Issa served a subpoena to require the official to appear before the committee. GSA official to take the Fifth

The General Services Administration official tasked with organizing a now-infamous $822,000 Las Vegas conference plans to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights ahead of a scheduled Monday grilling on the Hill.

On Thursday, House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) served a subpoena to require Jeff Neely to appear before the committee, according to Democratic committee documents obtained by POLITICO. Neely’s attorney on Friday informed the committee Neely will exercise his right against self-incrimination and requested not to attend the hearing.


“Requiring Mr. Neely to travel from California to appear before the Committee when you have been advised that he will not answer any substantive questions posed to him does not advance any legitimate Committee purpose,” the attorney wrote, according to the documents.

(Also on POLITICO: GSA chief was set to visit Solyndra)

Issa wrote Neely’s lawyer Friday to advise the attorney and Neely that the subpoena remains in effect.

“Mr. Neely is uniquely qualified to answer questions about the WRC,” Issa wrote. “The Committee requires Mr. Neely’s appearance because of, among other reasons, the possibility that he will waive or not assert the privilege as to some or all questions.”

Neely’s attorney later Friday confirmed Neely will attend the hearing.

Neely may also face a Justice Department investigation into allegations of theft and contracting violations, according to The Washington Post.

The four-day Western Regions Conference, held in the fall of 2010, resulted in the resignation of the agency’s administrator, Martha Johnson, as well as bipartisan criticism from Congress members tasked with overseeing public agencies, for spending on upscale accommodations, $3,200 on a mind reader and thousands of dollars on commemorative coins. Four congressional hearings are scheduled for next week.

The documents also show the GSA Inspector General’s office notified the GSA of some of its investigative findings in 2011, but cautioned GSA leaders from making any personnel decisions based on the initial IG investigation until it was made final. Neely, a GSA employee since 1978, was placed on administrative leave following the April 2 release of the final GSA report.

Earlier Friday, Issa’s office questioned why Neely hadn’t been disciplined in 2011 when details of the conference first surfaced. Last week a spokesman said the Obama administration “only took real personnel actions when there were no more options for delay.” But the timeline of personnel decisions appears to have been requested by the IG.

Emails the committee obtained from Neely also indicate he reached out to what appears to be a personal friend to attend a party in a suite on the last night of the junket at the M Resort Spa & Casino. “We will get you guys a room near us and we will pick up the room tab. Could be a blast,” Neely wrote, according to the documents.

“If you come we typically host a nice happy hour in my suite one night (with u and the boys as part of it). I know. I am bad. But as deb and I say often, why not enjoy it while we have it and while we can. Aint going to last forever,” Neely continued, referring to his wife.

The documents then indicate a GSA employee secured those arrangements, with Neely’s wife writing to a GSA employee: “Knowing we have a bit more money in the budget helps, so I was thinking of rounding out the food a little more.” A transcript of an interview between Jeff Neely and an IG agent indicates Neely’s wife, though not a GSA employee, helped plan a GSA party under the auspices of an awards event at the end of the conference that cost $2,717. Jeff Neely turned down attempts from others to “chip in” for the event, a sequence of events the IG agent said “looks like a crap storm.”

Jeff Neely repeatedly denied it wasn’t a party he and his wife were throwing and was instead one for GSA employees, but the IG agent said Neely’s wife’s presence in the planning of the event “would indicate to me it’s a Neely party.” The transcript quotes emails from Neely’s wife showing a thorough knowledge of the event, with her at one point asking if there should be “an alternative for people who don’t eat shrimp” at the event.

“That would indicate to you that it’s the Neely party, except at the Neely party, why would we be recognizing people for what they did at GSA?” asked Jeff Neely.

“So you could pay for the food,” the IG agent said.

“I — I can’t possibly eat that much food,” Neely replied.

Earlier in the conversation, the official told Jeff Neely that “there’s a lot people that say anytime Neely wants to have food, he gives out awards.”