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Travel by former Interior secretary Dirk Kempthorne violated law
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
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Former Interior secretary Dirk Kempthorne violated federal law by attending events with two former members of Congress who were prominent on Indian issues, the Office of Special Counsel concluded in a report.

Kempthorne attended an event with former Rep. Charles Taylor (R-North Carolina) on the eve of the November 2006 mid-term elections. According to the report, the event was scheduled only after Kempthorne told subordinates that he wanted to "help" Taylor, who served as chairman of the subcommittee that controls Indian funding and whose district includes the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

"Based on the event’s immediate proximity to the date of the election, Secretary Kempthorne’s personal interest in providing assistance to Representative Taylor’s reelection bid, and the absence of preexisting plans for Secretary Kempthorne to tour those locations, OSC concludes that the Secretary’s attendance at the November 6 event was political activity," the report said.

During the same month, Kempthorne attended two events with former Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Arizona). One event was billed as an "Official Native American Event” -- it was the signing of an agreement to lift the Bennett Freeze -- but both were motivated by political purposes, the OSC concluded.

"In this context, Secretary Kempthorne’s appearances with Representative Renzi were official in name only," the report said. "In reality, these events constituted political activity because they were directed toward Representative Renzi’s electoral success.."

The report also said other Bush administration officials violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activity.

Get the Story:
Bush officials violated Hatch Act, agency concludes (The Washington Post 1/25)
Bush White House Broke Elections Law, Report Says (The New York Times 1/25)

Get the OSC Report:
Investigation of Political Activities by White House and Federal Agency Officials During the 2006 Midterm Elections (January 2011)