Abuse of Power

The ethically challenged Blunt Public Service Commission has found itself faced with the unfathomable--- drafting an ethics policy.

So the Commission has punted and asked a private vendor to tutor it on ethics.

No word on whether Andy Blunt's law firm will bid on the contract.   Story Continued »

Duane Schreiman of Schreimann, Rackers, Franka and Blunt gets nomination to the Coordinating Board for Higher Education.

THIS JUST IN:

Rod Jetton's presser today addressing Peter Kinder's recent brush with "ethics" apparently threw some tough talk back at Poor ol' Peter.   Basically calling Kinder a hypocrite, Jetton revealed Kinder's attempt to hire Jetton on his short-lived gubernatorial bid.

More via Rosenbaum..
 

Out of the ether floats word that Peter Kinder has decided on a replacement for Eric Feltner, the chief of staff forced out after being charged with furnishing pornography to a minor.

According to sources, Kinder will name Rich Aubuchon, currently of the Office of Administration, as the new chief of staff for the office of Lieutenant Governor.  Most of you will remember Aubuchon as the man who was made provisional point-person by Matt Blunt for purposes of destroying electronic records of emails from the governor's office and spearheading the campaign of public disinformation and lying to the media.

Aubuchon appears a curious choice by Kinder in replacing a staffer whose tenure in office ended in scandal, as Aubuchon remains embroiled in legal controversy himself.  Aubuchon is one of several named defendants in Scott Eckersley's lawsuit against Team Blunt and has been outed as the Blunt aide who delivered a message to the administration's IT chief that Blunt wanted electronic tape backups destroyed.

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There was ample time for Republicans of all kinds --Congressional Republicans, statewide elected Republicans, legislative Republicans-- to stake out a position in opposition to Rod Jetton's clearly untoward political consulting business when the issue first arose a couple years ago.   Of course, none of them did. 

Not Sarah Steelman, not Peter Kinder, not Kenny Hulshof.  None of those moral midgets thought Rod Jetton's consulting arrangement, which was as inappropriate then as it was during this session, was something with which they should concern themselves. 

But now that Jetton is a lame duck, term-limited Speaker who has lowered the gavel on his last meaningful legislative session these prominent Republicans are falling over one another trying to find a podium or an open mic from which they can tsk at Jetton and feign outrage at a practice of his they've known about since early 2006. 

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There was ample disgust and discontent when Republican Cole County Prosecutor Mark Richardson waited nearly a year to file charges against Eric Feltner, a staffer to Peter Kinder and Kenny Hulshof, for his attempts to send pornographic communications to a 13 year-old girl.

Yet Richardson seems not to have learned his lesson, as he is reportedly taking his sweet time with the prosecution of yet another sickening Cole County criminal case.

Republicans like Mark Richardson talk about being "tough on crime."  Wouldn't it be ridiculous then for Richardson simultaneously to hem, haw and hand-wring when it comes to laying down the law with a fellow GOPer?

The latest chapter in the rousing success of Matt Blunt's crowning legislative achievement, the sale of assets from the state's student loan agency.

This good news about MOHELA's continued inability to make scheduled payments follows last month's good news about MOHELA seriously curtailing borrower benefits.

Uhh, can we officially call Blunt's asset sale a failure yet, or are we supposed to keep pretending until he leaves office?­

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Every once in a while we get a perfect illustration of why GOPers work so hard at obscuring facts. 

Today's example is a story from the AP's Lara Jakes Jordan about the prospective grand jury investigation into possible perjury by former U.S. Attorney Brad Schlozman.  Jordan notes the connection between Schlozman and predecessor Todd Graves, writing:

Schlozman had defended his decision as U.S. Attorney in Kansas City to bring a Missouri voter fraud case days before the 2006 election, despite guidelines that discourage such cases because of the chance they could influence voting.

Schlozman's predecessor in Kansas City, Todd Graves, testified at the same hearing that he was asked to resign his post after clashing with senior department officials over the handling of some high-profile cases, including the voter fraud case. Graves was one of nine U.S. attorneys who were ousted in 2006 in an unusual midterm purge that ignited charges of White House political meddling at the fiercely independent Justice Department.

Something is very much wrong in this excerpt.

