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Stop the Ragsdale Investigation?
Submitted by Number9 on Thu, 2006/10/26 - 8:38am.
Today’s Metro Pulse has an editorial titled “Sleuth Not,
County Commission should stick to its legislative role, leave law enforcement to the ‘laws’”.
Really? So when the Knox County District Attorney Randy Nichols refuses to enforce the law Knox County Commission should look the other way? I find that incomprehensible. The Metro Pulse editorial closes with, “The commissioners should get back to their duties as legislators and stop wasting their and the public’s time. They were elected to serve on a legislative body, not as a board of gumshoes.”
If you listen to this radio interview with Chad Tindell, what do you think should be done? Tindell says that Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale’s Chief of Staff Mike Arms pressured Tindell to not press charges against Tyler Harber or Arms would give the emails stolen from Tindell to the Knoxville News Sentinel. There is a legal term for what Arms did. It is an actionable crime with harsh penalty.
In Frank Cagle’s column in this weeks Metro Pulse Cagle writes that Mike Arms has called Tindell’s statement Monday the 23rd on AM 1180 a “complete fabrication.” Cagle writes, “OK. But Arms is known for his temper. I also have a list of about a dozen people who have had their jobs, careers, businesses or reputations threatened by Team Ragsdale. You have seen the memo forbidding county functions at a Mike Chase restaurant because he had the temerity to oppose Ragsdale in the recent election.”
How clear does it have to be? We have a problem in Knox County that the two Mikes that occupy the sixth floor are above the law. What makes them so special?
Brian Hornback gives a long explanation in a post on his Bog titled "Chad Tindell is at it again". Yet in the 690 word post the Chairman does not answer the one question enquiring minds want to know.
Did the Knox GOP Chairman receive a copy of the stolen emails?
Submitted by Lee Greenwood (not verified) on Thu, 2006/10/26 - 10:21am.
It's amazing that the Knoxville News Sentinel got scooped again on this story of Arms bullying Tindell around.
The KNS runs these stories about the emails, and the KNS publishes the emails but doesn't do squat about the big story of how the emails were stolen, where they were delivered and how someone was threatened if they pursued it with the DA's office ?
Once again, the KNS got scooped by an alternative paper that comes out 1 time a week.
Brian is entitled to his opinion. As explained in detail in Frank Cagle's column in today's Metro Pulse, the contents of my private, off the record conversations with friends are not the issue here.
I have never used the word "blackmail". I have simply explained that in far more ways than one I have been the victim. As for any investigation, I have no opinion whatsoever. I will not tell Commissioners, the District Attorney or Sheriff's Office how to do their job. I wish this whole matter would have gone away long ago. You will recall I made the decision not to swear out a misdemeanor warrant, hoping that it would be finally put to rest. But, it stays in the press and I'm once again forced to explain and defend myself.
Most recently (and for the first time) the News Sentinel published these private, stolen communications. In addition, affidavit's were submitted by Mayor Ragsdale's office which quoted directly from the stolen emials. All this generated more calls from the media at my office, my home and on my cell phone. Many media stories have been misleading. I have only tried to clarify my position in this whole mess.
Speaking of the Sheriff's office, anybody recall the black binders that showed up on county commissioner's doorsteps during the justice center fracas some six-seven years ago?
Speaking of the Sheriff's office, anybody recall the black binders that showed up on county commissioner's doorsteps during the justice center fracas some six-seven years ago?
Tee hee. That was when Dwight Van de Vate started calling himself "Evil Binder Guy." Which was when I found out that, unlike his then boss Shurf Tim, Dwight has quite a sense of humor.
It seems to me the matter of the stolen emails is private and beyond the reach of county commission. Only Chad has standing to pursue the matter, and if he opts to let it slide, so be it.
What's not a private matter is Tyler Harber's activities while on the county payroll. If the jobs he held were merely fronts behind which he was doing campaign work and political hits, that is against the law. County commission does have oversight responsibilities over the county executive. While Knox County may lack any type of special prosecutor law, the commission can ask the sheriff to investigate and report his findings. If Ragsdale was using county funds to pay a political operative, that is certainly a matter of interest to the body that controls the county budget. I find the MP editorial unconvincing and contrary to the basic principle of checks and balances.
It looks like the stolen emails are being used as a distraction from the more serious and public allegations. I thought Frank Cagle's column last week was a good one, pointing out what a shame it is that the promise of better cooperation among city and county is being squandered in service of personal ambitions and grudges.
