Immediately after Prince George’s County Councilwoman Leslie Johnson pleaded guilty in federal court to witness and evidence tampering in a pay-to-play scheme with her husband, convicted former County Executive Jack Johnson, she said: “I made a mistake, and today I accept responsibility for my conduct.” Had she stopped there, Johnson might have retained her last remaining shred of public respect. She didn’t. Instead, she went on to say that “I only ask not to be defined by this mistake, but by the countless days and months and years I have devoted to serving our community and people.” Fat chance of that. Concealing $79,600 in cash in her bra and flushing a $100,000 bribe from a developer down the toilet while FBI agents were pounding at her front door was undoubtedly a huge mistake, but it was also a crime. Like all other law-breakers who have only themselves to blame for their ruined reputations, Johnson and her husband will henceforth be defined as convicted felons.
But Leslie Johnson wasn’t finished. “I look forward to continuing to serve,” she added. It’s hard to see how she would be fit for any future public service, except perhaps as half of the poster couple who had it all — and then let greed blow their life to smithereens. Perhaps Leslie and Jack will start showing up at schools in matching orange jumpsuits, warning kids not to do what they did.
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Johnson’s refusal to vacate her County Council seat also says volumes. Although legally she is entitled to collect about $28,000 of her $96,417 annual salary until her sentencing on Oct. 13, doing so is unseemly at best. Unlike some of their constituents, this power couple were apparently not hurting for money, making their ethical lapses all the more damning. For Johnson to continue to accept a county paycheck after admitting that she was part of a scheme to shake down developers in order to feather her own nest is an insult to all honest employees of Prince George’s County.
Likewise, Johnson’s refusal to step down from the council despite her guilty plea does a tremendous disservice to her constituents, who, because of her crime, currently have no say in future development in their own communities. Remaining in office under such circumstances constitutes a second betrayal. So even though Johnson is under no legal compunction to resign, common decency demands it.
