Can You Hear Me NOW?

/in , /by

The NYT’s blockbuster story on Brent Wilkes is most interesting, IMO, for the delicate dance of threat and technical legal denial it portrays. Wilkes leaves little doubt as to why he agreed to the interview.

Ms. Luque said her client’s legal problems were a battle that he “will fight and win.”

Shesaid federal prosecutors told her in January that they were notinterested in Mr. Wilkes’s dealings with Mr. Lowery and Mr. Lewis.“Cunningham couldn’t have followed through on what he did without thecooperation of other people on the committee,” Ms. Luque said.Prosecutors should be looking at the entire committee, she said.

And notice that Ms. Luque doesn’t even say that Wilkes plans to "fight and win" this in the courts. Heck, she doesn’t even say who this is a battle against, the law or Wilkes’ former associates, Lowery and Lewis. Meanwhile, Wilkes claims he believes Lowery and Lewis haven’t broken the law. But then he describes Lowery making threats that reveal a clear quid pro quo.

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  1. SaltinWound says:

    This seems like a very safe point to concede: â€Lanny A. Breuer, a lawyer for Mr. Lowery, acknowledged that his client had been a lobbyist for Mr. Wilkes.â€

    And, wheel, what do I have to do to get away from Barbara Comstock?

  2. JohnLopresti says:

    There was an article in LA Times yesterday about a politically distant relative of Cunningham. The writing is directed at CA voters, but is an expansive look at the problem about which you and the NY Times write today, as well.
    [Disclaimer: I used to work for a lobbyist.]

  3. smiley says:

    I’m wondering about the job requirements to be someone like Barbara Comstock. Clearly, you need to have no scruples whatsoever, you need to be able to tell preposterous lies with a straight face, and you need to have an unerring instinct for picking the wrong sorts of people to make friends with.

    But is that all? I haven’t seen anything from her suggesting any legal skill whatsoever. I can spellcheck press releases as well as the next guy- maybe I just need to let BushCo know I’m available?

    Hey guys, whatever you’re paying Comstock, I’ll work for half that, and you can make a big show of firing her for ineffectiveness when she can’t keep DeLay out of prison.

  4. Anonymous says:

    I like the last couple of paragraphs of that story:

    Sitting in his office recently, the shelves lined with photographs of himself with President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and the presidential adviser Karl Rove, Mr. Wilkes reflected on his plight.

    “I’m a dead man. I wouldn’t be able to get a meeting. I wouldn’t be able to get a phone call returned,†he said. “There’s no way I could get a deal.â€

  5. notjonathon says:

    Perhaps Wilkes is unhappy that Lowery and Lewis are being protected by someone, and he wants a little revenge for the way he’s being treated. Hey, I was damn generous with those guys, and this is the thanks they give me in return?