center of the scandal, gsa's jeff neeley, did not show up on capitol hill today. >> i have no comment. >> i guess the only way we'll get to seeim is on a video in the hot tub. >> reporter: this is neeley relaxing in the tub, and enjoying some wine on a scouting trip to the las vegas resort, which hosted the lavish conference that cost taxpayers almost a million dollars. neeley is potentially facing a criminal investigation, and has invoked his right to remain silent. but there are more questions about his travels. two months ago neely took a 17-day junket to the pacific. and in an e-mail to his wife said, guess this will be your birthday present. and last month he was part of an executive team meeting in napa, california. cost the taxpayers $40,000. >> you have to go to the wine region. >> reporter: inspector general brian miller, whose report triggered this scandal, suggests abuses at gsa are pervasive. >> we turned over every stone, and every time we turned over a stone, we found 50 more, with

. >> reporter: jeff neeley is on his leave from his job. he quickly left capitol hill after the hearing. the western regions conference included a clown, a mind reader and has received tremendous attention with much of it captured on camera. neeley's wife's photos reveal the lavishly good time they had in las vegas. a leading democrat called the situation in defensivible and intolerable and read an e-mail sent suggested he invited friends to join in on the taxpayer funded fun. >> we'll get you guys a room near us and we'll pick up the room tab, could be a blast. >> reporter: the woman who recently resigned as gsa administrator who is accused of sitting on inspector general's report on the conference for 11 months offered this explanation how this event grew out of control. >> the western regions conference and economical training event in the late 1990s had evolved into a raucous extravagant arrogant self-congratulatory event thoughtly belittled federal workers. >> reporter: those -- that ultimately belittled federal workers. >> reporter: t

shep. >> shepard: well, the investigators were watching that gsa administrator jeff neeley and jeff neeleywatching him and he just kept traveling. >> that's right. as recently as february and march of this year, as recently as a month ago, he kept traveling on the taxpayer dime. bottom line is the gsa inspector general says it was the magnitude of the problem. >> we turned over every stone and every time we turned over a stone we found 50 more with all sorts of things crawling out. >> tomorrow, gsa day three on capitol hill where it shifts to the senate. focus to be on the way forward for this agency, shep. >> shepard: mike emanuel live at the rotunda on capitol hill, thanks. the afghan president harmid karzai today said he wants at least $2 billion a year from the united states after it withdraws troops in 2014. 2 billion. and he would like a promise in writing, thank you very much. the united states already pays the lion's share of the budget to train and equip the afghan security forces and expected to do so years after it winds down america's longest war ever. but the afghan president

jeff neeley's the executive's wife photos showing the gsa executive in the tub with a couple of glasses, make it look like a pretty great time. investigators say those preconference trips cost the taxpayers $130,000 and that didn't go over very well. >> the tribes of israel sent 12 scouts into the promise land before they decided to invade and gsa has to send 15 to las vegas to check out a hotel. do you not see the outrage in that? mr. robertson? do you see it? >> there is also email evidence showing that jeff neeley, the gsa executive sent emails inviting personal friends to come along for a good time on the taxpayer dime. shep. >> shepard: the guy we showed there in the it tub, did he have anything to say today? >>. no he essentially tried to stay out of it. tried to avoid any more trouble. >> mr. neeley, did you approve of the funding for the 2010 western regional conference? >> mr. chairman, on the advice of my council, i respectfully decline to answer based on my fifth amendment constitutional privilege. >> but the former evidence the gsa sounded much more accountable. >> i persona

