A GSA Official Tried to Bury Report on Las Vegas Extravaganza
- Posted on June 7, 2012 at 5:00pm by
Becket Adams
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A top official with the General Services Administration (GSA) who worked on President Obama’s “transition team” tried to bury the Inspector General‘s report on her agency’s massive and extravagant taxpayer-funded Las Vegas conference, the Washington Times reports.
“The 2010 conference, which cost $823,000 and featured a mind-reader, clowns, magicians and a red-carpet party, forced the ouster of several top GSA officials after the agency’s Office of Inspector General released its findings in April,” writes the Washington Times’ Jim McElhatton.
U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Inspector General Brian Miller, from left,
former GSA Administrator Martha Johnson and GSA Regional Commissioner Jeff Neely, April 16, 2012. (Bloomberg)
But what a lot of people don’t know is that as soon as GSA officials caught wind of the IG’s report, Ruth F. Cox, the agency’s regional administrator for several Western states, called up Washington to see if there way any way to keep the report from going public.
“Is there something we can do to prevent another potential embarrassing episode from unfolding and keep this report from being made public?” she asked in an email obtained by The Washington Times.
Ruth F. Cox
She added that she feared the report wasn’t entirely accurate, although it has been revealed that she said all this before she even saw the final draft.
“We don’t need another $16 muffin public allegation that is eventually proven wrong and the damage is already done (and exacerbated by making a false allegation),” she wrote in “highly confidential” email.
What the heck does she mean by a “$16 muffin public allegation”?
The “muffin” comment is a reference to a Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General report that falsely identified among actual conference expenditures muffins that cost $16 each.
Agency spokesman Adam Elkington said earlier this week that Cox’s email was sent before the inspector general even released its report and before she had “any knowledge of the findings.”
“GSA, including Ms. Cox, is appalled by the missteps highlighted in the IG’s report and have taken disciplinary action against those responsible, accepted all of the IG’s recommendations and continue to take steps to ensure this never happens again,” Elkington wrote in an email to The Times.
“We welcome oversight and will continue to be guided by the highest level of transparency. GSA’s new Acting Administrator Dan Tangherlini initiated a top-to-bottom review of our agency’s operations. GSA remains committed to eliminating excessive federal spending and promoting government efficiency,” he adds.
Cox’s email also refers to Jeffrey Neely, the former administrator who helped organize the lavish Las Vegas conference.
Former GSA Administrator Jeffrey Neely
“I know Susan is not happy that Jeff received a relatively high performance evaluation and bonus given what transpired with the Western Regional Conference, but my concern at this point is not Jeff but the agency and the administration,” Cox wrote in the confidential email.
“Making this public to punish Jeff with a side effect of unnecessarily exposing the agency doesn’t make sense to me.”
But this is the bottom line: the GSA knew immediately once it caught wind of the IG’s report that things weren’t going to go down well. They knew that this would lead to public outrage and they knew that this would hurt top players including former GSA Commissioner Martha Johnson, adviser Stephen Leeds, and Robert Peck, chief of GSA’s Public Buildings Service, all who were ousted after the release of the report.
This is why they tried to bury the story.
Cox has since been appointed the regional administrator for the Pacific Rim and oversees 1,000 fed employees and 1,200 fed buildings in areas including California, Nevada, and Hawaii.
“Meanwhile, Congress has held several hearings on the conference, including one where Mr. Neely, no longer employed by the agency, refused to testify and invoked his rights under the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination,” writes McElhatton.
“Rep. Darrell E. Issa, California Republican and chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has called on GSA to detail hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel expenses paid out to ‘virtual’ employees, including supervisors, who worked out of the office,” he adds.
Front page photo source: Bloomberg
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SREGN
Posted on June 8, 2012 at 4:53pmI think Ms Cox should be forced to marry Mr Zucker and hyphenate her married name.
Report Post »tomacz
Posted on June 8, 2012 at 4:50pmyour government hard(ly) at work,with your best interests at heart
Report Post »line up these clowns like they did to bachman cain,gingrich walker,now romney
lettem see if they can duck outa this,vote the party elite out of office,the dems & their collaborators
MRMANN
Posted on June 8, 2012 at 7:43amOink oink
Report Post »Damon
Posted on June 8, 2012 at 4:45amWhat… Cox will manage 1000 employees and 1200 Federal Buildings ? You mean each freaking Federal employee now has their own Federal building.. In the public sector, employees work in cubicles.. What a freaking joke.. Oh, these are Green jobs right… Enough BS… shut em down..
