Posted on 11/17/2006 10:13:39 AM PST by Snickering Hound
WASHINGTON — The turmoil in newly elected Rep. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs' office deepened Thursday with the Houston Republican demanding a congressional investigation of aides who quit in a mass walkout earlier this week.
Sekula-Gibbs said the staffers, holdovers from her predecessor Tom DeLay, deleted records from the office's computers Monday, the day before seven of them resigned in apparent protest of their treatment.
"As public servants, they have harmed the 22nd Congressional District and they have brought shame to this office," Sekula-Gibbs said in a statement. "I have a duty to investigate."
Sekula-Gibbs was elected to complete DeLay's term. Democrat Nick Lampson will succeed her when the next two-year term begins in January.
David James, who was chief of staff under DeLay and ran the office after the Texas Republican resigned in June, flatly denied that he or his colleagues had acted improperly.
House rules demand that computers be scrubbed clean before a new representative takes over, James noted.
James had previously been unwilling to discuss his five-day experience working for Sekula-Gibbs, but said he could no longer remain silent after accusations against him and co-workers with more than 30 years combined experience on Capitol Hill.
"Never has any member of Congress treated us with as much disrespect and unprofessionalism as we witnessed during those five days," he said. He declined to detail specific behavior.
Sekula-Gibbs also leveled charges of unprofessionalism against the former aides, saying they "left without notice and their departure raises suspicions." An eighth staffer who left was a part-time employee shared with other offices.
The congresswoman, who was sworn in Monday to fill the remaining two months of DeLay's term, has asked the House's chief administrative officer to investigate. The office didn't return calls Thursday, and had yet to respond to Sekula-Gibbs' request, said her chief of staff, Lisa Dimond.
Defenders of the departed aides were puzzled by Sekula-Gibbs' actions, saying the former DeLay staff members were hard-working, loyal employees dedicated to the Texas district, particularly at a time when the office lacked a representative.
"We had the good fortune of working with them over the years and every one of them, to a person, has unimpeachable character and integrity," said Tony Essalih, chief of staff to Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston.
"I hope it is just a misunderstanding," said Essalih, who described Sekula-Gibbs as a dedicated legislator. "I do have a lot of respect for her and I think she's going to do a fine job, but I've never known any of these staffers to be anything but top-notch."
A former congressional staffer familiar with the 22nd District's operations also praised the aides. "They know the district like the back of their hand; it has been their lives for years and it was with a heavy heart that they had to leave," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Sekula-Gibbs' current staff includes two employees who came with her from Houston and an intern borrowed from another congressional office.
While Dimond acknowledged the computers were clean when the congresswoman opened the office on Nov. 9, she said the former aides deleted recently created files Monday, the day before they walked out. The files related to research on Ellington Field, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Medicare, she said.
James denied the accusation. "The memos, press releases, and speeches that we wrote for her in the brief time we were there were provided to her electronically or in hard copy, or both," he said.
Sekula-Gibbs has attracted national attention during her brief stay in Washington, in part because she came to the Capitol in an electoral quirk. On Nov. 7, she won a special election to fill DeLay's term but fell short as a write-in candidate for the next term.
But she's also raised eyebrows with the staff turmoil and ambitious goals that include reforming immigration and cutting taxes during her seven-week tenure.
I doubt that even switching to decaf would help her. Is she a Dim plant or something?
Holy Cow, this woman is going to be congressman for what, six weeks? And she's demanding investigations?
What a flaming nutjob.
She just might be. She acts just like one. Just look at some of the idiotic statements she has made.
She is going to fix the Iraq war, fix social security, fix health care, etc, etc, all in the 7 weeks she will be in office.
If she had a political future, she has none now. Old Nick must be laughing at the antics of his erstwhile opponent. If this is the best that the GOP can do in this district, Nick will be there for a very long time.
Best news for Houston is that she had to resign her City Council seat to be a congresswoman for 6 weeks.
Why in gods name is she doing this? She is going to be in Congress for seven weeks. Thats it! Not enough time to get anything done. So get your stupid photo-ops taken and enjoy your time in DC. No need to pull this childish act. She should have been a lot more sensitive with her staff's situation. All of them are from another congressman's office and are facing unemployment square in the face. No need to ride them that hard.
well, count me interested.So far I've heard only HALF THE STORY
Why in gods name is she doing this? She is going to be in Congress for seven weeks. Thats it! Not enough time to get anything done. So get your stupid photo-ops taken and enjoy your time in DC. No need to pull this childish act. She should have been a lot more sensitive with her staff's situation. All of them are from another congressman's office and are facing unemployment square in the face. No need to ride them that hard.
She needs to talk less and listen more. An overinflated sense of self-worth if you ask me......
As someone who won the special election, Mrs. Gibbs would have the inside track for the nomination in 08.
Why is the MSM so concerned about what is clearly a transitional problem?
I think they are trying to make both Delay's team and Mrs. Gibbs look bad so that they can keep Republcans divided in CD22.
That is the only way Lampson keeps that seat.
Sounds like a case of too much NOW power.
Shelly has done us a favor. The Republicans will choose a real conservative in the next primary and win. The Fort Bend, Harris, Galveston, and Brazoria County leaders who picked her for this have demonstrated that they ought to be demoted to walking precincts.
If you're a congressman for 7 weeks, do you then get a nice pension for life once you leave office?
Maybe they're poisoning her water? Good grief.
I am going to write Rep. Gibbs and suggest that she invite herself to dinner at the White House and demand that President Bush appoint a Special Prosecutor to get to the bottom of FileGate. She should then call in the FBI, CIA, KGB and CNN to conduct a full investigation.
After they are found guilty Former Congresswoman Gibbs can hand the perps from the Capitol rotunda.
This in an Outrage!
The wheels of Government should Grind to a Halt until after this matter is settled.
ROFLMAO!
I have always said...elect what you think is a good person and send em to Congress.....they immediately become a politician full of crap."
She kind of proves my point.
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