officials say jeff neilly -- jeff neeley took those trips even after he was warned they were excessive. the whistle-blower saying gsa is now trying to recover the cost from those trips. >> by the way, welcome back from hawaii. >> it is so nice. >> ours or theirs? >> ours. >> mike, thank you from kristen. >> i thought i brought it back, but if you want to bring it back from hawaii, that's fine. >> us and everybody else we are all comfortable. >>> good morning. hopefully you were able to head out on spring break and enjoy some time away also. it is quiet, 24 hour temperature change as we talked about yesterday will be slightly cooler, napa, santa rosa, los gatos one to five degrees warmer. what we are seeing now is what we'll see at 8:00, partly sunny to mostly cloudy, temperatures in the 40s to around 50°. as we head towards noon low clouds leave us, mix of high clouds and sun upper 50s along the coast low to mid 60s for the rest of us upper 60s antioch, fairfield and napa. by 4:00, those areas with concord, will be in the low to mid 70s. mid to upper 60s around the bay shore. low 60s a

and the gsa official in charge of the lavish conference jeff neeley asserted his right to remain silentix times. >> mr. chairman, i respectfully decline to answer any questions here today based upon my fifth amendment constitutional privilege. >> reporter: but neeley seemed less reticent about his vegas experience in these photos posted on his wife's google plus page. they appear to be enjoying a luxurious suite at the m resort, which hosted the conference during a scouting trip a year before. the conference cost taxpayers almost a million dollars. it drew bipartisan scorn. >> when you see this widespread abuse of money, that's where there's frustration just steaming out our ears. >> it's not your money. it's the taxpayer's money. >> reporter: taxpayers paid for black jack vests for conference leaders, and a commemorative coin and vegas book for all 300 attendees. today, former gsa administrator martha johnson, who resigned over the scandal, took responsibility. >> i personally apologized to the american people. >> republicans question the $9,000 bonus neeley was given last year while h

it specifically names and shows gsa regional administrator jeff neeley who is also on administrativeve. right now, many of you know when it comes to movies, derrick tends to favor giant rob botts and swords and men running and explosions. very deep. tonight, we find that very deep inside somewhere is a hopeless romantic. dude, what movie did you see? >> i have to tell you, the theater was minuscule. there was nothing like stadium seating there. the screen, well, let's just say the it made my basement look better. all that and it turned out to be one of the best movie experiences i've had. chico and rita, it's so adult it's got subtitles and sex scenes and jazz. lots and lots of jazz. that's the animated disney gillespie there, by the way. but the main characters are cuban and it's set in the 1950s. chico plays the piano, rita sings and their love story is so passionate, so tragic and so darn entertaining, after awhile i forgot they were cartoons, and i believed. so did the other 25 people in the old west end cinema, none of whom seemed to be under the age of 40. chico and rita is the

like and lo and behold another one today, mikey. >> well, shep, sources say that it involves the neeleys. jeffight that debra neeley apparently had her own parking space at a gsa facility in san francisco. the inspector general of the gsa gave us this preview a little earlier today. >> even today, we found out that the wife of the regional commissioner had a parking space throughout the entire year of 2012 at the federal building. >> >> as federal investigators make their case against the neeleys for this excessive spending at this las vegas conference. this is a taxable benefit, this parking space so this may add to their whoas. shep? >> shepard: the two men who testified today, mike are charged with trying to fix this agency. it sound like some on the hill are questioning whether that is even a possibility. >> there are those who are their doubts. this is an agency that had its issues during president carter's administration. during the last president bush administration. and now here is a leading republic on his concerns regarding these latest allegations. take a listen. >> these events did

and the gsa official in charge of the lavish conference jeff neeley asserted his right to remain silent. >> mr. chairman, i respectfully decline to answer any questions here today based on my fifth amendment constitutional privilege. >> reporter: they appear to be enjoying a luxurious suite at the m resort which hosted the conference a year before. the conference cost taxpayers almost a million dollars. >> when you see this widespread abuse of money, that's where there's frustration just steaming out our ears. >> it's not your money. it's the taxpayer's money. >> reporter: taxpayers paid for black jack vests. today, former gsa administrator who resigninged over the scandal took responsibility. >> i apologize to the american people. >> republicans question the $9,000 bonus neeley was given last year while he was under investigation. >> how can you justify a bonus for somebody that you knew at the time of his bonus was at the center of this misconduct. johnson said neeley had performed well in other key areas skaen she didn't want to interfere with the investigation. she's n neeley's now

