Attorney General
DOJ Aides Attended Political Briefings
Posted Aug 6, 2007, 05:02 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says his top aides have attended at least a dozen political briefings at the White House and another at the Department of Agriculture.
Gonzales revealed the briefings in a letter clarifying earlier testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Washington Post reports. On July 24 Gonzales had testified he was not aware of DOJ leadership attending any briefings.
Those who attended included the Justice Department’s former White House liaison, Monica Goodling, and D. Kyle Sampson, who was then Gonzales’ chief of staff.
Henry Waxman, chair of the House oversight committee, is investigating whether briefings for several employees throughout the government ran afoul of the Hatch Act, which bans partisan political activity on government property.