WP: Probe Finds HUD Secy. Jackson Urged Favoritism in HUD Contracts

[DeepModem Mom]

Probe Finds Jackson Urged Favoritism in HUD Contracts
No Evidence That Staff Complied
By Elizabeth Williamson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 22, 2006; Page A15

An inspector general's report charges that top U.S. housing official Alphonso Jackson urged staff members to favor friends of President Bush when awarding Department of Housing and Urban Development contracts. But investigators so far have found no direct proof that Jackson's staff obeyed.

His chief of staff told investigators that Jackson, the HUD secretary, "personally intervened with contractors whom he did not like . . . these contractors had Democratic political affiliations," says the report, a copy of which was made available to The Washington Post.

The investigation "did not disclose any pattern or practice of issuing contracts based on political affiliation . . . however, there were some limited instances where political affiliation may have been a factor in contract issues involving Jackson," the report says.

Awarding contracts on the basis of party affiliation violates federal law....

***

Calls for an inquiry came after Jackson, Bush's onetime neighbor in Dallas and former housing authority chief in that city, told attendees at a public forum in Dallas on April 28 that he had killed a contract award to a firm after its chief told Jackson he disliked Bush. Jackson later took back his remarks and told investigators from the inspector general's office that he had "lied, and I regret having done that."...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/21/AR2006092101628.html

[Subdivisions]

1. K&R!

[Supersedeas]

2. is there another way to define cronyism???

[NorthernSpy]

3. Alphonso Jackson: could he be the world's stupidest man?

In addition to being corrupt, poor-people-hating trash, Alphonso Jackson is a moron's moron.

It all begins with a self-inflicted wound:

Alphonso Jackson boasts publicly of breaking federal law in awarding contracts.

Then, after investigators begin examining the incident that he -- of his own free will -- blabbed about, he lamely tries to cover his ass by claiming that he was really just lying to the public about what he did.

Ultimately, the investigation finds that Jackson did try to award contracts on a partisan basis, but also finds that Jackson's underlings at HUD were simply ignoring Jackson's orders and complying with the law instead. In other words, Jackson sincerely tried to break the law, but couldn't because his staff would let him. In other, other words, Jackson is both a corrupt scofflaw, and an incompetent figurehead token too stupid to realize that the people around him are only pretending that he runs HUD.


:dunce: <= Oh, look -- it's the man himself...

[MasonJar]

4. Is there one honest person in the Bush government? I hope they

are having fun now because history (if the world survives) will not be kind to these prevaricating, avaricious white trash.