This just in!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18295584/?GT1=9246

Rove's White House political activity probed:

WASHINGTON - A little-known federal investigative unit has launched a
probe into allegations of illegal political activity within the
executive branch, including a White House office led by President Bush's
close adviser, Karl Rove.

The new investigation, which began several weeks ago, grew out of two
other investigations still under way at the U.S. Office of Special
Counsel: the firing of U.S. Attorney David Iglesias from New Mexico and
a presentation by Rove aide J. Scott Jennings to political appointees at
the General Services Administration on how to help Republican candidates
in 2008.

"We're in the preliminary stages of opening this expanded
investigation," Loren Smith, a spokesman for the special counsel's
office, an independent investigative and prosecutorial agency, said
Tuesday. "The recent suggestion of illegal political activities across
the executive branch was the basis we used to decide that it was
important to look into possible violations of the Hatch Act."

Story continues below ↓
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The office, led by Scott J. Bloch, enforces the Hatch Act, a 70-year-old
law that bars federal employees from engaging in political activities
using government resources or on government time.

Whether politics played an inappropriate part in the firings of eight
U.S. attorneys, including Iglesias, was at the heart of the controversy
that has threatened Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' job. Whether
executive branch employees violated federal laws that restrict them from
using their posts for political activity also is at the center of the
controversy about the January meeting at GSA.


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'Help our candidate'
"Six participants have confirmed that, at the end of the presentation,
GSA Administrator Lurita Doan asked all present to consider how they
could use GSA to 'help our candidates' in 2008,'" 25 Democrats wrote in
a letter of complaint on Monday to White House chief of staff Joshua
Bolten.

Among questions the senators asked Bolten:

-"Why did Mr. Jennings and his staff communicate the presentation
materials which bear the White House seal, via a private e-mail account
affiliated with the Republican National Committee?"

-"Does the White House consider the preparation and delivery of such a
presentation to be an appropriate use of taxpayer funds?"

The Los Angeles Times, which first reported the wider inquiry, said Doan
doesn't recall making such comments.

'Entirely appropriate'
The White House said it had not yet been contacted by the Office of
Special Counsel on the matter.

White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino said Tuesday that it was
entirely appropriate for the president's staff to provide informational
briefings to appointees throughout the federal government about the
political landscape in which they implement the president's policies.
The White House said there have been other briefings at other agencies.

"People take great care to make sure that they don't violate the Hatch
Act," Perino said, "and the Hatch Act doesn't prohibit the giving of
informational briefings to governmental employees."

I love politics. "If you can't beat 'em, smear their names until you
can". Oh well, another annoying attack with no real substance.


No doubt, they'll investigate, and if anything substantial shows up,
the democrats will exploit it to the hilt.

Yeah, I read that they are missing over 3000 emails that were required
by law to be archieved, but the Bush team were using the republican
Party emails and errasing them. They are suppossed to pull them off the
computers like they do in criminal cases, all images leave a magnetic
trace, and even when you think you've errased them they can still be
lifted. kinda like a fingerprint.

Oh.....and aliens have inserted analprobes in all our government leaders
to measure thier level of inteligence.
Just thought you might like to know that too.

Poetnartist wrote:

"I love politics. "If you can't beat 'em, smear their names until you
can". Oh well, another annoying attack with no real substance."

The Bush Administration is already smeared in filthy war created by
lies. A war that Bush, not congress, declared. It goes to show that the
miltary try to glorilfy Tillman's death to cover up that he was actually
killed by friendly fire.

The Democrats were to put in control of congress to end Bush's hold on
power.

Actually, congress did approve the Iraq war. Over a decade ago. Desert
Storm never ended, people. We had a cease fire treaty that Saddam
violated repeatedly throughout the 90s.

Poetnartist I know this is hard to accept but George Bush Jr is not
George Bush Sr. Sure they look alike but one is actually older and 500
times more intelligent than the one currently in office.

Hard to accept? I thought it was a fact of life. For me, it was about
as obvious as saying flowers are prettier than dead weeds.

Congress re-approved the Iraq war in 2002.

for bush jr.

"Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of
2002." Section 3(a) of the Authorization to Use Military Force
"authorizes the use of all necessary means to (1) defend the national
security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by
Iraq; and, (2) to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 660
(1990)."

Public Law 107-243.

Because Saddam Husein broke several parts of the treaty that ended the
first gulf war and continually broke or disreguarded the UN resolution
referenced above.

Yet politicians that signed that public law are now claimin (for
political need the vote reasons) that other factors led to the invasion.
If other factors led to this invasion they should have brought those
factors up AT THE TIME THIS LAW WAS INACTED SO WE WOULD NOT BE OVER
THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE.

and democrats signed the darn thing also. Demlicans or Reprocrats all
the same to me. Professional politicans are destroying my country and
yet all people can do is jump on the band wagon and bash the one in the
hot seat at the time.

I love that this thread has become a "war thread" when this was
originaly about the abuse of the office, and taxpayer money, to further
political gains. I seem that any to do with the political problems of
the Bush administration that conservates rush to defend the war.

You're the one who brought up the war, dude.

My point is that ALL parties are using government money to further their
political agenda. And have been for a long time.

Plane rides at tax payers expense.
Dinners at tax payers expense.
Golf outings at tax payers expense.

I receive emails and letters from democrats and republicans when it gets
close to time to vote and they come from government offices and
government computers. If this wasn't getting to within a year of
elections you wouldn't be hearing any of it. It's all political.

It's no longer the donkey and the elephant.

its a new creature althogether.... The DONKLEPHANT.

I just call it a REALLY BIG ASS.

Yup...

With a trunk that reaches deeeeep into our pockets.

Try this on for size...

Constitution - Amendment 27. congress must have the consent of the
voters through the next election before a pay raise can go into effect.
Yet they by pass that amendment with a simple paper shuffle called a
cost of living allowance (not a law an admistrative function of
payroll). Federal judges arn't going to step in and do anything about
it cause congress does CONTROL JUDGES PAY RAISES.

I don't know about you, but I don't think it's the *pocket* that the
trunk is going for.

"My point is that ALL parties are using government money to further
their political agenda. And have been for a long time."

Ok, ok you can't trust politicans wherther it's Republican or Democrat.
They're both "evil." But tell me: wouldn't you choose the lesser of
those two "evils?" Or would you rather isolate yourself from progress
all together?

There is no *lesser* when it comes to political evils. Just the ones in
power, and thus the ones taking the heat. And the ones in the temporary
minority, who can sit back and quietly exploit the country whilst their
oponents get nailed.

Progress will only happen when we get term limits on the House and
Senate like we have on the president.

Progress will only happen when we start limiting the political
advertisiment to certain size ads and the put limits on what a candidate
is allowed to spend to get elected.

Progress will only happen when debates are conducted using questions
that are not given to the candidate ahead of time so they must come
prepared for debate and not to answer with political correct practiced
statements.

Progress might come if you limit congress to minimum wage and did not
allow them to collect from any othere sources during their terms.

Course if we did that I doubt anyone would be so quick to run.