Return to Article: Former GSA chief says she was ousted because of inspector general feud
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50088
Status quofor washington. let's pass reform and let's overall government! even the current presedential candidates flaunt their ability to change washington.
take a look, nothing changes. Absolute power, absolute corruption, these are the pinnacles of washington DC. If you don't go along and play along, we will get you.
The IG system was established with high goals of resolving the issues, but as in most cases, no one really polices the IG!
They are above reproach, and when it becomes personal and tough like this did, how quickly Washington wants to turn tail and run. perfect abandonment of leader that brought in change, read all Doan did, and name all other agency heads that have done that much in 22 months. Are they still employed? Sounds like we all missed the point, the investigation of the hen house by the foxes..what a surprise ending.
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50083
Given the current administration's track record of rewarding a few apparently unqualified friends and associates with lucrative government positions (FEMA comes to mind), it is conceivable that a "contrarian" could be removed on a slender pretext. While government executives should demonstrate a reasonable degree of loyalty to the administration, to be sure, loyalty must also extend to staff. Sometimes that is a fine line to walk, and sometimes it is clear that loyalty to staff and work partners must take precedence, even if it means losing one's job.
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49842
The GSA OIG should also be ousted for his failure of leadership and political acts. Although evidence suggests that Doan had improperly participated in problematic contracting efforts, she was right about the PCIE being a hollow shell to protect the OIGs. The entire system of OIG and PCIE oversight needs to be looked at by the Congress, getting advice from those not in the OIG community. The OIG's are politically corrupt. In fact, I suggest that the government should rotate all OIG's every 2-3 years.
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49826
Looks to me like Grassley was the guy that pushed Doan out. They have been feuding for a while and she was not willing to let the Sun Micro stuff drop. She proved a bit harder to push around and deserves some credit for taking a tough position. Grassley was so completely stupid on the Sun issue that it is quite frightening. Talk about a train wreck. Senator "Ethanol" Grassley is the very guy most responsible for our disastrous and shameful policy to reward Iowa corn farmers, with huge subsidies, thereby plunging the economy into recession and shoving another billion people on the planet close to starvation. What a guy. He likes to talk about waste fraud and abuse, someone needs to given him a mirror so that he might suddenly discover the single largest contributor of the very same.
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49825
Kudos for Mr Brodsky. The long battle at GSA between the Doan and Miller is now at an end. The IG has won. The IG now rules GSA but can he govern? Already the signs are ominous. Rumors are that several of the best people have already submitted resignation and will leave rather than go back to the old days of IG inquisition. Everyone knows that Mr Bibb is a nice guy, but he is certainly not going to stick up for 1102s and his desk is where controversial decisions go to die. Nothing is going to happen here until the next administration. Who knows, maybe that's what the White House wanted when they showed Doan the door. She did push a lot of great ideas and procurement people will never see someone so supportive. As for Miller, well my guess is that when the dust finally settles, a lot of people are going to have new doubts about the wisdom of handing the keys to GSA over to the IG.
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49821
Let us get the facts straight up front. It was Doan who violated the ethics rules not the GSA IG. It was Doan who violated the hatch act; attempted to improperly award a contract to a friend's company; and it was Doan who would not cooperate with the GSA OIG auditors and investigators who concluded the Sun contract was not awarded in the best interest of the USA taxpayer. Of course, it also must be said that there was found the element of alleged fraud in the award of the Sun contract. It was Sun Micro Systems that rather then appeal the findings of the GSA OIG, withdrew from the contract. It was Doan who attempted to choke off the ability of the GSA OIG by reducing their funding level below which they could not effectively conduct audits. It was Doan who did not with transparency conduct the affairs of the GSA Adminstrator and with a lack of candor did not provide testimony before congress to explain her actions. It was Doan who inteceded into the matter of the whistleblowers when in effect they were advancing her bogus position which amounted to nothing. The whistleblowers were not inarticulate lower staff personnel. They were highly skilled atty's members of the GSA OIG Office of Counsel. Yet with all of their efforts to contravene the GSA IG and his staff, they failed to gather support for their position.
