State Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald, who essentially has bankrupted the GOP and who is involved in a murky financial deal involving a charity, has been working at a six-figure job created for him by state Treasurer Dan Schwartz.

McDonald, a former police officer turned lobbyist, has been employed by the state since July 20 as a "senior deputy state treasurer" with a salary ($95,192) and benefits package worth more than $100,000. Schwartz, who used to work under McDonald as the state party's finance director, apparently had to move around people to create the job for McDonald. "Michael will take responsibility for community outreach and related activities," according to a treasurer's office release.

That sounds vague enough to where he could do....nothing.

McDonald, whose chairmanship has been plagued by internal divisions and whose questionable ethics and past work for the Culinary Union prompted Sheldon Adelson and others to cut off the party, most recently was lobbying in the Legislature, including for well known personal injury lawyer Glen Lerner. His history is of questionable deals as a city councilman that had him hauled before the state Ethics Commission, and, more recently, Review-Journal columnist John L. Smith has detailed his involvement in a bizarre scheme.

Neither Schwartz nor McDonald returned attempts for comment. (UPDATE: The AP's Michelle Rindels got a response from Schwartz, who risibly claimed his office investigated the allegations raised by the RJ's Smith and cleared his new deputy. Incredible. And by incredible, I mean: Schwartz couldn't possibly have investigated what Smith has reported but McDonald must have sold him a bill of goods.)

I'm sure this could be an actual job for which McDonald is qualified and he is producing valuable work for the treasurer.

But that would be what a fool believes.