidential adviser Karl Rove.

<snip>

In October 2006, the then Republican-controlled House Government Reform Committee issued a report that Mr. Abramoff and his associates had more than 400 lobbying contacts with the White House, including at least 10 meetings with Mr. Rove, from 2001 through March 2004.

<snip>

Mr. Abramoff pleaded guilty in January 2006 to conspiracy to bribe public officials, including a member of Congress and several congressional staffers. He was sentenced to prison and, as required by his plea agreement, he has cooperated extensively with prosecutors.

Several former Abramoff associates who have pleaded guilty in related cases and are cooperating also have been questioned by prosecutors about Mr. Abramoff's ties to the White House.



President Bush shaking hands in 2001 with Chief Raul Garza of the Kickapoo tribe of Texas. In the background at left is the lobbyist Jack Abramoff; Karl Rove, the president's top adviser, is at the right.

[DeepModem Mom]

17. Wow. Thank you! nt

[L. Coyote]

25. Take a close look at to whom Tyco's lobbying $$ were paid, then look at who paid the same lobbyist

big money.

[merh]

11. Squealing like a stuck pig

Jack Abramhoff has been telling friends and family in the last few months that Karl Rove was going down because he is implicated in the bribery investigations. This much I know–Abramhoff has been talking freely and fully to the FBI about Rove and what he knew and when he knew it. Whether that translates into an indictment remains to be seen.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=1576883

Rumor has it, that's why Pickering said he won't run for the House in '08

Chip Pickering announced that he won't run for office in 2008--this rising star in the REpublican party, who was expected to take Trent's senate seat in 2012:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1606660

And that is why Pryce said she won't run for the House in '08.

It's been a bad couple of days for House Republicans, as two senior lawmakers who once held top leadership positions in the GOP caucus -- former Speaker Dennis Hastert (Ill.) and ex-Conference Chairwoman Deborah Pryce (Ohio) -- said they will not run for reelection next fall.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3454929

On September 12, 2003, Pryce wrote a letter to Interior Secretary Gale Norton about a Louisiana casino proposal. In the letter, Pryce, the number four Republican in the House, said that Interior Department approval of a casino proposed by the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians would "set forth a dangerous precedent" and encourage "reservation shopping" by tribes. Republican Whip Roy Blunt sent a similar letter to Norton dated May 21, 2003. A third letter, dated June 10, 2003, was signed by Blunt, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Majority Leader Tom DeLay, and Republican Chief Deputy Whip Eric Cantor. Identical wording appears in all three letters.
http://www.politicalfriendster.com/rateConnection.php?id1=5407&id2=2551

[DeepModem Mom]

13. Thanks for this info, merh! nt

[Tatiana]

16. Fascinating. Thanks so much for this info.

Yeah. Rove's going to get caught by the Abramoff scandal. As much evil as he is responsible for, I really feel like this is what will do him in.

[L. Coyote]

26. Now, look at the campaign contributions flowing to these folks around the date.

[tanyev]

39. "Identical wording appears in all three letters"

Oh, how the Republicans love their astroturf letters.

[JDPriestly]

43. Very interesting

[PSPS]

12. The Whore Post has always known about this, but never bothered to report it before.

[Disturbed]

14. Rove will now cash in with speeches.

He will be free to say whatever he wishes to sabotage the next elections. He may be gone from the WH but he is definitely not gone from the political scene.

[blogslut]

18. Nice overview article from the Post

Nothing we didn't know already but it's good to see the "legitimate" press piece the puzzle together and present it to the masses.

Tomorrow, KKKarl goes on his big, farewell talk show tour. I believe the chronology is first, Bob Schieffer/Face the Nation then Tim Russert/Meet the Press, finishing with Chris Wallace/Fox News Sunday. It would be so sweet if Bob decided to go old school on KKKarl first thing in the morning.

[L. Coyote]

27. Someone at the WA POST is reading DU!

[Missy Vixen]

19. So the WP is finally reporting what we've known for several years now?

Color me amazed.

Julie

[DemReadingDU]

20. morning kick

[DeepModem Mom]

21. Thanks, Dem!

[CoffeeCat]

22. In my opinion...this is a massive RED HERRING...

So, Rove used government officials to aid Bush's re-election. I consider
this old news. So what if he did it even more than any of us realized.

He did all of this under the confines of the law. Chasing this story
is allowing your head to be swiveled to the right---while they steal
our entire country and start a war with Iran from the left.

Rove cannot be prosecuted for anything mentioned in this article. While
the article confirms that Rove is a smarmy, feckless slime ball---direct,
illegal action on his part will be impossible to confirm. They'll claim
executive priviledge and refuse to turn over documents anyway...so what
is the point?

Also, isn't it interesting that the Washington Post writes this article
AFTER Rove left office? They could have gone after him while he was
sitting in the White House. This information is about acts that
were committed months, even years, ago. If the Post truly cared about
corruption, where in the hell are the articles decrying the destruction
of the Constitution and the erosion of our civil rights...or the PNAC
agenda and it's impending war with Iran?

I think this is a manufactured pseudo-crisis. It will lead nowhere.

We all know that these evil bastards are on the brink of war with Iran.
Our navy ships are deployed in the region. The White House just declared
the Iranian military a terrorist organization, which allows them to
declare war on them---under the guise of "protecting the security of
the Homeland".

