NYT: Fed auditors say Bush admin broke the law buying news coverage, PR

[highplainsdem]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/30/politics/30cnd-educ.html?hp&ex=1128139200&en=366c3a62f5665c5a&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Audit Assails the White House for Public Relations Spending
By ROBERT PEAR
Published: September 30, 2005

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 - Federal auditors said today that the Bush administration had violated the law by purchasing favorable news coverage of President Bush's education policies, by making payments to the conservative commentator Armstrong Williams and by hiring a public relations company to analyze media perceptions of the Republican Party.

In a blistering report, the investigators, from the Government Accountability Office, said the administration had disseminated "covert propaganda" inside the United States, in violation of a longstanding, explicit statutory ban.

<snip>

In the course of its work, the accountability office discovered a previously undisclosed instance in which the Education Department had commissioned a newspaper article. The article, on the "declining science literacy of students," was distributed by the North American Precis Syndicate and appeared in numerous small newspapers around the country. Readers were not informed of the government's role in writing of the article.

The auditors also denounced a prepackaged television news story disseminated by the Education Department. The news segment, a "video news release" narrated by a woman named Karen Ryan, said that President Bush's program for providing remedial instruction and tutoring to children "gets an A-plus."

<snip>

[knowbody0]

1. nice timing

idiots

[Gman]

2. The rule of law.. I seem to remember hearing that a few years ago

Yeah, sure. I'm sure AG Gonzales will be all over this one and assure the American public that "it's about the rule of law".

[seabeyond]

3. SO what are they going to do about it. we knew they broke the

law and during campaign they did nothing. all ignored. k.... they broke the law. now what

[samdogmom]

25. I'm with you. It's a big DUH! So, now WHAT?

We all KNEW this was wrong. What's somebody in power going to do about it?

[Horse with no Name]

4. Karma's a bitch when you're a punk

But I'm loving it!

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. :^D

[amber dog democrat]

6. This is Karma -

pure and simple. And they are going to screw up even more in the time they have remaining.

[despairing optimist]

7. If they screw up any more, what time will any of us have remaining?

Best to throw them out ASAP.

[highplainsdem]

38. Agreed.

[EST]

8. Allright--

They broke the law. They committed a crime. a pretty serious crime.
When will they be indicted and go to prison?

[Atman]

9. Oh, goody! Something else they'll wriggle out of.

Sorry. I'm just getting a bad feeling. They're going to blow something up, invade something, or start a plague; anything to distract the people and keep them from facing the music. They already have all our money. They'll be fine, safe behind their compound walls, while they're nuking Iran and leaving the poor scum whose health insurance they've taken away to die like rats in the street, or freeze to death in their homes this winter.

These fuckers are pure evil. Maybe Barack Obama can come in and have a nice chat with them and get them to stop, whatcha think?

Signed,
Fucking fed up and disgusted in American

[valerief]

10. Well, slap my wrists! Oops, won't do it again.

[Disturbed]

11. Laws are only pertain to non-RWingers.

Rumsfailed Admitted to Violating Geneva Convention

Rumsfailed admitted in public on TV that when CIA Director Tenet requested that an Iraqi prisoner be sent to a secret Afghan/US Prison that Rumsfailed did so. After four months a DOD Attorney stated that this was an illegal act. Rumsfailed then ordered that this prisoner be sent back to Abu Graihib but the prisoner was purposefully not listed at that location, also an illegal act. Rumsfeld also admitted to signing orders for tougher interogation methods which violated the Geneva Conventions.

Rumfailed has commited at least three violations of the Geneva Convention thereby also violations of The Constitution of the USA. Recently it has been found out that even more detainees were "ghost detainees". The fact that Rumsfailed and Tenet have not been charged speaks volumes. If Congress wishes to garner any respect they should move forward with Rep. Rangle's Impeachment Declaration of Rumsfailed and also proscecute Ex. CIA Tenet.


The US, Govt., Congress, and the Justice Dept no longer abide by the Geneva Convention or the Constitution of the USA.

[NVMojo]

13. the list of crimes or hostile acts against the American people and others

continues ...

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

31. Rumfailed released from jail?

[Straight Shooter]

12. Didn't some Senator just get fined for using tax $$$ to fund his PR?

I was listening to NPR this morning or yesterday. A Senator has been charged with distributing printed information, some sort of slick PR campaign, paid for with taxpayers' dollars, but the info is actually designed to promote his re-election. I was thinking, while listening to the story, "Damn, that's exactly what bush has done. He must be following his leader."

NPR didn't say whether the man was a Repub or a Dem.

[Rex]

14. No! Violated the law! Impossible! Someone double and triple check

just to make sure...I mean, broke the law you say!??!?! Unbelievable~!

[Tatiana]

15. Part of the Friday news dump??? n/t

[nosmokes]

16. this is outrageous! and it'll get no play.

fcol, they already own 90% of the media, it's not like they really need to spend my tax dollars on their propaganda too.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

17. As I understand, the GAO has no teeth. They can ask the justice dept

to look into it, but if they don't want to, nothing will happen. This report HAS to see the light of day on news programming.

[AntiFascist]

18. I hope these Federal auditors get to keep their jobs...

I was watching Al Franken yesterday and I'm beginning to wonder...

