FEDS FINALLY COMING TO DURHAM?

The Raleigh N&O’s newsobserver.com’s just posted: “AG asks for federal investigation of lacrosse case.”

Here’s the story in full, followed by comments:

The state attorney general has asked federal prosecutors to help conduct a criminal probe into former Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong and other government officials involved with the Duke lacrosse case, according to a lawyer representing one of the three exonerated players.

Charlotte lawyer Jim Cooney outlined the request in a three-page letter sent to three high-ranking U.S. Justice Department administrators.

The letter was copied to Jim Coman, a special prosecutor for the state who led the criminal investigation that led to the exoneration of the three lacrosse players, Dave Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann.

"On behalf of Reade Seligmann and his family, I respectfully request that the government of the United States grant the request of the North Carolina Attorney General and participate in a joint investigation into the events of this prosecution," Cooney wrote in his Oct. 9 letter.

The letter was addressed to Craig S. Morford, acting U.S. deputy attorney general in Washington; Christopher J. Christie, U.S. attorney for the district of New Jersey, and Anna Mills Waggoner, U.S. attorney for the middle district of North Carolina.

In January, Seligmann and his father filed a complaint with Christie, according to Cooney's letter.

By that time, the case against the three players had crumbled in court. What began with an escort service dancer's allegations of gang-rape at a lacrosse team party in March 2006 ended with Nifong, the Durham prosecutor who brought the case forward, losing his law license and his job.

In September, Jim Hardin, the acting district attorney appointed to succeed Nifong, asked the State Bureau of Investigation to consider a criminal probe. Cooney's letter said that it was "my clients' understanding that since the time of that referral... the Attorney General's Office has transmitted a written request for federal involvement in a joint investigation into the events of this case."

Such an investigation would almost certainly target Nifong. It was not clear from the letter whether others connected to the case might also be involved. Noelle Talley, a spokeswoman for the state attorney general's office, said she could not comment on the letter or whether a request for federal assistance had been made.

In the past, Talley said, the state attorney general has sought power from the state legislature to convene investigative grand juries that could help with corruption probes.

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COMMENTS:

All of you who are justice seekers are happy knowing Roy Cooper, North Carolina’s Attorney General, has asked the Feds to finally come to Durham, and join with his office to investigate the attempted frame-up of three young men Mike Nifong, the DPD, Brian Meehan, the Raleigh N&O and Duke’s Dike Brodhead and Bob Steel all knew were innocent.

But before anyone breaks out the champagne, remember at this point it’s only a request.

What’s more, where violations of citizens’ civil rights are concerned, the federal Justice Department, like most government agencies, has two standards.

The DOJ’s standards are as easy to distinguish as telling black from white.

There's no doubt if the Duke Hoax victims had been black, the DOJ would have been in Durham long ago, very likely about the time Judge Ron (“Whatever Mike wants”) Stephens ordered 46 citizens, based solely on their race, to submit to police DNA testing and photographing.

But the people the Hoax criminals attempted to frame are white.

So the Feds may yet hesitate to step in and bring some measure of justice to Durham.

I’m betting the Feds won’t be able to leave things in the hands of Durham’s “civic leaders” because there's been too much public attention and outrage.

But they could.

So a word to the wise: Let’s keep the pressure on the Feds to come on in. Letters, phone calls. You know what’s needed.

A word to Dick Brodhead: You said last December you wanted Mike Nifong to explain what he’d been doing all those months you were endorsing his plan to put David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann on trial.
How about you and Duke BOT Chair Bob Steel demanding the Feds investigate what Nifong and others were doing all that time?

A word to all of you who’ve been active in trying to bring the Feds in: Thank you. Your work may yet pay off to the benefit of us all.