What's not a private matter is Tyler Harber's activities while on the county payroll. If the jobs he held were merely fronts behind which he was doing campaign work and political hits, that is against the law. County commission does have oversight responsibilities over the county executive. While Knox County may lack any type of special prosecutor law, the commission can ask the sheriff to investigate and report his findings. If Ragsdale was using county funds to pay a political operative, that is certainly a matter of interest to the body that controls the county budget. I find the MP editorial unconvincing and contrary to the basic principle of checks and balances.
I do not understand the Metro Pulse editorial. It makes no sense.
Before anyone makes a judgement they should read the affidavits below. These affidavits prove that Tyler Harber was truthful when he said he did no real work while a Knox County Employee. It is amazing to me that no newspaper has published these affidavits. So far, they can only be seen here on Knoxviews.
Submitted by spintrep on Thu, 2006/10/26 - 1:29pm.
For those with the patience to follow all this, 9ine didn't mention an important marker set for the unfolding of this affair. Commissioner Lambert is saying Harber will testify under oath on some of these matters when he can make himself available. Harber is out of state and occupied with other obligations at the moment. Lambert suggests January as a target date to take things back to commission.
Harber's testimony under oath changes things from rumors in the paper to facts on the record. I hope these folks know how to finesse this to challenge Mike Arms, but it is my interest to explore the opportunity to open up an ethics review, and some better public access...
Maybe Link... will open a local chapter here in Knox County and critique the firewall that seems to keep the public from getting information on the rogue operatives hired by this administration.
UPDATE: I have been told that Chadwick B. Tindell is now saying that he has never used the word blackmail. I am relying on the stories that have been told to me by several members of the Knoxville media that have asked me for background information on what Chad has said to them off the record since the Saturday newspaper hit the streets. I have NEVER shopped a story off the record to make a story appear in the media. Chad can say these are his friends. He maintains that is talking to his friends and they just happen to work for the news sentinel, citadel or a tabloid. Whatever.
Sidebar; Chad wasn't pleased on Saturday morning that his friend released his emails to her employer for publication or at least that is what he communicated to me.
Let's see, only half the emails are from members of the media. I still have lunch with those media folks occasionally. The others are long-time friends, since the days of Young Republicans in the early 90's. Some regularly come by my tailgate party at UT games.
I didn't want my emails published. I didn't think they should be. As Jimmy Duncan is fond of saying, even best friends and spouses sometimes have disagreements.
Let's examine this situation a bit further. Hornback partners up with Tyler Harber and Adam Groves, the day Hornback is elected he authorizes Groves and associates to take and copy the GOP computers, the media is alerted by GOP office staff, there is Republican outrage, I'm critical of Brian and the way things were handled, emails from my home computer are stolen by Harber or someone else, I get a call from the Mayor, Harber hides his computer and is eventually fired, investigation into my email theft begins, Tyler makes additional allegations and here we are. Seems to me this whole thing traces back to one serious error in judgment.
Brian's mad at some of things I said in my emails. I can understand. Some I shouldn't have said. I've apologized. As for more recent events, Brian has never discussed those with me and knows very little.
Randy, sorry to waste bandwidth on this trivial dispute.
Randy, sorry to waste bandwidth on this trivial dispute.
On the contrary, it's quite fascinating. Sorry you are embroiled in such a ridiculous situation. I don't agree with your politics much, but you seem like an OK guy and what they did and what they're doing just doesn't seem right.
Submitted by Sandra Clark on Fri, 2006/10/27 - 11:22am.
I have no apology for releasing the stolen e-mails to the KNS.
Lots of us were talking about them, but only Team Ragsdale (including Brian Hornback, I believe) had them. I phoned Chad first to obtain the e-mails; then got them indirectly from Tyler Harber.
KNS published the e-mails, but continues to miss the story.
The story is not the content of Chad's e-mails ... the story is that the e-mails were stolen by county employees and used for political purposes. Heck, they were used as late as Oct. 16 by Mike Arms to attempt to head off Lumpy's investigation.
Chad did nothing wrong, that's clear from the e-mails. But somebody(ies) surely did.
Submitted by redmondkr on Fri, 2006/10/27 - 12:56pm.
I can understand. Some I shouldn't have said. I've apologized.
IMHO Chad, you made a mistake there. I, for one, see nothing that warrants an apology from you. You apparently wrote the truth as you saw it in those emails intended only for the recipient. Having them stolen, fall into the hands of the public, and be read by the subjects of the emails doesn't change the reason you wrote them. If the shoe fit then, it still fits now.
Like Randy, I disagree with your politics most of the time, but I like to think that I can recognize an honorable man when I encounter one.
