Carrie’s Credibility
Last Thursday prosecutors questioned former Jensen staffer Carrie Hoeper Richard about everything from her first interview with Jensen and his Chief of Staff, Brett Healy, to her work in the Jensen office and her role as Treasurer of Taxpayers for Jensen.
Richard was hired in 1997 as a legislative aid to perform constituent relations.
Richard made a number of claims regarding her work in the Jensen office as well as the actions of the former Speaker. Many of Richard’s claims were discredited by her cross examination while others were refuted by four of her co-workers who testified for the defense.
For example Richard claimed she did little if any constituent relations work and spent the vast majority of her time working on Taxpayers for Jensen. Yet when asked about specific consultants who were paid to do much of the work she claims to have done, Richard could not specifically recall a single one.
In addition, Richard did not specifically recall any of the dozens of constituent relations issues for which she was responsible, even though Jensen’s attorney had stacks of paperwork to back it up.
Now I’m not buying her selective memory for a minute. Trust me, this woman remembers the name of the first kid who ever launched a shovel full of sand at her in the park. That was clear when Sherry Schultz’s attorney, Steve Morgan asked Richard if she had told people she was “insulted” that Steve Foti hired Sherry Schultz without consulting her first. Mr. Morgan wanted to know why a 26 year old constituent relations aide would expect the Assembly Majority leader to check with her before making a hire. Richard admitted she told people she was insulted but said she just thought she should have been informed before everyone else.
Richard’s most damning and least credible claim was that she witnessed Scott Jensen making campaign fundraising calls to lobbyists from his Capitol Office. This claim was refuted by Chad Taylor, Steve Baas, Brett Healy and Jodi Tierney, four staffers with more seniority and experience in the Jensen office. And it makes no sense that Jensen would do such a thing, given that he scheduled call time at the Republican Party of Wisconsin, and as Richard herself testified, did not raise money during the budget, in order to avoid any impropriety.
Healy, Baas and Tierney also testified to the fact that Carrie Hoeper Richard had a full plate of legitimate state work and she sought their assistance with it from time to time, and while she did volunteer to perform some work for Taxpayers for Jensen, it did not comprise a majority of her time and she was told by Jensen’s Deputy Legal Counsel, Chad Taylor, not to do it in the office.
posted by DJordahl @ 8:21 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Deb,
Jensen's witnesses had very selective memory. Most answers were 'I don't recall'. Check the webcast of Baas testimony and you will see that today he recalls differently than what he recalled 3 years ago as recorded in transcripts of interviews with investigators. Bringing in political party loyalists to bolster your defense is of minimal value. Please stop defending Jensen. He abused his office and shows no remorse. Employing state workers and converting them to part time employees so that they can spend most of their time campaigning for your party is wrong. Jensen was a money man for the special interests. He was able to control legislators to the point where the views of the constituents no longer mattered. Jensen's antics are a threat to both representative democracy and a stain on our conservative movement.
Deb, I'm surprised with your naivety. One would think you'd be a little more in the know about how these things work, given your years of experience in politics, and with your powerful lobbyist hubby and all. Now we all know you're nothing but a Jensen surrogate - but come on. What would you expect Jensen's witnesses to say? It's their job to try to discredit the prosecution. Carrie Hoeper was employed in the Jensen office while she was acting as his campaign committee's treasurer - and she never took a leave to perform her treasurer duties.
And trueconservative is right. I listened to Baas' testimony yesterday and every answer was prefaced with "I don't recall a specific instance, but..." And Korte had to read Baas the testimony he gave a few years back in order for his memory to be refreshed. Was his memory selective, or was he simply trying to deceive the court? Given he - and the rest of Jensen's staff - consider Scooter to be a "truthful man," I'm thinking the latter is true.
Speaking of truthful - why don't you give due credit to the head of the State Troopers who testified that Jensen told him he had no idea state employees were campaigning in the Capitol offices? Or when the former Majority Leader, Steve Foti, was forced to admit that Jensen placed someone on his payroll without his knowledge. Now that's honesty for you. And act of true friendship and courage.
Jensen got caught with his 30" inseam pants down, and they're trying to blame everyone else for this Harvard-graduate's actions.
true whatever you are, and masnk: I see no mention of Jensen's witnesses in above the belt's posts so far: Just the prosecution's efforts: for example Carrie Hoeper, who looks like a pretty poor prosecution witness with an axe to grind against jensen/Schultz, which was brought out pretty effectively by the defense. She had the no recall bug, showing an inability to recall the documented state projects she worked on, and confessing ultimately to being resentful with her boss for not consulting with her when he hired someone else...and she, a 26 year old constituent relations employee: what does that tell you about her?
And msnk, how dispositive, the 30 seam pants and Harvard grad stuff. Now that's relevant, that casual insider stuff, and it makes you so important too, like you know alot, and when you toss stuff like that out, then real people are supposed to resent it, aren't they, and get even more mad at Jensen, aren't they? Or something like that, though they've elected him over and over and over. Get a life, you manipulative hag.
Hardly insider stuff, his Harvard education and height-challenged status. And the "they" you refer to, those who have elected him over and over again: those mindless Republicans ("they") would re-elect him regardless of his propensity to break the law. But if and when he's convicted, they won't have an opportunity to do so.
And it looks like the only one I've managed to manipulate is you, getitright. Cheers.
And speaking of contradictions - how about those of two of the defense's witnesses, former Jensen Chief of Staff Brett Healy, and Jodie Tierney. Today's Wisconsin State Journal:
"But another defense witness, Jodie Tierney, contradicted Healy, saying she had pointed out the impropriety of having Searl on the state payroll in 2000 while she worked full-time on Taxpayers for Jensen. Tierney, now a lobbyist for Broydrick & Associates of Madison, said she suggested that Searl be put on the campaign's payroll. "To my knowledge, it never got resolved," Tierney said.
This sums it up well.
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