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89–384 PDF 2014

WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF POLITICAL AFFAIRS: IS 

SUPPORTING CANDIDATES AND CAMPAIGN 

FUND–RAISING AN APPROPRIATE USE OF A 

GOVERNMENT OFFICE? 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT 

AND GOVERNMENT REFORM 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

JULY 16, 2014 

Serial No. 113–122 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

( 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov 

http://www.house.gov/reform 

(II) 

COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM 

DARRELL E. ISSA, California, Chairman 

JOHN L. MICA, Florida 

MICHAEL R. TURNER, Ohio 

JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR., Tennessee 

PATRICK T. MCHENRY, North Carolina 

JIM JORDAN, Ohio 

JASON CHAFFETZ, Utah 

TIM WALBERG, Michigan 

JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma 

JUSTIN AMASH, Michigan 

PAUL A. GOSAR, Arizona 

PATRICK MEEHAN, Pennsylvania 

SCOTT DESJARLAIS, Tennessee 

TREY GOWDY, South Carolina 

BLAKE FARENTHOLD, Texas 

DOC HASTINGS, Washington 

CYNTHIA M. LUMMIS, Wyoming 

ROB WOODALL, Georgia 

THOMAS MASSIE, Kentucky 

DOUG COLLINS, Georgia 

MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina 

KERRY L. BENTIVOLIO, Michigan 

RON DESANTIS, Florida 

ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland, Ranking 

Minority Member 

CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York 

ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of 

Columbia 

JOHN F. TIERNEY, Massachusetts 

WM. LACY CLAY, Missouri 

STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts 

JIM COOPER, Tennessee 

GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia 

JACKIE SPEIER, California 

MATTHEW A. CARTWRIGHT, Pennsylvania 

TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois 

ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois 

DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois 

PETER WELCH, Vermont 

TONY CARDENAS, California 

STEVEN A. HORSFORD, Nevada 

MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM, New Mexico 

Vacancy 

LAWRENCE J. BRADY, Staff Director 

JOHN D. CUADERES, Deputy Staff Director 

STEPHEN CASTOR, General Counsel 

LINDA A. GOOD, Chief Clerk 

DAVID RAPALLO, Minority Staff Director 

(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

Hearing held on July 16, 2014 ............................................................................... 1 

APPENDIX 

Correspondence in July 2014 between The White House and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, submitted by Chairman Issa ...... 8 

Testimony of Carolyn Lerner, Special Counsel and Ana Galindo-Marrone, 

Chief, Hatch Act Unit U.S. Office of Special Counsel ....................................... 17 

(1) 

WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF POLITICAL AFFAIRS: IS SUPPORTING CANDIDATES AND 

CAMPAIGN FUND–RAISING AN APPROPRIATE USE OF A GOVERNMENT OFFICE? 

Wednesday, July 16, 2014, 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM, 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 

The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:00 a.m. in room 

2154, Rayburn House Office Building, the Honorable Darrell Issa 

[chairman of the committee], presiding. 

Present: Representatives Issa, Mica, Farenthold, Lummis, 

Woodall, Lankford, DesJarlais, Chaffetz, Jordan, Bentivolio, Meadows, Turner, Gowdy, Cummings, Norton, Connolly, Tierney, Lujan 

Grisham, Welch, Kelly and Horsford. 

Staff Present: Alexa Armstrong, Majority Legislative Assistant; 

Melissa Beaumont; Majority Assistant Clerk; Molly Boyl, Majority 

Deputy General Counsel and Parliamentarian; Lawrence J. Brady, 

Majority Staff Director; Ashley H. Callen, Majority Deputy Chief 

Counsel for Investigations; Sharon Casey; Majority Senior Assistant Clerk; Steve Castor, Majority General Counsel; John Cuaderes, 

Majority Deputy Staff Director; Lemar Echols, Majority Counsel; 

Adam P. Fromm, Majority Director of Member Services and Committee Operations; Linda Good, Majority Chief Clerk; Frederick 

Hill, Majority Deputy Staff Director for Communications and Strategy; Christopher Hixon, Majority Chief Counsel for Oversight; 

