Justice Watch Discussion Board "8/27-Wise Says Journalists Under Investgation" [ Main ] [ Post New Thread ] [ Help ] [ Search ] Table of Contents ................................................................... 8/27-Wise Says Journalists Under Investgation, Dunvegan, 11:57:15, 8/27/2000 Yeah, well....Mr. Kelley..., LurkerXIV, 12:02:27, 8/27/2000, (#1) I'm missing something here, Kaethe, 12:20:14, 8/27/2000, (#2) Quite a Tease Here..., Dunvegan, 12:24:40, 8/27/2000, (#3) Let me guess---, mary99, 12:39:29, 8/27/2000, (#4) mame is not being investigated..., LurkerXIV, 14:11:20, 8/27/2000, (#6) If any printed , Sylvia, 14:01:41, 8/27/2000, (#5) What I'd like to know..., Shaggy, 14:25:56, 8/27/2000, (#7) evidence?, mame, 16:50:31, 8/27/2000, (#8) I'm proud to be a journalist..., mame, 16:53:54, 8/27/2000, (#9) Yee-hah!, mary99, 18:14:38, 8/27/2000, (#10) Mary99, summerhill, 18:22:10, 8/27/2000, (#11) Fleet White, lake, 18:37:53, 8/27/2000, (#12) No win situation, v_p, 20:37:20, 8/27/2000, (#13) ................................................................... "8/27-Wise Says Journalists Under Investgation" Posted by Dunvegan on 11:57:15 8/27/2000 http://www.knoxnews.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=JONBENET-LIBEL-08-27-00&cat=AN Criminal Libel Inquiry Targets Journalists in JonBenet Case By KAREN ABBOTT Scripps Howard News Service August 27, 2000 DENVER - Several news organizations and journalists are targets of a Boulder police investigation into whether they criminally libeled JonBenet Ramsey murder case witness Fleet White. Boulder Assistant District Attorney Bill Wise said that "multiple" organizations and journalists are being investigated, but he would not identify them. The investigation focuses on reports earlier this year that a California woman had suggested 6-year-old JonBenet died during an adult sexual party. The California woman said she had suffered years of abuse from a group of adults who forced children to submit to asphyxiation techniques for sexual purposes. A garrote was found around JonBenet's neck after her death. Autopsy reports said the child had been strangled and struck on the head. The woman said she knew relatives of White, who was a close friend of John and Patsy Ramsey when their daughter died in 1996. Boulder police have said White is not a suspect in the child's murder, for which no one has been charged. Police and prosecutors who investigated the woman's claims found no basis for her theory about JonBenet's death. The Boulder Daily Camera said Thursday it is a target of the investigation. Wise said the police investigation, requested earlier this month by White and his wife, has produced a 600-page file. The file will be turned over to a special prosecutor because the Boulder DA's office has a conflict of interest, Wise said, due to District Attorney Alex Hunter's early statement that he found the California woman's assertions believable. Wise said that Hunter quickly retracted the statement, but that it probably would make him a witness in the case. The special prosecutor will decide whether anyone should be charged with criminal libel, a felony punishable by up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. Denver lawyer Tom Kelley, a specialist in libel and other First Amendment issues, said the criminal libel statute has never been used against a news organization or journalist. [ ALERT ] [ EDIT ] [ REPLY ] [ REPLY WITH QUOTE ] [ TOP ] [ MAIN ] 1. "Yeah, well....Mr. Kelley..." Posted by LurkerXIV on 12:02:27 8/27/2000 There's a first time for everything! [ REMOVE ] [ ALERT ] [ EDIT ] [ REPLY ] [ REPLY WITH QUOTE ] [ TOP ] [ MAIN ] 2. "I'm missing something here" Posted by Kaethe on 12:20:35 8/27/2000 NOTE: This message was last edited 12:20:35, 8/27/2000 What did the newspapers do except report that the police were looking into the alligations that had been made by this California woman? What's wrong with that? Did the reporters add spurious information to their articles, details they knew were false? If the police WERE looking at what was being alleged by MW and that's the story printed --what's the cause? Are the newspapers being accused of knowingly printing untruths and deliberitely causing harm to the Fleet White family's reputation? I don't get it. [ REMOVE ] [ ALERT ] [ EDIT ] [ REPLY ] [ REPLY WITH QUOTE ] [ TOP ] [ MAIN ] 3. "Quite a Tease Here..." Posted by Dunvegan on 12:24:40 8/27/2000 "Boulder Assistant District Attorney Bill Wise said that "multiple" organizations and journalists are being investigated, but he would not identify them." Emphasis mine. [ REMOVE ] [ ALERT ] [ EDIT ] [ REPLY ] [ REPLY WITH QUOTE ] [ TOP ] [ MAIN ] 4. "Let me guess---" Posted by mary99 on 12:39:29 8/27/2000 So are we supposed to infer that Mame is a target? FLOL!!! If I know anything about Mame, it is that she is very picky about what she will or won't say PUBLICALLY. What IF she presented in her interviews with MW is documented --- yes, cold, hard proof -- written down in therapist's note's, supported by the video -- which I believe Mame saw with BJ Plasket in Hill's office. It sure