Report Post »MCDAVE
Posted on June 7, 2012 at 10:19pmThe stooges do Las Vegas
Report Post »SHOWMESTATEGUY
Posted on June 7, 2012 at 9:49pmThe dem lib government offical says, “Is there something we can do to prevent another potential embarrassing episode from unfolding and keep this report form being made public”?
Boy, there are so many correct answers to that question it would take all night ot list them. I don‘t have all night so I’ll give you one hint dem lib government offical. Stop doing stupid stuff that will be embarrassing if the espisode is made public. I know that’s a hard one for the dem libs because they only live life minute by minute. They can’t think ahead. Since they can not reason things out they do embarrassing things.
Report Post »republic2011
Posted on June 7, 2012 at 7:53pmHang them.. That will make others think…
Report Post »HKS
Posted on June 7, 2012 at 8:54pmStealing public money should be a capitol offence. An example must be made.
Report Post »Pontiac
Posted on June 7, 2012 at 7:38pm[taxpayer-funded Las Vegas conference]
Report Post »Can’t this people figure out how to use Skype?
Pontiac
Posted on June 7, 2012 at 8:16pmthese* people…
Report Post »Joe Bonham
Posted on June 7, 2012 at 6:51pmThese GSA numb nuts make the rest of us social workers look bad!
Report Post »Fubared
Posted on June 8, 2012 at 7:18amNah, they just add to it. Most social workers do a great job making themselves look bad.
Report Post »Constructionist
Posted on June 7, 2012 at 6:41pmRemember the old Sesame Street game, ‘which one of these is not like the other one?‘ Let’s Play:
1) “Is there something we can do to prevent another potential embarrassing episode from unfolding and keep this report from being made public?”
2) “Making this public to punish Jeff with a side effect of unnecessarily exposing the agency doesn’t make sense to me.”
3) “We welcome oversight and will continue to be guided by the highest level of transparency.”
How did you do? That’s great kids… Join me again next week when we’ll play, “Spot the Socialist”.
Report Post »rickc34
Posted on June 7, 2012 at 6:34pmisn’t the death penalty reserved for those that commit treason against this nation?
Report Post »wboehmer
Posted on June 7, 2012 at 5:42pmWorst-President-Ever Øbama & the rest of the liberals always are pushing for expanding government.
But evidence like this GSA thing clearly shows that the government we have is already too big & out of control.
Where’s a single piece of evidence that supports making government bigger?
Report Post »MEANS2RESIST
Posted on June 7, 2012 at 6:10pmThis is another government department that needs to be axed! I have a freind that works for the OPM (Office of Personnel Management) that does absolutely nothing to pull in close to six figures, but they damn sure have some hellacious power lunches and hummdingin holiday parties.
You’d figure that on the Obama payroll these GSA people would be in somewhat decent shape considering the 1st Mooches push on fitness…Oh thats right they sure don’t have a very good example to follow in the whale tailed 1st Mooch do they?
Report Post »subic
Posted on June 7, 2012 at 6:24pmLivin Large on the taxpayer dime.
Report Post »ianmc002
Posted on June 7, 2012 at 5:32pmHey ‘patriots’…Beckers. Why are we not honoring those vets who sacrificed on the USS Liberty today? Mistaken identity? lol, and Pat Tillman was killed in enemy fire.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFQrsdj7BLs
You can either believe your government…or in the sailors who were forbidden to speak about it.
Report Post »aChameleon
Posted on June 7, 2012 at 5:17pmThe obama administration has been the worst thing for Las Vegas tourism since jimmy carter.
Report Post »shagstar
Posted on June 7, 2012 at 5:16pmwhen are we gonna hire grown-up’s?
Report Post »rawmilker
Posted on June 7, 2012 at 6:31pmEveryone of them that were in attendance of this extravaganza should be fired.
Report Post »South Philly Boy
Posted on June 7, 2012 at 5:10pmIt must be FUN to work for the Fed Govt
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on June 7, 2012 at 5:15pmSpending other people’s money is probably very enjoyable.
Report Post »Dan_o
Posted on June 7, 2012 at 5:28pmGonzo, you beat me to it.
Report Post »The-Monk
Posted on June 7, 2012 at 5:08pm“…tried to bury the Inspector General‘s report on her agency’s massive and extravagant taxpayer-funded Las Vegas conference…”
That’s what Obama and Holder call a “shovel ready” (and Green of course) job. : (
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on June 7, 2012 at 5:04pmTurns out… the Major Service… is Prostitution!
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