it's from you to jeff neeley. and it states, "jeff, the conference is unbelievable. awesome. a terrific lesson to all our folks about what preparation,pr professionalism and what a perspective and sense of humor can do. i just sent a rave review to martha johnson. thanks for inviting me. do you want to comment on that? >> yes, sir. at that time, remember, i had arrived monday afternoon, late monday morning. what i had seen during the presentations i saw, the one day i was there a number of presentations that were all substantive about the work of the public building service. i thought that the present tastes prepared by the four regions were good. the con ver igs that i saw during the sessions were the work of pbs and how we could get work done better. i thought that was professional and what that's what i was referring to. >> when you threw a party in your suite, who paid for the food and alcohol. it was about a $2,000 bill for the food. you indicated that you actually paid for the alcohol. is that correct? >> yes, sir. >> bar tenders and staff there for the party? >> no, si

a lot of talk about different players in the gsa but the prime target is one guy in particular jeff neeley. he was to appear today but he's on leave from the gsa. he could be facing a criminal investigation. he is the one thought to be responsible for the lavish las vegas conference by gsa employees that cost taxpayers 800,000 dollars. >> we are looking at getting into the truth of how widespread it is. our questions have to do not just about this one event but the culture of the gsa and how we can change it. we believe he will be able to answer some of the questions. >> this is going to consume congress for the next three-days. three gsa managers including top administrator martha johnson lost their jobs because of the scandal. the white house tried to put some of the blame at the bush administration but it expanded over the bush and obama administration. remember guys part of the gsa's mission is to save taxpayer dollars. >> that is the iron near. doug luzader live from washington. coming up on "fox & friends" fox denim will be here life. >> time for your 5 at 5:00. start with the news c

jeff neeley commissioner who heads the gsa san francisco office invoked his right to remain silence whenstioned. he could face criminal charges. yesterday we learned in addition to the lavish conference there were eight preconference visits those cost more than $130,000 in public funds. these are photographs of neeley in a luxury suite during one of those visits. >>> this morning we are learning of one death, no major damage after a powerful 6.7 quake in chile. the quake hit last night in central chile shaking caught on air. the quake was centered near the coastal port and strong enough to shake buildings in the capital city of santiago, 70 miles away. one man died of apparent heart attack during the quake. >>> major test gets underway at uc san diego this morning aimed at making buildings more earthquake-proof these photos show a five story mock hospital that will be used. engineers will shake it to see was inside the building at various magnitude feuds. more than 500 sensors and eight -- 80 cameras will be used to collect data. >>> work to make the doyle drive approach earthquake safe

officials say jeff neeley took those trips after he was warned they were excessive.-blower says the gsa is trying to ref cover the cost of all those trips. >>> let's check in with mike knee -- mike nicco. >> shorts maybe? >> maybe a coat this morning, then shorts this afternoon. one of those days where you have to change with the time of the day. live doppler not picking up any organized areas of rain maybe a little drizzle along the coast for the most part dry everywhere clouds around the bay shore right now at the reporting stations they are not reducing visibility not causing delays into sfo. mostly cloudy through 8:00 this morning, mix of low and high clouds, temperatures where they are now upper 40s to low 50s, by noon we start to lose those low clouds, high clouds persistent in the forecast, today upper 50s along the coast into san francisco, low to mid 50s for us during the lunch hour. mid to upper 60s around the bay. low to mid 70s inland around 4:00. if you are sneezing here's the reason tree pollen and mold high, grass moderate ragweed almost nonexistent. t

i would be smiling, too huh, jeff? neeley also took trips to hawaii and south pacific. we hope they had hot tubs in both those places. mr. president, you are telling me i should pay more taxes so jeffrey can run around the world jumping hot tubs. is that what you are telling me? >> federal government needs to be down sized and reorganized. one thing after the other. if it isn't secret service chasing hookers, bankrupt solar energy companies or research studies that put shrimp on a treadmill. remember that? and that reminds me, neeley was the guy who okayed the $4 shrimp advertiser in vegas that so upset jon stewart. it is beyond galling to continue to pound the table for more tax dollars. education they want more money. the united states spends more than any other country on earth to educated students. jobs more money. green energy? more money. it never ends. i think god sent us jeffrey neeley. the deity allowed investors to uncover what that guy was doing. if american voters still don't understand the giant con that is going on at the federal level, then we deserve to

