Downfall, the Sequel: Arpaio and Thomas Go Into the Bunker
These guys have totally lost it. OK, they have always been bonkers, but they have finally lost their ability to paper over their nutty paranoia and quest for power in the media. Remember I told you the other day that Arpiao and Thomas keep filing wider and wider criminal conspiracy charges against their critics. Basically anyone who criticizes them or seeks to keep their power limited within Constitutional boundaries is a criminal in their eyes.
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas called for investigations into the chief prosecutors of two neighboring counties on Thursday because they publicly criticized him and Sheriff Joe Arpaio earlier this week.
Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk and Pinal County Attorney James Walsh sent separate letters to the Arizona Republic, criticizing what they called "abuses of power" by Thomas and his close ally, Arpaio.
Polk, a Republican who described herself as a passionate believer in limited government, accused the two men of "totalitarianism" and said they have become "a threat to the entire criminal-justice system" because of a series of a investigations they have launched against their foes.
In recent weeks, Thomas and Arpaio have announced more than a dozen criminal investigations into public officials who have criticized them in the past. The pair has said their fellow Maricopa County officials are engaging in a massive conspiracy to obstruct justice and limit their power. The investigations have resulted in criminal charges against two elected officials and a judge.
Now, Thomas wants a former state Supreme Court justice to investigate his neighboring prosecutors as part of what he calls "an orchestrated campaign to pressure law enforcement in Maricopa County to drop charges against influential criminal defendants and suspects."...
In his request to McGregor [PDF], Thomas ... accused the other prosecutors of essentially breaking the law by criticizing him and the sheriff. He said the pair violated rules for attorneys in Arizona, as well as tainted the pool of possible jurors in the ongoing cases....
In his request for an investigation into the comments, Thomas alluded to a supposed campaign to enlist these attorneys "and possibly other third parties" to criticize him and the sheriff.
Arpaio is the same paranoid who cost the County hundreds of thousands of dollars when he demanded extra security because he believed himself to be an assassination target.
If it wasn't so overdone, I would do another Downfall mash-up on this for YouTube.
Tom Kirkendall:
Perhaps a better mashup would be the cross-examination scene of Lt. Cmdr. Queeg in the Caine Mutiny?
December 25, 2009, 7:13 ammal:
Is this accurate
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2009/12/025239.php
December 25, 2009, 4:58 pmMesa Econoguy:
Not sure you can pin (all) that paranoia on Joe. If half of this is true, it’s a little convoluted.
Wasn’t Lou Dobbs similarly threatened because of his overt anti-immigration stance?
I do think he’s gotten just a bit too big for his britches…..
December 25, 2009, 7:34 pmdelurking:
It does seem to me the your sheriff is a lunatic. However, the situation, from my limited outside view, could be pretty fun watch play out. Harvey Silvergate has just wrapped up blogging (at the Volokh Conspiracy) about how poorly phrased and ever-expanding federal criminal statutes make lots of seemingly normal activity illegal. Are state laws any better?
So, while it is obvious that Arpaio + Co. are loons, they could well legitimately find that every one of their critics has violated federal and state laws. Of course, if that is so, it is likely that Arpaio + Co. are guilty of similar violations.
December 26, 2009, 8:54 am