Corruption would “make Lincoln roll over in his grave.”

[David Lockmiller]

In Nassar Case, Michigan State Wanted Famed Ex-Prosecutor to Both Examine and Defend It

Declaring that the corruption would “make Lincoln roll over in his grave,” former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald oversaw the prosecution of Rod R. Blagojevich, the idiosyncratic former governor of Illinois accused of trying to get something in exchange for an appointment to the United States Senate seat that Barack Obama vacated when he was elected president.

In the Dr. Larry Nassar case, Michigan State wanted the famed ex-Prosecutor to both examine and defend the university.

Patrick J. Fitzgerald said he found no evidence university employees knew the doctor was molesting patients. Critics say his review was tainted by his dual role.

Last month, Mr. Fitzgerald wrote that no one at the university understood what Dr. Nassar, a faculty member and team physician, was up to until the victims began going to the news media in 2016.

“While many in the community today wish that they had identified Nassar as a predator, we believe the evidence in this case will show that no one else at M.S.U. knew that Nassar engaged in criminal behavior,” he wrote in a letter to the state’s attorney general.

“Michigan State led the public to believe that there had been an independent investigation,” Tom Leonard, the Republican speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, said on Friday in an interview. “And then as we continued to dig into this, we found out it was not an independent investigation. It was an internal investigation to shield them from liability.”

Over the months since they hired Mr. Fitzgerald, 57, and his team of lawyers, Michigan State officials have highlighted his review — sometimes noting Mr. Fitzgerald’s involvement by name — as a sign of the seriousness of their response. Lou Anna K. Simon, who resigned as president on Wednesday, had portrayed the university’s review as a robust and “tireless effort” that would go on as long as needed. “Even as we examine — through both criminal investigations and a thorough internal review — how something so abhorrent happened here and went on for so long, we are taking action,” she said last April.

Mr. Fitzgerald said recently: “In the course of gathering facts for the representation, the team of attorneys and investigators has conducted approximately one hundred interviews and reviewed a large number of documents.”

Mr. Fitzgerald said that his team took “affirmative steps” not to interview victims of the abuse because of ethics rules restricting contact with plaintiffs in civil cases.

A Michigan State contract with Mr. Fitzgerald’s firm included an hourly rate of up to $990. The ABC affiliate in Detroit reported this month that Mr. Fitzgerald’s firm has billed the university nearly $4.1 million.

What would lawyer Abraham Lincoln have done from beginning to end if Michigan State had made him the same offer in 1858 dollars?

[L Verge]

Can a six-foot-four man turn cartwheels? We do know that Mary Lincoln would have been able to dance with joy?

[Houmes]

(01-29-2018 04:03 PM)David Lockmiller Wrote:  In Nassar Case, Michigan State Wanted Famed Ex-Prosecutor to Both Examine and Defend It

Declaring that the corruption would “make Lincoln roll over in his grave,” former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald oversaw the prosecution of Rod R. Blagojevich, the idiosyncratic former governor of Illinois accused of trying to get something in exchange for an appointment to the United States Senate seat that Barack Obama vacated when he was elected president.

In the Dr. Larry Nassar case, Michigan State wanted the famed ex-Prosecutor to both examine and defend the university.

Patrick J. Fitzgerald said he found no evidence university employees knew the doctor was molesting patients. Critics say his review was tainted by his dual role.

Last month, Mr. Fitzgerald wrote that no one at the university understood what Dr. Nassar, a faculty member and team physician, was up to until the victims began going to the news media in 2016.

“While many in the community today wish that they had identified Nassar as a predator, we believe the evidence in this case will show that no one else at M.S.U. knew that Nassar engaged in criminal behavior,” he wrote in a letter to the state’s attorney general.

“Michigan State led the public to believe that there had been an independent investigation,” Tom Leonard, the Republican speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, said on Friday in an interview. “And then as we continued to dig into this, we found out it was not an independent investigation. It was an internal investigation to shield them from liability.”

Over the months since they hired Mr. Fitzgerald, 57, and his team of lawyers, Michigan State officials have highlighted his review — sometimes noting Mr. Fitzgerald’s involvement by name — as a sign of the seriousness of their response. Lou Anna K. Simon, who resigned as president on Wednesday, had portrayed the university’s review as a robust and “tireless effort” that would go on as long as needed. “Even as we examine — through both criminal investigations and a thorough internal review — how something so abhorrent happened here and went on for so long, we are taking action,” she said last April.

Mr. Fitzgerald said recently: “In the course of gathering facts for the representation, the team of attorneys and investigators has conducted approximately one hundred interviews and reviewed a large number of documents.”

Mr. Fitzgerald said that his team took “affirmative steps” not to interview victims of the abuse because of ethics rules restricting contact with plaintiffs in civil cases.

A Michigan State contract with Mr. Fitzgerald’s firm included an hourly rate of up to $990. The ABC affiliate in Detroit reported this month that Mr. Fitzgerald’s firm has billed the university nearly $4.1 million.

What would lawyer Abraham Lincoln have done from beginning to end if Michigan State had made him the same offer in 1858 dollars?