i would be smiling, too huh, jeff? neeley also took trips to hawaii and south pacific. we hope they had hot tubs in both those places. mr. president, you are telling me i should pay more taxes so jeffrey can run around the world jumping hot tubs. is that what you are telling me? >> federal government needs to be down sized and reorganized. one thing after the other. if it isn't secret service chasing hookers, bankrupt solar energy companies or research studies that put shrimp on a treadmill. remember that? and that reminds me, neeley was the guy who okayed the $4 shrimp advertiser in vegas that so upset jon stewart. it is beyond galling to continue to pound the table for more tax dollars. education they want more money. the united states spends more than any other country on earth to educated students. jobs more money. green energy? more money. it never ends. i think god sent us jeffrey neeley. the deity allowed investors to uncover what that guy was doing. if american voters still don't understand the giant con that is going on at the federal level, then we deserve to

the organizer responser is jeff neeley and today he pleaded the fifth. >> was this fear of retaliationy mr. neeley a significant factor enabling him to continue his inappropriate actions for years? >> congressman, it is a significant factor. they apparently had a very hostile environment and when someone spoke up, they were according to a witness squashed like a bug. >> the gsa inspector general says he's also looking into allegations of bribery and kickbacks within the agency. >> we'll bring in fox 5 political analyst mark plotkin for more perspective here. president obama's reaction that he'll be angry if the secret service story is true, is that a weak response, do you think? >> i don't think it's a weak response. it's a personal response. this is -- i worked in four presidential campaigns. i never witnessed anything like this. the secret service was almost a sacred institution, unimpeachable in their integrity and their methodical and good image and now it is being unbelievably marred and darrell issa who is investigating gsa will also be investigating the operations of the secret

today she was grilled about the $9,000 bonus that gsa official jeff neeley received after he organizes. at a time there was a freeze on federal pay. when she was asked if she thought he was entitled to the bonus, the republican jason chaffetz erupted. >> when you see this widespread abuse of money, and you as the former administrator say, they were intitled to it, that's where there's frustration steaming out of our ears. it's totally unacceptable. and for the president of the united states to look the american people in the eye and say, we have a pay freeze in place, you're going on bonuses or going on trips, it's totally unacceptable. >> republicans in the senate have blocked president obama's buffet rule, which sends a tax on millionaires and billionaires. if a statement after the vote, president obama said, senate republicans once again chose tax breaks for the wealthiest few americans at the expense of the middle class. >>> three men face charges after allegedly stealing a penguin from sea world in australia. bragging about it online, and posting pictures it on facebook. the pengu

hot tub jeff neeley who organized the gla conference in vegas that cost us nearly a million bucks. where they gave awards for videos like this one bragging about wasting taxpayer money. today the house voted to limit the number of government get aways and how much they cost. the bill also creates a web site where we can see how federal agencies are spending our money. the senate is working on a similar bill. >> well, apparently living with john edwards' mistress was no picnic. that's just some of what we heard today from the star witness at the former senator and presidential candidate's trial. edwards is facing 30 years in prison on charges of using campaign cash to cover up his affair with rielle hunter and their love child. edwards claims he didn't know about the payments. this all happened back when he was running for president and his wife elizabeth was dying of breast cancer. today andrew young was back on the stand. he is the former campaign staff who once pretended to be the baby's father. he says edwards told him hiding the affair important job on the campaign. young even

