By Scott Higham and Robert O'Harrow Jr.
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, May 25, 2007; A08

The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee yesterday asked General Services Administration chief Lurita Alexis Doan to testify about allegations that she made "misleading and false" statements to an independent investigative agency.

Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) invited Doan to testify before his committee June 7 about statements that she made to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which interviewed her during an inquiry into whether she had violated the federal Hatch Act. The act restricts executive branch employees from using their positions for political purposes.

The special counsel's office questioned Doan and numerous GSA political appointees about a Jan. 26 presentation of 2006 election results by Karl Rove's political affairs deputy at the White House. Several political appointees told investigators that Doan asked them after the presentation how they could help Republicans in 2008.

Doan told the special counsel's office under oath that she could not recall making any such statement, according to a May 18 report by the special counsel's office, which found that Doan had violated the Hatch Act.

Doan also told investigators that the appointees who made the allegation against her were biased because they were poor performers. She said that "there is not a single one of those who did not have somewhere in between a poor to totally inferior performance," according to the report.

Investigators for the special counsel reviewed the performance evaluations of seven political appointees who gave unfavorable testimony about Doan. They found that each had been rated as meeting or exceeding expectations, and some had received awards for their work, the report said.

The special counsel concluded that Doan's sworn statement appeared "to have been purposefully misleading and false," and noted that Doan "knew that none of the above named witnesses had ever been subjected to written disciplinary action," according to the report.

Doan has until June 1 to respond to the report before it is forwarded to President Bush. Only the president can decide whether agency chiefs should be disciplined under the Hatch Act. Discipline can range from warnings to removal from office.

In a statement this week, Doan said she fundamentally disagrees with the report's findings. "I have an opportunity, which I will take, to work with the Office of Special Counsel to correct the many inaccuracies before the final report is issued," she said.

In his letter to Doan, Waxman said he is troubled by the allegations contained in the report, calling them of "grave concern."

Waxman also notified Doan that she might be asked other questions at the hearing "related to the veracity of your statements to the OSC and this Committee." Doan testified before the committee in March about the political presentation and other matters.

A GSA spokesman said that the agency had received the letter and that Doan and other officials are reviewing it.

Michael J. Nardotti Jr., an attorney for Doan, wrote to Special Counsel Scott J. Bloch expressing "utter outrage" that the report had been leaked to three major media outlets.

"The gross and inexcusable failure to prevent the release of the report is extraordinarily unfair to Administrator Doan and has compromised the integrity of the process," Nardotti wrote, requesting an investigation into the leak.