In 1997 at the hospital/ER where I practiced, and developed a medical director volunteered until retiring 2016, the first full service SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) program in Iowa. I'm not surprised but also still asked occasionally to be involved in cases with similar experiences: trauma to pediatric, adolescence, adult female (scholastic and college gymnastic)/(rarely males), and prisoners, homicides, LGBT, elderly, etc., etc....if the victim (if you can call it lucky) I noted the individual will obtain therapy and can be a survivor.

Incidentally, the state of Michigan has the most lax felony criminal sexual conduct laws I've ever seen.

[L Verge]

I remember a period about 25 years ago when male doctors always had a female nurse in the examining room with them while they attended to a female patient. That hasn't been the case for a number of years now in our area.

For those of you who receive the Surratt Courier, the March issue will have a lengthy article about Victorian women who were sent to the madhouse for a number of reasons - not all of them legitimate. That would seem to be an area that was rift with abuse of all sorts. Even a sane woman (and many who were admitted were sane) might not be believed if reporting such physical/sexual abuse.

[David Lockmiller]

Former U. S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald made the recent statement: “We were engaged [in 2016] to provide counsel regarding anticipated litigation . . . ."

In April, 2018, President of the University of Michigan, Lou Anna Simon, portrayed the university’s review as a robust and “tireless effort” that would . . . examine — through both criminal investigations and a thorough internal review — how something so abhorrent happened here and went on for so long."

As a consequence of this misleading statement, former U. S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald should have stepped forward in April, 2017 to tell the truth. He should have clearly informed the public at that time that his law firm's engagement was contractually limited to provide legal counsel "regarding anticipated litigation" against Michigan State University.

"Over the months since they hired Mr. Fitzgerald, 57, and his team of lawyers, Michigan State officials have highlighted his review — sometimes noting Mr. Fitzgerald’s involvement by name — as a sign of the seriousness of their response."

Accordingly, former U. S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald should have expressly stated that "his team took 'affirmative steps' not to interview victims of the abuse because of ethics rules restricting contact with plaintiffs in civil cases in accordance with these contract terms. This would have disclosed to the Public the very restricted role in the investigation played both by himself and the law firm by which he was employed.

Former U. S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald did not do so.

But this is what I believe that lawyer Abraham Lincoln would have done in similar circumstances if he had signed such a contract.

[kerry]

(01-30-2018 01:34 PM)L Verge Wrote:  I remember a period about 25 years ago when male doctors always had a female nurse in the examining room with them while they attended to a female patient. That hasn't been the case for a number of years now in our area.

For those of you who receive the Surratt Courier, the March issue will have a lengthy article about Victorian women who were sent to the madhouse for a number of reasons - not all of them legitimate. That would seem to be an area that was rift with abuse of all sorts. Even a sane woman (and many who were admitted were sane) might not be believed if reporting such physical/sexual abuse.

This is a very good piece on that topic:

https://ir.library.louisville.edu/cgi/vi...ontext=etd

[David Lockmiller]

Tomorrow, the Editorial Board of the New York Times will publish in its print edition an editorial with the title: "It’s Time for Michigan State to Clean House."

In the first paragraph, the Editorial Board makes the following statement: "the leaders of Michigan State University, where [Dr. Larry Nassar] worked, have yet to take full responsibility for their failures to protect those girls, or to even learn what went wrong and regain the trust of the public."

In the second paragraph, the Editorial Board calls for the resignation of all of the Michigan State University Board of Trustees:

"To ensure real accountability, members of the university’s Board of Trustees, which picks the university’s president, oversees its administration and sets policy, should resign to make way for new leadership unencumbered by the Nassar scandal and the recent report by ESPN that the university concealed allegations of sexual violence by members of its prized football and basketball programs."

The following is the seventh paragraph in the New York Times editorial to be published in tomorrow's newspaper:

The university resisted commissioning an independent investigation and gave the public the impression that it had hired Patrick Fitzgerald, a respected former United States attorney, to run one. It turned out that Mr. Fitzgerald was representing, not investigating, the school. Belatedly, on Friday, the board said it would “bring in an independent third party to perform a top-to-bottom review of all our processes relating to health and safety.”

What I think to be very strange is the fact that nowhere in the editorial does the New York Times Editorial Board call into question the conduct of "Patrick Fitzgerald, a respected former United States attorney."

Patrick Fitzgerald must have known how both the President and the Board of Trustees for Michigan State University were characterizing his "investigation" to the Public and yet he did nothing to correct this misrepresentation. After all, this is same respected former United States attorney who prosecuted "Rod R. Blagojevich, the idiosyncratic former governor of Illinois accused of trying to get something in exchange for an appointment to the United States Senate seat that Barack Obama vacated when he was elected president." And, at the same time he declared that the Governor's corruption would “make Lincoln roll over in his grave.”

What would Lincoln have done?

[Gene C]

What would Lincoln do?
Likely the same thing he did during the Treasury Scandal of 1864.

