Fletcher denies role in hirings

[ridgerunner]

Governor also says he wasn't briefed

Saturday, May 21, 2005
By Tom Loftus
[e-mail]
The Courier-Journal

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Gov. Ernie Fletcher said yesterday that he is the "EF" mentioned in e-mail between administration officials as someone who needed to be briefed about filling state jobs.

But Fletcher said he was never briefed on such matters and played no role in allegedly illegal hirings for civil service jobs -- the subject of an expanding investigation.

"EF has got to be me. I don't know of another EF around there. But I will have to say I was not briefed," he said in a telephone news conference from Tokyo, where he is on a trade mission.

The conference call marked Fletcher's first public comments on Attorney General Greg Stumbo's investigation into whether the governor's administration and transportation officials filled jobs on the basis of politics, a violation of state law.

more:http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050521/NEWS0104/505210395

[jarab]

1. And, if I may add this additional link

from the Herald-Leader ...

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/11702751.htm

This should be BIG. Fletcher has dispatched one of his cohorts from the overseas trip to keep a handle on things ( on Stumbo, specifically).

I've been trying all day to find the time and to digest this story and its implications.

...O...

[Democrat 4 Ever]

2. Well of course he denied knowing anything about the hirings.

If there is ONE thing the repugs are really, really good at is denying any knowledge of anything. Even when they are caught red-handed and pants down. They are not to blame for ANYTHING.

Sent his Chief of Staff home from a free vacation overseas? Where there is a repug there is always a scandal brewing. These guys remind me of a cat trying to bury their own sh*t in the litter box, digging like crazy just to cover it up and pretend it doesn't exist. Problem is, eventually the box starts stinking.

Hope this hoists Fletcher on his own petard. Can't let the story die.

[yellowdoggess]

3. who else, what else is out there

Hope this thread remains open and more comments are posted. Sunday's editorials appear to be keeping this in the high limelight. Any word on which other cabinets have been identified? There really should be an anonymous state gov't blog, if that's possible. Would be interesting to see some of those comments.