Federal CIO on leave following FBI sting

ZD Net ^ | March 13, 2009 | Sam Diaz

[SERKIT]

The U.S. Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra, appointed by President Obama last week, has been placed on leave, following an FBI raid yesterday at the District of Columbia’s IT offices.

Kundra, who was previously the District’s Chief Technology Officer and worked in the offices, has not been linked to the raid, which stemmed from a bribery investigation involving employees and technology vendors.

Kundra, who was delivering a speech at a government technology conference during the raid, will be on leave until further details of the case become known, a White House source told the Associated Press. Washington’s WTOP, a local news outlet, has a lot of the juicy details involving the sting operation.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the Department of Justice told the White House on Thursday morning about the raid, according to the WTOP report, but wouldn’t say whether the White House knew of the investigation before then.

[SERKIT]

See links and comments at the link.

Is the White House staff the 'gang that can't vet straight'?

[Incorrigible]

It’s the Democratic culture of corruption.

[AD from SpringBay]

Has anybody kept up with all the crap in the first 60 days? It would make a nice letter to the editor:

Imagine if George W. Bush --

[mgc1122]

So, another “GENIUS” - this time involving critical IT is caught completely unawares of the shenanigans in his own very small department, and yet this is the putz who will be in charge of the nation’s IT?

Uh huh ... I wonder if it has ever occurred to the children pretending to be adults in Obozo’s administration to actually look for talent, rather than candidates who are upright and with a pulse.

[Oldpuppymax]

So the FBI told the White House about the raid THE DAY BEFORE IT TOOK PLACE!!! Naturally this will be heavily investigated by CNN!

[CodeToad]

Obama and the Democrats: Corruption at every turn.

So much for “Hope & Change”. If this is what they hoped for they could use a change.

[devane617]

I could not believe it when I read this story. They names of the guys alone is scary. And to think theu are controlling all our gov information and data.

[mrmargaritaville]

the swamp has been drained-and refilled with radioactive scum.

[SnarlinCubBear]

The FBI must be very, very busy these days with all of O’s appointees...

[killermosquito]

Looking for talent is not enought. I would be happier with less talent but more integrity.

[nuconvert]

“So the FBI told the White House about the raid THE DAY BEFORE IT TOOK PLACE!!! “

No, I don’t think so. I believe it says that the Justice Dept notified the White House the day of the raid.

[angkor]

Who knows whether this Kundra fellow was involved. I think probably not, but that’s to be seen.

More disturbing is that a 34-year old Google baby could rocket to this position mainly (not only, but mainly) on the basis of his rather mundane and pedestrian ideas about using “cloud” technologies like Google, Twitter, RSS, and other Internet apps to “innovate” in the public sector.

To wit, his main line is for governments to cut costs by using free Web applications.

That’s all well and good on the face of it, but it’s ill-considered in the long run because (a) these free “cloud” applications are also rather low capability applications with not a whole lot of “free” capability, and (b) THERE’S NO FREE LUNCH!

[angkor]

>>> to think theu are controlling all our gov information and data. <<<<<

This incident has so far been about DC government, not the feds.

Second, Vivek Kundra’s qualifications and experience to become “U.S. Chief Information Officer” are a joke and completely laughable.

Sure Vivek, let’s put all that government data in Google Apps.

That makes a lot of sense.

(And by the way, Google is presently spending a lot of PR $$$$ trying to make exactly this case — Google Apps for Feds - to federal lawmakers and influencers).

[Vaduz]

Waiting for Waxman and Waters to get busted.

[ryderann]

My state, NC, has been democrat-controlled for many years...and with mucho, mucho corruption. I have often thought that the top dogs will only run candidates, and appoint public officials who have crimes/frauds in their background. In that way, they can be controlled by their masters...and they can’t rat out anyone else. It’s that old “If I go down, you go down” thing.

[nufsed]

..........and Rangel...........and Dodd...........and Pelosi............and Fienstein.............and Murtha................and Reid....................

[Jane Austen]

Yep, they are that gang.

Is Kundra a Muslim?

[stainlessbanner]

The corruption starts at the top. This entire administration is rotten.

The thing about gangs is they turn on each other eventually; greed, jealousy, slothfullness, envy, pride, lust, etc.

[Condor51]

Barry would have better luck recruiting *law abiding* administration members at San Quentin and Sing-Sing than the way he's doing it now. His methods and vetting process is bordering on those scene in Blazing Saddles.

Taggart:What do you want me to do, sir?
Hedley Lamarr: I want you to round up every vicious criminal and gunslinger in the west. Take this down.
Hedley Lamarr: I want rustlers, cut throats, murderers, bounty hunters, desperados, mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, halfwits, dimwits, vipers, snipers, con men, Indian agents, Mexican bandits, muggers, buggerers, bushwhackers, hornswogglers, horse thieves, bull dykes, train robbers, bank robbers, ass-kickers, shit-kickers and Methodists.
[~~snip~~~ later scene ...]
Hedley Lamarr:Qualifications?
Applicant:Rape, murder, arson, and rape.
Hedley Lamarr: You said rape twice.
Applicant:I like rape.

Maybe Barry thinks Blazing Saddles was a Documentary?

[SERKIT]

Hence the tagline.....