By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
The Justice Department accused some Ferguson officials of leaking information to the media in an effort to support Officer Darren Wilson, the Los Angeles Times reports.
In recent days, details of the investigation have appeared in local and national news coverage at a time when a grand jury decision is imminent on whether Wilson will be charged in the killing of an unarmed black teenager.
The Justice Department called the leaks “irresponsible and highly troubling.”
“There seems to be an inappropriate effort to influence opinion about this case.”
The information is supposed to remain a secret through the Grand Jury process.
“There is no way there should be reports from all these anonymous sources and these ‘leaks’ ….This is supposed to play out in the courts and the justice system, and not the media,” said Ferguson protester and resident Patricia Bynes. “The whole damn system is guilty as hell.”
As usual, I’m “shocked and amazed” at our Dept. of Justice’s puzzlement about Grand Jury “leaks”. This may come as a news flash to the esteemed reporters of the LA Times, but Grand Jury witnesses are not bound by any rules of secrecy. A Grand Jury witness can testify and immediately walk over to their nearest newspaper and tell a reporter everything that he/she told the Grand Jury. Of course, Grand Jurors, court reporters, etc. are bound by secrecy, but witnesees are not. Why the feigned “outrage” by the Dept. of Justice on this issue is a mystery.