Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight committee, has introduced into the record some damning evidence against former Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. In a voicemail message left for a subordinate in her department, Solis lets the employee know “off the record” that they are invited to an OFA campaign fundraiser. This voicemail became a matter of record when a complaint was filed, but now Issa has the audio.

Have a listen.

Solis left the Obama administration at the beginning of the second term, in January 2013. The recording is from March 2012. Because Solis had resigned, the Justice Department declined to investigate further because she was no longer a federal employee.

Conveniently, Solis just ran for a position on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in June, and won, even avoiding a runoff election. So, someone who broke the law (the Hatch Act, which forbids federal employees from conducting political activity during work hours) and also had no problem putting pressure on subordinate employees to show up and contribute to her boss (if we were talking about the private sector, the words “harassment” and “extortion” might be coming up), can cheerfully run for a local election. If she ran for a federal position, though, the Justice Department might have to pursue charges. Emphasis on the “might,” because how is this anything but Eric Holder covering up for fellow Obama administration cronies?

Issa knows that he can do nothing about Solis. All he has in his power is the ability to expose her for what she is. This audio recording would have been a powerful tool – that is, if Hilda Solis was capable of feeling shame, or her new constituents could look past her name and the “D” beside it to actually examine her record.

If only we had a Justice Department who cared about the rule of law instead of covering for their political allies. Or a public who actually cared more about the character of their elected officials than the letter by their name on the ballot.