I need to change my tag line; the RNC has taken it as its mantra. "If a thing is worth having, it's worth cheating for." - W. C. Fields
Some words you shouldn't use (note, I'm not talking about foul language, I used no curse words in my emails). It was one word. That was the reason for the apology. I stand by my criticism.
Some of my partners don't agree with my politics either. We put our Christmas cards in the kitchen. Every year I've been there, Al and Tipper are there right up top. We have mixed bunch in our office.
I'm sorry I'm in this situation also. It wasn't by choice. I guess this is what you get for working hundreds of hours for free (being GOP Chairman is volunteer work), doing things some thought impossible, raising tens of thousands of dollars and giving up time at work which for me means personal income. Being Chairman cost me a lot, in more ways than one.
Submitted by Number9 on Fri, 2006/10/27 - 11:11am.
I have NEVER shopped a story off the record to make a story appear in the media. Chad can say these are his friends. He maintains that is talking to his friends and they just happen to work for the news sentinel, citadel or a tabloid. Whatever.
I am getting ticked off about the insults of both Betty and Sandra and the code word tabloid to describe the Halls Shopper News. Here is an example of tabloid reporting in the KNS:
Ragsdale has denied the allegations involving him, blaming the controversy on "political bickering." He has noted that District Attorney General Randy Nichols has reviewed the allegations and chosen to take no action.
The Knox County Sheriff's Office has been investigating the allegations of computer theft for more than a year and says the investigation is still open.
Ragsdale was unavailable for comment Thursday, but his spokesman, Dwight Van de Vate, said the investigation belongs with the Sheriff's Office.
The Sheriff's Office "is an agency that is well equipped to handle such a task," said Van de Vate, a former ranking official in the department. "They have detectives, computer experts, people experienced in fact-finding and the gathering and handling of evidence. The commission, while it's their prerogative to conduct an investigation, doesn't have any of those resources and couldn't possibly be less equipped to handle something like this.
"At this point, the entire matter has become so hopelessly politicized that we don't see how the commission could possibly undertake any sort of meaningful investigation."
The Sheriff's Department has a file on this matter and it will never see the light of day unless the District Attorney wants it to. The KNS coverage of this story has been either non-existent or slanted. Not only did Metro Pulse scoop the KNS on the new Arms story about Chad Tindell the KNS hasn't even covered it as of Friday. Not even Victor Ashe got away with this type of strong arming, no pun intended.
The only person is this entire saga that has any ethics is Chad Tindell. You have to wonder how Knox GOP can have any loyalty when they so viciously turn on one of the best Chairman they ever had. This Ragsdale administration is more paranoid and vicious than the Sundquist administration. They have pulled this crap time and time again, but now it looks like someone will stand up to them.
I notice that the Sentinel now has up on their site the affidavits that R. Neal also has up.
But the multi-million dollar paper with scores of employees put 'em up, what, 10 days later than this little ol' blog?
D'oh!!!
10 days is actually pretty good for the Sentinel. Most of the time they won't even print the story. You can bet they would have never put up the affidavits if R. Neal had not put them up on KnoxViews.
Still waiting for the News Sentinel to cover the Chad Tindell story from Monday. When the Chief of Staff for the County Mayor of the third largest city in the State blackmailsextortspressures threatens a private citizen that is a big story. Just not with the KNS. They just call it politics and don't print the story. There is a word for that. I think it might be collusion.
Have you seen this? Harber's resignation letter. It sounds like Harber and Ragsdale had an almost father son relationship.
Brian Hornback gives a long explanation in a post on his Bog titled "Chad Tindell is at it again". Yet in the 690 word post the Chairman does not answer the one question enquiring minds want to know.
Did the Knox GOP Chairman receive a copy of the stolen emails?
It's amazing that the Knoxville News Sentinel got scooped again on this story of Arms bullying Tindell around.
The KNS runs these stories about the emails, and the KNS publishes the emails but doesn't do squat about the big story of how the emails were stolen, where they were delivered and how someone was threatened if they pursued it with the DA's office ?
Once again, the KNS got scooped by an alternative paper that comes out 1 time a week.
Brian is entitled to his opinion. As explained in detail in Frank Cagle's column in today's Metro Pulse, the contents of my private, off the record conversations with friends are not the issue here.
I have never used the word "blackmail". I have simply explained that in far more ways than one I have been the victim. As for any investigation, I have no opinion whatsoever. I will not tell Commissioners, the District Attorney or Sheriff's Office how to do their job. I wish this whole matter would have gone away long ago. You will recall I made the decision not to swear out a misdemeanor warrant, hoping that it would be finally put to rest. But, it stays in the press and I'm once again forced to explain and defend myself.
