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Armstrong Williams case may factor into hearings on Supreme Court nominee

(October 4, 2005) What do commentator Armstrong Williams (left) and President’s Bush’s Supreme Court nominee, Harriet Miers have in common? At least one member of the Senate Judiciary Committee thinks that there may be a link between the two.

Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, ranking Democrat on the committee that will conduct confirmation hearings, is reported by the Associated Press as saying that he has concerns about Miers' possible role in the Bush administration’s hiring of conservative commentator Williams to provide public relations for the president's education programs.

Williams’ firm, Graham Williams Group, was awarded a $240,000 contract in 2004 to create ads for the Dept. of Education’s “No Child Left Behind” initiative. Williams, who regularly appears on various TV and radio programs, was also expected to discuss the program in the media, and persuade other African-American commentators to do likewise.

A report issued by the Government Accountability Office this past Friday concluded that the public relations efforts violated the government's "publicity or propaganda prohibition" because the DOE did not clearly disclose its role to the public. The department was ordered to report the violations to Congress and the president.

Following the GAO findings, Senators Frank Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, and Edward Kennedy, D-Massachusetts immediately sent a letter to Education Secretary Margaret Spellings urging her to abide by the law, recover the misspent dollars and meet with them on Capitol Hill.

USA Today reported on Monday that Williams has been in negotiations with the Department of Education to repay at least a portion of the contract.

Senate confirmation hearings on Miers to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the Supreme Court are likely to begin in early November.

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