From The Columbus Dispatch (via hotair.com):

Helen Jones-Kelly, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, confirmed today that she OK’d the check on Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher following the Oct. 15 presidential debate.

She said there were no political reasons for the check on the sudden presidential campaign fixture though the Support Enforcement Tracking System.

Amid questions from the media and others about “Joe the Plumber,” Jones-Kelley said she approved a check to determine if he was current on any ordered child-support payments.

Such information was not and cannot be publicly shared, she said. It is unclear if Wurzelbacher is involved in a child-support case. Reports state that he lives alone with a 13-year-old son.

“Our practice is when someone is thrust quickly into the public spotlight, we often take a look” at them, Jones-Kelley said, citing a case where a lottery winner was found to owe past-due child support. “Our practice is to basically look at what is coming our way.”

However, Ms. Jones-Kelly is a big Obama contributor. So, what was the probable cause for pulling up Joe’s records? Did he need to be checked out simply because he asked Sen. Obama a really, really risky question?

Interesting:

Democrat Gov. Ted Strickland is satisfied that there are no political overtures to the check on Wurzelbacher, a spokesman said.

“Based on what we know to this point, we don’t have any reason to believe the information was improperly accessed or disclosed by a state employee,” said Keith Dailey, Strickland’s press secretary.

However:

The state attorney general’s office said today that information on “Joe” was accessed from a test account it shared with contractors who developed a computer network for the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police.

The State Highway Patrol is investigating the “unauthorized access,” said Jennifer Brindisi, spokeswoman for Attorney General Nancy H. Rogers. Access to the account was given to the unidentified contractors four years ago, she said.

State Highway Patrol records indicate that investigators have a suspect, who is identified as a contractor for the Ohio Department of Insurance. The patrol has seized an agencycomputer as evidence.

Donna Braxton, acting executive director of the Dublin-based police chiefs group, said she had not been notified of an investigation.

At least four state computer checks on Wurzelbacher were conducted shortly after Republican John McCain frequently brought up “Joe the Plumber” during his final presidential debate with Democrat Barack Obama on Oct. 15.

State and local investigators are attempting to determine if the computer systems were illegally accessed when they were used to pull up information on Wurzelbacher.

Again, where’s the probable cause for doing a search on Joe? He has a 13-year-old son, and they needed to check out whether or not he allegedly has paid child support (if such a case is even pending), because Joe got thrown into the spotlight?

Tell me this: Exactly who would be the one to get hurt, politically, if Joe — assuming he has to pay child support — failed to pay back payments? Who do you think?

“Only trust the government as far as the government trusts you.” — unknown, but good to remember in situations like this one.

-Phil