Cronyism in the White House ???? Surely not!
Remember the guy who was going to shake up Public Broadcasting because he felt it was biased in one direction? His problems aren't vanishing:
Democrats are pushing for the ouster of the chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors who is accused of misusing government money, overbilling for his time and hiring a friend as a consultant.
Does this mean there is cronyism in the Bush administration and other things perhaps a bit worse?
A summary of a report by the State Department's inspector general released Tuesday says Kenneth Tomlinson misused government funds for two years as chairman of the organization, which oversees the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and other U.S. government broadcasting abroad.
Tomlinson stepped down last fall as a board member of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps fund public television, amid allegations of improperly promoting conservative programming.
The State Department investigation found that Tomlinson, as a political appointee to the Broadcasting Board of Governors, signed invoices worth about $245,000 for a friend without the knowledge of other board members or staff.
Tomlinson also used the board's office resources to support his private horse racing operation and overbilled the organization for his time, in some instances billing both the Broadcasting Board of Governors and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for the same time worked.
But maybe the horse racing was work related. After all, lots of administration officials have been accused of horsing around. Remember: this is the anniversary of the administration's response to Hurricane Katrina.
This CNN report has his response to the charges:
Tomlinson said in a statement that he believed the investigation results were "inspired by partisan divisions inside the BBG."
So it's all just politics. AND:
Regarding the double billing, Tomlinson said he was in the unusual position of serving as chairman of two boards at the same time but still made "diligent efforts" to properly bill each board.
On charges of using government funds for his horse farm, Tomlinson said: "I am confident that I spent far more time on broadcasting responsibilities at my farm and my private residences than I spent on my horses at the office."
That takes care of that allegation totally.
So what will happen? Not much:
State investigators note in the report summary that the U.S. attorney's office in Washington has reviewed the case and concluded a criminal investigation is not warranted. However, they said a civil investigation related to the charges he hired a friend as a contractor was pending.
ETC. The motif of this administration on so many fronts is that there really aren't consquences or there will be limited ones for people who either screw up in their jobs or (at the least) give the impression of screwing up. In 2000 Republicans scornfully repeated the Bill Clinton phrase "it all depends on what is is" as typifying a splitting-hairs attitude on the part of Clinton and the Democratic administration. The Clintonistas were painted as not quite grown ups who wouldn't take responsibility for their actions.
On so many fronts what we see in the Bush administration is an administration that also operates under "it all depends on what is is" and always has a new excuse for deficiencies. And if the heat gets too hot, the tactic is to go on the attack against those turning on the heat and accuse them of partisanship. The irony is that this charge comes from what historians will surely say is one of the most divisive, partisan administrations in American history,
If the growups are now in charge, hopefully the kids aren't watching
Democrats are pushing for the ouster of the chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors who is accused of misusing government money, overbilling for his time and hiring a friend as a consultant.
Does this mean there is cronyism in the Bush administration and other things perhaps a bit worse?
A summary of a report by the State Department's inspector general released Tuesday says Kenneth Tomlinson misused government funds for two years as chairman of the organization, which oversees the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and other U.S. government broadcasting abroad.
Tomlinson stepped down last fall as a board member of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps fund public television, amid allegations of improperly promoting conservative programming.
The State Department investigation found that Tomlinson, as a political appointee to the Broadcasting Board of Governors, signed invoices worth about $245,000 for a friend without the knowledge of other board members or staff.
Tomlinson also used the board's office resources to support his private horse racing operation and overbilled the organization for his time, in some instances billing both the Broadcasting Board of Governors and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for the same time worked.
But maybe the horse racing was work related. After all, lots of administration officials have been accused of horsing around. Remember: this is the anniversary of the administration's response to Hurricane Katrina.
This CNN report has his response to the charges:
Tomlinson said in a statement that he believed the investigation results were "inspired by partisan divisions inside the BBG."
So it's all just politics. AND:
Regarding the double billing, Tomlinson said he was in the unusual position of serving as chairman of two boards at the same time but still made "diligent efforts" to properly bill each board.
On charges of using government funds for his horse farm, Tomlinson said: "I am confident that I spent far more time on broadcasting responsibilities at my farm and my private residences than I spent on my horses at the office."
That takes care of that allegation totally.
So what will happen? Not much:
State investigators note in the report summary that the U.S. attorney's office in Washington has reviewed the case and concluded a criminal investigation is not warranted. However, they said a civil investigation related to the charges he hired a friend as a contractor was pending.
ETC. The motif of this administration on so many fronts is that there really aren't consquences or there will be limited ones for people who either screw up in their jobs or (at the least) give the impression of screwing up. In 2000 Republicans scornfully repeated the Bill Clinton phrase "it all depends on what is is" as typifying a splitting-hairs attitude on the part of Clinton and the Democratic administration. The Clintonistas were painted as not quite grown ups who wouldn't take responsibility for their actions.
On so many fronts what we see in the Bush administration is an administration that also operates under "it all depends on what is is" and always has a new excuse for deficiencies. And if the heat gets too hot, the tactic is to go on the attack against those turning on the heat and accuse them of partisanship. The irony is that this charge comes from what historians will surely say is one of the most divisive, partisan administrations in American history,
If the growups are now in charge, hopefully the kids aren't watching
posted by Bludlust at 12:41 PM
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