Tipping the Scales of Justice: The difference between a Strickland appointee and an FBI agent

Former FBI Agent Mark Rossini pleaded guilty Monday for doing what Helen Jones-Kelley did – using a government database for a private purpose. Not only did Rossini lose his job, he faces five years in prison.

Jones-Kelley received a 30-day suspension, and will return to her $140,000-a-year job directing Gov. Ted Strickland’s largest agency later this month. Jones-Kelley was disciplined for ordering her subordinates to snoop in government databases for damning information on “Joe the Plumber,” who had caused her favored presidential candidate embarrassment.

Rossini, a sworn law enforcement officer, arguably has a greater duty of fidelity than a mere political appointee. Rossini clearly has a greater sense of honor: He admitted his wrongdoing, and resigned his position of trust -- although, it must be said, the FBI has absolutely no sense of humor about these things.

Jones-Kelley, a "maxed out" contributor to the President-elect, has yet to even apologize for her conduct. Her most recent statement tried to make the case that her conduct was righteous -- she claimed that she snooped on Joe the Plumber as part of a routine inquiry for people who were suddenly thrust into the spotlight. She offered scant evidence to support the routine nature of her act, and the Inspector General found neither her claim nor her act justified.

In the law, this is called a lack of remorse, and it is a factor judges are to take into account to support a harsher sentence. Even after the public rebuke of the Inspector General -- and the mild disappointment expressed by the Governor -- Jones-Kelley has yet to so much as offer the shallow mea culpa of the wrongdoer who got caught.

When she returns to work, the media should demand an answer to the question: Do you feel you did anything wrong?

And, they could ask Gov. Strickland why she deserves much better treatment than a career FBI agent.

Helen Jones-Kelley: How to make sure she's the only one in three easy steps

Gov. Strickland said he has not looked to see whether there’s any evidence to suggest other political appointees have used government resources for political fundraising, like his director of Jobs & Family Services, Helen Jones-Kelley did.

Governor, you will never find what you don’t look for. Don’t wait to see if the media turn up any more examples. Here’s how you can do it, quickly and cheaply.

First: It is a simple matter to identify the people in the Obama and McCain finance operations. Shucks, the Obama folks are probably in your contact manager (or rolodex, if you still use one of those).

Email is routed through servers. Second step: Perform a search on those servers for those fundraisers’ names, and a few keywords that shouldn’t normally show up in government emails, like “fundraiser.” You may have to look back on the backup tapes, depending on how often mailboxes are purged – but you really only have to go back to January.

This search will produce a limited number of emails that warrant further review. which is the third step. The search can be done very quickly by your data technicians, and the only cost will be staff time.

And then, you can either clean house or reassure Ohio that all is well.

And if you don't do it, you can be sure one of the newspapers will.

Why The Strickland Administration Excuse Doesn't Hold Water on Joe the Plumber

There’s a hole in the argument about Joe the Plumber.

Joe, of course, was the subject of an impromptu investigation by the Strickland Administration. Government employees – at the direction of a cabinet officer! – took a look-see into government databases for dirt on Joe.

They looked at the CSEA dbase, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles dbase, and the records over in what used to be called the welfare department. Make no mistake: you can't get into those databases on your own. You have to have clearance, and then there are strict rules about your access that basically add up to this: official business only. You can't check up on your ex-girlfriend, or your daughter's new friends... or what your poltical opponents might be up to.

The cabinet officer who order the investigation of Joe the Plumber, Helen Jones-Kelly, is the director of Ohio Job and Family Services, the state's largest agency. She said it’s not unusual for your government to check up on people who are “suddenly” in the news. She pointed out the example of lottery winners as justification.

But here’s the hole in the argument: lottery winners have money. Lots of money. So, if they owe back child support, the CSEA should get some of it. And if they’re on welfare, the checks and foodstamps should stop.

But Joe the Plumber didn’t win the lottery. There was no new money to go after. So why where they looking at his personal information? Either Helen Jones-Kelly is really badly logic-impaired …. Or there was another reason for her order.

So, here’s a couple of facts… According to her own website, Director Jones Kelly earned her juris doctor at the University of Dayton. She’s a lawyer, and an experienced executive.

The Akron Beacon-Journal reported that she contributed $2,300 to the campaign of Barack Obama, the maximum contribution allowed by law for an individual.

My guess is she’s not logic-impaired. My guess is she thinks we are.