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Prosecution Accuses Sen. Larry Craig of "Politicking" | 23 comments (23 topical)

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Craig's thank you note to the prosecutor (none / 0) (#10)
by Ellie on Tue Sep 25, 2007 at 07:51:48 AM EST
Via Talking Points Memo, here's a scan of Craig's hand-written note telling the prosecutor, "Thank you for your cooperation," and Craig refrained from phrases like, "Let's do this again sometime," that might further damage his claim.

(I didn't see this with the other PDFs, though one didn't load completely.)

the note (none / 0) (#11)
by Deconstructionist on Tue Sep 25, 2007 at 08:06:44 AM EST
is an exhibit to the prosecutor's response and it loadeed here for me. I don't think such perfunctory courtesy is something that should be considered probative of Craig's state of mind. i do think, however, that the number of communications and the time elapsed are quite probative.

   I agree with Jeralyn that the only strong argument he has is the absence of an EXPRESS advisement of his right to counsel and an EXPRESS waiver thereof. I fervently believe that we cannot allow implied waivers of fundamental  constitutional rights-- even where as one might argue here the implication is strong.

[ Parent ]

Craig's playing with a double edged sword (none / 0) (#14)
by Ellie on Tue Sep 25, 2007 at 10:25:01 AM EST
He's dealing on one hand with the legal case and process, but is also aggressively trying to establish an "official" story for public consumption that's getting increasingly messy with contradictions.

It seems he's between a stall and a hard place here: his thank you note for the prosecutor's cooperation isn't merely perfunctory in context with the dropping of other charges that would have placed more salacious (and damning) details of this event in the public record. (I have no idea whether those charges would be back in play now.)

His stance that he was rushed into making a plea from naivete and confusion appears to be contradicted both by his long experience as a lawmaker who was strategizing about public relations at the outset -- not calling a lawyer seems more related to PR than ignorance about his rights -- and the fact that he and the prosecutor had several exchanges, over an extended period, to expedite this matter quietly (also with PR being at the forefront.)

So thanking the prosecutor for his cooperation seems to relate more to Craig making his personal interests and requests known at the outset than being passively kept ignorant of his rights and denied them.

I'd be interested in knowing the kind of leeway others had who entered pleas and paid fines via this form and mediation. If they got less consideration than this moral values phony, I hope they come forward and ask for a do-over.

[ Parent ]

Note's no big deal; cover letter is (none / 0) (#17)
by Beldar on Tue Sep 25, 2007 at 06:21:32 PM EST
I agree that Craig's perfunctory thanks to Renz in the note is pretty meaningless. The cover letter under which Renz sent the proposed motion to enter the guilty plea that Renz sent to Craig, however, is hugely important. It shows, for example, that rather than trying to take advantage of Craig's supposed "panic," Renz volunteered to secure an extra two-week continuance so that Craig could review the proposed agreement with a lawyer.

[ Parent ]

Prosecution Accuses Sen. Larry Craig of "Politicking" | 23 comments (23 topical)

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