[goforit]

19. WOW!!!!......Hitting the Ass below the belt!!!

[bunny planet]

20. Pile on. Its more Culture of Corruption. Hello.

[In Truth We Trust]

21. high crimes and misdemeanors! Impeachment NOW!

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. Where the hell have these auditors been?

Why didn't they come out with this report a year ago????

[MADem]

30. THEY DID--JAN 05-See my post below for the source of this cite

Miller cited two Government Accountability Office opinions that the administration violated federal law with video news releases. In May, the GAO criticized the Department of Health and Human Services for using the technique to promote Medicare's new prescription drug benefit. This week, it criticized the Office of National Drug Control Policy for distributing similar reports with a contractor posing as a journalist, including a "suggested live intro" for anchors to read.

[jbnow]

23. I've always wondered how his town hall meetings

could be legal either. That is taxpayer money, not campaign money, yet they only let in supporters.

Do we have to make a citizens arrest to get something done?

[mikelewis]

24. Good point

[Olney Blue]

42. Yes, those engineered, filtered meetings are the most

disturbing of all.

Impeach.

[rbajai]

26. Well you can't trust the source because it's the "liberal media..."

:rofl:

But seriously folks, ANOTHER SCANDAL brewing? This sounds SERIOUS...like the house of cards is FAST CRASHING!! Woo-hoo!

John Dean's contention that the * scandals are worse than Watergate isn't too far off. In fact, I believe Dean actually underestimated it if that were possible!!

Bush Admin BYE BYE-O!!!!
:nopity::nopity:

[dalloway]

27. any chance we can average one indictment per week till Fitz

finishes up with the grand finale?

Sorry, DeLay's indictment has made me hungry for more.

Even the GOP can't change all the laws fast enough to make their corruption legal.

[kster]

28. Don't let the *admin up for air

keep pounding them no matter how big or little the crime.

[MADem]

29. Jesus Christ on a bicycle, the whizzes at the NYT are just NOW figuring

this shit out??? Remember that Armstrong Dickweak Williams clown, on the payroll to write favorable articles??? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56330-2005Jan7.html The news items by "reporters" who were actually government hired actors???

From the same cited source, JAN 05
Miller cited two Government Accountability Office opinions that the administration violated federal law with video news releases. In May, the GAO criticized the Department of Health and Human Services for using the technique to promote Medicare's new prescription drug benefit. This week, it criticized the Office of National Drug Control Policy for distributing similar reports with a contractor posing as a journalist, including a "suggested live intro" for anchors to read.

This isn't NEWS, it is a continuation of a very sick BushCo theme.

[Az_lefty]

32. Oh it's all coming back to them now....

:toast:

[Miss Chybil]

33. I guess he was right when he said this would be a lot easier, if this

were a dictatorship and he was the dictator. Didn't they do this kind of stuff in the Soviet Union? Don't they do it in China? Everyday I miss my country more...

[rbajai]

40. Miss Chybil said:

"I guess he was right when he said this would be a lot easier, if this were a dictatorship and he was the dictator."

I think this needs to be SCREAMED from the rooftops. He actually did say it. I saw the clip in Fahrenheit 9/11.

[highplainsdem]

34. The Times just redid the story with a new title and minor rewording:

"Buying of News by Bush's Aides Is Ruled Illegal"

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/01/politics/01educ.html?ei=5094&en=2ca0f9a90d76f517&hp=&ex=1128139200&adxnnl=1&partner=homepage&adxnnlx=1128134618-fSwvDNjGbCc8dc5UqyzG3Q


The new title's better. :) Haven't been able to find any significant rewording, or any additional facts.

The link for the original version of the story, "Audit Assails the White House for Public Relations Spending," still works -- that's http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/30/politics/30cnd-educ.html?hp&ex=1128139200&en=366c3a62f5665c5a&ei=5094&partner=homepage .

[highplainsdem]

35. Oh, hell, there IS a new paragraph in the revised story: NO PENALTY. WTF?

I'd skimmed past the added paragraph when I was scrolling down the page and comparing the two versions of the story. This is from the new version at http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/01/politics/01educ.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5094&en=2ca0f9a90d76f517&hp&ex=1128139200&adxnnl=0&partner=homepage&adxnnlx=1128134618-fSwvDNjGbCc8dc5UqyzG3Q , and the additional one-sentence paragraph is in italics:

The G.A.O. said the Education Department had no money or authority to "procure favorable commentary in violation of the publicity or propaganda prohibition" in federal law.

The ruling comes with no penalty, but under federal law the department is supposed to report the violations to the White House and Congress.

[halobeam]

37. Am I misunderstanding this?

"The ruling comes with no penalty, but under federal law the department is supposed to report the violations to the White House and Congress."

The dept. is supposed to report the violations to the White House??? Wouldn't the White House know this, because THEY did this?

[rbajai]

41. HUH?

So wait...they are getting away with this scot-free? I shouldn't be so surprised because these evil folks always seem to slither away with their dirty deeds, but HUH?? How can THIS BE?

:wtf:

[Alizaryn]

36. If I didn't hate him so much

I would ALMOST feel sorry for him this week. Its too bad this came out on a Friday. I hope the story stays alive.

[skids]

39. Hrm -- class action suit?

No penalty -- but does this leave them vulnerable to a class action suit?