Scott's lawyer admits he misled Fla. Supreme Court in high-speed rail argument

[kpete]

Source: WPTV

Scott's lawyer admits he misled Fla. Supreme Court in high-speed rail argument
Inaccurate representation on the amount of money

Posted: 9:22 PM

By John Kennedy Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Gov. Rick Scott’s legal counsel Thursday told the Florida Supreme Court that he made an inaccurate representation on the amount of money already spent on the state’s high-speed rail project — a key detail that may have helped cinch the governor’s victory in a constitutional tug-of-war.

In a two-page letter to Chief Justice Charles Canady, Scott's general counsel, Charles Trippe, acknowledged he misrepresented a central fact in arguments last month supporting the governor's rejection of $2.4 billion in federal funds for the project linking Tampa with Orlando.

Sen. Thad Altman, R-Viera, one of two senators who sued Scott saying he had exceeded his constitutional authority in killing the project, said Thursday evening that Trippe's letter is a "huge admission."

"It's a material misrepresentation of the facts in this case," Altman said. "We knew (Trippe) was wrong when he said it in court. But we couldn't stop him from saying it."

Read more: http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/state/scott%27s-lawyer-admits-he-misled-fla.-supreme-court-in-high-speed-rail-argument

[Kingofalldems]

1. In other words he lied to the court

[sakabatou]

2. Shouldn't he be tried for perjury now?

[DCKit]

6. Apparently, it is impossible for a Republican to commit perjury.

Besides, that would set a terrible precedent - there'd be so few left to run for office or work on Wall St if they were all in prison or disbarred.

[Bozita]

18. ahem ...

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SCfwBkF65oY/SQNM4rxrijI/AAAAAAAAF8g/IIQp9liG57s/s400/Dem+Monopoly+Get+Out+of+Jail+Free+Card.jpg

[valerief]

23. Repubs don't lie. They misspeak. They misrepresent. They make "honest mistakes".

Perjury would be an injustice, and if it's one thing America doesn't have, it's injustice.

:sarcasm:

[freshwest]

25. And they 'don't recall.' If all of those fail when confronted with the facts, they say *you* lie!

[Hosnon]

15. It's hard to prove that - almost impossibly hard.

Minus some document known to the Governor's office/counsel specifically stating that that number was not true, nothing will come of this.

[Snoutport]

3. the link is dead. :0( dang...i wanted to read it!

[peace frog]

5. See my post below

the link is there. :)

[peace frog]

4. "Page not found"

Here is the article: http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/state/scott%27s-lawyer-admits-he-misled-fla.-supreme-court-in-high-speed-rail-argument

[pnwmom]

7. Here's a different link with more info. It really was a big "misrepresentation."

http://www.cfnews13.com/article/news/2011/april/233336/Gov-Scotts-attorney:-Facts-were-wrong-on-highspeed-rail

TALLAHASSEE --
Gov. Rick Scott's decision to kill Florida's high-speed rail project had a huge impact, but now Scott's lawyer is admitting he overplayed his hand in front of the Florida Supreme Court.

The state was given $131 million for a project meant to link Orlando and Tampa. Attorney Charles Trippe argued the state spent $110 million of that.

That key fact was false, and Trippe admits that now. In fact only $31 million was spent when Trippe said that, which left $100 million in the project's bank account.

"I sincerely regret the error," Trippe wrote in a letter to the court. He said the mistake was the result of miscommunication with the Florida Department of Transportation.

SNIP

[gratuitous]

9. It was simply not intended to be a factual statement

There! Problem solved by clever use of the Kyl defense.

[pnwmom]

17. We'll see how well the Kyle defense works in a courtroom. n/t

[gratuitous]

20. Yeah, judges don't like to have attorneys lie to their faces

At least, generally speaking. But I've seen too many events (that in times not so long past I would have considered extraordinary) shrugged off when I would have expected a prosecutor or a judge to come down on the bad actor like a ton of bricks.

[notadmblnd]

8. Isn't lying under oath a crime?

[Rex]

10. lawyers that get away with using words like 'misled' or

'inaccurate representation' should be flogged alongside their asshole clients.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

11. He's blaming it on the Department of Transportation

Further down in the article he says they gave him bad information. There you have it, it was all just a "miscommunication." :eyes:

[spartan61]

12. Now what???

Will FL get the $2.4 billion in federal funds to actually get the high rail project started or will this just be an "OOPS" moment?

[reggie the dog]

13. impeach the fucker

[Drew Richards]

14. I am no lawyer but can somone that is, explain this?

Is this or is this not grounds for a new hearing?
Are there no repercussions for lieing to the Supreme Court of Fla?

Help me wrap my head around this.

[mrmpa]

16. I'm tired of the terms "misled" and "inappropriate".......

You didn't mislead, "you lied", it wasn't inappropriate "it was wrong".

[louis-t]

19. Ooh, ooh, I know one....'misspoke'.

A Condi Rice favorite. I hate these people.

[Iliyah]

22. You guys should

know by now that the gopers don't lie, don't cheat, don't steal. I mean, they are perfect.

[onethatcares]

21. Imagine being in a courtroom in a country we'll call the

United States of America, and you mrmpa, out and out tell the court a lie and the transcriber transcribes it, the defense atty writes it down, the prosecuter also makes a copy for their record.

Three months later, the judge wakes up and realizes that you, mr/ms mrmpa, outright lied the court. Do you think you'll be able to say, "Well, in the heat of the moment, I mispoke"? Or, "well, it served my purpose to say that and you let it ride, so I'm ok"?

How about, "Whoops, my bad".

In all seriousness, do you think the judge would look kindly on you, (or me for that matter)?

there is a different set of laws for the rich, maybe tonite I'll win the powerball and become one of them.:silly:

[mrmpa]

24. You can't win the powerball, I'm winning it...or am I just misleading myself