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New Report reveals abuse/torture of detainees. "The report is prefaced by retired U.S. Major Gen. Antonio Taguba, who led the Army's investigation into the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal in 2003. There is no longer any doubt that the current administration committed war crimes," Taguba says. "The only question is whether those who ordered torture will be held to account." (http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/18/gitmo.detainees/index.html)  Story Continued »

As former US Atty Brad Schlozman resurfaces as the likely focus of a federal grand jury investigation for perjury, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Perez buys into the Todd Graves spin on why he was forced out as US Attorney.  Perez writes:

Mr. Schlozman's promotion to the U.S. attorney's office in Kansas City came after the department asked his predecessor, Todd P. Graves, to resign. Mr. Graves was among several U.S. attorneys who had shown reluctance to bring vote-fraud-related cases, according to testimony and documents gathered by Senate investigators last year.

What reluctance, exactly?  As we've pointed out here before, then-US Attorney Graves announced vote fraud charges only 10 days before the 2004 PRESIDENTIAL election, which had to be in violation of the Justice Department policy.  Yet the Wall Street Journal reports as fact Graves' supposed "reluctance to bring vote-fraud-related cases."  

Maybe while the investigators are looking into fibs made under oath, they should take a look at Graves' testimony too. 

Matt Blunt split town last Thursday, sending a letter to state agencies to let them know that he'd be gone and that Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder would be charged with gubernatorial duties while he was out of the state.

In that role, Kinder has already mobilized the National Guard and signed a couple bills into law.

But even so, some duties are too important for Matty to leave to just anyone --even if he is the acting Governor.  That's why Blunt, despite having already handed the reins temporarily over to Kinder, continued last Friday carrying out the gubernatorial duty to which he now devotes most of his time: attacking Jay Nixon via his official office.

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Shorter Matt Blunt:

"My administration's retrospective responsibility for lawbreaking ceased the instant we decided to stop breaking the law prospectively."

I guess this is the "born-again" theory of legal culpability.   

Way back in March, the Associated Press had a story about Ethics Commission machinations and some odd contingencies surrounding whether elected officials would have to return above-limit contributions collected during the period before the legislature's repeal of individual giving limits was struck down by the state supreme court.

The story included a curious and (so far as I can tell) still unexplained loophole enunciated by the Ethics Commission (emphasis added):

In all, the commission is letting the 11 politicians keep more than $205,000 in over-limit donations. And if lawmakers approve new legislation to remove the fundraising limits, another $121,000 won’t have to be returned....

Richard, R-Joplin, doesn’t have to return $1,275, must refund $300 and will have to return about $83,000 if the lawmakers don’t repeal the fundraising limits this session. Tilley, R-Perryville, doesn’t have to return more than $31,000. Icet, R-Wildwood, doesn’t have to refund $1,275 but will have to repay $34,000 if the limits aren’t repealed.

Has any reporting on this been done since?  Has anyone explored what will happen now that the legislature has again passed a bill to repeal campaign finance giving limits? 

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A steady stream of tipsters and correspondents have weighed in on the child porn scandal in Peter Kinder's office, with a number of experienced state government managers and Jefferson City lifers pointing out some severe dissonance between the Friday self-exonerations from the Lieutenant Governor's office and the way state government ordinarily runs.  

These folks in the know point to the statements that were rushed out of Kinder's office late Friday afternoon, in which a Kinder spokesman stated...

"This morning, following the immediate resignation of Eric Feltner our office began a prompt review of Mr. Feltner’s time cards and request for leave forms.

“Office records indicate that Mr. Feltner was on compensatory leave for both days in question listed in court documents. May 25, 2007, Mr. Feltner took compensatory leave from 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. On July 5, 2007, Mr. Feltner took an entire work day of compensatory time."

As many have noted, Eric Feltner was an exempt management employee, a type not ordinarily entitled to or eligible for compensatory time.  

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Ever since Fired Up broke Friday's news about the pornography charges pending against Kinder chief of staff Eric Feltner, capitol observers have been quick to point out the unusual manner in which the charges against Feltner have been handled.

Specific critiques have focused on Republican Cole County prosecutor Mark Richardson's course of action regarding the Feltner case.  Among the good questions that have been asked...

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