Most recently (and for the first time) the News Sentinel published these private, stolen communications. In addition, affidavit's were submitted by Mayor Ragsdale's office which quoted directly from the stolen emials. All this generated more calls from the media at my office, my home and on my cell phone. Many media stories have been misleading. I have only tried to clarify my position in this whole mess.
Speaking of the Sheriff's office, anybody recall the black binders that showed up on county commissioner's doorsteps during the justice center fracas some six-seven years ago?
Speaking of the Sheriff's office, anybody recall the black binders that showed up on county commissioner's doorsteps during the justice center fracas some six-seven years ago?
Tee hee. That was when Dwight Van de Vate started calling himself "Evil Binder Guy." Which was when I found out that, unlike his then boss Shurf Tim, Dwight has quite a sense of humor.
It seems to me the matter of the stolen emails is private and beyond the reach of county commission. Only Chad has standing to pursue the matter, and if he opts to let it slide, so be it.
What's not a private matter is Tyler Harber's activities while on the county payroll. If the jobs he held were merely fronts behind which he was doing campaign work and political hits, that is against the law. County commission does have oversight responsibilities over the county executive. While Knox County may lack any type of special prosecutor law, the commission can ask the sheriff to investigate and report his findings. If Ragsdale was using county funds to pay a political operative, that is certainly a matter of interest to the body that controls the county budget. I find the MP editorial unconvincing and contrary to the basic principle of checks and balances.
It looks like the stolen emails are being used as a distraction from the more serious and public allegations. I thought Frank Cagle's column last week was a good one, pointing out what a shame it is that the promise of better cooperation among city and county is being squandered in service of personal ambitions and grudges.
What's not a private matter is Tyler Harber's activities while on the county payroll. If the jobs he held were merely fronts behind which he was doing campaign work and political hits, that is against the law. County commission does have oversight responsibilities over the county executive. While Knox County may lack any type of special prosecutor law, the commission can ask the sheriff to investigate and report his findings. If Ragsdale was using county funds to pay a political operative, that is certainly a matter of interest to the body that controls the county budget. I find the MP editorial unconvincing and contrary to the basic principle of checks and balances.
I do not understand the Metro Pulse editorial. It makes no sense.
Before anyone makes a judgement they should read the affidavits below. These affidavits prove that Tyler Harber was truthful when he said he did no real work while a Knox County Employee. It is amazing to me that no newspaper has published these affidavits. So far, they can only be seen here on Knoxviews.
Link...
For those with the patience to follow all this, 9ine didn't mention an important marker set for the unfolding of this affair. Commissioner Lambert is saying Harber will testify under oath on some of these matters when he can make himself available. Harber is out of state and occupied with other obligations at the moment. Lambert suggests January as a target date to take things back to commission.
Harber's testimony under oath changes things from rumors in the paper to facts on the record. I hope these folks know how to finesse this to challenge Mike Arms, but it is my interest to explore the opportunity to open up an ethics review, and some better public access...
Maybe Link... will open a local chapter here in Knox County and critique the firewall that seems to keep the public from getting information on the rogue operatives hired by this administration.
Brian Hornback has an update on his Bog:
UPDATE: I have been told that Chadwick B. Tindell is now saying that he has never used the word blackmail. I am relying on the stories that have been told to me by several members of the Knoxville media that have asked me for background information on what Chad has said to them off the record since the Saturday newspaper hit the streets. I have NEVER shopped a story off the record to make a story appear in the media. Chad can say these are his friends. He maintains that is talking to his friends and they just happen to work for the news sentinel, citadel or a tabloid. Whatever.
Sidebar; Chad wasn't pleased on Saturday morning that his friend released his emails to her employer for publication or at least that is what he communicated to me.
Link...
Still no word from Brian Hornback if he had a copy of the stolen emails.
Let's see, only half the emails are from members of the media. I still have lunch with those media folks occasionally. The others are long-time friends, since the days of Young Republicans in the early 90's. Some regularly come by my tailgate party at UT games.
I didn't want my emails published. I didn't think they should be. As Jimmy Duncan is fond of saying, even best friends and spouses sometimes have disagreements.
Let's examine this situation a bit further. Hornback partners up with Tyler Harber and Adam Groves, the day Hornback is elected he authorizes Groves and associates to take and copy the GOP computers, the media is alerted by GOP office staff, there is Republican outrage, I'm critical of Brian and the way things were handled, emails from my home computer are stolen by Harber or someone else, I get a call from the Mayor, Harber hides his computer and is eventually fired, investigation into my email theft begins, Tyler makes additional allegations and here we are. Seems to me this whole thing traces back to one serious error in judgment.
