We return to the topic of Chuck Rosenthal and email.
As described in part one, the overly romantic emails from Harris County DA Chuck Rosenthal to a female subordinate were bad enough (maybe if she had just been an intern… but we digress).
Then there was the matter of deleting emails (part two — which didn’t even get its own post because we’ve moved on so quickly to part three). While we’re not entirely sure that the public’s right to know legally requires that all emails to/from public officials be preserved forever, we’re pretty sure that when a federal judge is interested in the emails, it’s not a good idea to go deleting hundreds of them.
And finally, there is the matter of another batch of recently released emails to/from Rosenthal that have been described by various journalists and bloggers as misogynistic, racist, and pornographic for starters. Oh, and throw in some (likely illegal) politicking too.
Unsurprisingly, County Judge Ed Emmett called a press conference today asking Rosenthal to resign and promising an investigation of the office:
Harris County Judge Ed Emmett on Wednesday asked for an independent investigation into allegations of impropriety against District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal. Emmett said he believes Rosenthal should resign immediately.
“If I had the ability to fire him today, yes I would,” Emmett said.
[snip]
Emmett said that for the sake of the office of the district attorney and the county, the simplest solution would be for Rosenthal to step down.
“I am not a lawyer, so I don’t pretend to give any kind of legal advice. Mr. Rosenthal has admitted to great errors in judgement,” he said. “If it were me, I would clearly resign at this point. That’s Mr. Rosenthal’s decision. I think for the sake of the county that would be the right thing to do.”
Thus far, Rosenthal seems to be resisting what is inevitably going to be a bad ending for him:
Rosenthal only spoke to KPRC Local 2 about the latest round of controversial e-mails he is accused of sending and receiving.
“Are you going to resign?” reporter Phil Archer asked.
“No,” Rosenthal said.
“Should you resign?” Archer asked.
“No,” Rosenthal said.
“Why not?” Archer asked.
“Well, ’cause I haven’t done anything wrong,” Rosenthal said.
[snip]
“I’ve gotten some unsolicited e-mails, and I have said some things and sent e-mails to friends that I wish I hadn’t,” Rosenthal said.
One of those e-mails Rosenthal forwarded to a friend contained a joke about President Clinton that characterizes African-Americans as unemployed drug users.
“Do you see how that would raise questions with some people about your impartiality — about whether or not justice in Harris County is color-blind?” Archer asked.
“People raise that issue all the time anyway. That specifically should not, I wouldn’t think, add anything,” Rosenthal said.
Rosenthal said others sent the pornography to him and that he deleted it as soon as he received it.
“I deleted it, but I didn’t delete the deletions,” Rosenthal said. “In hindsight, I probably wouldn’t have done it if I had any idea that any of that would ever be public.”
He insisted the e-mails are a carefully orchestrated political smear by Democrats and that he will not step down.
“No matter what those e-mails show or people say about me, I’m the same guy that has been in this office almost 31 years,” Rosenthal said.
Over the years, a majority of Harris County residents (or at least voters) seem to have appreciated the work Rosenthal has done in the DA’s office, rewarding him with the top job when the revered Johnny Holmes retired, and with re-election. But Rosenthal is wrong if he thinks he is still that “same guy” — the tough-on-crime, church-going, sometimes folksy prosecutor who enjoyed the public’s trust.
That guy was thought to be someone of integrity, a moral authority of sorts. Instead, the DA with the impressive prosecutorial record (you can’t take that away from him) turns out to be the guy who pursued a female subordinate inappropriately and whose sense of email humor probably doesn’t appeal to the congregation at Second Baptist, or very many other people (to put it politely). The DA who once enjoyed the public’s trust as he helped decide the fate of Harris County’s accused really isn’t “the same guy” anymore. He squandered that trust.
Chuck Rosenthal will almost certainly be leaving office before his term expires, voluntarily or involuntarily. There would be some honor in stepping down sooner than later, to save his family, the DA’s office, and himself further embarrassment. The important work of the DA’s office must go on. Without Rosenthal.
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