Morning Call curmudgeon Paul Carpenter takes to task pretty much everyone and his brother in a column on Bonusgate today.
While almost no one in Harrisburg is spared his disdain, he singles out Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Corbett for an extra-special slap.
While almost no one in Harrisburg is spared his disdain, he singles out Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Corbett for an extra-special slap.
"Trust me," Corbett said of his bonusgate probe. In a pig's eye.
Carpenter's mistrust of Corbett stems from his investigation of the 2005 shooting death of Easton police officer Jesse Sollman when another officer's pistol went off in police headquarters.
After a so-called grand jury probe, Corbett staged a dog and pony show press conference in the Lehigh Valley. Explaining the tricky technical details of how Renninger's pistol worked, he said there was no ''criminal negligence or recklessness.''
Carpenter, who has extensive military experience, knew Corbett's claims about the pistol were "bogus."
There was no way that pistol could fire unless it was carelessly left in a hair-trigger single-action mode or was in double-action mode, which would require a strong and deliberate pull on the trigger.There also is no way Corbett could not have known that, and there is no way that an average citizen, in circumstances identical to what happened in Easton, would not have been charged with a crime. The police establishment, however, is a politically powerful special interest group.
Carpenter called that investigation a "whitewash" and suggests that history is repeating itself with the Bonusgate probe.
Who knows what Corbett thinks he's accomplishing by dragging out his Bonusgate investigation to ridiculous lengths? But the absurd duration of it is giving Pennsylvanians an opportunity to take a good long look at Corbett and his history of allowing politics to influence investigations.
8 comments:
This is a fair criticism of the Investigation.
When it is all said and done, surely we can come up with better ways to solve mostly ethical violations.
Government needs to unite and address this Investigation not by attacking Corbett, but by having Corbett understand there are better ways for justice to prevail.
I am not asking Corbett to let all people go either. Just that the allegations are so vast in scope and so long to go to Trials that will be so costly.
Corbett has been fair about this not being something he sought out, but has a duty to perform for the people. The Morning Call is saying the same thing, lets find a better way, sooner not later.
It will remove all the political taint others are trying to place on Corbett for their own political ambitions not Corbett’s.
There is a better way!
Paul Carpenter also wrote this in his column:
A dozen Democrats have been charged with theft, conflict of interest, conspiracy and other crimes. They include former House Democratic Whip Mike Veon of Beaver County, but one of the best examples of the problem involves a lawyer who served as a top aide to a legislative boss from this region, Rep. Keith McCall, D-Carbon, who is now the all-powerful speaker of the House.
Jeff Foreman was Veon's chief of staff when, as reported by The Morning Call's John Micek last year, he was known as ''The Grim Reaper'' because of the way he bullied state employees into doing political work for Democratic politicians.
So the public was forced to subsidize crusades to help entrenched politicians become more entrenched, but that was not the half of it. Foreman, Micek revealed, was being paid $141,019 a year by the taxpayers and additionally was using his state office to do work for his private law practice at a rate of $200 an hour.
Voters gave Veon the heave-ho because of his role in lawmakers' blatantly illegal schemes to give pay raises to themselves.
McCall also was instrumental in the pay hikes, but voters embraced him anyhow, so Foreman went to work for McCall when Veon landed on the political scrap heap. Foreman remained with McCall until he was socked with 24 criminal counts in the probe engineered by Corbett.
''I'm horrified by the whole thing,'' blubbered McCall after he had to suspend Foreman, pretending to have had no idea that any staff member could ever engage in rascally behavior.
Back to me: The only reason we know about Foreman is because of Corbett's investigation. A flawed investigation? I think not.
Once Corbett charges some Republicans, won't it disprove the premise of your blog?
You'll either have to give him credit for conducting a non-partisan investigation, or fold up your tent and go huckster someplace else.
Why do I suspect that you'll do neither?
You must be new here. Welcome!
In order to disprove the premise of this blog, Tom Corbett would have to travel back in time to January 2007 and appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the legislature.
Rest assured, if that happens, we will be the first to give him credit for conducting a non-partisan investigation!
Big day -- or should that be "BIG" day? -- in court today. The additional round of criminal charges against Veon should stick this time.
You've probably already started writing your next blog post, but in case you haven't, let me help:
1. "Tom Corbett is conducting a partisan investigation, because he hasn't charged any Republicans in connection with BIG."
2. "(Fill in the blank) hasn't been (charged/interviewed/investigated) so this is a flawed prosecution."
3. "Corbett was able to crack this case only because of e-mails turned over by DeWeese."
No, wait, DeWeese had nothing to do with this. You can't tar and feather him for complying with any subpoenaes in this case.
And there were no Republicans involved with BIG, so there's no one in the GOP to prosecute.
Sorry.
We wrote that post already, silly.
You really are new, aren't you?
Reform Not Reformatory!
?Back to me: The only reason we know about Foreman is because of Corbett's investigation. A flawed investigation? I think not.
September 3, 2009 7:05 AM"
Check out US Attorney Office in Philly and see if politcal fundraising was conducted by their employees. I think so.
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