Buried amid our nonstop “anonymous holder” coverage yesterday was a real gem of a muck: serial lawbreaker/administration appointee Kenneth Y. Tomlinson got busted — again — for improper activities in another senior post.
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.
What’s disheartening about Tomlinson is the pattern apparent in his record: he’s not a guy who, in a fit of greed or a moment of weakness, crossed a line. He appears to engage — routinely — in petty, me-first corruption: hiring friends, eschewing proper procedures, getting himself double-paid, and pursuing his own private agenda without regard for the organizations he’s responsible for.
And his boss — the White House, which continues to appoint him to senior posts — lets him get away with it. Why?