jeff neeley, this picture of a hot tub may make him a symbol of excessive spending by a federal agency charged with keeping costs down. he's pleading the fifth. raw politics next. bet you think you're pretty quick? yeah, i guess it is pretty quick. jesse?!? jesse? jesse?! much obliged. suddenly, everything else seems old-fashioned. ultrabook. inspired by intel. and here's what we did today: supported nearly 3 million steady jobs across our country... ... scientists, technicians, engineers, machinists... ... adding nearly 400 billion dollars to our economy... we're at work providing power to almost a quarter of our homes and businesses... ... and giving us cleaner rides to work and school... and tomorrow, we could do even more. cleaner, domestic, abundant and creating jobs now. we're america's natural gas. the smarter power, today. learn more at anga.us. house lawmakers grill the general services administration for more than five hours today. until today the gsa was an obscure agency. their job was to keep government costs down. but they had been doing the opposite on its own employees.

hot tub jeff neeley could face criminal charges for the spending spree.news live at the white house. neeley is not the only one in hot water in this scandal, is he? >> absolutely, harris, unless you consider it no trouble to lose your job. it's led the director of the agency and her chief aid to resign and a number of other officials have been placed on drab leave. that leaves a leadership vacuum at the agency that's essentially the government's landlord. also made the president angry which is something you don't want to do if you are a federal worker. they say the overall crackdown on waste that's been successful controversial gsa conference 2010. jay carney said last year president obama tightened the rules on such conferences. >> the administration's everything stream line part of the president's broader campaign to cut waste initiative which is led as you noted by the vice president and which has already reduced costs by tens of billions of dollars by eliminating inefficient or unnecessary spending. >> carney says the vice president's group has also s

jeff neeley called to testify about how the agency blew $800,000 of your money on a conference for 300as. having their tuxedos paid for by us. neely organized the meeting. he pled the fifth, and he promptly left the room. then our producer tried to catch up with him. here is some of the video. >> do you have anything to say, mr. neely? >> no, i do not. megyn: he made it clear he had nothing to say. you can pretty much bet any hearing that involves the fifth amendment will also involve the 50-yard congressional sprint and the elevator wrestling match as we all bore with itness to right there. what a day for mr. neely. not nearly as happy as the employees of the gsa were as they got their commemorative coin in their velvet boxes and talked about how there would be no inspector general investigation. oh, guess again. coming up next, this is real. a couple moves into their dream home. a week later they move out and go to a hotel. call up the landlord and say, we have a problem, your place is haunted. the landlord says, yeah, right. now they are both in court and the couple is trying to pro

in las vegas in 2010, jeff neeley bragged about a conference he called over the top that cost taxpayers $822,000. >> what's done in vegas needs to be shared with everybody. >> but on capitol hill the san francisco based gsa official was far less forthcoming. >> mr. chairman on the advice of counsel i respectfully decline to answer. i respectfully decline to answer. >> e-mails show he planned lavish party and invited friends to stay at the hotel at taxpayer expense. pictures show him enjoying one of a half a dozen scouting trips to vegas in the months before the conference. >> why is he still an employee? what does it take to be fired from the gas? >> it's so easy to spend somebody else's money, especially when you're not held accountable. it ridiculous that the american people have to sit back and watch this! >> the overspending was apparently so rampant gsa employees made videos mocking it. >> the hotel would like to talk to you about paying for the party that was held in the commissioner's suite last night. >> the officials who made that joke apologized at the hearing. >> there were t

jeff neeley is with public services in the pacific rim region of the general services administration. mr. michael robertson is the chief of staff at the general services administration, and mr. david folate is the deputy commissioner of public buildings service at the general services administration. pursuant to our rules, all witnesses are required to take the oath. would you please rise and raise your right hand to take the oath? do you solemnly swear or affirm that the testimony you are about to give will be the truth, the old trick, and nothing but the truth? let the record reflect that all of the witnesses answered in the affirmative. please take your seats. in order to allow time for discussion, testimony will be limited to five minutes. some of you have written statements, some do not. in either case, you may consider your written statement -- they will be placed in the record in their entirety, you can either read your written statement for five minutes or make other such comments which you think would be helpful to all of us. with that, the chair recognizes mr. miller for fiv