[JURIST] The US Office of Special Counsel [official website] officially recommended Monday that General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Lurita Doan [official profile] "be disciplined to the fullest extent" for blatant disregard of the 1939 Hatch Act [OSC materials]. In a letter to President George W. Bush, Special Counsel Scott Bloch [official profile] said that by asking political appointees at a GSA meeting in January how they could best help Republican candidates, Doan violated the Act's ban on political advocacy on government time. Bloch also wrote that Doan exhibited "insensitivity to cooperating fully and honestly" with the investigation.

Doan's lawyer, Michael Nardotti [attorney profile], criticized the letter, saying that Bloch, an appointee of Bush who was unanimously confirmed by the senate, lacked objectivity and impartiality. Nardotti urged President Bush to disregard Bloch's report and instead find an outside group to investigate the alleged Hatch Act violation [JURIST report]. While Doan will not face criminal penalties, she could lose her job over the incident. AP has more.