The John Sydney McCain Memorial Crappie Award

Haven't given out one of these in a while (it seems that campaign season is a target-rich environment for those who like to point out hypocrisy and flip-floppery on the part of politicians), but Andrew Thomas has graciously offered himself up for this incredibly prestigious award during the lull between the 2008 and 2010 campaign seasons.

:)

From AZCentral.com -

Maricopa County Manager David Smith is requesting that high-ranking employees in the County Attorney's Office tell him whether they have leaked confidential information about county business.

{snip}

The letter went to County Attorney Andrew Thomas, six of his top attorneys and his public-information officer. Smith wants to know whether they posted information on blog sites under pseudonyms or released information to conservative Web sites or media outlets such as The Arizona Republic.

"I have never in 42 years of (legal) practice seen such an outrageous demand," said Barnett Lotstein, a special assistant to Thomas and one of the employees to receive a letter.

Lest you have forgotten (or are reading this from a place that is not Arizona), Andy Thomas is the same County Attorney who mounted a grand jury investigation into the Phoenix New Times, subpoenaing pretty near all of the New Times' reporters' professional notes and records and online readership identifying information in the pursuit of finding out who has talked, written, or read about the foibles of Thomas' political mentor, Joe Arpaio. [More info on the case here]

He is also the same County Attorney who was oh-so-supportive when his mentor/puppeteer dropped a massive public records request (aka - a shameless fishing expedition because Arpaio didn't have enough probable cause to get a warrant for the records) on the the County Board of Supervisors, seeking all of the phone, email, and calendar records of the supes and a number of County employees, including the above-mentioned County Manager, David Smith.

For his "do as I say, not as I do" hypocrisy in the form of a forward 2 1/2 somersaults with a twist dive, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas is the latest recipient of

The John Sydney McCain Memorial Crappie Award.