Yosi Sergant Resigns from NEA

[Severa]

Washington Post

The former communications director of the National Endowment for the Arts has resigned, a spokesperson for the agency said Thursday.

"His resignation has been accepted and is effective immediately," Victoria Hutter said in an e-mail.

Yosi Sergant was reassigned from his post as communications director on Sept. 10 after coming under fire from conservative Fox News Channel host Glenn Beck. Sergant, a public relations professional from Los Angeles, had worked with artist Shepard Fairey on the iconic Obama "HOPE" posters before coming to Washington to work in the Office of Public Engagement at the White House. He moved to the NEA in May.

A transcript of his remarks on the August call was posted on the BigHollywood.com site Monday, leading to an unusual statement from NEA chairman Rocco Landesman on Tuesday, distancing himself and the endowment from Sergant. He "acted unilaterally" and "without the approval or authorization" of the endowment's then-acting chairman, Landesman said, and was "relieved of his duties as director of communications."

The White House also on Tuesday instructed agency chiefs of staff to be mindful of avoiding the appearance of acting politically. A memorandum (PDF) from White House counsel Gregory Craig and ethics adviser Norman Eisen provided the guidance.

"It is the policy of the administration that grant decisions should be on the merits and that government officials should avoid even creating the incorrect appearance that politics has anything to do with these decisions," White House spokesman Bill Burton said.

Sergant's resignation comes a day after the 10 Republicans on the Senate committee that oversaw Landesman's nomination wrote to the chairman (PDF) to demand assurances that the NEA did not, in August, and would not, going forward, "use taxpayer dollars to engage in lobbying activities to promote the President's health care legislative agenda and other legislative priorities."

The NEA's participation in Aug. 10 and Aug. 27 conference calls in conjunction with either the White House or the United We Serve initiative of the Corporation for National and Community Service "may have violated the Hatch Act, appropriations restrictions on spending funds for such purposes and/or are in direct contradiction with the NEAs mission under its authorizing statute," the senators wrote in a letter sent out by the office of Sen. Mike Enzi (Wyo.).

During confirmation hearings, they continued, "You specifically stated that the NEA should not become a politicized agency. This situation, unfortunately, significantly undermined that statement and goal."

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Aaaaaaaaaaannnd another one goes under the bus...

[Lenny]

All the underlings are being thrown under the bus so the big guys can continue to break the law and ethics rules.