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Sunday, October 05, 2008

John Cheves: Report Sheds New Light On McConnell Aide.


Report sheds new light on McConnell aide
By John Cheves


A new report about improper political activity at the U.S. Justice Department — which led to Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez's resignation last year and the naming of a special prosecutor last week — sheds light on the role played by a young man helping to run the re-election campaign of Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Kentucky native Jeffrey Scott Jennings, 30, served two years under Karl Rove in the White House Office of Political Affairs before returning to Louisville last fall. Jennings is on leave from his job at Peritus Public Relations in order to advise and speak for McConnell's campaign.

During his Washington stint, Jennings was ensnared in multiple scandals, including the controversial firing of nine U.S. attorneys, some of whom were not considered partisan enough by Republican politicians; the selection of immigration judges based on their political loyalty; and political briefings that he personally delivered to federal officials in various government buildings.

Last week, the Justice Department's inspector general issued a detailed report that said the 2006 firing of the U.S. attorneys was "fundamentally flawed."

E-mails and interviews show that Jennings was a White House contact for Republican leaders who had a political interest in the U.S. attorneys and in immigration judgeships, and he worked with the Justice Department to fill those posts, according to the report.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey said he agreed with the report's findings and called the department's actions "haphazard, arbitrary and unprofessional." He appointed U.S. Attorney Nora Dannehy of Connecticut to investigate for possible criminal prosecutions.

Jennings, like his mentor Rove, did not care that most of the federal government is supposed to be removed from partisan politics, said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group that closely followed the scandals.

"Scott Jennings is one those people who believes that everything is political, that everything in day-to-day government is fair game for his own political maneuvering," Sloan said. "Ultimately, that means that we, the people, don't get the best government."

Jennings joined Rove, Gonzalez and others tied to the scandals who resigned in the face of congressional and media scrutiny.

On Friday, Jennings referred questions to Mark Paoletta, his attorney in Washington.

In a prepared statement, Paoletta wrote: "Scott has cooperated to the best of his ability with every investigation. He is proud of his service on the White House staff, where he conducted himself in an honest and ethical manner. Scott will continue to cooperate with any investigation."

McConnell campaign spokesman Justin Brasell did not return calls Friday seeking comment on Jennings.

Executive privilege

Jennings, from Dawson Springs, began in politics as a spokesman for the Kentucky Republican Party in Frankfort and state Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville.

Starting in 2000, he headed up political operations for the Kentucky election campaigns of President Bush, McConnell and former Gov. Ernie Fletcher.

Impressed, the Bush administration brought Jennings to the White House in 2005, where he made a $97,500 salary as special assistant to the president and deputy director for political affairs under Rove.

"Scott has a work ethic that's second to none," said Steve Robertson, chairman of the Kentucky Republican Party and a close friend. "He also has a great sense of integrity, and a lot of us were awfully proud to see him go to Washington."

Exactly what Jennings did at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue remains something of a mystery.

Jennings refused in August 2007 to explain his duties to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which had compelled him to testify about the firing of the U.S. attorneys. Jennings cited "executive privilege."

"You work at the White House," Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., told Jennings at the hearing. "You're paid for by the taxpayers. You work for the American people. I'm just asking you what kind of work you do."

"I must respectfully decline to answer at this time," Jennings replied.

"It sounds to me like the American taxpayers are paying you to stonewall," Leahy said.

Later in the hearing, Jennings complained that the congressional investigations had upset his wife and parents and were distracting from the government's War on Terror.

"Any time spent working on protecting America from an attack from al Qaeda is much better spent than on my criminal contempt citation," Jennings told the senators.

Politics and Justice

Despite Jennings' refusal to speak publicly, he was interviewed for two reports about improper political activity issued by the Justice Department's inspector general, one last week and the other in July.

According to the reports, Jennings:

■ Worked with Justice Department chief of staff Kyle Sampson, who resigned last year, to place Rove aide Tim Griffin as U.S. attorney in Arkansas, despite the opposition of the state's senators.

The sitting U.S. attorney, Bud Cummins, was forced out. Although Jennings told people that Cummins "was generally regarded as being lazy," the Justice Department later said it had no reason to replace Cummins other than Griffin wanted his job.

■ Handled complaints from New Mexico Republican Party leaders and the office of Sen. Pete Dominici, R-N.M., about U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, who they criticized for not bringing charges before the 2004 election in vote fraud and corruption probes involving Democrats.

Jennings knew the GOP leaders from doing campaign work in New Mexico; he arranged meetings between them and the Justice Department. Iglesias was fired.

■ Worked with Sampson and Justice Department liaison Monica Goodling to politicize the nation's immigration judges, who previously were nonpartisan civil-service workers.

The July report quoted Jennings as saying he assumed the judges were supposed to be political appointees. He checked applicants for campaign donations and party registration and recruited exclusively from conservative groups, such as the Republican National Lawyers Association and the Federalist Society, Jennings said, according to the report.

Half of the judges appointed during this time lacked experience in immigration law, according to a 2007 investigation by the Washington Post.

'How can we help?'

Outside the White House, Jennings delivered a series of Republican campaign briefings to government officials at federal agencies around the capital, raising questions about possible violations of the Hatch Act, which forbids federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity.

Perhaps his most famous briefing — because of the number of participants who later publicly spoke about it — was a PowerPoint show in January 2007 at the General Services Administration, the agency that operates the government's buildings across the country.

After Jennings ran through a list of upcoming congressional and gubernatorial races and talked about how to target the most vulnerable Democrats, GSA administrator Lurita Doan approached him in front of the group and asked, "How can we help our candidates?" according to multiple reports.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel investigated the GSA briefing and concluded that Doan crossed the line into partisan activity, although it did not cite Jennings. The White House forced Doan to resign earlier this year.

A subsequent House investigation found that Jennings used his personal Republican National Committee e-mail account, rather than his official White House e-mail account, when communicating about his political presentation, because he wanted it to be kept private.

In their e-mails, Jennings and an assistant described his presentation as a "close hold" and added, "We're not supposed to be e-mailing it around."

Editor's comment: I have re-printed this article for your information, and in the interest of fairness ONLY.

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