Disclaimer: I have not fully read the attached links, I am unfamiliar with Project Muse, or the book being reviewed (The Enemy Within) .
If you have some knowledge about this, please share.

http://muse.jhu.edu/article/499088 (Book Review)

more about the book from Project Muse
http://muse.jhu.edu/book/11072

Amazon site for the book - The Enemy Within
https://www.amazon.com/Enemy-Within-Corr...omas+smith

Looks like this could be an interesting book.

[David Lockmiller]

(02-01-2018 08:15 AM)Gene C Wrote:  What would Lincoln do?
Likely the same thing he did during the Treasury Scandal of 1864.

Disclaimer: I have not fully read the attached links, I am unfamiliar with Project Muse, or the book being reviewed (The Enemy Within) .
If you have some knowledge about this, please share.

http://muse.jhu.edu/article/499088 (Book Review)

more about the book from Project Muse
http://muse.jhu.edu/book/11072

Amazon site for the book - The Enemy Within
https://www.amazon.com/Enemy-Within-Corr...omas+smith

Looks like this could be an interesting book.

Gene, I would suggest going here.

I read some of this and the conclusion seems to be that this was "a tempest in a teapot." Read pages 97-99 of Michael Thomas Smith's book, "The Enemy Within," as I did.

President Lincoln would have liked that this Chapter 4 began with a quotation from Shakespeare:

Fear frames disorder, and disorder wounds
Where it should guard. O war, thou son of hell.
-- Henry VI, part 2

[Gene C]

David, thanks for posting that link.

Noticed that Lafayette Baker's name pops up a lot in that chapter.
Seems Chase asks Seward to borrow Baker for the Treasury Department investigation on misconduct, and Chase gets more than he bargains for.

[JMadonna]

(01-31-2018 10:01 PM)David Lockmiller Wrote:  Tomorrow, the Editorial Board of the New York Times will publish in its print edition an editorial with the title: "It’s Time for Michigan State to Clean House."

It will be interesting to see if NYT holds the FBI to the same standard once the Congressional Committee memo is released. Somehow a title saying:
"It’s Time for Trump to Clean House" does not seem to be in their DNA.

[David Lockmiller]

I don't know if anyone is interested in the subject matter under investigation by everyone now. But if there is, I just watched an episode of Inspector George Gently which I would highly recommend viewing. I don't know how you would find it on PBS where you live, but it would be worth the effort.

The following has relevant information about both the series and this specific episode. I like the entire series for the actors (especially the character of Inspector George Gently played by Martin Shaw) and the writing.

I am wondering now whether this episode was selected to be played now because of the trial and all of the young girl victims' testimony. This episode is from the second series in 2010. They are now up to series 7 which originally aired in 2015 (if I am not mistaken).

In mid-1960s Britain, an upstanding detective takes on a dangerous world. Award-winning actor Martin Shaw stars as Commander George Gently - an incorruptible, uncompromising cop transplanted from London's Scotland Yard to England's North Country. Gently's reputation for honesty and relentlessness makes him almost as feared among his colleagues as he is among criminals. But he finds an odd ally in John Bacchus - an overeager, opinionated young sergeant who plays fast and loose with police procedures. Together the two tackle cases involving murderers, drug dealers, gun-runners, and more. Gently discovers a whole new world of murder and intrigue in 1960's Britain, a place where everything is about to change, but the past is always present.

Based on the long-running series of novels by Alan Hunter, these feature-length modern dramas boast clever writing, stylish direction, and strong casts. The powerful mysteries unfold against the beautiful backdrop of rural Britain, a region just beginning to feel the rumbles of the era's social and cultural quakes.

Gently with the Innocents (#104H)
Gently and Bacchus investigate the murder of the occupant of Harrison House. Their prime suspect is a former resident of the children's home that once occupied the premises, and their investigation leads to the shocking discovery of abuse.

I have seen this particular episode previously, but tonight it had a much deeper meaning for me. If you can, watch it.

[AussieMick]

I can very much agree with David's comments on the above. My wife is addicted to the George Gently series. Me? I quite like it. Certainly one of the better UK police series. Others of high quality are Happy Valley (you would need subtitles on though) and Broadchurch.
But yes the above episode is relevant to corruption. It has twists and turns which make for great viewing, too.

[David Lockmiller]

(02-03-2018 01:47 AM)AussieMick Wrote:  I can very much agree with David's comments on the above. My wife is addicted to the George Gently series. Me? I quite like it. Certainly one of the better UK police series. Others of high quality are Happy Valley (you would need subtitles on though) and Broadchurch.
But yes the above episode is relevant to corruption. It has twists and turns which make for great viewing, too.

The particular episode not only involves corruption, it is particularly relevant to the issue of child abuse.

Perhaps your wife should like to make a comment on this particular episode if she can recall any of the details. But I think that it is an episode that needs to be watched afresh if one wants to tie it to immediately current events. In retrospect, I thought that this episode was amazingly well done.

Did you happen to see the coverage yesterday of the father of three girls who had been sexually abused by this doctor? He asked the judge in open court for "five minutes alone" with this convicted child abuser in a closed room. When this request was refused, he asked for "one minute." And, there was more.

[Gene C]

Sounds interesting. Thanks, I will be looking for this.
There are many good British "mysteries, police drama" shows on different cable services.
Better story writing and better acting on many of these IMO.