FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 19, 2017
WASHINGTON – Last week, the D.C. Council released a report prepared by the Committee on Transportation and the Environment on its investigation into possible corruption, contract rigging, favoritism and wrongful terminations involving the Department of General Services, senior officials within the Executive Office of the Mayor and Mayor Muriel Bowser. The allegations involve a city contractor who is a political donor and has been previously barred from District contracting as a result of a bribery scandal.
The findings in the report are troubling, but so too are statements and actions by Council members and the mayor.
First, Councilmember Mary Cheh, who chairs the Committee on Transportation and the Environment and led the investigation, stated on the record that other Council members “materially diluted the findings” of the committee’s investigation. [1]
Second, D.C. City Administrator Rashad Young sought to have testimony about a contractor at the center of the investigation kept from the public. [2]
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Mayor Bowser said that her administration will not investigate any of the allegations raised in the report, including that a city official leaked confidential bidding information to a contractor who ultimately won a lucrative contract. [3]
The DC GOP has been a stalwart advocate for District autonomy and non-interference in local matters from Congress.
However, given the seriousness of the allegations raised in the report and, most significantly, actions taken by elected officials to dilute the findings of the report, the City Administrator’s attempted cover-up, and Mayor Bowser’s unwillingness to investigate these matters, the DC GOP is calling on Congress to do what too many of our elected officials have demonstrated that they will not do themselves: conduct proper, honest and thorough oversight of District government.
Specifically, the DC GOP is calling on Representative Trey Gowdy (R-SC), Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, to conduct a formal inquiry into this matter and bring District officials to Capitol Hill for testimony under oath.
At the same time, the DC GOP is calling on the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney of the District of Columbia to immediately launch an investigation.
Timeliness is of the essence in that evidence of a coverup has already emerged.
The DC GOP is an advocate for honest and ethical government. We believe that District officials must conduct themselves with the utmost integrity and adherence to law.
The DC GOP has never before called on Congress or the Justice Department to investigate District government or our elected officials. We are greatly disappointed in and outraged at District officials who stymie investigative work, stonewall and refuse to investigate potential serious crimes.
[1] Cheh made this statement during a D.C. Council hearing on June 14, 2017. The subject of the hearing was a vote to determine whether or not the report would be released. Video: http://media-07.granicus.com:443/OnDemand/dc/dc_5b638f3a-b8df-48ce-ab94-9e2b5855d8c7.mp4 As reported by Patrick Madden, WAMU news: https://twitter.com/Patrick_Madden/status/875059861675016192
[2] As reported by Aaron Davis, Washington Post: https://twitter.com/byaaroncdavis/status/875353094602854401 and https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/dc-council-report-bowser-administration-favored-top-donor-in-contracting/2017/06/14/5799a712-5134-11e7-b064-828ba60fbb98_story.html
[3] Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/bowser-says-she-will-not-investigate-evidence-of-illegal-leak-in-contracting-process/2017/06/15/41ee2b56-51f5-11e7-b064-828ba60fbb98_story.html
