I found a recent article in the Oregon City News (a local newspaper) very interesting; although, I must say, not particularly
surprising: “Richardson Speaks out About
Political Scandal.”
Dennis Richardson, a former Republican State Legislator, ran
an uphill and subsequently unsuccessful bid to unseat the incumbent Governor
John Kitzhaber. Most of you are aware
that shortly after Kitzhaber’s re-election he was forced to resign; and he is
currently under investigation by the US Attorney’s Office and the FBI.
Richardson had, prior to the election, submitted a detailed
letter (October 26th) to the US Attorney in Oregon setting forth
very specific allegations against the Governor and his girlfriend, “fiancée,”
Cylvia Hayes – citing unethical and possibly criminal conduct on the part of
Kitzhaber and Hayes.
Richardson stated in the article: “I hired a key Washington, DC, lawyer who had
experience with federal investigations and prosecutions of elected officials to
research and write the letter.”
Richardson said that he had no particular inside
information, that the charges outlined were widely circulated in the media and through
various public testimony.
Interestingly, the US Attorney Amanda Marshall (appointed by
President Barrack Obama) and the FBI sat on the information until after the re-election
of Kitzhaber. Within a couple of weeks, the
public clamor forced Kitzhaber to resign.
Immediately, the US Attorney and the FBI (to that point completely
silent) jumped into the fray.
Furthermore, the charges ultimately set forth by the US Attorney’s Office
closely resembled allegations included in Richardson’s October letter.
Yes, folks, everything is political – as we all know or I
suppose should know. Just as in this
case delaying tactics, by the Feds, may very well have changed an election outcome
and insured a Democratic hold the State.
Upon Kitzhaber’s resignation, Oregon’s Secretary of State (also a Democrat)
ascended to the Governorship.
One other point, The
Oregonian (Oregon’s principal daily newspaper), although certainly privy to
all of the known information about Kitzhaber, nonetheless had their Editorial
Board endorse Kitzhaber for re-election.
With the The Oregonian’s help,
Kitzhaber won decisively. Richardson was
just SOL.
Was the fix in on this
one? I don’t know. The Oregonian’s editorial board has since apologized for their
misdirected endorsement. However, their
apology sounds to me just a bit disingenuous.
Based on what they almost certainly knew, they could have just as well
withheld any endorsement for Governor.
But they didn’t. Ethics, for
bigtime newspapers struggling to survive, has become a rather archaic concept. No, I take that back. Ethics is a concept that has rarely held sway
in the newspaper business. Those who
believe otherwise – well, what can I say?
You might also be interested in reading this related post:
http://trueattrue.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-fbi-us-attorneys-office-kitzhaber.html
You might also be interested in reading this related post:
http://trueattrue.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-fbi-us-attorneys-office-kitzhaber.html
True Nelson
