WASHINGTON (AP) — An internal government memo shows officials of the General Services Administration were aware of a spending problem months before the scandal burst into public view.

The GSA's deputy administrator, Susan Brita, emailed agency officials last July that the inspector general found no substantive agenda at a 2010 conference at a Las Vegas resort.

She said that expenses for a clown suit, bicycles for a training exercise, tuxedos and a mind-reader didn't lend themselves to the claim of a substantive conference.

Brita also questioned why a regional administrator in charge of the conference received only a disciplinary letter. That administrator was placed on leave just this month.

The email was made public Friday by the House Government Oversight Committee.

Associated Press
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