The entire matter was of Doan's making by design, and by her hand she has suffered the consequences of not only being fired by the White House, but exposed as a political partisan more interested in taking care of her politcal friends then looking out for the tax payer for whom she is charged to do so. She has cast a dark shadow over the fine professional people who work at GSA. The fat lady has sung. Now get over it and move on.
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49806
"I would rather get fired for something I believe in, and a cause I was willing to fight for, rather than to believe in nothing worth being fired for."
Unfortunately for Ms. Doan, these were not the only two 'choices' available to her.
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49803
Too bad, those who zealously work for constructive change are supplanted by those who wish the status quo. The IG has absolute power and are generally without real oversight. In the end when the good (not perfect) lose, society loses; We no longer draw quality persons into public service. It is good that the IG is among us to protect the mediocre and support stagnation. Our nation's founders are aghast and England's King George (during our colonial years) is laughing thinking, "See, it has finally happened to you!"
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49801
This article is clearly the best reporting on Doan's demise. She meant well in a general sense, but never seemed to regard the processes of government and politics, such as they are, as ones she needed to respect. That doesn't define a feisty change agent, but rather a loose cannon. So she frittered away her 22 months on skirmishes rather than grappling with the strategic challenges at GSA. With Doan's departure, the most obvious impediment to GSA business recovery has been removed. But it will be no easy feat to re-earn the confidence of customer agencies and Congress.
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49783
I agree with govlawyer and Brian Walters. It is amazing how decisions are made without ever even talking with the sources! Noone has come up with any plausible explanation as to why these attorneys were not given the opportunity to speak about their concerns during this 'investigation.'!
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49781
odd, I thought she was asked to leave because she broke the law....
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49780
While many will not let go of the IG-bashing, it MUST be addressed INDEPENDENTLY of the serious charges Doan is facing. I seriously doubt she would have been asked to step down if these charges could be legitimately dismissed in any way. The IG issue was decided and when you take the timing into account - it appears that was Doan's last-ditch defense. The White House immediately asked he to leave, which might imply that they do not want this further investigated. Let's just let sleeping skeletons lie. Might be time to move on and ensure a better choice for GSA is made (without the conflicts of interest - Doan, for better or worse, was knee deep in federal contracts prior to her GSA appt.).
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49779
Whistleblower protection, protection from EEO Reprisal, my big fat booty! Why has Congress wasted thier time and the taxpayers money addressing the issue of whistleblower protection if they have no intention of protecting the courageous people who risk all in exposing wrongdoing. I have been thrown to the wolves and will never again risk my livelihood.
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49773
It's about time she left! Doan never learned how to work in government, nor did she learn to shut her mouth and quit pointing fingers at everyone else. She will continue to play the victim, when in fact her behavior's are the reason she lost her job. She likes to think she improved morale, but she overlooked those whom she embarrassed.
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49759
Lurita Doan may have her faults, but she was completely right about the way the four whistleblowers have been treated. When the entire senior legal staff of an IG's office levels significant and credible allegations of retaliation, intimidation, and abuse of authority at the IG, someone should take a serious look. Obviously, neither the PCIE nor the IG hand-picked by Miller even considered the major issues raised in the whistleblower complaints. Apparently, not one of the whistleblowers was even contacted by either of the parties charged with "investigating" the allegations. In representing that the alleged misconduct is merely an internal personnel matter, both the PCIE and the other IG have demonstrated that IG's are indeed above the law. Likewise, Senator Grassley should be ashamed of himself for abdicating any responsibility to meaningfully review the allegations. While Ms. Doan's tactics may have been somewhat aggressive, the senator can no longer seriously claim to be a zealous overseer of the IG community.
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49754
Unfortunately, there is no one charged with keeping in check the abusive manner in which IG's go after professionals who try their best. The IG community is made up of a majority of bullies and this is the way they can throw their weight around. It's sad, but unfortunately, no one dares challenge an IG.
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49746
Finally, another one of this administration's crooks has left. Now they turn their eye at OPM and get rid of the ones who run that agency.
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