would be amusing if the only two are AREN'T named in this complaint are-- Mame and MW. We already heard that Mame was threatened while living in Pleasantville...with loss of her job, reputation, etc. Remember that thread? Well, Mame has my vote as one who perseveres when the going gets tough. [ REMOVE ] [ ALERT ] [ EDIT ] [ REPLY ] [ REPLY WITH QUOTE ] [ TOP ] [ MAIN ] 6. "mame is not being investigated..." Posted by LurkerXIV on 14:11:20 8/27/2000 ...because mame is not a journalist, nor is she connected in any way to the newspapers that are being investigated. [ REMOVE ] [ ALERT ] [ EDIT ] [ REPLY ] [ REPLY WITH QUOTE ] [ TOP ] [ MAIN ] 5. "If any printed " Posted by Sylvia on 14:01:41 8/27/2000 rumors, well they should indeed be investigated. Freedom of speech isn't the same as trashing, there is a big difference in that. However, from what I have read, one name should be included and that one isn't. And the person with that name had given the following statements to the press saying MW was "very believable" and "Even if 15 percent of what she told is true this case warrants investigation. And if the Boulder cops don't want to do it, I will take the case to the U.S. attorney" So why isn't he mentionened in the complaint, dear alex. The statement made by him, made the press go after more as they thought it was credible, so why is he not included? Sylvia [ REMOVE ] [ ALERT ] [ EDIT ] [ REPLY ] [ REPLY WITH QUOTE ] [ TOP ] [ MAIN ] 7. "What I'd like to know..." Posted by Shaggy on 14:25:56 8/27/2000 I'd like to know if this complaint filed by FW was only on behalf of himself, or if it was on behalf of him, his wife, his father, mother and children. Or any variable of the parties mentioned previously. Does anyone know the answer? I would also like to ask why people are thinking this is a 600 page complaint. My take on it is that FW filed a complaint with the police and the police's investigation netted 600 pages of evidence. IMO, thats not good for the parties being investigated. Wish we knew who they all were. Does anyone know whether JR or PR has made mention of any suspicion on their part about FW? [ REMOVE ] [ ALERT ] [ EDIT ] [ REPLY ] [ REPLY WITH QUOTE ] [ TOP ] [ MAIN ] 8. "evidence?" Posted by mame on 16:50:31 8/27/2000 uhhhhh i don't think so. i'm told that the major part of the 600 pages is internet news stories and posts! give me a break? evidence? all these news stories caused some folks on the internet to talk about the whites making them feel bad? hell, the internet has talked about everyone and anyone over these four years. i'm also told that there is little investigating in these pages. more like a term paper...another dog and pony show. i'll tell you one thing if i were libeled by someone i'd go direct to the person talking...knowing a media case will go nowhere! what fun to watch this all play out... [ REMOVE ] [ ALERT ] [ EDIT ] [ REPLY ] [ REPLY WITH QUOTE ] [ TOP ] [ MAIN ] 9. "I'm proud to be a journalist..." Posted by mame on 17:08:37 8/27/2000 NOTE: This message was last edited 17:08:37, 8/27/2000 and am really pissed i'm not named in this criminal libel case! i was told by sources close to the case that my name does not appear. many interesting names do appear...some who reported much less than me. interesting huh? naming me is a little too risky for the whites. because they aren't sure if i'd have media backing and legal support. by the way i do have legal backing...i've spoken to tom kelley about this. my opinion is that dealing with internet posters and grassroots independent reporters is too damn risky for them. it might force an individual in the courtroom instead of legal teams. the whites in naming me might have to really end up in a courtroom and face allegations head on... i see it this way...the whites know that dealing in criminal libel is really a media case offering little risk to them...a freedom of the press case...if it goes forward it will do little to clear the whites...every media outlet and their snazzy high priced lawyers will fight the media fight...and the whites will lose. if they really wanted to clear their names they would go straight to the source...mystery woman! why not? why avoid her? criminal libel is a great platform for the whites...they can manipulate the BPD to take it forward (cops, DA's and lawyers are laughing their heads off about this from around the country) they won't be called on the carpet...it will be a media dog and pony show pure and simple. every media outlet from far and wide would join together to fight this charge...their fight would have nothing to do with their opinion on mystery woman. it's not about her..which is the beauty of it for the whites. to the uneducated, non critical thinker, this appears to be a strong stand by the whites! hogwash! a REAL journalist would be investigating and writing about how the BPD was so easily manipulated by the whites and their weakness in seeing the folly in all of this. and yes, i'm disappointed i'm not named...hell, my dad spent his entire life hoping to be journalistically jailed in a case like this. was hoping i could fufill