Caroline Ingram, Majority Counsel; Ashok M. Pinto; Majority Chief 

Counsel, Investigations; Andrew Rezendes, Majority Counsel; Jessica Seale, Majority Digital Director; Andrew Shult, Majority Deputy Digital Director; Jonathan J. Skladany, Majority Deputy General Counsel; Katy Summerlin, Majority Press Assistant; Sarah 

Vance, Majority Assistant Clerk; Rebecca Watkins, Majority Communications Director; Krista Boyd, Minority Deputy Director of 

Legislation/Counsel; Marianna Boyd, Minority Counsel; Aryele 

Bradford, Minority Press Secretary; Susanne Sachsman Grooms, 

Minority Deputy Staff Director/Chief Counsel; Jennifer Hoffman, 

Minority Communications Director; Elisa LaNier, Minority Director 

of Operations; Juan McCullum, Minority Clerk; and Dave Rapallo, 

Minority Staff Director. 

Chairman ISSA. Good morning. The committee will come to order. 

Today’s hearing is on the White House Office of Political Affairs: 

is supporting candidates and campaign fund-raising an appropriate 

use of a government office? 

2 

The Oversight Committee exists to secure two fundamental principles. First, Americans have the right to know that the money 

Washington takes from them is well spent. Second, Americans deserve an efficient and effective government that works for them. 

Our duty on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee 

is to protect these rights. Our solemn responsibility is to hold government accountable to taxpayers because taxpayers have a right 

to know what they get from the government. 

Our job is to work tirelessly in partnership with citizen watchdogs to deliver the facts to the American people and bring genuine 

reform to the Federal bureaucracy. This is our mission. 

Last night, the committee received a deeply disturbing letter 

from the White House Counsel. The Counsel declared that a senior 

advisor to the President, David Simas, a witness who had been 

subpoenaed to testify here today, was ‘‘immune from congressional 

compulsion to testify.’’ 

This is at odds with rulings from our Judicial Branch about 

checks and balances. It is directly in conflict with the case known 

as Miers Bolton, a lawsuit brought by the Democrats and thenChairman John Conyers when they were in the majority. 

A federal judge wrote that senior advisors to the President of the 

United States are ‘‘not absolutely immune from congressional process.’’ Oversight of political activities in the White House has frequently been a divisive issue and it has been an issue over which 

this committee has asserted jurisdiction and oversight on a bipartisan basis over the last four committee chairmen while I have 

been a member of the committee. 

For example, in 2007, former committee Chairman Henry Waxman initiated a series of investigations into improper political activities in the Bush Administration. During the committee’s two 

year investigation, the staff interviewed 18 political appointees, including President Bush’s political directors, in other words, the 

same individual we are not getting today, and received nearly 

70,000 pages of documents. 

For those who do not know what 70,000 pages of documents look 

like, it is 14 banker boxes filled with documents. Even the chairman of the Republican National Committee received a subpoena requiring production of emails. 

The committee’s current investigation has looked much different. 

It has exercised patience for months and gave the White House extensive opportunities to explain concerns through briefings and 

document productions. 

In his first run for President, then Senator Obama campaigned 

on closing the White House Political Office. In January 2011, three 

years into his term, the Office of Special Counsel concluded that 

the White House Office of Political Affairs violated laws, namely 

the Hatch Act, designed to keep taxpayers from paying for political 

activities by government workers, the same the White House announced the closure of the political office. That office remained 

closed for almost three years. 

In January 2014, the White House announced the reopening of 

its political office. The office’s new name is Office of Political Strategy and Outreach or OPSO. In March, the committee sought information about the relaunch of this political office in an effort to conVerDate Aug 31 2005 09:31 Aug 14, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\DOCS\89384.TXT APRIL
3 

tinue this committee’s legacy of overseeing the White House political office. 

This request came as the committee learned that two members 

who served in President Obama’s campaign had violated the Hatch 

Act by abusing their positions to aid overtly political campaign efforts. 

In March 2012, the United States Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, 

a sitting member of the President’s Cabinet, engaged in prohibited 

activity outlined in the Hatch Act. The Los Angeles Times reported 

that Secretary Solis had solicited a donation from a subordinate 

Labor Department employee. 

The committee has now come to have possession of a voice mail 

and I would ask that it be played now. 

