Bush White House improperly held political briefings, report says

A federal agency is reporting that officials in President George W. Bush's White House improperly conducted political briefings on government property, and encouraged employees to get involved in campaigns, meaning that taxpayers footed the bill for political activity.

"As the 2006 election drew nearer, OPA (the White House Office of Political Affairs) became a partisan political organization," reported the Office of Special Counsel, an advisory agency that reviews applications of the federal Hatch Act.

The Hatch Act forbids federal employees from engaging in election activity.

It should be noted that Bush's Republican Party lost control of the House and Senate in the 2006 congressional elections.

Also worth nothing: President Obama eliminated his White House Office of Political Affairs last week, shifting its operations to the Democratic National Committee

Among the findings of the Office of Special Counsel:

Based on the evidence gathered during this investigation, many of the political briefings presented by OPA staff during the Bush II administration addressed upcoming elections, targeted congressional districts, and ways in which appointees at the federal agencies could help by volunteering in those targeted races

In light of the content of the PowerPoint slides and the testimony of many witnesses, these briefings created an environment aimed at assisting Republican candidates, constituting political activity within the meaning of the Hatch Act.

Going forward, OSC recommends that political briefings, such as the ones described in this report, take place outside of the federal workplace and during off-duty hours. OSC emphasizes that it does not suggest that the White House must restrict its communication with political appointees regarding, for example, the President's executive priorities, policies, and legislative agenda.

On the other hand, communications pertaining to soliciting campaign volunteers and identifying electoral strategies and targets constitute partisan political activity and therefore, in order to comply with the Hatch Act, should not take place in the federal workplace or while participants are on duty.

OSC cannot pinpoint with certainty the period of time during which OPA rose to the level of a "political boiler-room" during the Bush II administration.

However, OPA engaged in a significant amount of political activity during the 2006 midterm election cycle, such as: conducting partisan political briefings for agency personnel; developing and managing lists of targeted Republicans in upcoming elections; coordinating the travel of high-level agency political appointees to events with targeted Republican campaigns; interfacing and strategizing with the RNC, NRCC, and other political groups; suggesting participation in 72-hour deployment efforts; tracking the results of such volunteer efforts; and tracking money raised at fundraisers attended by administration officials.

OPA employees should avoid engaging in political activities to prevent it from transforming from an official government office into a partisan political operation. Foremost, individuals employed by a political party or partisan political group should never be permitted to operate out of government offices.