The Hypocrisy of Jerry Brown, California’s Top Cop
by Ron NehringThe Communications Director for California Attorney General Jerry Brown resigned last week after admitting he regularly taped telephone conversations with reporters without their permission. Under California state law, the recording of private telephone conversations without consent is illegal. Although the Attorney General’s Office worked to shut down the story by calling it an internal personnel matter, the potentially illegal behavior of a senior staff member to California’s top cop raises some serious questions.
Here’s one: How can one of the most powerful law enforcement officials in America not know his communications director routinely engaged in activities that may have been unlawful?
Or, how is it that only this senior member of the staff knew this was occurring as they currently claim?
Since we know the conversations on the tapes were transcribed, who provided those transcriptions? Was it an internal staff member? If it was an outside service, who approved the payments for such service?
Any logical line of questioning (especially from an office full of state attorneys) would seem to lead to two possible conclusions: either procedures in one of the highest profile law offices in the nation are woefully inadequate and ineffective; or, other members of staff knew what was going on and are now concealing their earlier knowledge.
Either conclusion is a disaster for a man who frequently brags of the benefits of four decades of political experience.
The irony here is that while Jerry Brown has chosen not to investigate the matter further, his office is currently pursuing the makers of the recent videos that exposed ACORN’s corrupt practices based on the same legal grounds. Apparently California’s Attorney General thinks that he and his cohorts can sidestep the very laws that they are using as justification for their investigations of ACORN filmmakers James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles.
Unfortunately, it appears Brown may manage to casually sweep this scandal under the rug while breezing into the Democratic Party’s 2010 gubernatorial nomination. With the sudden departure San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom from the race last week, Brown currently has no other opposition in the race to win the nomination of the party that likes to lecture everyone else about diversity.
The bottom line is that Brown displayed serious management deficiencies that allowed a senior member of his staff to go rogue under that neglected leadership. His double standard policy for the investigation of possible crimes under the law conveniently keeps his political pals out of the fray while aggressively going after those who exposed the problems at ACORN.
At least we know who that group will be campaigning for in 2010.
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35 Comments
This was the man who wanted to overturn Prop 8 after it was voted in on a majority. You can't cherry-pick the laws you want to follow Jerry.
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If a media person was taped without his/hers knowledge it's a simple process to initiate a criminal investigation for the violation of the statute. How come none of them did this?
Really? Is this a surprise to anyone?
Politicians, and the left in particular, can't be constrained by the petty bourgeois morality of the unwashed masses. C'mon don't you know…some animals are more equal than others
I kind of like thinking about California as an Animal Farm, it fits in so many ways.
Brown is a facist idiot, does anyone remember "California Uber Alles" how quickly people forget.
Easy. It's called leverage over the Attorney General's Office. Imagine the AG now turning down a request from any of these media outlets.
I know it won't happen, but he should resign. His office is compromised.
I would like to know who is going to take this investigation away from Moon Beam and investigate this corupt organization ACON? Does the Governor have any say so in this matter? I am appalled over the actions of these idiots in CA Politics.
The California executive administration as well as the Assembly…. The "Lawless Largesse" ! The rule of law means nothing to politicians… It only becomes an issue if they are caught breaking it !
It it just me, or has Jerry Brown been drawing a paycheck from some sort of government entity for much of his adult life?
I think the real problem here is not that they were recording conversations with the media without their knowledge but that we don't have recordings of ALL their conversations. If politicians knew that all their conversations were recorded you know, we ALL know, that things would be different. Where in the Constitution does it say that the government has a right to privacy?
Jerry is a pragmatist, a true bi-partisan, a bulldog amidst term limit weak legislators, a friend of crime victim support groups ——- and a shoo-in despite Whitmans leaves of (green) grass. In post prop87 Calif forget about statewide office for anyone but a movies star GOP guy. He recently spoke at a largely Republican fundraiser for San Bernardino County D.A. Mike Ramos, a close family friend. And he really impressed the room. He states that many of the "moonbeam" programs he initiated have in fact accomplished their goals and openly states that some of them need to be rolled back. He also has the ability and contacts to fight this syndrome here of Enviro NRDC expert witnesses (some paid $250,000) giving farout testimony that becomes the same as law after the lawsuit suit wins–a cynical tactic that entirely circumvents the electorate and the pillars of the economy -(take the minnows vs. SoCal/San Juaquin water case).
