Corbett targets both sides of aisle

10/28/2007

Updated 10/29/2007 08:23:31 AM EDT

Pennsylvania House Democrats can stop feeling picked on regarding Attorney General Tom Corbett's
grand jury investigation into whether $3.6 million in legislative bonuses were illegally related to
campaign work performed by staffers. Corbett's office this week issued subpoenas to House
Republicans, asking for what's being described as "personnel documentation."

It would surprise no one if that's code for legislative aides' leave records, which are considered under
state law to be part of an employee's personnel file and thus off-limits to public inspection. Neither
reporters nor you are entitled to take a peek into who has taken leave from their job and when that
occurred; most likely, Corbett now will get that view.

It's illegal for legislative staffers to engage in campaign work while on the public payroll, and Corbett
also wants to know if the bonuses given out were in any way related to performance of campaign work.
He has a right and a duty to seek out all possible pieces of that puzzle.

Heretofore, House Democrats - who doled out the vast majority of the $3.9 million in bonuses - have
grumbled that they are being unfairly targeted. That argument has made no sense to us, but now they
can't use it anymore, because their Republicans peers have been served with papers.

Democrat or Republican, if they've done nothing wrong they have nothing to fear. But if they have, we
want Corbett to have unfettered access in his quest to find that out.