TWO MORE BONUSGATE HYPOCRITES

Being implicated in gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett's bonusgate investigation tends to put legislators on edge...and brings out the hypocrisy within.

We get a kick out of the hypocritical spluttering from Speaker Keith McCall, Dan Frankel, George Kenney, David Patti, Karen Beyer, and Sam Smith about how they had no idea about the campaign work done on their behalf by state employees on taxpayer time using taxpayer resources.

The latest bonusgate hypocrites are Representative John Yudichak and former Representative Tom Tigue. Both were "outed" as having actively used state resources and staff for political campaigns by Tom Leighton, Mayor of Wilkes-Barre and Democratic primary opponent of Yudichak for the vacant Musto state senate seat.

Leighton's release draws attention to an email with Yudichak, Tigue, Stetler, DeWeese and Veon that was a key piece of evidence in the Veon bonusgate trial and will be in the upcoming Stetler bonusgate trial. (Scranton Public Policy Examiner 5/11/10)

Yudichak is outraged at the revelations and tells the WB Citizen's Voice, "It is clear as crystal that the wild allegations made in this press release have no context, no fact."

Tigue also scrambles to distance himself by saying "there's nothing further from the truth. None of this stuff occurred," (WB Citizen's Voice 5/12/10)

Both are lying. The evidence is clearer than the crystal in Yudichak's house, and it clearly shows Tigue and Yudichak were active participants in using taxpayer resources and staff on taxpayer time for campaigns. If it wasn't clear, Corbett wouldn't have used it against Stetler and Veon.

You can see for yourself on Pages 10 and 11 of the Stetler Grand Jury presentment and the entire emails in Veon's June 2009 filing. (Exhibit K, Attachment 10)

Tigue told the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader “Nowhere in the Stetler indictment does it say that any of the campaign work was done on taxpayer time." (WB Times-Leader 5/12/10)

That is another lie from Tigue. Here is an excerpt from page 7 of the Stetler Grand Jury presentment: “Thus the ‘perfectly good system’ that Stetler directed Wiedemer to utilize involved HDC employees, on legislative time, using legislative resources to perform Opposition Research.”

This is the very same opposition research Stetler sent to Yudichak and Tigue on their taxpayer funded emails. The times on the emails are during the work day and both men knew everyone included on the email to be state employees.

Tigue and Yudichak used their taxpayer funded staff for campaign purposes. There is no getting around it. In fact, don't be surprised if both men are called as witnesses by either Corbett, Stetler or both in upcoming trials. Dan Wiedemer and Cameron Texter will certainly be testifying to the provenance and process of creating the opposition report Tigue and Yudichak...someone has to take the stand to authenticate the emails.

Like many of the legislators who are wrapped up in the bonusgate investigation, Tigue and Yudichak hope that if they say it isn't so, then their involvement will be rendered moot. Unfortunately for all of the hypocrites, the emails don't lie.