Lawyer MoCo Council hired without knowing how much he'd charge will cost $575 an hour

Remember when the Montgomery County Council hired an immigration lawyer on March 7, without knowing how much he would charge taxpayers for his services? It turns out you'll be paying him $575 an hour, according to the Daily Caller. Maybe he just "blew them away in the interview," like Lee Mazzilli did the Orioles front office in 2004. Remember how well that worked out?

Attorney Leon Rodriguez's fee is even higher than what the County is paying for legal representation in the Silver Spring Transit Center lawsuit. Yet, the specific purpose for retaining Rodriguez has yet to be articulated by either the Council or County Executive Ike Leggett.

This simply adds to the speculation that Rodriguez will be an expensive way for the Council to divert attention from its disastrous handling of the economy, and bad relations with many communities over unpopular land-use decisions. He will likely be utilized in what will amount to expensive PR stunts over federal immigration issues, to capitalize politically on the overwhelming opposition to President Donald Trump in progressive Montgomery County.

That may make for good politics, but it is a shameful abuse of taxpayer funds. Montgomery County is the only jurisdiction in the D.C. region to hire a separate immigration lawyer, which alone tells you how morally and ethically wrong the move is. County attorney Marc Hansen is fully-qualified to address any federal immigration issue that relates to Montgomery County, just as his counterparts do in every other local jurisdiction.

Just in today's Council session alone, councilmembers are set to approve over $1.5 million in new salaries, for frivolous new County government jobs ranging from security officers for the $1.6 million conversion of the County Council Building into a literal bunker, to a new small business office and staff - who wouldn't be needed if the County didn't have the most overbearing tax and regulation burden in the region.

Now we find out the immigration attorney hired with the non-specific purpose of protecting illegal immigrants, just 9 days before two illegal immigrants would be accused of gang-raping a 14-year-old girl in a bathroom at Rockville High School, will cost us $575 an hour. How much money has the County Council put toward the safety of children in our public schools since March 16? Zero dollars. What a public relations disaster.

Throw the bums out.