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Archives for 2012
11/13/2012
11/7/2012
The Colorado Observer: Watchdog Group: Salazar May Have Violated the Hatch Act
Read the full story here. Colorado Observer
“Cause of Action, a Washington-based firm, said it asked to the Office of Special Counsel to evaluate Salazar’s activities and statements at a campaign event sponsored by the Montrose County Democratic Party on Oct. 5. Noting that Salazar reportedly told the participants the importance of re-electing President Obama, executive director Dan Epstein said the independent government agency should investigate the episode.
“(I)t appears Sec. Ken Salazar violated the Hatch Act in using his official capacity to campaign for the President. His behavior warrants attention and investigation by the OSC, as no violator of the Hatch Act should get away with such behavior,” Epstein said in a statement Wednesday…”
11/5/2012
Hatch Act Violations and the Ethics Question
Last week, Cause of Action filed a formal complaint with the Office of Special Counsel regarding remarks by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar during several political rallies in the swing state of Colorado. A CoA investigation determined that Sec. Salazar, was potentially violating the Hatch Act of 1939—a law designed to keep government employees from using their title and position to influence the outcome of elections.
The potential violations from Salazar come only months after another CoA investigation revealed similar circumstances at the FAA, as well as a formal finding from the OSC that Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius was in violation of the Hatch Act.
The fact that so many Executive Branch employees are violating the Hatch Act must mean that something is awry. Why does the President continue to ignore the laws that have been put in place to protect the integrity of the election system? Clearly, it is in the President’s best interest to allow his cabinet members to campaign on his behalf without recourse, but that certainly doesn’t mean it is legal.
Regardless of incentive or motivation, the President’s choices about the ethical and legal ramifications for members of his administration speak volumes. If he is unable to demonstrate integrity regarding proper punishment for law-breakers in the Executive Branch, then can he be trusted to uphold other laws?
At Cause of Action we are committed to continuing our fight for an open, honest, transparent government, and we strive to ensure that the American people get just that.
11/1/2012
Press Release: Cause of Action Files Hatch Act Complaint Against Interior Sec. Ken Salazar
Cause of Action Files Hatch Act Complaint Against Interior Sec. Ken Salazar
Did Salazar Campaign for President Obama While On Official Business?
WASHINGTON – Cause of Action (CoA) filed a complaint on Monday with the Office of Special Counsel requesting an evaluation of activities and statements made by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar at an October 5, 2012 event in Colorado that appear to violate the Hatch Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 7323(a) & 7324(a).
As first reported by The Colorado Observer, Sec. Salazar, “a former state attorney general and U.S. senator from Colorado, appeared at an event sponsored by the Montrose County Democratic Party. The party’s online calendar encouraged would-be participants to ‘(m)eet and greet our Democratic elected officials on their RV tour of the Western Slope, including Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.’”
Reports from the event claim that Sec. Salazar invoked support for the re-election of President Obama, which, if done in his official capacity as Secretary of the Interior, would be a violation of the Hatch Act.
“Cause of Action has serious concern about yet another administration official using taxpayer-funded time, travel, and title for direct political campaigning,” said Dan Epstein, executive director of Cause of Action. “First we exposed two Federal Aviation Administration officials for directing employees how to vote. The very next week, Sec. Kathleen Sebelius was found to have violated two counts of the Hatch Act, and now it appears Sec. Ken Salazar violated the Hatch Act in using his official capacity to campaign for the President. His behavior warrants attention and investigation by the OSC, as no violator of the Hatch Act should get away with such behavior.”
If Sec. Salazar is found to have violated the Hatch Act, his activity is considered illegal. As Cause of Action wrote in their complaint filed with the Office of Special Counsel:
“On October 5, 2012, Secretary Salazar may have used his official title to promote the 2012 candidacy of Barack Obama for President. Secretary Salazar appeared at numerous rallies in Colorado where he encouraged citizens to register to vote in the November election and he leveraged his title to appeal to swing voters about the importance of Colorado -one of eight so-called purple states – in this election, as well as the importance of re-electing Obama because of the supposed damage a President Romney would do for the country’s future. This is clearly partisan activity in violation of 5 U.S.C. § 7323(a) and possibly a violation of 5 U.S.C. § 7324(a), if Secretary Salazar was acting while on official duty.”
The complaint filed with OSC can be found here.
About Cause of Action:
Cause of Action is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that uses investigative, legal, and communications tools to educate the public on how government accountability and transparency protects taxpayer interests and economic opportunity. For more information, visit www.causeofaction.org.
To schedule an interview with Dan Epstein, Cause of Action’s Executive Director contact Mary Beth Hutchins, mary.beth.hutchins@causeofaction.org or Briton Bennett, briton.bennett@causeofaction.org.
