Waxman seeks answers about drug czar’s visits

CARSON CITY -- Rep. Henry Waxman of California is asking the Bush administration for more information about what he said appear to be politicized visits by federal officials during the 2006 election season.

Included are trips made by national drug czar John Walters to Nevada to meet with now Gov. Jim Gibbons and Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., and to speak against a state marijuana legalization ballot measure.

Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is seeking information and congressional hearings about the visits.

In a letter dated Tuesday to Walters, Waxman said he wants to know more about "efforts by White House officials to direct you or other officials in the Office of National Drug Control Policy to travel at taxpayer expense to events with Republican candidates for political office."

Waxman cited an e-mail sent by Douglas Simon, the Office of National Drug Control Policy liaison to the White House, that describes a political briefing by Karl Rove after the 2006 elections.

The e-mail, paraphrasing Rove, says in part: "Director Walters and the deputies covered thousands of miles to attend numerous official events all across the country. The director and the deputies deserve the most recognition because they actually had to give up time with their families for the God-awful places we sent them."

The e-mail did not make clear whether Nevada was one of the places referred to.

Walters made trips on Aug. 29, 2006, to Reno to meet with Gibbons, a Republican congressman then running for governor, and on Oct. 12 in Southern Nevada to meet with Porter, a Republican facing a strong challenge from Democrat Tessa Hafen.

During the events, Walters criticized a statewide ballot measure, Question 7, which would have allowed adults age 21 and over to possess and use up to an ounce of marijuana in private homes and buildings.

The measure failed in the general election.

Neal Levine, campaign manager for the Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana, criticized the visits at the time for using federal taxpayer money to campaign against a Nevada ballot measure.

"You would think he would have better things to do with his time than to come to Nevada to tell Nevadans how to vote on a local issue," Levine said.

On Tuesday, Levine said he welcomed the inquiry.

"It's obviously justified," he said. "To spend taxpayer dollars to lobby against statewide initiatives. To include visits to Republicans in tight races. The White House made a concerted effort to meddle in local elections, and I'm happy they're looking into it."

But Tom Riley, spokesman for the drug office, said there is nothing much to investigate.

"The purpose of this office is to raise awareness of the drug problem and what government can do about it," he said. "We do events with Republicans and Democrats all the time."

During an election year, it is not surprising that Democrats don't want to do events with senior White House officials, "touting administration programs and success stories," Riley said.

During the 2006 visits, and in earlier visits in 2004 and 2002 where he campaigned against other Nevada marijuana ballot proposals, Walters was criticized for getting involved in campaigning against the Nevada measures.

But the pro-marijuana campaigns, none of which were successful, had financial backing, while opponents did not, Riley said.

White House officials also defended the trips.

"Essentially the chairman's letters posted today do not give any evidence that any of these ONDCP anti-drug events were used to urge the election of particular candidates," White House spokesman Blair Jones said.

"Director Walters has traveled around the country to meet with both Democrats and Republican elected officials in communities hit hard by the scourge of drugs. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the nation's drug czar traveling the country to promote the administrations successful anti-drug policies," Jones said.

Some examples cited by Jones include a visit with then Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack in Des Moines on March 7, 2006, and a meeting with Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry in Oklahoma City on March 8. Both are Democrats.

In a separate letter sent Tuesday to Sara Taylor, the former top aide to Rove, Waxman specifically cited the Nevada visits that he said were sometimes combined with announcements of federal grants or federal actions that benefitted the states or districts of the Republican members.

"For example: On August 29, 2006, Director Walters appeared with Republican Representative Jim Gibbons at a press conference in Reno, Nevada, to announce that Washoe County had been designated part of Nevada's High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, a designation that brings with it $500,000 in federal funding to assist local law enforcement efforts," he said.

Waxman also cited the visit with Porter "to announce $500,000 in federal funding for a Clark County, Nevada, anti-drug program."

Matt Leffingwell, a spokesman for Porter, discounted any idea of politics being involved in the visit.

"Congressman Porter has worked with the Office of National Drug Control Policy on numerous legislative and funding initiatives," he said.

"Congressman Porter's involvement with ONDCP has been solely focused on protecting Nevada families from the dangers of drug abuse and ensuring we have the resources available to combat drug trafficking."

Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault contributed to this report.