White House Pays Off Anti-Gay Commentator

Armstrong Williams, a prominent conservative commentator, acknowledged Friday that he was paid $240,000 by the U.S. Department of Education to promote its initiatives on his syndicated television program and to other African Americans in the news media.

The disclosure of the payment set off a storm of criticism from Democrats over the Bush administration's spending to promote its policies to the public.

According to a copy of the contract provided by the department Friday, Williams, who also runs a small public relations firm and until Friday wrote a syndicated newspaper column, was required to broadcast two one-minute advertisements in which Education Secretary Rod Paige extolled the merits of its national standards program, "No Child Left Behind."

But the arrangement, which started in late 2003 and was first reported Friday by USA Today, also stipulated that a public relations firm hired by the department would "arrange for Williams to regularly comment on NCLB during the course of his broadcasts."

The contract further stipulated that "Secretary Paige and other department officials shall have the option of appearing from time to time as studio guests" and that "Williams shall utilize his long-term working relationships with 'America's Black Forum' '' -- an African American news program -- "to encourage the producers to periodically address the No Child Left Behind Act."

Williams, 45, apologized Friday for blurring his roles as an independent conservative commentator and a paid promoter. "This is a great lesson to me," he told CNN's Paul Begala, who himself has an off-air job as a paid Democratic political consultant but discloses both roles.

Williams declined to blame the department for his woes. "I could easily sit here and criticize the administration," he said. "But I got my own problems today, and that is what I am dealing with."

The disclosure about the arrangement coincides with a decision by the Government Accountability Office that the administration had violated a law against unauthorized federal propaganda by distributing television news segments that promoted drug enforcement policies without identifying their origin. More than 300 news programs reaching more than 22 million households broadcast the segments. The accountability office had made a similar ruling in May about the administration's release of news segments promoting its Medicare policies.

Friday, the Department of Education said it was an appropriate part of its attempt to explain its policy to "minority parents."

The statement said: "The contract paid to provide the straightforward distribution of information about the department's mission and NCLB -- a permissible use of taxpayer funds."

John Gibbons, a spokesman for the department, said Williams was the only broadcaster or journalist paid to promote the policy. Williams and department officials said the department's payments to its public relations contractor, Ketchum, ran to $1 million.

Democrats, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and Rep. George Miller of Martinez, senior minority member of the Education and Workforce Committee, released a letter to the president suggesting "a deliberate pattern of behavior by your administration to deceive the public and the media in an effort to further your policy objectives" and urging disclosure of "all past and ongoing efforts to engage in covert propaganda."

They were joined in their call for an inspector general inquiry by at least one Republican, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee.

Questioned about the arrangement, Scott McClellan, a spokesman for the president, referred reporters to the Education Department. He noted that department had stopped releasing video news segments after the Government Accountability Office decision last May.

In an interview, Williams attributed his mistake to a lack of training in journalism. He began his career in politics as an aide to Sen. Strom Thurmond. He entered the media business, he said, only after he became known for publicly defending his former boss Clarence Thomas at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission during Thomas' stormy confirmation hearings for a U.S. Supreme Court seat.

After that, he said, he continued to operate a small public relations firm, Graham Williams. Aside from the Department of Education, Williams said, his clients were private businesses. With about five employees, he said, his company's revenue runs to about $300,000 a year at most and ended with a loss last year.

But then he also began writing his newspaper column, syndicated by Tribune Media Services, which dropped him Friday. He said about 50 papers typically ran the column. He also began broadcasting a syndicated conservative talk radio show, which eventually faded away.

More recently, he began hosting a syndicated conservative television show, "The Right Side," and hosting another series for the fledgling African American cable channel TV One.

On Friday, Williams was counting the lessons learned. "I have realized, you know what? I am part of this media elite club, and I have to be more responsible."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/01/08/MNGB5AND7U1.DTL

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Tribune Media Services will stop distributing columns written by conservative commentator Armstrong Williams because he received money to promote President Bush's education programs, the company said.

Meanwhile, the nation's largest African-American journalists' organization has asked other media outlets that use Williams' work to do the same.

Williams confirmed Friday that he received $240,000 from the Department of Education in exchange for promoting No Child Left Behind, the centerpiece of Bush's education agenda. Williams said the payment was merely for advertising time.

The department defended the deal, claiming its public-relations contractor "sought avenues to reach minority parents."

"The contract paid to provide the straightforward distribution of information about the department's mission on No Child Left Behind, a permissible use of taxpayer funds under legal government contracting procedures," according to a department statement.

The National Association of Black Journalists also called on the White House to rebuke the department's employees.

In a statement, the group of 4,000 members called on all broadcast and print media that carry Williams' work or use him as a commentator -- a group that includes CNN -- to "drop him immediately."

"I thought we in the media were supposed to be watchdogs, not lapdogs," said Bryan Monroe, a vice president of the association. "I thought we had an administration headed by a president who took an oath to uphold the First Amendment, not try to rent it."

Williams is African-American, but NABJ said he is not a member of the organization.

Tribune Media Services, which distributes Williams' column, released a statement saying it was dropping him.

"Accepting compensation in any form from an entity that serves as a subject of his weekly newspaper columns creates, at the very least, the appearance of a conflict of interest," the company said. "Under these circumstances, readers may well ask themselves if the views expressed in his columns are his own, or whether they have been purchased by a third party."

Williams' failure to notify TMS of his receipt of the payments violates his syndication agreement, the company said.

Williams told CNN Friday that some might feel his actions were unethical, but "it was advertising."

Still, he acknowledged the appearance of impropriety.

Williams said his company taped a one-minute commercial with Education Secretary Rod Paige, and he had two one-minute commercial spots in Williams' shows. He said many of his affiliates do not use paid advertising, instead airing only public service announcements.

"He's lost his credibility," said Barbara Ciara, another vice president of the NABJ. "He's tainted fruit. And he's unfairly indicted all commentators who have their own independent opinion, don't need a script from the administration and don't need to be paid off."

http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/01/08/bush.journalist/