Rethink done. He was wrong, wrong, wrong. What happened to “I’ve got your back?” Managers should support their staff.
As a matter of principle, I think supporting your charges is the right thing to do, loyalty being (in principle) a two way street.
My only point and suggestion, which you took, was to consider his action in light of his circumstances. He;s a slave to the law, and he is a politician. There is no such thing as a principled politician, so you have to use other criteria to discriminate between them.