White House Was Aware of Fake Journalist Payola Scheme
Now that Armstrong William's actions have been officially declared 'not illegal', it's apparently safe for the administration to admit that it was involved in the whole mess.
As with so many other things in this White House, the scandal goes all the way to the top.
As with so many other things in this White House, the scandal goes all the way to the top.
posted by Management at 11:09 AM
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April 16, 2005
Inquiry Finds Radio Host's Arrangement Raised Flags
By ANNE E. KORNBLUT
WASHINGTON, April 15 - Officials at the Education Department expressed concerns about a contract with the conservative commentator Armstrong Williams last year, even bringing it to the attention of a White House policy adviser when it came up for renewal, according to an internal department report released on Friday.
The report, by the department's inspector general, found no evidence of unlawful or unethical behavior in connection with Mr. Williams's contract but criticized top department officials for "poor management decisions" and lax oversight.
"As a result," it said, "the department paid for work that most likely did not reach its intended audience and paid for deliverables that were never received."
The report did not address questions about whether hiring Mr. Williams to promote President Bush's signature education initiative amounted to covert propaganda.
Several measures to tighten accountability over contracts were suggested, and Education Secretary Margaret Spellings promised to put them in place.
The report portrayed former Education Secretary Rod Paige and his top advisers as the driving force behind the $240,000 agreement with Mr. Williams, a commentator who promoted the No Child Left Behind Act.
Mr. Paige, who is black, told department officials that "his main concern was with reaching the minority community."
Mr. Williams is a prominent black conservative who had a syndicated newspaper column and television and radio programs.
Factions in the Education Department that questioned his contract were ignored.
Two department officials in particular, D. J. Nordquist, the former deputy director of public affairs who is now acting public affairs director, and Ann Radice, former chief of staff, had expressed doubts about the contract, the report found.
"Their concerns included the cost of the program, the inability to measure the effectiveness of the program, and the inherent conflict of Mr. Williams's role as both a public relations executive and commentator," it said.
The "concerns were so strong" that when it came time for the contract to be renewed a year ago, Ms. Nordquist and Ms. Radice each contacted David Dunn, an adviser to Ms. Spellings, who was Mr. Bush's domestic policy adviser. Mr. Dunn is now chief of staff at the department.
Mr. Dunn, who was briefly sent to the department early last year, "indicated he agreed with their concerns," the report found. He later followed up, asking Ms. Nordquist what had happened to the contract. By then, it had been renewed.
No one at the White House or the Education Department intervened to stop the contract or sever ties with the public relations firm, Ketchum, a part of Omnicom, that helped set it up, until after USA Today reported on it in January. The department's internal report portrayed Mr. Paige and his top aides as the chief supporters of the contract, and Ms. Spellings seconded that in her response to the report.
"When the secretary, his/her chief of staff and other senior officers urge, hint, suggest or recommend anything, it can start a chain reaction within the building to carry out that request, such as what occurred beginning in March 2003," Ms. Spellings wrote.
She took no responsibility for the contract, although education was then in her portfolio as Mr. Bush's domestic policy adviser.
"The people who were responsible for this contract and these events are no longer here," Ms. Spellings said in an interview with a group of reporters after the report was made public.
In an interview on Friday, Mr. Williams said: "We all have to bear responsibility. I accept mine. I accept the consequences. I'm just glad they've come out with a report, and hopefully we can just put it behind us. No hard feelings."
Mr. Paige, who stepped down as Mr. Bush began his second term, said in his final days in office that he found it deeply disturbing that the contract had marred the department's reputation.
Representative George Miller of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, said the report "paints a very troubling picture of irresponsible, and potentially criminal, mismanagement of expensive contracts by the Department of Education."
Mr. Miller, who had requested the inquiry by the inspector general, had complained earlier that the White House had invoked executive privilege and prevented its staff members from cooperating.
Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Senate panel that oversees education, praised Ms. Spellings as "taking this issue seriously" but criticized the administration for hiring Mr. Williams.
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