By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
The embattled General Services Administration (GSA) is facing investigations into as many as 77 conferences and awards ceremonies over the years as more details emerged Wednesday about a lavish one-day gathering in Crystal City costing more than a quarter-million dollars for hundreds of employees, including a top agency deputy hailed just months ago as a taxpayer hero.
Susan Brita, deputy administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration, who emerged as a whistleblower star for her role in uncovering an $800,000 taxpayer-funded Las Vegas conference, was herself a participant in a similar taxpayer-funded event just a few weeks later.
"As deputy administrator, as a civil servant and as a taxpayer, I share your anger and disappointment in GSA's conduct," Ms. Brita told a House panel in April.
