Scandal-Ridden, Homophobic DA in Lawrence v. Texas Case Forced to Resign

[marmar]

from AlterNet's PEEK:




Scandal-Ridden, Homophobic DA in Lawrence v. Texas Case Forced to Resign

Posted by Pam Spaulding, Pam's House Blend at 6:11 AM on February 27, 2008.

This follows the discovery of sexually explicit videos on his office computer, along with racist jokes and sexy emails to his executive secretary.

"I think that this Court having determined that there are certain kinds of conduct that it will accept and certain kinds of conduct it will not accept may draw the line at the bedroom door of the heterosexual married couple because of the interest that this Court has that this Nation has and certainly that the State of Texas has for the preservation of marriage, families and the procreation of children. "Even if you infer that various States acting through their legislative process have repealed sodomy laws, there is no protected right to engage in extrasexual - extramarital sexual relations, again, that can trace their roots to history or the traditions of this nation."

-- Houston District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal, in arguments to the Supreme Court in 2002's 'Lawrence v. Texas' case.

Oopsie. Chuck unfortunately got into a bit of a hypocritical mess after the discovery of sexually explicit videos on his office computer, along with racist jokes and sexy emails to his executive secretary. (Newsweek):

Last December, as part of a federal civil rights lawsuit into how justice is meted out in the county, he turned over the (partial) contents of his government e-mail account. And what a batch of e-mails it was. Black ministers called for the Republican to resign because of racist material, including a cartoon depicting an African-American suffering from a "fatal overdose" of watermelon and fried chicken. There were adult video clips and love notes from Rosenthal to his secretary, his mistress during a previous marriage. "I love you so much," Rosenthal says in one. "I want to kiss you behind your right ear," he says in another. "Go spend time with your family," she admonishes him back.

Now listen up you Republican Sexual Hypocrites out there -- when you get busted doing hanky panky on the office PC, you can't delete the contents -- they are subject to e-discovery. Hand Rosenthal the Royal Duncecap, since he thought his massive e-deletions were not going to be detected, then he lied about it. So he's out of a job AND faces going the clink. So sorry...

In the wake of the e-mail revelations, local GOP leaders forced him to abort his re-election bid. Then, on Feb. 15, after Lloyd Kelley, the attorney in the civil rights case, brought a lawsuit accusing him of drinking on the job and "incompetence, or official misconduct," Rosenthal resigned. But his problems may not be over. As eye-opening as his e-mails were, it's the ones that disappeared that might cause him more trouble yet. Rosenthal deleted thousands of e-mails (even going so far as to delete them from the trash folder) that investigators in the civil rights case wanted; his actions could lead to obstruction of justice charges (the messages were destroyed after he had received a subpoena for them, he admitted in court). And during a contempt of court hearing earlier this month, Rosenthal appeared to contradict his sworn statements about the e-mails, leaving him open to perjury charges. The hearing was abruptly adjourned at the request of his lawyer and is scheduled to resume March 14. If found in contempt, the former top prosecutor could wind up in jail.

How do you think Rosenthal explained his behavior? It sounds all too familiar...

In an earlier statement to the press about the content of the e-mails, Rosenthal said, "I deeply regret having said those things ... This event has served as a wake-up call to me to get my house in order both literally and figuratively." On Feb. 15, in response to the new lawsuit, he blamed a combination of prescription drugs for causing "some impairment" of his judgment.

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/77963/

[AndyA]

1. Yeah, and I'll bet he has a wide stance, too.

What hypocrites the Republicans are. All of them.

[SidDithers]

2. Wow, he just kept digging that hole deeper and deeper, didn't he?...

Surely a lawyer would never "drink on the job" :evilgrin:

Sid

[Beausoleil]

3. Funny how Repub hypocrisy can always be explained

by something other than lack of honesty, greed, lust for power, etc. In this case, it's prescription drugs. It's always something that deflects responsibility. Maybe rehab will fix him and he'll be all better. :sarcasm:

[marmar]

6. "It was the drugs that were racist, sexist and homophobic, not me .....

..... Some of my best friends were Ni..., I mean African Americans. And I like fag...., I mean gay peoople. And you think I'm sexist? Look at all the bit...., I mean strong women working in my office."

[skypilot]

4. And what a batch of e-mails it was

And just imagine the kinds of emails that would be uncovered in the Bush administration if they ever turned them over. It's no wonder that they won't.

[Blue_Tires]

5. lowlife scum