HUD boss urged aides to favor Bush friends

Bloomberg

Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The Bush administration's top housing official temporarily blocked a federal contract with a Massachusetts firm because of its political affiliation and for personal reasons, senior U.S. Housing and Urban Development aides told investigators.

HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson, a member of President George W. Bush's Cabinet, also urged aides to favor friends of Bush when awarding contracts, a report by the agency's inspector general said. The report cited the sworn testimony of Jackson's aides including his chief of staff, Camille Pierce, a lawyer who has worked for Jackson on and off since the 1980s.

The investigation found "no direct evidence" that political favoritism actually played a role in specific grants or contracts, according to an executive summary of the 340-page report.