Brian Doyle and Porn: What Time Magazine Knew

Friday's Washington Post reveals that Brian Doyle, the DHS press secretary arrested this week for attempting to seduce a child online - along with numerous related charges - had been disciplined for downloading pornography while he worked at Time Magazine.

Three people said in separate interviews that, between 1999 and 2001, Doyle viewed pornography on Time's computers, was caught and faced discipline, and that bureau colleagues circulated a petition or letter in his defense.

Why a petition was circulated to defend this behaviour is beyond me. It was a clear violation of Time's policies and there is no justification for it.

Whether or not Doyle was properly vetted for his job, it seems to me that his colleagues and employers at Time had a responsibility to speak up - especially when they discovered he would be working for the agency that deals with investigating child porn. The fact that, as far as we know, Doyle's misuse of Time's computers did not specifically relate to porn involving children is beside the point.

As one official told WaPo:

"It's difficult to zero in on a type of behavior, but certainly every source is asked whether an individual has anything in the background that makes them susceptible to blackmail, coercion or illegal conduct," or otherwise a risk to national security, said Kathy Dillaman, associate director for the OPM's Federal Investigative Services division.

Those issues become even more pressing when they concern someone who works in the Homeland Security department which is charged with protecting the country.