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Judicial Watch files suit against OSC over White House scandal obstruction

Judicial Watch files suit against OSC over White House scandal obstruction
Photo by Tasos Katopodis

Judicial Watch (JW) said on Thursday in a newsletter email received on Friday that they have filed suit against the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) to obtain government records relating to a June 15, 2010 request for an investigation into possible Hatch Act violations by then-White House staff members Rahm Emanuel and Jim Messina.

Judicial Watch had filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, “Judicial Watch v. U.S. Office of Special Counsel (Case 1:14-cv-00724)” on April 25, 2014 and due to stonewalling tactics by the White House and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC).

The FOIA lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch in accordance with a June 27, 2013, FOIA request, seeks all and any records concerning, regarding, or related to the request for investigation filed by Judicial Watch with the Hatch Act Unit on June 15, 2010 concerning federal employees Jim Messina and Rahm Emanuel.

JW alleges that in 2009 then-White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and then-deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina, on behalf of the Obama administration, both used their position and influence as highly placed federal employees to affect the outcome of federal elections.

Such actions are in direct violation of the Hatch Act, which states that an employee may not “use his official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election.”

Emanuel left the Obama administration, is now mayor of Chicago while Messina runs the White House-allied Organizing for America (OFA), and is also a political consultant.

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said, “On May 27, 2009, Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Sestak said in an interview with CNN that he intended to challenge Senator Arlen Specter in the 2010 Democratic Primary. According to a White House memo authored by White House Counsel Robert Bauer, “efforts were made in June and July of 2009 to determine whether Congressman Sestak would be interested in service on a Presidential or other Senior Executive Branch Advisory Board, which would avoid a divisive Senate primary.”

“The memo further notes that Emanuel enlisted the help of former President Bill Clinton to raise the executive branch positions with Congressman Sestak and Sestak rebuffed the Obama White House offers and defeated Specter in the primary.”

Fitton explained that the Colorado Independent reported on August 29, 2009, that Andrew Romanoff planned to challenge Colorado Democratic Senator Michael Bennet in the 2010 Democratic Primary. According to the Associated Press in June 2010, Messina allegedly called Romanoff on September 11, 2009, and suggested that Romanoff’s time might be better spent working for the U.S. Agency for International Development instead of running for the Senate. Romanoff released an email from Messina that same day listing three jobs that “would be available” if Romanoff were not running for the Senate against Bennet. Two of them were with USAID, the other was the position of director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. Bennet defeated Romanoff in the primary.

More on this story…

CLC

Fmr. Sgt, USAF Intelligence, NSA/DOD; Studied Cryptology at Community College of the Air Force

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