If a powerful state government official saw flagrant law-enforcement corruption, remained silent and did nothing for years, what would you think if that person ran for the presidency of the United States with a campaign slogan of “Speaking Truth, Demanding Justice”?
What if that same White House candidate labeled herself “a fearless advocate” and a “determined fighter”?
And what if, in a sly attempt to mold her character weakness into a strength for unwitting voters, this onetime state attorney general also pledged “to fix our broken criminal-justice system” if she becomes leader of the free world?
That’s not a fictional, warped character. That’s real-life Kamala Harris, California’s junior U.S. senator who formally announced her presidential aims last month. Pundits quickly crowned Harris a frontrunner in an ever-expanding field of Democrats seeking that party’s 2020 nomination.
But trying to switch an ugly past with a glossy, blemish-free reincarnation isn’t necessarily easy in a national campaign if—and this is a big if—political reporters at large, mainstream news outlets study Harris’ past and grill her on it. Her most recent hurdle came from The New York Times, which published a lengthy profile (“‘Progressive Prosecutor’: Can Kamala Harris Square the Circle?”) on Feb. 11.
In that story, Harris admitted that as California Attorney General, she’d been briefed on systemic law-enforcement cheating in what is nationally known as the Orange County jailhouse-informant scandal. With a wink-wink from local prosecutors, deputies inside the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) ran unconstitutional scams against pretrial inmates, hid or destroyed exculpatory evidence, and repeatedly committed perjury to cover up their messes. Crime victims and their families were outraged that those tainted deputies’ habit of trampling the constitution botched trials.
In just a few years, the scandal upended at least 20 major felony cases, including those involving murders. The California Court of Appeal railed against the law-enforcement corruption in a historic November 2016 ruling, when a shoulder-shrugging Harris was still AG. The justices called the threat to the criminal-justice system “grave” and blasted officials for tolerating lousy ethics.
The situation wasn’t a mystery to Harris. “I knew misconduct had occurred,” she told Kate Zernike, a reporter at the Times. “Clearly it had.”
But none of the badged cheaters were held accountable. Then-Sheriff Sandra Hutchens and then-District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, whose office used the OCSD scams to win trials, pretended no misconduct had occurred. When it came time for Harris to act, she also did nothing.
To read Moxley's entire article, click HERE.I would also like to draw your attention to a very odd 5-6-16 Los Angeles Times article (entitled "Bizarre Fake Police Force Included Kamala Harris Aide, Prosecutors Say") that overlaps with both Kamala Harris and the subject of gangstalking in Southern California:
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Capt. Roosevelt Johnson thought it was odd when three people — two of them dressed in police uniforms he didn't recognize — strolled into the Santa Clarita station in February.
One man introduced himself as chief of the Masonic Fraternal Police Department and told Johnson this was a courtesy call to let him know the agency was setting up shop in the area.
They met for 45 minutes, Johnson said, but he was left confused and suspicious — so much so that he immediately ordered deputies to pull station surveillance video so they would have images of the visitors. He also assigned detectives to check them out.
"It was an odd meeting," the captain recalled. "It just raised my suspicion level."
This week, the three people were charged with impersonating police officers. They are David Henry, who told Johnson he was the police chief, Tonette Hayes and Brandon Kiel, an aide to state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris.
It turns out Henry, Hayes and Kiel had allegedly introduced themselves to police agencies across the state, though it is unclear why. A website claiming to represent their force cites connections to the Knights Templars that they say go back 3,000 years. The site also said that the department had jurisdiction in 33 states and Mexico.
"When asked what is the difference between the Masonic Fraternal Police Department and other police departments, the answer is simple for us. We were here first!" the website said.
Los Angeles County prosecutors said the whole effort was a ruse, though for what purpose remains unclear. The investigation is continuing.
Johnson said Kiel did most of the talking during their meeting. Kiel said in addition to his police position, he worked for Harris. When Kiel departed, Johnson said, he left his card from the state Department of Justice.
David Beltran, a spokesman for the state Department of Justice, said Kiel was placed on paid leave April 30 — the date he was arrested. He is paid $67,416 annually as deputy director of community affairs.
Harris has received regular briefings on the case since it began.
"The attorney general has been concerned about these serious allegations from the point she was first briefed on this investigation," Beltran said. "Our office has been cooperating with investigators from the beginning and will continue to do so."
Friends of Kiel rushed to his defense.
"I was in total disbelief. I still don't believe it," Los Angeles businesswoman Ingrid Fields said. "This is not the Brandon that I or dozens of people know."
Fields said she has known Kiel since he was a 6-year-old neighbor and was friends with Fields' daughter.
"He is smart, articulate and very, very ethical, which is why I find this hard to believe. He is a hard worker," she said. "He is a brilliant guy who had a great political career ahead of him. I can't imagine him doing anything to jeopardize that."
While Fields said she didn't know about the police connection, those who knew Henry said the 46-year-old was very open about his role.
Employees at the Backwoods Inn restaurant in Santa Clarita remember a day about a month ago when Henry — a regular customer — walked in with a swagger.
He wore a dark blue police uniform with badges and insignia on both arms. He told the staff at the country western-themed eatery off the Sierra Highway he was a police chief and handed out his business card with pride.
It read MASONIC FRATERNAL POLICE DEPARTMENT in capital letters and identified Henry as Chief Henry 33
"He was very big on saying 'I'm the chief, I'm the chief,'" said one server who talked to him when he stopped by two or three times a week. She spoke on the condition that her name not be used.
"He carried himself like a cop, his uniform was spot on to a regular cop uniform, we all thought he was a legit cop," said a chef at the restaurant. Henry regularly brought in his children.
Employees said Henry told them the department had set up offices in a strip mall next to a storefront church in Santa Clarita.
Church members said they didn't talk to their neighbors but said they saw a few men come and go dressed in sharp suits. They drove a black Lincoln town car with no license plates.
"We thought they were a security company," said one church member.
To read the entire Los Angeles Times article, click HERE.
The website for the "Masonic Fraternal Police Department" can be found HERE.
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