[Voice Mail played.] 

Chairman ISSA. That recording was a message Secretary Solis 

left on the phone of a subordinate employee at her department and 

was the subject of complaint made to the Office of Special Counsel. 

Hatch Act violations have been a problem under all Administrations. This makes the claim by this Administration that they are 

doing everything right and should be immune from oversight all 

the more indefensible. 

It is deeply ironic that an Administration claiming to be the most 

transparent ever has resisted oversight of its political office and offered less cooperation than its predecessors. Today’s hearing was 

intended to be an opportunity for Congress to assess how the Administration has tried to address the issues raised by the Office of 

Special Counsel’s 2011 report on political activity. 

That report found OPA was inherent in violation of federal law 

because taxpayer dollars were being used to pay the salaries of 

staff who conducted political activities. Surprisingly, the White 

House did not consult with the Office of Special Counsel before reopening OPA, despite the agency’s critical role in enforcing the 

Hatch Act. 

The American people have a right to know that the tax dollars 

being spent are not spent on political activities of Republicans or 

Democrats. This committee is obligated to shed light on improper 

use of taxpayer money for political gain. This committee has an obligation to look into whether it is happening or not. 

We do not and should not need a smoking gun in order to look 

into whether or not taxpayer dollars that are being spent are being 

spent properly. An inherent tenet of this committee has always 

been if taxpayer dollars are being spent, if the power of the government is being used, then we have jurisdiction. That has not 

changed and will not change under leaders of either party. 

Unfortunately, the most key witness, Mr. Simas, who serves as 

the Director of White House Political Office, has chosen to defy the 

committee’s legal obligation and its subpoena. The panel of witnesses who are here today, I want to thank you for your appearing, 

particularly Ms. Lerner, who I know had to make significant 

changes in her otherwise busy schedule to be here. I would never 

have brought you here unless I thought we were going to have a 

full complete hearing. 

The committee wrote Mr. Simas on July 3, 2014 to invite him to 

today’s hearing. White House Counsel Neil Eggleston, wrote to me 

4 

on July 10, 2014, stating that the request of Mr. Simas to testify 

was not appropriate. I then authorized a subpoena for Mr. Simas 

to appear after staff consultation with the Minority. The subpoena 

was served on July 11, 2014 and the White House accepted service. 

As one of our witnesses has chosen not to appear, we will be unable to have a full and fair hearing. Nevertheless, we will offer 

opening statements. At this time I would ask unanimous consent 

to place the correspondence between the White House and this 

committee in the record. Without objection, so ordered. 

Chairman ISSA. Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare recess of the committee at any time. With that, I recognize 

the Ranking Member, Mr. Cummings, for his opening statement. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

For the past 18 years, I have been deeply honored to serve as a 

member of the House of Representatives, representing 700,000 people from the great State of Maryland. 

At the same time, I have been truly honored on every day of that 

18 years to serve on this committee. I also have tremendous respect 

for this committee and the chief investigative body of the House 

that it is. 

For these reasons, I strongly support the authority to issue subpoenas, when necessary, to require people to provide information to 

fulfill our constitutional responsibilities, but I cannot and I will not 

support the abuse of this very powerful authority when it serves 

no legitimate purpose and where there is no evidence that a witness did anything wrong. 

These actions do not enhance our authority as a committee. They 

undermine it. They degrade it and they make us weaker. They distract and they lead to dysfunction and if you want to be effective 

and efficient in the things we do, then the last thing we need is 

distraction and dysfunction. 

Last Friday, Chairman Issa issued a unilateral subpoena to compel David Simas to testify here today. Mr. Simas is a senior advisor 

to the President of the United States of America and everyone on 

this committee knows the doctrine of separation of powers. As a 

matter of fact, it was first introduced to me in middle school. 

We do not simply haul in one of the President’s top advisors at 

will. There must be a valid reason. There must be a predicate. 

There must be a justification, some evidence that this official engaged in some type of inappropriate activity. That foundation simply does not exist. 

On Friday, I wrote a letter to the Chairman formally objecting 

to the subpoena. I noted that he has already issued nearly 100 subpoenas without any debate or vote of this committee. This is more 

than all three previous chairmen combined in less than half the 

time. 

