Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Politics / Woods Stanley Resigns as Commerce Chairman
Posted by Jeff Woods on Wed, Jul 22, 2009 at 11:56 AM
"I have received a letter from Senator Stanley resigning from his chairmanship of the Commerce, Labor and Agriculture Committee and I have accepted his resignation."At the Commercial Appeal, Rick Locker cites Capitol sources as saying Stanley has no plans to resign from the Senate. Ramsey's in Philadelphia attending a national legislative conference and hasn't made himself available to reporters for comment. Here's Pith's question: What did Ramsey know and when did he know it? The events in this sex scandal happened in April. Did Ramsey know about it then? If so, why was it OK for Stanley to remain as committee chairman for the rest of the session and, now that it's become public, it's not OK anymore? Update: Ramsey aide Lance Frizzell just strolled through the Legislative Plaza pressroom and answered our question. When did Ramsey learn of all this? "Yesterday, when the news broke," Frizzell says. He didn't know in April? "No, the TBI, to their credit, they didn't leak at all. That's what I know." Update II: Democrats are laying low on all this, content to watch the spectacle in silence. This is the only remark we could pry out of party chair Chip Forrester: "It troubles me immensely that the senator is involved in this, but I think that it's best left to the authorities, who are investigating this thoroughly, at this point, to allow that process to continue and work itself through." See also the AP: Stanley wore a wire during the blackmail sting.
Comments (2)
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"No, the TBI, to their credit, they didn't leak at all. That's what I know."
Come on Jeff, don't stop there. There was nothing to "leak." The story, including all the details spelled out in the arrest warrant, has been a matter of public record since the day of the arrest. ( If the morning daily still had a full time police reporter, he/she would have found out about it then. )So why didn't Stanley tell the Speaker about in April? Not only is the Speaker entitled to a head's up when one of his members is about to be publicly embarassed but Sen. Ramsey is also responsible for the welfare of Senate employees, including the interns.
I have a hard time believing Stanley didn't feel obliged to tell the Speaker about this three months ago. I have a harder time believing that, if Stanley didn't tell, the Lt. Gov would excuse or forgive his silence.
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