New Hampshire House Speaker Bill O’Brien’s staff chief attempts to make a distinction that has no difference in his defense of okaying taxpayer-funded mileage vouchers for ousted House employee Robert Mead.

Mead left his job as “director of legislative outreach” after a Concord Monitor story reported that he was using his time to recruit Republicans to run for the House.

Speaker staff chief Greg Moore says he knew only that Mead was doing “Republican outreach.”

Oh, that clears it up.

But O’Brien now has bigger problems. His Majority Leader, D.J. Bettencourt, has resigned in disgrace after lying about his supposed law degree. While it is unclear just what the Speaker knew about this fiasco and when, he might do his party and the House a favor by reflecting on his own future as a leader.