I also noted that his unilateral subpoenas began to spike last 

month after Speaker Boehner announced that he was taking the 

Benghazi investigation away from this committee and transferring 

it to the new Select Committee. 

For example, the Chairman issued a subpoena to the Secretary 

of State without even calling to see if he was available to testify. 

He later withdrew the subpoena. 

5 

The Chairman also issued a subpoena to the IRS Commissioner 

in an attempt to hold the first public hearing on Lois Lerner’s 

emails. That failed and the Committee on Ways and Means went 

first. 

Then on Friday, Chairman Issa proposed the latest subpoena. 

The subpoena was not based on anything Mr. Simas did. It was 

based on the fact that the White House violated the Hatch Act six 

years ago under the Bush Administration. The committee has identified no evidence that Mr. Simas or anyone in his office did anything inappropriate. 

In my letter, I asked Chairman Issa not to issue the subpoena. 

If he thought I was wrong, then I asked him to bring it before the 

committee for a vote, but he ignored my concerns. He did not reply 

to my letter, did not call a committee vote, he just issued the subpoena by himself. 

These actions directly contradict the pledges made by the Chairman during this committee’s first meeting four years ago in 2011. 

I shall never forget that meeting. It started off with a prayer by 

our former Chairman Ed Towns. I would now like to play a video 

clip from that meeting so that we can remember back then and 

those who may not have been here they need to see this. Play the 

clip, please. 

[Video shown.] 

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Chairman, those were your words; they were 

not mine. I said something else in that hearing and I cited an old 

proverb. It basically said that if you want to go fast, go alone but, 

if you want to go far, go with others together. That was four years 

ago. 

When I raised concerns, you did not take them seriously. You did 

not ask other members if you were nuts or if you were wrong. 

When I asked for a vote, you ignored my request. Since you have 

been chairman, you have not held a single vote on even one of your 

nearly 100 subpoenas. 

One of the things that concerns me about this committee and 

this Congress is every two years when we raise our hands and 

swear to protect the citizens of our country, there is something that 

underlies that. That is that we have a duty to preserve this democracy that we inherited when we came upon this earth. 

Mr. Chairman, with the utmost respect, for this institution, because this is not about me, this is not about this committee. This 

is about generations yet unborn. I urge you to change course. This 

is supposed to be a deliberative body. 

The members of this committee, I will say it and say it until I 

die, the members, each one of them, represents 700,000 plus people, 700,000. The members should have the chance to deliberate, 

especially on matters as serious as compelling the testimony of a 

senior presidential advisor. 

It is time for this committee to stop serving as the center stage 

for political theater and fulfill its responsibilities under the Constitution to conduct responsible oversight. 

Then the Chairman cited the Miers case and I am glad he did. 

In Miers, when the Bush Administration claimed executive privilege to prevent the White House Counsel, Harriet Miers, from testifying before the House Judiciary Committee in 2007 and 2008, the 

6 

committee had a legitimate investigation into the forced resignations of seven U.S. attorneys. 

The D.C. District Court explained, ‘‘Congress moreover is acting 

pursuant to legitimate use of its investigative authority. Notwithstanding its best efforts, the committee has been unable to discover 

the underlying causes of the forced terminations of the U.S. attorneys. The committee has legitimate reasons to believe that Ms. 

Miers’ testimony can remedy that deficiency. There is no evidence 

that the committee is merely seeking to harass Ms. Miers by calling her to testify.’’ 

Finally, in the Miers case, there are some distinguishing factors. 

Keep in mind Ms. Miers was no longer in the White House. Number two, remember there was a complaint to the Office of Special 

Counsel already, a complaint about the firing of U.S. attorneys. 

And number three, there had been negotiations and all parties declared there was an impasse. 

Here only one person declares that there is an impasse apparently and that is the Chairman. 

And so I end by saying this is our watch. I end by saying we are 

better than this. If we want to go far, let us go together. If we want 

to go fast, go alone. 

With that, I yield back. 

Chairman ISSA. I thank the gentleman. 

As our witness has chosen not to appear, we are unable to complete the full hearing. The committee stands in recess. 

[Whereupon, at 10:28 a.m., the committee was recessed.] 

(7) 

APPENDIX 

MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING RECORD

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