Bush cabinet department funds boosted GOP campaigns

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Millions of taxpayer dollars distributed to battleground congressional districts coincide with White House briefings on GOP political strategy in the run up to the three congressional elections during the Bush Administration, McClatchy's Washington Bureau reports.

Top officials from both the Bush Commerce and Treasury Departments appeared with GOP candidates while disbursing millions in federal grants to battleground states -- soon after receiving White House political briefings enumerating White House efforts to get Republicans elected.

"Political appointees in the Treasury Department received at least 10 political briefings from July 2001 to August 2006, officials familiar with the meetings said. Their counterparts at the Commerce Department received at least four briefings  all in the election years of 2002, 2004 and 2006," McClatchy's Marisa Taylor and Kevin Hall write.

These briefings are being investigated by the House Oversight Committee as a possible violation of the Hatch Act, which permits political briefings but prohibits taxpayer money being used for political campaigning.

"The briefings are part of the legacy of White House political adviser Karl Rove, who announced this week that he's stepping down at the end of the month to spend more time with his family," McClatchy adds. "Despite Rove's departure, investigations into the briefings are expected to continue.

One congressional aide told the reporters the investigation was revealing "a number of remarkable coincidences" similar to how Treasury and Commerce events appeared to coincide with the strategy in the political briefings.

Committee investigators have found that White House drug czar John Walters took twenty trips on taxpayers' dime in 2006 alone to appear with GOP congressional candidates.

Administration officials denied in the article that any Treasury and Commerce department events were intended to help Republican candidates win office.

Commerce Department spokesman Dan Nelson said the meetings were "informational" and "not a call to action."

The entire article can be read HERE.



