GSA Chief Grilled on GOP Political Presentation

Doan said that the matter is under investigation by the Office of Special Counsel and that she will abide by the office's determination.

In her testimony, Doan said she has transformed the GSA into one of the top 10 places to work in the federal government, with a balanced budget and a "clean audit." Doan said her troubles at the agency stemmed from a dispute with her agency's inspector general's office over proposed budget cuts.

"Like Jimmy Stewart in 'Mr. Smith,' I stand here -- I'm going to be honest -- I'm facing a gazillion allegations," she said, referring to the classic political film, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." "But the curious thing is that all of these allegations stem from a single source, and all of them became public as a direct result of my attempt to impose fiscal discipline throughout GSA."

Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (D-Mass.) said he had trouble believing Doan's testimony.

"You've adopted the Sergeant Shultz defense," Lynch told Doan, referring to a character in the television series "Hogan's Heroes." "You know nothing."

Lynch said Doan has a "selective memory," recalling many details about other elements of the videoconference but not the substance of what took place or what she might have said.

"The whole episode is totally disgraceful," he said.

Doan said she did not organize the meeting and had no knowledge of what Jennings was to present. "This was not my meeting," she said.

The committee released e-mail showing that a woman described by the committee as a Jennings aide sent the "Post Election Presentation" to a Doan assistant on Jan. 19, using an e-mail address at the Republican National Committee. "Please do not email this out or let people see it," the e-mail said. "It's a close hold and we're not supposed to be emaling it around."

Another member of the committee, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), said: "One of the things I'm concerned about is your memory."

The five-hour hearing also focused on Doan's involvement last year in a contract dispute with Sun Microsystems, a technology firm that GSA auditors allege had overcharged the government.

Waxman's committee heard testimony from Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), who has also been examining the Sun deal.

Grassley testified that his investigators found evidence that Doan and her senior aides urged the agency's contracting staff to renew the contract, despite questions about alleged fraud and overcharging.

By August last year, three contracting officers had balked at renewing Sun's contract with the GSA.

Grassley said that despite "repeated warnings" to senior GSA officials in 2006 about the contract, GSA renewed the contract with Doan's blessing and "with no conditions, strings, or precautions regarding the alleged fraud."

Doan said she had an obligation to keep a close eye on the Sun contract and did nothing wrong. She said she did not "even know" the contract officials involved in negotiations. She said she urged a solution to a negotiation impasse with an important government contractor but did not intervene.

"Sun is a major [information technology] vendor," she said. "They are very important."