'Revolving door' spins between AT&T, GSA

That AT&T just won an eight-figure contract to provide the federal government’s General Services Administration with new mobile devices isn’t itself particularly notable. What is: Casey Coleman, an AT&T executive responsible for “delivering IT and professional services to federal government customers,” oversaw the GSA’s information technology division and its $600 million IT budget as recently as January.

Officials both at the GSA and AT&T say all federal rules and regulations limiting former government officials’ interactions with current government employees have been followed during the contract bidding process. “We won the contract on the merits," AT&T spokesman Jim Greer said. "GSA has been a customer of ours for decades. As in the past, our work on the [request for proposal] adhered to all GSA and federal guidelines.” While there’s no evidence anything illegal took place, the public still should be aware of, and potentially worried about, Coleman’s spin through the revolving door between government and companies that profit from government.