|
|
"A comprehensive, collaborative elections resource."
|
The odd case of Dr. Cyril Wecht
|
|---|
| Parent(s) |
Container
|
| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Apr 11, 2008 12:30pm |
| Logged |
0
|
| Category | News |
| News Date | Friday, April 11, 2008 06:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Posted April 11th, 2008 at 11:10 am
There was a point last fall at which it seemed we were constantly learning of Bush-appointed U.S. Attorneys bringing dubious, politically-motivated charges against Democratic officials. Reader R.S. reminded me this week of one of the more striking examples out of Pennsylvania.
Mary Beth Buchanan, the U.S. Attorney in Pittsburgh, has long been the subject of questions about partisan prosecutions. But in 2006, Buchanan raised more than a few eyebrows when she went after former Allegheny County Coroner Dr. Cyril Wecht, indicting him on multiple counts of various federal crimes, including theft from an organization that receives federal funds.
What, exactly, did Wecht do? Apparently, his transgressions included the improper use of the coroner’s fax machine for private work. Of course, there was no evidence “of a bribe or kickback” and no evidence that Wecht traded on a conflict of interest.
But Wecht’s a Democrat, and for a U.S. Attorney anxious to impress her superiors in the Bush administration, apparently that was enough.
The charges were so over the top that Richard Thornburgh, a Republican, former governor of Pennsylvania, and a U.S. Attorney General under H.W. Bush, felt compelled to take a stand against the politicization of federal law enforcement. |
| Share |
|
|
2¢
|
|
| Article | Read Full Article |
|
| Date |
Category |
Headline |
Article |
Contributor |
|
|
