Ohio taxpayers paying to defend government snoops
I’d be burning the phone lines right now if I were an Ohio taxpayer:
Ohio taxpayers are right in the middle of the civil rights lawsuit that Samuel Joseph — “Joe the Plumber” — Wurzelbacher has filed against three former state employees, charging that they illegally accessed his confidential information through state databases.
Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray’s office is defending former state employees Helen Jones-Kelley, Douglas Thompson and Fred Williams. All have denied wrongdoing and asked that the case, filed last March in U.S. District Court in Columbus, be dismissed.
Jones-Kelley was director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Williams was the department’s assistant director and Thompson the deputy director of child support when the “Joe the Plumber” controversy erupted during the 2008 presidential campaign.
Jones-Kelley and Thompson are from the Dayton area.Jones-Kelley and Williams resigned and Thompson had his job “revoked” in the wake of a report from Inspector General Tom Charles that found confidential state databases with personal information on Wurzelbacher were improperly accessed.
Democrat Cordary says he’s just doing what the law tells him. But there are exceptions in the law to allow the AG discretion NOT to use taxpayers’ money to defend indefensible government employees who act “manifestly outside the scope of his official employment or official responsibilities, with malicious purpose, in bad faith or in a wanton or reckless manner.”
Which precisely described the partisan witch hunt against Wurzelbacher by the Ohio government snoops.
Ohio Republicans have it exactly right:
The two Republicans seeking their party’s nomination to run against Cordray next year disagreed.
“These people violated the privacy of an Ohio citizen and they did it, it would appear, to advance a partisan political campaign, and I think taxpayers will be shocked to find that their tax dollars are going to defend them,” said Mike DeWine of Cedarville, the former U.S. senator and Greene County prosecutor.Added Delaware County Prosecutor David Yost: “It’s an outrageous use of taxpayer money to defend the invasion of a citizen’s privacy.”
Hat tip: Jesse Hathaway, who has more here.
Prosecutor Dave Yost weighs in further here and here.
See what others have said
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Categories: Joe The Plumber
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Oh WOW! All U.S. citizens should be voicing their displeasure.
Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray SHOULD be prosecuting Helen Jones-Kelley, Douglas Thompson and Fred Williams.
Oh well a day of reckoning is coming-the SOBs will reach too far of that I am sure.
After reading that, I’m of the impression that there’s not much to defend. First witness, Inspector General Tom Charles. Case closed.
The people of Ohio should be OUTRAGED that this hasn’t been settled already.
This is called under the color of law. Needless to say, it is a violation of Federal law.
I won’t be holding my breath for the B.O.s “justice” department to charge these scum with criminal violations.
Pathetic, but not surprising. In liberal minds the only they did wrong was get caught. Just like ole Bill with Monica.
I can’t figure out why they could so easily snoop into the private information on Joe but can’t get the basic information on Obama from anywhere? Is snooping of some ok but of others not?
Makes you want to trust the government with your health records.
Ditto that.
However.. if you have an STD or you have had an abortion you don’t have to worry about anyone seeing it in the national database because Patrick Kennedy says the new EHR law allows you to instruct your doctor to leave that information out of the record.
Hmmm? I wonder whether you can leave out your alcohol treatment sessions too?
Translation…Ohio taxpayers paying for electing liberals.
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It’s OK–it was done in a good cause!
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John Bibb
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Alcohol treatment for a Kennedy, give ‘em another bottle of Scotch.
First of all, by the looks of the suit the 3 defendents are nammed and the State of Ohio is not. Not to mention they were not performing official duties 9if they were they would have made damn sure there was a paper trail to prove it). So why in the hell are the taxpayers on the hook to defend the indefensible.
We had a case recently here in Thurston County, WA were the County Commission was using the County prosecuters office to go after the Sheriff in a civil suit (basically the sheriff was upholding the law and the County Commission did not want him doing it in this case as it was going to hurt their constienuency). Long story short the judge decided not only to let the Sheriff’s counter suit go ahead, but told the Comission that they would have to retain their own council not using taxpayer funds as this was a civil suit not a criminal case.
THE CHICAGO WAY. DESTROY YOUR ENEMIES, BRIBE YOUR FRIENDS.
Whatever.
If what they did was enough to get them fired it would suggest they deserve no taxpayer funded defense.
On the other hand, if they took the fall for someone else, perhaps Cordary is trying to keep them happy.
Yes it is; sadly the people who refused to charge the New Black Panthers Party thugs for voter intimidation won’t charge here either. The coup/power grab is coming-Eric Holder wishers to judge all thing politically.