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Corbett’s ‘Bonusgate’ investigation comes with political promise—and peril

It’s the classic double-edged political sword. A tough prosecutor leads the biggest investigation of Harrisburg’s public corruption in recent memory, putting lawmakers and Capitol staffers under intense legal scrutiny and racking up indictments. He’s hailed by supporters as a man who can get public servants to actually serve the public. But lo and behold, the critics see it differently: He’s a political opportunist, they say, just setting himself up for the next election.

This is the situation state Attorney General Tom Corbett finds himself in, as he lays the groundwork for a gubernatorial campaign while still investigating the legislators he’d have to work with if he wins. As the only Republican to win a statewide election last year, Corbett is considered by many to be the early GOP front-runner. But there’s no doubt that “Bonusgate,” his investigation into legislative employees allegedly receiving bonuses for political work, will be the defining element of his campaign, with all the good and bad that goes with it.

At this early stage, there’s no doubt the good outweighs the bad. The ongoing probe means free publicity for Corbett, and his reelection last year and recent polling data clearly demonstrate that Corbett is getting credit for the corruption investigation. But as the case enters its third year, and with only Democrats having been charged so far, a quiet chorus of criticism that Corbett is politicizing the investigation is growing louder.

Corbett adamantly rejects the notion that political considerations are playing any role in the investigation, sighing when asked if its length could have political repercussions.

“The investigation is what it is,” he told pa2010.com in a recent phone interview. “It is ongoing. It is looking at all four [legislative] caucuses. As I said before, we are following the money.

“I am not looking at the partisan nature of it,” he added.

Twelve current and former lawmakers and legislative staffers have been charged to date, all from the state House Democratic Caucus. All of them, including former Minority Whip Mike Veon, were indicted last July. No major announcements have been made since, but there have been indications that Corbett is investigating House Republicans. The Capitol is constantly abuzz with rumors as to who will be charged next.

Meanwhile, Democrats are growing more confident in their criticism of the investigation, increasingly portraying it as political. Veon’s attorney last month called the probe “Partisangate” and state Democratic Party Chairman T.J. Rooney has called it an “Alberto Gonzales-like investigation,” referring to the former Bush administration attorney general. Pundits have joined in, and newspaper editorials have scrutinized Corbett’s balancing act. At least one blog has been serving up almost daily criticism of Corbett.

Corbett has given fuel to these critics, if only in that his decision not to choose between the prosecution and his gubernatorial ambitions has made it fair game. And Democrats have seized on some recent statements to argue that Corbett is exploiting the investigation for political ends. He said in February that the next round of indictments will “shock the conscience.” And last month, some saw him as teasing an anxious public during an interview with a Pittsburgh radio station.

“We do have something coming up within a few days,” Corbett told KDKA radio. “We have something come[ing] up that’s imminent that when people hear it they’ll think it’s Bonusgate but it’s not. That’s about the only way I can put it.”

Corbett’s leading Republican opponent, former U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan, only complicates the situation for Corbett. Meehan resigned as a federal prosecutor before his high-profile corruption investigation of former state Senator Vince Fumo went to trial because he was preparing to run for governor and wanted to avoid the situation in which Corbett finds himself. Fumo was found guilty on all counts last month.

“It was a conscious decision that I made, and I did because I thought it was the right thing to do,” Meehan told pa2010.com. “We had done the work. The investigation was completed. … I made the calculation at that time that it would be inappropriate for there to be an suggestion that politics played any part in the investigation and prosecution of [Fumo], or to give any fuel to anyone to suggest that.”

Chris Borick, a pollster and political science professor and Muhlenberg College in Allentown, said Corbett stood a good chance of avoiding any political fallout.

“As long as Corbett is successful in tying up loose ends and can show that these things are real, the investigations are real, that he’s finding things that are clearly inappropriate and criminal, I think he’s safe in that,” Borick said. “It could of course be, and regularly is, cast by opponents as politically motivated. But as long as he can show that these aren’t witch hunts and that he’s uncovering real problems, i think many voters will give him a clear pass.”

For his part, Meehan seems content to let Democrats carry the ball on criticizing Corbett. In a recent interview at his Philadelphia law office, a floor above his temporary campaign office, Meehan addressed the issue only with great caution and measured rhetoric, taking frequent and long pauses in between words.

“I think that politics and prosecution are a volatile mix and I think it will be an issue that will be closely followed well into the future,” Meehan said. “I’m concerned that the real issues that Republican candidates need to be focusing on may lose some of their focus if attention is being paid to whether or not some may question the influence of politics in the conduct of the investigation, rightly or wrongly. Certainly, you’re beginning to see a great deal of it emerging from those who are currently defendants.”

Meehan’s allies don’t have to be nearly as subtle in their criticisms; former U.S. Attorney David Marston, who Meehan has worked for in the past, came at Corbett directly in a recent op-ed.

Corbett said criticism painting the investigation as political is both misguided and premature.

“You have to wait until the entire investigation is done before you make an allegation like that,” he said, “and I don’t believe anyone will be able to say that when we’re done.

“Would people have me not prosecute it because it’s political [in nature]?” Corbett added. “Of course not. And I don’t hear people saying these [defendants] are all innocent. They’re just saying it’s political.”

Charlie Gerow, a Republican political consultant in Harrisburg, said the different ways Meehan and Corbett approached their politically delicate investigations would be a defining dynamic of the race.

“Pat Meehan has to face the fact that Tom Corbett is in the news every day, and doesn’t have to buy the kind of publicity that he does,” Gerow said. “Tom Corbett has to face the fact that Pat Meehan is out there campaigning every day, and building the kind of war chest he’ll need in the primary.”

April 20, 2009 at 10:43 am

--Dan Hirschhorn

Tags: Bonusgate, Pat Meehan, Pennsylvania Governor, Tom Corbett

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