11.28.09
Ohio taxpayers footing bill for defense of “Joe the Plumber” attackers
Ohio taxpayers footing bill for defense of “Joe the Plumber” attackers:
Last fall, during the peak of the presidential campaign, three Ohio state employees used their positions to target, Samuel Wurzelbacher, aka “Joe the Plumber” by searching state records in the hope of finding material with which to smear him. Ohio’s independent Office of the Inspector General investigated the actions of the three employees. It concluded that there was “no legitimate agency function or purpose” and “no reasonable basis” to authorize the searches for confidential information about him. Simply put, these three partisan hacks violated state law.
After Wurzelbacher sued the three, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray, a Democrat, decided to use taxpayer money to pay for the defense. This seems improper on its face, and former Senator Mike DeWine, who is running against Condray for Attorney General, makes a strong case that it violates the applicable Ohio rules. …
Click link for DeWine’s analysis, which appeared in the Dayton Daily News