White House gave agencies political briefings

WASHINGTON — White House officials conducted 20 private briefings on Republican electoral prospects in the last midterm election for senior officials in at least 15 government agencies covered by federal restrictions on partisan political activity, a White House spokesman and other administration officials said Wednesday.

The previously undisclosed briefings were part of what now appears to have been a regular effort in which the White House sent senior political officials to brief top appointees in government agencies on which seats Republican candidates might win or lose and how the election outcomes could affect the success of administration policies, the officials said.

The existence of one such briefing, at the headquarters of the General Services Administration (GSA) in January, came to light last month and prompted the Office of Special Counsel to begin an investigation into whether the officials at the briefing felt coerced into steering federal activities to benefit those Republican candidates cited as vulnerable.

Such coercion is prohibited under a law, known as the Hatch Act, meant to insulate federal workers from partisan politics. In addition to forbidding workplace pressures meant to influence an election outcome, the law bars the use of federal resources — including office buildings, phones and computers — for partisan purposes.

The administration maintains that the previously undisclosed meetings were appropriate. Those describing the briefings Wednesday said they were "informational briefings about the political landscape." But House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said: "Politicization of departments and agencies is a serious issue. We need to know more about these and other briefings."

In the GSA briefing — conducted, like all the others, by a deputy to chief White House political adviser Karl Rove — two slides were presented showing 20 House Democrats targeted for defeat and several dozen Republicans who needed protection. At its completion, GSA Administrator Lurita Alexis Doan asked how GSA projects could be used to help "our candidates," according to a half-dozen witnesses.

Scott Bloch, director of the Office of Special Counsel, said, "Political forecasts, just generally, ... I do not regard as illegal political activity." But he said his office would examine if it was appropriate to use federal facilities or resources as well as review exactly what was said.

"Where you cross the line is where you get into the slant of someone being elected or defeated" or trying to get a political party into or out of power, he said.