E-mail scandal sinks Texas prosecutor - he says “it was just the drugs!”
State-level, national-level
corruption. The only difference is scale.
A district attorney who’s considered the state’s most powerful prosecutor has resigned under the weight of a scandal involving the release of dozens of pornographic, racist and political e-mails on his office computer.
Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal blamed the bizarre inbox contents, which included love notes to his secretary and campaign strategizing, on a combination of drugs he had been prescribed that affected his judgment…
Rosenthal has endured a public outcry, including a street demonstration by hundreds of people, and calls from his own Republican Party officials for his resignation since a federal judge mistakenly released the e-mails as part of a lawsuit against the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
On Friday, the lawyer who brought the lawsuit, Lloyd Kelley, sued to have Rosenthal removed from office on grounds of misconduct, incompetence and drinking on the job.
The Texas Republican Party is so embarrassed by Rosenthal they forced him out of the GOP primary, next month. But, he refused, then, to resign saying “stupidity” isn’t a good enough reason.
Har!
Posted: Sat - February 16, 2008 at 10:33 AM