Throwing your employees under the bus

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Speaker Dennis Hastert said Tuesday he'll dismiss anyone on his staff found to have covered up concerns about ex-Rep. Mark Foley's approaches to former pages.

Hastert, R-Illinois, said he huddled with his staff last week and in that, in hindsight, the situation could have been better handled.

But he added, "If they did cover something up, then they should not continue to have their jobs."

Speaking to reporters in Aurora, Illinois, said that if there was a cover up, it would come out when his staff members testified under oath before the ethics committee or FBI.

Meanwhile, Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Arizona, said Tuesday he passed along a complaint about inappropriate e-mails from Foley to Foley's office and the clerk of the House but took no further action when learning of the incident.

A former page sponsored by Kolbe contacted the Arizona Republican's office in 2000 or 2001, well before House leaders say they first learned of inappropriate messages.

Comment:

The Angry Veteran has also, at times, been an Angry Employee. Nothing gets my ire up like seeing a supervisor/manager/Congressman blame their own self created problems on a subordinate/employee/staffer in an effort to save their own skin.

Clearly, this announcement from Hastert is an attempt, a pathetically transparent attempt, to assure voters that even though "mistakes were made" - people will be held responsible. Not the actual people who made the mistakes, mind you, no - the expendable people who work for them.
So not only is Hastert a man who will cover up for a colleague who is abusing his power over a page, but he will also attempt to save himself by sacrificing others.

Nice.