K
Kickin' Ass and Takin' Names
Guest
Now, if only we could slap some SwiftBoaters in the slammer.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/a...workers_face_investigation_over_obama_e_mail/
WASHINGTON - Three federal employees are being investigated for
unlawful political activities after they allegedly sent an e-mail
falsely accusing Barack Obama of being a "radical Muslim," the Globe
has learned.
The US Office of Special Counsel - the independent federal agency
responsible for enforcing a law banning civil service workers from
engaging in political activism while performing their official duties
- has launched investigations of two employees at one agency and one
employee at another agency. All three are believed to have forwarded
the erroneous chain e-mail about Obama from their government e-mail
accounts.
Doing so would be a violation of the Hatch Act, a 1939 law designed to
help protect career government employees and the government workforce
from the influence of partisan politics. The act bans civil servants
from taking "any active part" in political campaigns while on the job.
If a special oversight board finds the three employees in violation of
the act, punishment could range from suspension from work without pay
to termination from their jobs and disqualification from any future
government employment.
A spokesman for the special counsel office, which has about 100
employees and a $17 million annual budget, said news of the
investigations could deter other government employees from spreading
partisan information over the Internet - including many who do not
know it is illegal.
"We think that this e-mail could be the tip of the iceberg and that we
may have many more similar e-mails circulating in federal agencies,"
said James Mitchell, the office's communications director. "People
need to stop doing this."
Quick access to the Internet from work "makes it easier for people to
make the mistake," he said. "Now people can step into trouble very
easily just by forwarding a message that someone else sent to them."
Mitchell would not identify the individuals under investigation for
privacy reasons, nor would he say which agencies they work for because
the investigation has not been completed.
The US Army has already told its soldiers not to use government
computers to spread the Obama smear. Personnel at the US Army Medical
Command in Fort Sam Houston, were warned last week after an Army
employee used an official e-mail address to send the message to
soldiers and civilian employees worldwide.
Federal laws bar military personnel from actively engaging in politics
while in uniform.
The e-mail questioning Obama's faith and patriotism, though widely
discredited, is still alive on the Internet, where it has been
forwarded to thousands of voters and has appeared on right-wing blogs.
It recently appeared on a local Republican Party office's website in
Washington state.
The anonymous author has not been identified and the origin of the e-
mail is unknown. A version of the e-mail asserts this is "something
that should be considered in your choice" for president.
Several federal and state employees were found to be in violation of
the Hatch Act last year, including some who sent politically-motived e-
mails. One federal employee who disseminated an e-mail to 27 of her
colleagues about a political candidate with links to his campaign
website was suspended without pay.
Mitchell has said the office - which received a $1.1 million funding
increase - is bracing for a sharp rise in unlawful political activity
by government employees.
"With the political season on, this is a time when people become more
vulnerable because there is just more activity in the political
realm," he said.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/a...workers_face_investigation_over_obama_e_mail/
WASHINGTON - Three federal employees are being investigated for
unlawful political activities after they allegedly sent an e-mail
falsely accusing Barack Obama of being a "radical Muslim," the Globe
has learned.
The US Office of Special Counsel - the independent federal agency
responsible for enforcing a law banning civil service workers from
engaging in political activism while performing their official duties
- has launched investigations of two employees at one agency and one
employee at another agency. All three are believed to have forwarded
the erroneous chain e-mail about Obama from their government e-mail
accounts.
Doing so would be a violation of the Hatch Act, a 1939 law designed to
help protect career government employees and the government workforce
from the influence of partisan politics. The act bans civil servants
from taking "any active part" in political campaigns while on the job.
If a special oversight board finds the three employees in violation of
the act, punishment could range from suspension from work without pay
to termination from their jobs and disqualification from any future
government employment.
A spokesman for the special counsel office, which has about 100
employees and a $17 million annual budget, said news of the
investigations could deter other government employees from spreading
partisan information over the Internet - including many who do not
know it is illegal.
"We think that this e-mail could be the tip of the iceberg and that we
may have many more similar e-mails circulating in federal agencies,"
said James Mitchell, the office's communications director. "People
need to stop doing this."
Quick access to the Internet from work "makes it easier for people to
make the mistake," he said. "Now people can step into trouble very
easily just by forwarding a message that someone else sent to them."
Mitchell would not identify the individuals under investigation for
privacy reasons, nor would he say which agencies they work for because
the investigation has not been completed.
The US Army has already told its soldiers not to use government
computers to spread the Obama smear. Personnel at the US Army Medical
Command in Fort Sam Houston, were warned last week after an Army
employee used an official e-mail address to send the message to
soldiers and civilian employees worldwide.
Federal laws bar military personnel from actively engaging in politics
while in uniform.
The e-mail questioning Obama's faith and patriotism, though widely
discredited, is still alive on the Internet, where it has been
forwarded to thousands of voters and has appeared on right-wing blogs.
It recently appeared on a local Republican Party office's website in
Washington state.
The anonymous author has not been identified and the origin of the e-
mail is unknown. A version of the e-mail asserts this is "something
that should be considered in your choice" for president.
Several federal and state employees were found to be in violation of
the Hatch Act last year, including some who sent politically-motived e-
mails. One federal employee who disseminated an e-mail to 27 of her
colleagues about a political candidate with links to his campaign
website was suspended without pay.
Mitchell has said the office - which received a $1.1 million funding
increase - is bracing for a sharp rise in unlawful political activity
by government employees.
"With the political season on, this is a time when people become more
vulnerable because there is just more activity in the political
realm," he said.