Yet another 2012 election-rigging scandal: unemployment numbers skewed to cast economy in a better light.

• Author: Emord, Jonathan W.
• Position: Obama Administration

In October 2012, Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, tweeted, "Unbelievable jobs numbers.... These Chicago guys will do anything.... Can't debate so change numbers." The media was quick to dismiss the charge, deeming the drop in unemployment numbers to 7.8% in September 2012 from 8.1% in August solid, the Census data impeccable, and the suggestion of political manipulation preposterous.

"This is a methodology that's been used for decades. [It] is insulting when you hear people just cavalierly say that somehow we're manipulating numbers," responded Labor Secretary Hilda Soils.

On Nov. 18, John Crudele of the New York Post broke a story that vindicates Welch and raises new questions of corruption about the Administration. Indeed, it now appears that the jobs numbers were cooked to skew the election in Pres. Barack Obama's favor.

Based on a source in the Census Bureau and on corroborating information, Crudele reported that employees within the Census Bureau fabricated data (then and to this day) to help bring about a drop in the unemployment numbers. In particular. Crudele identified a Census employee named Julius Buckmon who explained to Crudele that "he [Buckmon] was told to make up information by higher-ups at Census." The falsification activity increased substantially as the November 2012 election approached.

The plot thickens when we realize that, in 2009, Pres. Obama took the unprecedented step of placing the Census Bureau under direct White House control, ordering its director to report to "White House senior management," an action that caused Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, to complain: "This implies that Pres. Obama intends on getting a count to his liking. It borders on overt political corruption."

Indeed, now we know why the White House worked diligently to lay a foundation for direct political control of the Bureau.

In late November, Issa sent Census Bureau Director John Thompson a letter demanding his response to the allegations contained in Crudele's article. Issa wants production of all of Buckmon's e-mails, identification of all of his supervisors, and all documents germane to this scandal. Chances are, however, that the Administration will stonewall in response to the Issa inquiries, as it has to every one of his information requests, ranging from the Fast and Furious arms-trafficking scandal to the Benghazi terror cover-up. This latest election theft...