August 20, 2008

Troopergate Update

The Tennessean reports on (some of) the latest developments in the growing scandal over the misuse of Tennessee Highway Patrol background checks by a trooper with longstanding political ties to the administration.

The paper accepts, generally, the administration's version of the story, though the writers do note that when it comes to the administration's claim about nature of the list of people targeted by the trooper's illegal background checks, "There was no way to independently verify that claim last night because officials refused to make the list public."

Key claims made by the administration yesterday include that background checks were not politically motivated and do not include any political figures. Both of those claims were proven false yesterday by a City Paper story released minutes before Gov. Bredesen made them.

(The WSMV News story that aired at 11 p.m. Tuesday night was excellent - I'll link to it when it is on the station's website.)

The administration is hoping the media will just report its version of the story, and accept that the administration and the THP leadership is telling the truth. Problem is, the Bredesen administration and the THP have a long history of not telling the truth when it comes to the THP's involvement in politics. This is the same Bredesen administration that was caught trading THP promotions for campaign donations from troopers and their families.

Frankly, if I was Lt. Ronnie Shirley, the trooper at the center of this latest scandal, I'd be headed to the nearest federal prosecutor's office begging for immunity in exchange for testimony fingering the political folks who put me up to the job of digging for dirt on people