http://thinkprogress.org/2006/09/22/jackson-blocked-democrats
EXCLUSIVE: Agency Report Shows Secretary Personally Blocked Contracts To
Democrats
In April, Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson told a group of real estate
officials that he once canceled a government contract because the contractor
was critical of President Bush. Awarding contracts based on political
leanings “violates federal law.” Jackson is a “longtime Bush friend” and
former neighbor in Dallas, Texas.
The Inspector General for the Department of Housing and Urban Development
has conducted a detailed investigation and produced a 340-page report
detailing his findings. The agency has given a copy to Jackson, but refused
to release the report to the public.
ThinkProgress has obtained the executive summary. Here are some key
excerpts:
– “During the investigation, Secretary JACKSON’s Chief of Staff, as well as
the HUD Deputy Secretary testified that, in a senior staff meeting, JACKSON
had advised senior staff, to the effect, that when considering discretionary
contracts, they should be considering supporters of the President, language
consistent with the remarks made by JACKSON in Dallas, Texas, on April 28,
2006.”
– “Investigation did disclose some problematic instances involving HUD
contacts and cooperative agreement grants, in particular, the cooperative
agreement award issued to Abt Associates…was blocked for a significant
period of time due to Secretary JACKSON’s involvement and opposition to Abt.
Secretary JACKSON’s Chief of Staff testified that one factor in JACKSON’s
opposition to Abt was Abt’s political affiliation.”
– “Secretary JACKSON’s Chief of Staff also identified other instances of
Secretary JACKSON intervening with contractors whom he did not like. Reviews
of political contributions indicated these contractors had Democratic
political affiliations.“
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) have already
called on Jackson to resign immediately. The White House yesterday gave him
“a tepid vote of confidence.”