Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Rahm to Atty Gen. Lynch: 'But you said fed probe wouldn't go any higher than CPD.'

"The Law Department holds its employees to the absolute highest professional and ethical standards and does not tolerate any action that would call into question the integrity of the lawyers who serve and represent the City of Chicago." -- City Hall Liar in Chief, Bill McCaffrey
Rahm probably should have stayed in Cuba. I'm sure his ratings are higher than 18% in Havana.

Instead he came home to Chicago only to find the hot mess he created has gotten hotter and messier. He also found that the cover-up of yet another police killing on his watch may lead to the federal probe moving up the ladder to City Hall and closer to him.

Judge order retrial in shooting case of Darius Pinex.
Yesterday U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang ruled that a lawyer for the city intentionally misled the court when he concealed a key recording of a police radio dispatch to attorneys for the family of Darius Pinex, who was shot to death by Chicago cops in 2011. Jordan Marsh, Rahm's lead attorney handling the Pinex family's suit, resigned eight hours later. Obvious question -- Was Marsh operating independently of the mayor? A rogue city attorney? No way.

His resignation comes four years after the Pinex killing. That's four years of lying and hiding evidence from the Pinex family. What has the mayor, IPRA, and State's Atty. Alvarez been doing about the Pinex case since 2011? Ducking for cover. That's what.

All this comes on the heels of  disclosures about the Rahm's oversight of his police department. A Justice Department investigation of police misconduct has begun in the wake of the November release of a video showing Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting Laquan McDonald 16 times in 2014. The subsequent release of police reports showed that cops' written accounts of the shooting differed starkly from what the video shows. And so much more.

Up until now, the feds have been focused exclusively on actions within the Police Department. A.G. Loretta Lynch had practically the mayor that her probe wouldn't go any higher.

From Lynch's Dec.7th press conference:
Reporter: Will City Hall -- will officials at City Hall be part of this review ?  
Lynch: With respect to your first question, what we will be looking at, again, is the Chicago Police Department's method and manner of dealing with use of force, particularly deadly force, and if we find racial, ethnic, and other disparities in how they handle those force allegations. It will encompass a number of things, including how officers are disciplined, and the disciplinary systems. We will be working with city officials, but the matters that you are talking about seem to relate to a different issue. 
Following this latest judge's ruling and the exposure of yet another administration cover-up, all that may change. Now comes word that the investigation may include the city's legal department.

When he first heard that Pres. Obama was sending in Lynch and the feds, Rahm called the possibility of a civil rights investigation “misguided”. But, a day later, he reversed course and said he would "welcome" such an investigation with open arms. By welcome, he meant that he would hire two of the biggest and priciest law firms in the country to counter the investigation.

Now, in response to the threatened probe of the legal department, the mayor is scrambling

According to the Tribune:
When the mayor was asked about adding the Law Department's handling of lethal force cases to the federal probe, he laughed and did not directly answer the question. Pressed again, Emanuel said that step is not needed to give Chicagoans confidence that necessary changes are being made.
Each passing day moves #RahmResign from the realm of coffee-table chatter and more into the realm of possibility. Staying on won't help him. Either way, he's toast.

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