Melder's Musings

Republican State Representative Joe Driver admitted to billing taxpayers for expenses he also billed to his campaign. (Photo Credit: Texas House of Representatives)

Joe Driver is a thief.

The Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from Garland has admitted to billing Texas taxpayers for expenses that he also billed to his campaign.

Driver made his admission when he was confronted with the findings of an investigation by the Associated Press (AP). According to the AP's report, that money went straight into Driver's pocket.

Here's the most damning information from the AP story:

"The veteran Republican legislator, faced with findings from an investigation by The Associated Press, acknowledged in an interview that for years he has been submitting the same receipts — for luxury hotels, airline tickets, meals, fees and incidentals — to both his campaign and to the Texas House. He has also been collecting thousands of dollars in state mileage reimbursements for travel in vehicles for which his campaign has shelled out more than $100,000 since 2000.

The AP’s review of hundreds of pages of state and campaign travel records found that Driver double-billed for at least $17,431.55 in travel expenses, much of it at fancy out-of-state hotels, since 2005. The number could go higher, but House travel records before mid-2005 have already been destroyed. Driver has been in office for 18 years. The double-billing figure does not include the vehicle expenses.”

Let me repeat one part of that. Records only exist to prove Driver's thievery since 2005. We will never know how much of a thief he truly is and he will likely never have to make restitution for any money he stole between 1993 and 2005.

Not surprisingly, Driver is one of those Republicans who spends a lot of time railing about taxation and government spending. I guess as long as that taxation is for spending that lines his pocket, it's no problem.

Almost as infuriating as his actions is Driver's defense of those actions. He says he didn't know that what he was doing was wrong. Driver goes on to claim that someone, but he can't remember who, told him that double-billing is an acceptable practice.

"Driver, former chairman of the House Law Enforcement committee, said that state ethics authorities approved the arrangement years ago, but he couldn't remember who told him that or when it was. He said he was told to just keep the state money and not reimburse his campaign for the expenditure.

The Ethics Commission says it doesn't provide such advice because campaign money can't be legally converted to personal use."

The Texas Democratic Party has called for a full investigation. Hopefully, we'll all get one.

Labels: Conservatives, Hypocrisy, Illegal Activity, Joe Driver