Though the Office of Special Counsel is specifically charged with investigating instances of illegal political activity by federal employees under the 1939 Hatch Act, the Obama administration has yet to appoint somebody to run the independent agency, which in its 2008 report to Congress acknowledged struggling with the volume and "seriousness" of the cases referred to it.
On Wednesday, Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican, formally asked the office to investigate whether White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's involvement in the Democratic Senate primary race in Pennsylvania violated the Hatch Act. Rep. Joe Sestak, a Democrat who defeated White House-backed Sen. Arlen Specter in the primary last month, said he had been offered a federal post by the administration if he abandoned his challenge.
Mr. Issa, ranking Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said in a four-page letter to the agency's acting special counsel, William Reukauf, that Mr. Emanuel was "leveraging the power and access of his official position to advance the political interests of the Democratic Party."
The White House has denied any impropriety in the maneuvering around the primary.
The Office of Special Counsel report, its most recent to Congress, stated that the agency's Hatch Act Unit received a record 445 complaints in 2008 and "recent surges in both complaints and advisory opinion activities, coupled with task force responsibilities, have made the HAU's workload nearly overwhelming."
Mr. Issa previously asked Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to appoint a Justice Department special prosecutor to investigate the matter. Mr. Holder declined.
2 comments:
Hate to say this , but , it is obvious that our leaders in Washigton are as bad as the president. Nothing will be done about any of this. We have fallen as a nation and it is also obvious that we cannot stand up. We have lost our religious and moral values , it is a domino effect.
If anyone disagrees , please convince me.
Nothing illegal was done. That's why no one is moving on this non issue. You guys are all wound up about nothing because you just want to attack obama for anything.
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