There should have never been a question as to whether she was credible or not. I guess we can safely say she was, for lack of a better term "a shady character." She said from the start, "she came forward after they didn't pay her." So there was never a doubt that something under the table happened. That was common knowledge all the time. The sinister plot to catch the Mayor in a sex scandal didn't materialize after all. So Ms. Smith's credibility doesn't really matter anyway. To the dismay of many, it ultimately worked to the Mayor's advantage. So now after the fact, special prosecutor Joe Baugh finds her to be credible.We are in the midst of what I consider a disturbing trend. If you admit that you stole some money. That's good, but that doesn't let you off the hook. There are still consequences for your actions.You may not be a liar, but you're still a thief. Not being guilty of one, doesn't make you innocent of the other. I think this is just a neat way to sweep this whole thing under the carpet. Bill Gibbons didn't recuse himself for nothing. The same information submitted by him wouldn't have been acceptable. Everybody has been cleared but Richard Fields, Bill Gibbon's close friend. Hm mm The more I hear, the more I'm convinced. I was on to something all along. Read my earlier blog:
Attorney: Prosecutor says Nick Clark didn't plot against Herenton
ReplyDeleteBy Amos Maki (Contact)
Friday, March 28, 2008
The attorney for a local real estate developer accused of plotting to blackmail Mayor Willie Herenton said this afternoon that a special prosecutor told him his client is innocent.
Prosecutor Joe Baugh “has confirmed to me that his investigation has not turned up any evidence that Nick Clark did anything illegal,” Nathan Bicks, an attorney with Burch, Porter & Johnson wrote in an e-mail to The Commercial Appeal.
“In fact, Mr. Baugh told me that the proof is that Nick Clark did not even know of any effort to embarrass the mayor,” he said.
Former topless-club cocktail waitress Gwendolyn Smith last year accused Clark, attorney Richard Fields and federal agents of orchestrating a campaign to find embarrassing evidence on the mayor that could be used to drive him out of the race for re-election.
Baugh said Thursday that he believed Smith had “credibility” but he said nothing else about her story. The Commercial Appeal has been unable to reach Baugh today.
Clark called today for public airing of the investigation findings.
“I believe that a definitive statement needs to be issued concerning these allegations and whether there was or was not a conspiracy to blackmail Mayor Herenton,” Clark said. “Our citizens have dealt with this question for the last nine months are relying upon the independent prosecutor to independently examine this important issue and make a determination on this. While my name has been slandered by these false allegations, I have been and will continue to be supportive of law enforcement efforts to protect this community.”
Fields, reached by phone this afternoon, said he has not had any communication with Baugh since the investigation ended. His attorney, Randy Pierce, said, “I’ve been in touch with Baugh the last few days and I’m left feeling positive about it as far as (Fields) is concerned. My sense is we’re bringing this thing to a conclusion and I feel positive about it.”
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigations opened a probe in June at the mayor’s request after Smith had told him that Fields, a onetime Herenton ally, and others tried to hire her to find embarrassing evidence on the mayor and even lure him into a videotaped sexual encounter.
The TBI said Thursday that it had ended its investigation and that it was now up to Baugh to decide whether or not to prosecute. Baugh and TBI agents visited Herenton March 14 — a week before the mayor announced he planned to retire July 31 — and delivered a draft version of the investigation’s findings.
Clark and Fields have denied the accusations, saying instead that Smith devised the frame-up story only after first approaching them with allegations about Herenton.