VA Gov Went to Bat for Kundra

For those of us wondering why the White House did an about-face on Vivek Kundra over the weekend, reinstating him after putting him on leave last week, we may have our answer.

The New York Times is reporting that Virginia Governor and Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine, Kundra's former employer, weighed in and told the Obama administration to give Vivek his job back:

After the FBI raid on Mr. Kundra's old office, the White House wanted to distance itself from him and placed him on leave . . . Mr. Kundra felt his reputation had come under a cloud, this person said, and over the last few days, as his friends began to rally support for him, he called Gov. Kaine, for whom he once worked.

The governor called the White House and pleaded Mr. Kundra's case, according to the person familiar with the matter, although a spokesman for Mr. Kaine said he was unaware of any contact. It is not clear who he spoke with. But the person familiar with the situation said that Mr. Kaine said that since Mr. Kundra was not under investigation, he should be reinstated. Otherwise, he said, Mr. Kundra's reputation would be ruined and the administration would miss out on having someone with valuable skills help with its important task of making the government more transparent.

The article above also includes the White House's first acknowledgment of Kundra's arrest for misdemeanor theft in 1996:

Nick Shapiro, a White House spokesman, said tonight: "Twenty years ago, Vivek committed a youthful indiscretion. He performed community service and we are satisfied that he fully resolved the matter."

As I suspected, the administration was aware of the case but didn't consider it significant enough to keep him out of office. Though I'm not sure I understand Shapiro's math since records clearly show the incident took place only 13 years ago, when Kundra was about 21.