An update on yesterday's story about Bush appointee Kenneth Y. Tomlinson. First, a reminder of who he is and what he's done:
State Department investigators have concluded that Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, the head of the federal agency that oversees most government broadcasts to foreign countries, improperly hired a friend on the public payroll for nearly $250,000 over two and a half years, according to a summary of their report made public this afternoon by Democratic Congressional staff members.
They also said that Mr. Tomlinson, whose job puts him in charge of the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe, used his government office for personal business, including running a “horse racing operation” in which he supervised a stable of thoroughbreds he named after leaders from Afghanistan, including President Hamid Karzai and the late Ahmed Shah Massoud, that have raced at tracks across the United States.
For those of you not familiar with the man's name, a quick reminder:
Tomlinson, you may recall, was previously the chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, where he charged that public broadcasting was full of liberal bias.
At CPB, a separate probe had been started to examine his habit of hiring lobbyists and consultants without consulting with the CPB board. Last November, Tomlinson resigned before the probe's findings -- that he had broken the law -- were released.
And now, the update:
But Tomlinson, whom the Washington Post calls a "longtime ally" of Bush adviser Karl Rove, isn't in danger of losing his new job at the Broadcasting Board of Governors: the White House says it continues to support him, and the Justice Department has declined to prosecute him based on the new findings.
That's right. The man is a serial offender, but there are no repercussions planned. Because apparently running a “horse racing operation” out of a federal office is part of "restoring honor and integrity to the White House"
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