Brian's mad at some of things I said in my emails. I can understand. Some I shouldn't have said. I've apologized. As for more recent events, Brian has never discussed those with me and knows very little.
Randy, sorry to waste bandwidth on this trivial dispute.
Randy, sorry to waste bandwidth on this trivial dispute.
On the contrary, it's quite fascinating. Sorry you are embroiled in such a ridiculous situation. I don't agree with your politics much, but you seem like an OK guy and what they did and what they're doing just doesn't seem right.
I have no apology for releasing the stolen e-mails to the KNS.
Lots of us were talking about them, but only Team Ragsdale (including Brian Hornback, I believe) had them. I phoned Chad first to obtain the e-mails; then got them indirectly from Tyler Harber.
KNS published the e-mails, but continues to miss the story.
The story is not the content of Chad's e-mails ... the story is that the e-mails were stolen by county employees and used for political purposes. Heck, they were used as late as Oct. 16 by Mike Arms to attempt to head off Lumpy's investigation.
Chad did nothing wrong, that's clear from the e-mails. But somebody(ies) surely did.
I can understand. Some I shouldn't have said. I've apologized.
IMHO Chad, you made a mistake there. I, for one, see nothing that warrants an apology from you. You apparently wrote the truth as you saw it in those emails intended only for the recipient. Having them stolen, fall into the hands of the public, and be read by the subjects of the emails doesn't change the reason you wrote them. If the shoe fit then, it still fits now.
Like Randy, I disagree with your politics most of the time, but I like to think that I can recognize an honorable man when I encounter one.
I need to change my tag line; the RNC has taken it as its mantra. "If a thing is worth having, it's worth cheating for." - W. C. Fields
Some words you shouldn't use (note, I'm not talking about foul language, I used no curse words in my emails). It was one word. That was the reason for the apology. I stand by my criticism.
Some of my partners don't agree with my politics either. We put our Christmas cards in the kitchen. Every year I've been there, Al and Tipper are there right up top. We have mixed bunch in our office.
I'm sorry I'm in this situation also. It wasn't by choice. I guess this is what you get for working hundreds of hours for free (being GOP Chairman is volunteer work), doing things some thought impossible, raising tens of thousands of dollars and giving up time at work which for me means personal income. Being Chairman cost me a lot, in more ways than one.
I have NEVER shopped a story off the record to make a story appear in the media. Chad can say these are his friends. He maintains that is talking to his friends and they just happen to work for the news sentinel, citadel or a tabloid. Whatever.
I am getting ticked off about the insults of both Betty and Sandra and the code word tabloid to describe the Halls Shopper News. Here is an example of tabloid reporting in the KNS:
The Sheriff's Department has a file on this matter and it will never see the light of day unless the District Attorney wants it to. The KNS coverage of this story has been either non-existent or slanted. Not only did Metro Pulse scoop the KNS on the new Arms story about Chad Tindell the KNS hasn't even covered it as of Friday. Not even Victor Ashe got away with this type of strong arming, no pun intended.
The only person is this entire saga that has any ethics is Chad Tindell. You have to wonder how Knox GOP can have any loyalty when they so viciously turn on one of the best Chairman they ever had. This Ragsdale administration is more paranoid and vicious than the Sundquist administration. They have pulled this crap time and time again, but now it looks like someone will stand up to them.
Is anyone the least bit interested in Mayor Ragsdale allegedly trying to get the medical records of two local talk show hosts?
Link...
you might search the archives for more.
Not a single mention in the KNS about Mike Arms. I find that odd. I guess the new politics of Team Ragsdale is acceptable.
I notice that the Sentinel now has up on their site the affidivits that R. Neal also has up.
But the multi-million dollar paper with scores of employees put 'em up, what, 10 days later than this little ol' blog?
D'oh!!!
I notice that the Sentinel now has up on their site the affidavits that R. Neal also has up.
But the multi-million dollar paper with scores of employees put 'em up, what, 10 days later than this little ol' blog?
D'oh!!!
10 days is actually pretty good for the Sentinel. Most of the time they won't even print the story. You can bet they would have never put up the affidavits if R. Neal had not put them up on KnoxViews.
Still waiting for the News Sentinel to cover the Chad Tindell story from Monday. When the Chief of Staff for the County Mayor of the third largest city in the State
blackmailsextortspressuresthreatens a private citizen that is a big story. Just not with the KNS. They just call it politics and don't print the story. There is a word for that. I think it might be collusion.Have you seen this? Harber's resignation letter. It sounds like Harber and Ragsdale had an almost father son relationship.
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