Attorney general puts bonusgate "in the freezer"

Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett says he has
temporarily suspended his investigation into the
legislative bonusgate scandal until after the
November general election, so as not to influence
election outcomes.

His decision comes on the heels of reports that the
investigation is now focusing on possible misconduct
by Republican legislators.

Earlier this summer, a grand jury indicted eight legislators,
one former legislator and a ranking legislative aide,
all Democrats, in the sweeping invesigation, which Corbett
said was expected to implicate Republican legislators as well.

The Democrats are alleged to have channeled nearly two million dollars
into partisan political election campaign activities, and illegally paid
hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonuses to legislative
aides who worked on election campaigns on state time.

So far no Republicans have been named or indicted, although
Corbett, a Republican, reported recently that half a dozen
Republican legislative aides have been interviewed in
connection with a scheme by House Republicans. They allegedly
used a $1.8 million state-of-the-art computer system paid
for by taxpayers for partisan political campaign purposes.

Corbett's announcement that the investigation would be
suspended until after the general elections is viewed
by some critics as a partisan scheme to protect
Republican candidates seeking election or reelection
who might be implicated if the investigation were to
proceed now.

In an editorial yesterday entitled "Criminal timing:
Corbett should not put Bonusgate in the freezer," the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said: "Justice delayed is justice denied.

"The legal cliche lies at the heart of what is wrong with
state Attorney General Tom Corbett's decision to put off
any presentments in the scandal known as Bonusgate during
the month preceding the election," the Post Gazette editorialized.

"Mr. Corbett, a Republican who is running for a second term,
was elected to investigate and prosecute crimes and corruption,
regardless of the political affiliations of any of the targets.
And that's what he has been doing -- witness the partisan
complaints made about his investigation from both sides of
the political aisle.

"Mr. Corbett's investigation started in 2007 and focused
first on the House Democratic caucus, which was logical
given the $1.9 million spent on questionable bonuses
in 2006 alone, a total that dwarfed sums allotted by
House Republicans and the Senate. Now his attention is
turned to House Republicans.

"When Mr. Corbett worked in the U.S. attorney's office,
it was the practice of federal prosecutors not to indict
in political corruption cases in the month preceding an
election, according to his spokesman, Kevin Harley. The
intention is to eliminate the suggestion that charges
are being filed in an attempt to influence the outcome
of an election.

"We'd argue that any information coming out of Mr. Corbett's
investigation is something voters might appreciate knowing
before they cast their ballots. If and when Mr. Corbett
gets enough evidence, that's when he should issue new
presentments," The Post Gazette said.

I agree. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
It smacks of partisan political favoritism to have prosecuted
Democrats facing reelection, while allowing potential
Republican wrongdoers to go before the voters unscathed.