his dream myself. i have also spoken to mystery woman. she would welcome a chance to meet head on in a courtroom. why not go there? directly to the source? go figure... i saw daniel shorr speak in aspen the other night. jimmy carter and other notables were there too. now THAT'S a journalist...i'll tell you one thing, i come closer to the pure definition of a journalist than most these days...i'm not a soundbite sorta girl...and hell i could care less about the title...i seek truth. my self esteem is well intact...i take full pride in my work! i love that my little story caused such uproar! hell...all this is proof i stepped on toes...shook the boat of poison...i love it! AND...a reminder that i never once asked anyone to believe this story...i never named names...i asked, as a journalist should, that my public officials do a complete investigation. an investigation giving us all the information necessary to decide the merits of mystery woman's claims. so those who say they warned me are playing in dirty "saucer of milk" catfight discussions. i have no time for that...if they are as prominent as they say they are...they wouldn't have time for it either. only in boulder... here's a note i received from a prominent journalist... Hell, newspapers live to fight, and play the martyred defenders of the First Amendment. Who are they going to arrest? The publisher? The columnist? The copy editor who let the crimianl libel through? Man, would that be an international scene ... hee and great good fun. There is an old journalism saying your dad knew well: Never argue with people who buy their ink by the barrel and their paper by the ton. All those barrel of ink paper by the ton people now also own internet sites,television stations, radio stations ... and there isn't a newspaper in the country that doesn't own a whole herd of snarling lawyers who live for this sort of thing ... this is one to sit back and enjoy (though what will happen is the police will turn over their report to the DA... cowards, if they think they have probable cause they can make an arrest without the DA ...then the DA, even if it wasn't Hunter or the namby pamby Boulder DA's Office, would take one look at this, take a peek out the window at the television cameras, newspaper cameras and assembled reporters waiting outside the building, and say his dog ate his homework. If the Whites want the Daily Camera, he'll tell them to hire more lawyers. [ REMOVE ] [ ALERT ] [ EDIT ] [ REPLY ] [ REPLY WITH QUOTE ] [ TOP ] [ MAIN ] 10. "Yee-hah!" Posted by mary99 on 18:19:07 8/27/2000 NOTE: This message was last edited 18:19:07, 8/27/2000 EGGS-actly, Mame! If you aren't named, why not? Let's face it, if he didn't name MW, or you, as an Internet reporter, White isn't really putting any real credibility issues on the line here. The Daily Camera's right to report what comes from the DA's mouth is irrefutable. Trying to stifle free speech on an opinion forum is equally laughable. If internet postings and internet news are the bulk of the 600 pages 'evidence', all I can say is, too bad to waste a tree. I too, think White is barking up the wrong tree. If he really wanted to silence any libelous/slanderous statements, why not go to MW, the source?!!! [ REMOVE ] [ ALERT ] [ EDIT ] [ REPLY ] [ REPLY WITH QUOTE ] [ TOP ] [ MAIN ] 11. "Mary99" Posted by summerhill on 18:22:10 8/27/2000 I agree. :) [ REMOVE ] [ ALERT ] [ EDIT ] [ REPLY ] [ REPLY WITH QUOTE ] [ TOP ] [ MAIN ] 12. "Fleet White" Posted by lake on 18:37:53 8/27/2000 Seems to be just blowing smoke again. More distraction and posturing for the benefit of non critical thinkers in the public who will swallow his scam. The same non critical thinkers who believe PR or JR killed JBR. Me, I hope a special prosecutor will be appointed and that SP will convene a grand jury to investigate the claims that Fleet White contends are without merit and designed for the expressed purpose of causing the public have contempt for him. I personally I had contempt for his actions long before Nancy came forward with her story. [ REMOVE ] [ ALERT ] [ EDIT ] [ REPLY ] [ REPLY WITH QUOTE ] [ TOP ] [ MAIN ] 13. "No win situation" Posted by v_p on 20:37:20 8/27/2000 >>i have also spoken to mystery woman. she would welcome a chance to meet head on in a courtroom. why not go there? directly to the source? go figure...<<< What's stopping her? This sounds familiar to me...ohhhh, I think PR said something similar to ST on LKL. If FW has criminally wronged MW, (Nancy), why doesn't she file charges...in fact, why hasn't she filed charges against anyone? She said she was molested up until a few months ago. Last time I looked, rape was still a crime. I just heard the ink and barrel saying not long ago on a movie, but I can't recall the name...shoot!! I'm in total agreement with you mame, I would love to see this taken to court. First you wonder why FW says nothing ... and then, as would be expected, you blast him for finally doing something. I'd say he can't win, but I truly hope he does. [ REMOVE ] [ ALERT ] [ EDIT ] [ REPLY ] [ REPLY WITH QUOTE ] [ TOP ] [ MAIN ] ARCHIVE REMOVE