Sometimes going rogue means errrrr going Dem.
Why is it when Dems get caught they point their fingers at everybody and start to lecture???
Put Jerry in jail! He's breaking the law by talking to Acorn and refusing to investigate! Impeach this jerk and set an example. DO your job Arnold and put a special prosecutor in place to end this clowns raping of the California's public and the ignoring of his job which he swore an oath to uphold! Wake Up CAlifornia! Theyare stealing your state and making you pay for it! Stand up and fight before there's nothing left to fight for!
Poor Moonbeam.
I just want to hear him start singing Blue Bayou with Linda Rhondstat.
The interesting question is that some of the taping was of interviews with Attorney General Brown. Presumably he should know if an aide was taping the call he was on.
Yes he can. Gavin Newsom is worse so lets count that as a blessing.
We wont give him the governors seat again. I am glad Newsom is gone, Brown is a fool but Newsom would be the end of this state.
CA is way past appalled, believe me.
Arnold Kennedy-Shriber is gliding to the finish, he wont do anything but take stimulus money and wave to the cameras.
He had a "non-profit/commune/love-in" scam going on in Oakland for like 10 years.
You know a democrat is lying when they open there mouths.
Jerry Brown is a disaster, has always been a disaster, and will always be a disaster. He is a nonsense spouting jackass and it speaks volumes that this asshole – a man who has done more to ruin California than any other single politician – is the best the state Democrat party thinks it can elect. He ran California once before. He turned it into a mess and failed to win re-election. Then he ran Oakland into the ground, and he's currently making a mockery of the Attorney General's office. When will this once great state learn its lesson?
Californians with ANY memory will remember that this moron appointed three justices to the California Supreme Court who were summarily impeached for their outrageous judicial rulings. Rose Bird went so far as to write an opinion arguing that getting mildly drunk (and driving while drunk) was punishable by regular California law, but if you got SO DRUNK you could successfully plead that your inebriation negated the intent requirement of the law, thereby making conviction impossible. GET THAT? If you're slightly drunk, and you drive, you're guilty. If your completely shit-faced drunk and you drive, you can get off scot-free. To any normal-thinking person, that's INSANE. But to Rose Bird and the idiots who supported her, that's "bravery" and "compassion."
Add to that, that neither her nor Joe Grodin could ever – in all their years on the bench – find even one person whose death penalty they upheld. Not one.
Yes, I'm bitter. I was born and raised in California, and it's morons and assholes like this jerk who have ruined what was once the greatest state in the nation.
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Liberal hypocrisy is an epidemic in our government from the Statehouse to the Whitehouse. The only way to stop this crap is to STOP voting them in office to begin with.
I think going rogue means not voting for the Dems or Repubs. Do you work for Moonbeam?
Then vote for Nightingale for Governor. I've had enough. http://www.nightingaleforgovernor.com
#1 He did know. It was likely his idea.
#2 He's lying. Big shock I know…
Libtards think what they say out loud is all that matteres, not what they do, or the truth as witnessed by those nearby. It is like they believe their words change reality.
It is self evident in all their words and actions.
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He's an adult???
Brown is also the same idiot that allowed the state employees to unionize 30 years ago.
Teddy just had his 10th week of sobriety.
Please don't use weasel words, e.g. "potentially". If he tapped phones without a warrant, it was illegal, not potentially illegal. It's even worse when he does it than it would be if a normal person does it, because there's the old "under color of law" qualifier.
Someone from another post referred me to a site called http://www.Dearpolitician.org to write my politicians. The site is really cool in the fact that it automates everything and you can write your President, Vice President, Senators, and Congressman. The really interesting parts are that you can write complete Senate and Congressional committees. After you write what you want to say in the body of the template, you can print them off and mail them yourself or you can have Dearpolitician.org fax them to their offices instantly for FREE. If you want your letters delivered today, go to that site! Just passing along a cool site!
Not moonbeam, he's marxist, thru and thru! Come on California, wake up!
“But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.”
John Adams, letter to Abigail Adams, July 17, 1775
I wouldn't touch the Nightingale for governor bunch with a ten foot pole!!! Rife with fraud…and I pity them if the media gets a hold of Ms. Nightingales background!!!! Don't waste your time on these small time crooks…
they are $$$$ motivated they need $$$$ not to campaign…but to live on…