I may be cynical, but it's obvious the press has been in lockstep with
BushCo the entire way. Feigning investigative journalism now feels like
a ploy. Combine that with the White House's run-up to war with Iran--and
I think we're all being bamboozled into paying attention to fruitless
matters, in order to keep our attention away from their grander plans
that can only succeed if the American people are distracted.

[L. Coyote]

32. WHAT? "He did all of this under the confines of the law. "

Even the Administration has stated otherwise, in effect. Rove's PowerPoint presented to Agencies is the subject of the OSC report and the Doan investigation. What he has done is manage to slither off without getting direct blame. Of course, he probably had to slither off, before the direct blame is announced by OSC on Sept. 2 or thereafter.

Rove resigning means he escapes removal from his USG "job" for Hatch Act violations, and the attendant disgrace.

The WA POST is turning up new material and adding to the story by interviewing players. They are to be credited with following this vein. It may be a mother lode because misappropriating funds is far more felonious than Hatch Act violations. For that class of crime, the snake cannot just slither out of the job!

[MasonJar]

23. There was a post on DU a few days ago that said the investigation

into the violations of the Hatch Act cannot be used against anyone who is no longer in government. In other words, the inspector general would no longer have jurisdiction over Rove. He might be able to be found guilty in a regular federal court perhaps. Isn't he leaving to escape his guilt?

[L. Coyote]

28. Has Rove's Egg Hatched? The Firing of KARL ROVE or Why His Family Needs Him Now.

Wed Aug-15-07
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1591504

August 16, 2007 01:50 PM
IS ROVE OFF THE HOOK?
by Adele M. Stan
http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/tapped_archive?month=08&year=2007&base_name=post_4595


He may have used the personnel and apparatus of taxpayer-funded government agencies for partisan political purposes, but even if that's proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and in violation of the law, Karl Rove's imminent exit from the West Wing may just let him off the hook.

As I reported earlier this week, among the many fingers pointing at Rove is one belonging to Scott J. Bloch, director of the Office of Special Counsel, which administers the provisions of the Hatch Act, a 1939 law that regulates the role of government employees in electoral politics. Detailed here by CQ's Shawn Zeller, Bloch's investigation has come as close as any to really nailing Rove, having turned Rove's special e-mail account with the Republican National Committee (RNC), which he apparently used to communicate with government employees at their "dot-gov" e-mail addresses.

But that, even when leveraged by investigations by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (led by the indefatigable Henry Waxman of California), may amount to little more than a hill of beans in Rove's case for this simple reason: the Hatch Act carries no criminal penalties. The strongest, most dire corrective it offers is removal of the offender from his or her government post. ....

............

[L. Coyote]

29. This began as soon as Bush took office.

From the article:

An invitation to a March 12, 2001, political briefing for federal officials -- one of the Rove team's earliest -- framed the mission this way: "How we can work together."

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.

"We did that from Day One of the administration, strategically utilizing the president's appointees to sell his agenda," Drew DeBerry, the Agriculture Department's liaison to the White House between 2001 and 2005, recalled in an interview last week.

The scope of Rove's ambitions was unprecedented.

"Karl's ability to see the chessboard and deploy all of the various pieces to the maximum effect is flat-out unrivaled," said Mark Corallo, a longtime GOP operative who worked with Rove as a top Justice Department communications official .....

[L. Coyote]

31. Karl Rove and promoting a "War Pesident" for political gain?

The Rovian PowerPoint presentation given by Rove deputy Scott Jennings to GSA personnel (and to numerous other agencies and groups in the administration) presents a more scandalous aspect that diverting USG funds to enhance electoral prospects for the faithful. The very first slide following the title presents an alarming perspective on contemporary Rovian and Bushco political thinking, a comparison of "wartime" elections with the "average."

This communicates both a deep cynicism and, seemingly, an intention to remain at war for the 2008 election.
To what extent did Bush lie the USG into a war for political gain?
Are American lives just federal dollars, pawns on Bush's political game board?

PowerPoint presentation (pdf) given by Karl Rove's deputy Scott Jennings:
http://oversight.house.gov/Documents/20070328111824-19475.pdf

[rodeodance]

33. that is one ugly photo of Bush in the IP

[libodem]

38. you are right, Rodeo

shit, oh dear. Have you ever been to that *Bush is the Antichrist* site? I never have learned to cut and paste or I'd link us up. He looks like he fits the image in that that photo. Ooohhh, oooohh oooohhh, oooohhh. (spooky music)

[Kingofalldems]

35. Looks like I pay taxes to the GOP

How nice

[roxnev]

36. Are Congress people stupid

A money trail will show that if they used Government expense account or received pay checks for that time period or used government paid transport. it would be a crime.:hurts:

[debbierlus]

37. The first paragraph is soley written to distract from the article

Clinton....

He had guest who got to stay in the Lincoln bedroom....other President's have done similiar things....

Start with negating it all, giving the GOP their jumping point for propaganda & then start the article with But...

There is no comparison with what Clinton or any other President did...this is Rove manipulating the people's money to keep GOP seats and control. It is disgusting.

WP - super weak to start it in such a tongue up the Bush administration's ass kind of way

[orleans]

41. so now what? n/t

[libodem]

46. How could any of that be legal

and why is there so little protest?