Inquiry targets drug czar's Kentucky visit

17 Jul 2007 // Last year, during a tight race between first-term Rep. Geoff Davis, R-Fort Mitchell, and former Democratic congressman Ken Lucas, the White House sent the national drug czar, John Walters, to Davis' district.

Congressional investigators are now looking into whether the White House designed such visits to boost the standing of vulnerable candidates in violation of campaign laws.

A "Drug Task Force Event" that Davis hosted Aug. 21 in Ashland was scheduled by Sara Taylor, then the White House director of political affairs. The trip was one of 20 events, paid for with tax dollars, that Taylor plotted in Republican congressional districts around the country for Walters or his deputies. Davis was the only Kentuckian on the list. He went on to defeat Lucas with 52 percent of the vote.

The list of Walters' pre-election events was released along with other documents yesterday by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., whose House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is investigating the possibility that federal agencies were used to help re-elect Republicans and defeat Democrats.

The Oversight chairman's office said Walters might have been one of several Bush administration officials dispatched in the waning days of the 2006 election to help GOP campaigns under the guise of official business.

Yesterday, Davis spokeswoman Amanda Keating released this statement: "The timing of the visit by John Walters was due to the fact that August is when Congress is in recess, and August 21st was the date when both Walters and Congressman Davis were available." Keating stressed Davis' strong interest in prevention and treatment of drug abuse as the reason for Walters' visit.

"Walters was there at the invitation of the congressman to participate in a forum on combating illegal drug abuse with local leaders. No endorsements or political activity of any kind occurred at this official, non-political, non-partisan event," Keating said.

A White House official said travel by drug-policy officials was strictly policy-related and wasn't connected to the elections.

"It's another day, another letter from Representative Waxman," said Scott Stanzel, a White House spokesman. "What the requests show today is that director John Walters traveled around the country to meet with representatives in communities that have been hit hard by the scourge of drugs, and that is completely appropriate."

According to Taylor's memo, Walters was scheduled before the election to go to Florida, Missouri, New York, Washington, California, New Mexico, New Jersey, North Carolina, Indiana, West Virginia, Arizona, Nevada, Ohio, Montana, and Pennsylvania. Six more appearances were canceled in October.

Taylor and other White House officials have been questioned about political presentations to federal agencies; at least some of these might have violated the federal Hatch Act, according to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. The Hatch Act prohibits the use of government resources for political purposes.

The Hatch Act draws a line between what's public and what's private, said Naomi Seligman Steiner, spokeswoman for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group. "Government officials aren't doing the people's business if they are doing campaign activities," she said.

Senior Bush political adviser Karl Rove thanked "for going above and beyond the call of duty, the Dept. of Commerce, Transportation, Agriculture, AND the WH Drug Policy Office. ... The Director and the Deputies deserve the most recognition because they actually had to give up time with their families for the god awful places we sent them," said a memo from the drug policy office's White House liaison Douglas Simon, Oversight committee documents show.

The August event in Ashland with Davis was billed as "a forum with local community leaders and law enforcement officials," specifically to talk about drug challenges such as meth and prescription drugs, according to Davis' press release at the time.

The campaign quoted Walters as saying: "That requires our attention, and Congressman Davis' continued efforts both in Washington, as a member of the Speakers' Drug Task Force, and at home in Kentucky are critical. Together we will continue to make progress."

According to Waxman's press release, the drug policy director is prohibited from engaging in campaign activities.

At least three of Walters' appearances in other states coincided with the announcement of federal grants, according to the committee's documents.

Waxman has asked that Taylor, the former White House aide, be deposed by next Tuesday and he asked her to appear before his Oversight committee on July 30. Waxman has also requested relevant documents from White House Counsel Fred Fielding, drug czar Walters, and the secretaries of Commerce, Transportation and Agriculture, as well as travel-related e-mails from the Republican National Committee.

Waxman said the documents released yesterday suggest that administration officials might have been arranging travel to benefit Republican candidates as far back as the 2002 mid-term elections.