All Muck is Local: Iowa
Thanks to Alberto Gonzales, it will be a long time for the Justice Department before prosecutors can pursue a Democrat without suspicion. The case against State Senator Matt McCoy (D-IA) is another one of those prosecutions now mediated through the lens of the politicization of the Department.
Matt McCoy was indicted last March on one count of extortion, and he is set for trial next week. McCoy's business partner, Tom Vasquez, installs security systems for elderly citizens. When Vasquez sought to install his product for clients with Medicaid, McCoy allegedly threatened to block the deal (by getting the state Medicaid office to remove the business as a Medicaid vendor) unless he received $100 for each installation. Federal authorities claim that McCoy collected over $2,000 before December 2005, and they have recorded ten hours of conversation between the two men as evidence.
When the case first broke, pundits cried foul, citing the brewing U.S. Attorney scandal as evidence that the prosecutor was reaffirming his status as a "loyal Bushie." Local pundit David Ypsen noted that the prosecutor is a strong social conservative who was slated earlier this year to emcee an event for the Iowa Christian Coalition. Needless to say: "Active involvement in ideological political action groups like that is rare for U.S. attorneys in Iowa — and even the Justice Department higher-ups seemed to think better of it."
Now, with only a week until the trial begins, McCoy is echoing the cry. In a filing this week, his attorney seeks to have the case dismissed on grounds of prosecutorial abuse. According to court documents, the government withheld from the grand jury taped conversations in which McCoy explicitly told Vasquez that he would not suffer retribution if he didn't share his earnings. The filing also accuses the government of intercepting emails between McCoy and his attorney, as well as surreptitiously paying Vasquez to cooperate in the prosecution (even offering him a bonus if the case returned a guilty plea).
The government has yet to respond to McCoy's call for an investigation. But McCoy has not shied way from accusing his accusers. Earlier in the year, McCoy, who is openly gay (after being outed by an arch-conservative lawmaker on the Iowa Senate floor), claimed, "I have been a continuous target of groups targeting gays to advance their own agendas of intolerance and hate. Clearly, there is significant speculation about what has motivated federal officials to take this action against me." But McCoy has backed down from that accusation, at least, saying "since then, I honestly have to say, I have found no evidence to support some of the thoughts that I had at the time that I shared with the media." So for now, McCoy's suspicion is confined to whether prosecutors only went after him because he's a Democrat.
Comments (6)
Dr. Wu wrote on October 21, 2007 12:13 PM:The Feds are going after this guy for stealing TWO GRAND? Make _him_ Attorney General--he's probably the least corrupt public official in history.
anonymouse wrote on October 21, 2007 12:49 PM:As our justice system disintigrates, more and more will our prosecuters, who are pretty much exempt form personal accountability, waver from the law and use illegal and unethical means to reach their goal of more prosecutions. It actually has little to do with what party someine is in (although,as this case shows, it will sometimes involved the different parties)but rather, the integrity of our folks who have "control" over the population.
We have, as a nation, decided not to punish those people we have sent to represent us in Washington, and this action will be trickling down to local juridictions the same way funding and everything else trickles down.
We are just now seeing the beginnings of the end to the rule of law as our democracy slides down to its ending demise...
Of course, "We the People" will nonetheless continue to vote in the same people who are promoting this behavior... all the time believing they will now change and actually represent us.
What they are doing is WORKING for them. Why in the world would they actually want to change? As long as we continue to vote in mobsters, mobsters will continue to run for office... IMHO
Jane wrote on October 21, 2007 1:17 PM:Two very differnt scenarios:
1. Dispute between business partners: my share of our business income is $100.
None of the government's business.
2. Extortion: you give me $100 per transaction or I pull your license. Doesn't matter who told or why, the individual who does this is guilty. The political wrong is not against that individual but against society if others doing this or worse are allowed to get away with it because they belong to the correct party.
Mixed scenario:
Business partner A: My fair share is $100 per transaction.
Business partner B: I'm not giving you anything.
Business partner A, in anger: You can't do this to me -- dont you realize what I can do to the business?
Business partner B: got you now you SOB I'm going to the Feds and I get to keep everything.
Business partner A: What do you mean threat? I'd never do anything like that which is precisely what I told you when I calmed down.
What is troubling are the accusation of withholding evidence from the grand jury and the defense.
Mark Richards wrote on October 21, 2007 1:27 PM:Matt McCoy may be facing the music because he's gay and a democrat, but it appears that another reason has to do with a potential crime. In the public's eye, maybe the crime leaves the other motivations moot, although the other possibilities are interesting.
That said, I bet the triggering motivation is that Matt McCoy failed to do the bidding of some federal agency, a friend of a federal agency, or a sympathizer.
Usually these things are left to fester and saved up for future use. This is how political power is wielded.
Clearly, someone was pissed off.
Mark wrote on October 21, 2007 2:54 PM:Matt McCoy is another corrupt politician who brings shame on the gay community and the Democratic party.
Michael wrote on October 22, 2007 7:48 AM:If the facts reported are true, I hope he rots in jail. I don't care if he is a member of the green party, a crime is a crime. This is the massive problem with the gonzo saga and the politicization of the justice department as pointed out in the piece.