There’s an update today on the story of how Helen Jones-Kelley, director of Ohio’s Department of Job and Family Services and maxed-out donor to Barack Obama authorized her department to go trapising through their confidential files for any dirt on Joe Wurzelbacher.
The Governor, Ted Strickland, has put Jones-Kelley on paid leave while the investigation continues. Meanwhile, earlier this week, the employee who was ordered to make the checks told a very different version of the story than Jones-Kelley told a little more than a week ago.
It looks to me like she’s in deep trouble. It’s not usual for a Governor to suspend someone he personally appointed while the investigation is still ongoing and after he already issued something very close to a statement of support. Jones-Kelley is also going to have to explain why her employee’s story is so very different from hers. Remember that her claim is that it’s routine for her office to check the newly-famous to see if they have any outstanding child-support claims (among other things). Meanwhile, the employee, when asked, said “I’ve never done that before, I don’t know of anybody in my office who does that and I don’t remember anyone ever doing that…” The employee was also ordered, a week later, to write a memo that said that her check was a routine procedure.
I hope, very soon, we find that Jones-Kelley is out of a job and facing a civil suit from Wurzelbacher. At some point the left will have to be broken of their fascist impulses. Expensive lawsuits are a pretty good start.
(via Hot Air)
UPDATE: Fixed the incorrect spelling of her last name.
[...] More story at Hot Air and The Sundries Shack. [...]
I am an employee of ODJFS and I am appalled that Jones-Kelley has been spared her position. After reading the findings of the Inspector General, it is evident that she was in the wrong and should have been terminated. If it would have been any other employee of the agency, they would have been terminated. Additionally, Jones-Kelley should resign her position. When she returns, it will be nearly impossible to have the respect from her agency and staff.
YOU PEOPLE OUGHT TO LEAVE THIS LADY ALONE!!!HOW MANY OF US CAN SAY WE HAVE NEVER DONE THINGS THAT WE SHOULD NOT HAVE DONE? THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS SHE WAS CAUGHT DOING WRONG AND SHOULD SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES BUT A LOT OF YOU OTHER PEOPLE SHOULD SUFFER SOME CONSEQUENCES OF OUR OWN. THOSE THAT LIVE IN GLASS HOUSES SHOULD NOT THROW STONES!!! ESPECIALLY ALL YOU PEN, PENCIL, STAPLER THEIVES, WHICH BY THE WAY IS WORTHY OF SUSPENSION AS WELL.
Bush – I agree…stealing pencils & staplers is bad. Collectively this costs companies lots of money. But the problem here is government employees conducting unauthorized investigations (without a warrant you could say) to gleen information for political purposes; in order to publicly humiliate, NOT even a political rival, but a private citizen. This is hugely more detrimental to our society given that it will cause we, the people, to be that much more leary of confronting our public officials. Never mind the that this woman works for an agency that is a part of law enforcement; which is supposed to work for the public good – not against it.
The Bush comment above appears to be facetious, equating what Jones-Kelly did to stealing pencils. But, in case it wasn’t, Jones-Kelly did something far worse than stealing a pencil.
What she did was to use the force of government to attempt to hurt a private citizen and squelch their right to freedom of speech. She attempted to silence him by threatening his freedom if only she could find some technical breach of the law on his part. She abused the power of her office for political gain. She not only should have rightly been drummed out of government office, but should never be allowed to be in a position of public trust again, as she demonstrably broke that trust.
The same goes for the other government officials and Toledo police, etc. who used their powers in an attempt to hurt a private citizen, merely because he holds a different political view than they do.
Anyone know what this idiot is doing now? Seems that the marching orders were given to the lemmings like Jones Kelly to do the same thing to Rush Limbaugh. Maybe the is the M.O. of Obama, silence the other team. This is what liberal dumbocrats do. They only believe in free “liberal” speech. They are the most vile and intolerant.