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10/26/2012
Get on the Party Bus with CTA
Cause of Action’s investigative report, “A Bus Tour of Chicago-Style Fraud,” revealed the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) may have improperly received up to $150 million in taxpayer funds, dating as far back as 1982. Since our report was published, we now know that the Department of Transportation was aware of over-reporting by CTA, and we’ve seen a letter the Federal Transit Administration sent to CTA on April 27, 2012 instructing them to correct their 2011 data. And new questions have emerged.
- Why did FTA not act on Thomas Rubin’s 2007 report of this exact behavior by the CTA?
- When did DOT Inspector General Calvin Scovel decide to investigate the matter?
- Is there evidence to suggest that this same type of over-reporting is happening at other transit authorities around the United States?
- Why hasn’t the FTA reported the CTA to the Department of Justice for a criminal investigation in light of their over-reporting and potential years of defrauding American taxpayers?
- How does the President explain the Chicago connections of Robert Rivkin, Valerie Jarrett and others in light of this misuse of taxpayer dollars?
This final question highlights several ties between the Chicago Transit Authority and the Obama Administration.
- Robert Rivkin, the current general counsel for the United States Department of Transportation, previously served as the general counsel for the Chicago Transit Authority, from 2001-2004.
- Valerie Jarrett, the former Chair of CTA (1995-2003), now serves as a senior advisor for public engagement and intergovernmental affairs in the Obama administration.
- Forrest Claypool, the current President of the CTA was appointed to the position by Rahm Emanuel, former chief of staff for the 44th president and current mayor of Chicago. Before coming to CTA, Claypool served as a member of Obama’s media team in 2008.
- Shelia Nix, former CTA board member (and also a former aide to Rod Blagojevich), now serves as Vice President Biden’s chief of staff.
Cause of Action thinks that these connections raise questions about the nature of the relationship between Washington and CTA, especially given how reluctant the FTA was to investigate allegations of over-reporting that were raised as early as 2007.
10/23/2012
Bloomberg story proves Cause of Action’s investigation right on the money
Last week, Cause of Action released a report called, “A Bus Tour of Chicago Style Fraud.” It turns out that our suspicions were correct. As Bloomberg News reports today , the U.S. Transportation Department knew that “…[the] Chicago Transit Authority collected more federal aid than it should have after inflating mileage covered by its bus routes.”
The Federal Transit Administration, part of the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, not only knew of the over-reporting by CTA, but it seemingly ignored evidence of it for years because, as our report outlines, a 2007 audit showed that something was awry with the way CTA was reporting their mileage.
Instead, the USDOT chose to wait until this year to instruct CTA to change its behavior moving forward, as highlighted in an April 27, 2012 letter that FTA sent to CTA.
“FTA’s letter highlights two very important facts,” said Cause of Action’s Executive Director Dan Epstein. “First, CTA was, as Cause of Action suspected, violating the reporting manual used to calculate VRM, thereby improperly receiving federal grant money. But secondly, FTA is revealing that it had knowledge of overreporting occurring, and by conducting a review of only 2011, it ignored the 2007 report presented by auditor Thomas Rubin that showed the same potential actions happening in fiscal year 2006.”
So the question of why an investigation didn’t happen until 2011 despite clear evidence that it should have happened sooner remains unanswered by the FTA.
“It appears an explanation for why FTA limited its review to one year, and failed to disclose its findings to Cause of Action following our expedited FOIA request, is that there is clearly a politically motivated cover-up happening at the Department of Transportation” said Epstein.
Cause of Action’s investigation into the poor stewardship of tax dollars only further raises the spectre of corruption at the same agency where Cause of Action revealed two top officials who violated the Hatch Act, Epstein said.
“Just as no punishment occurred when Kathleen Sebelius violated the Hatch Act, no punishment will occur with a CTA that defrauded the American taxpayers. Cause of Action exists to fight this kind of corruption and show the American taxpayers exactly what is happening to their money in the hands of corrupt politicians,” concludes Epstein.
In the coming days, Cause of Action hopes to be able to answer these questions on behalf of taxpayers of the United States.
- When did DOT Inspector General Calvin Scovel decide to investigate the matter?
- Is there evidence to suggest that this same type of overreporting is happening at other transit authorities around the United States?
- Why hasn’t the FTA reported the CTA to the Department of Justice for a criminal investigation in light of their overreporting and potential years of defrauding American taxpayers?
- How does the President explain the Chicago connections of Secretary LaHood, Robert Rivkin, Valerie Jarret and himself in light of this misuse of taxpayer dollars?