It didn't take long to indoctrinate Governor-elect Schwarzenegger into backstabbing, Sacramento style:

The mystery began a month ago, when Lockyer revealed to a crowd of consultants, political scientists and journalists that he had broken ranks with the Democratic Party and voted for Schwarzenegger in the Oct. 7 recall election. Lockyer also seemed to trivialize allegations that Schwarzenegger mistreated and groped women over the span of three decades, dismissing the conduct as "frat boy" antics.

But last week, Lockyer said in a news conference that the allegations aren't about to fade and deserve to be investigated — and he shared a few nuggets from a conversation with Schwarzenegger on the topic the day before. That infuriated Schwarzenegger's transition team, whose spokesman a few hours later accused Lockyer of betraying a confidence, in violation of attorney-client privilege.

The battle escalated the next day. Lockyer told San Francisco radio station KGO that he had heard — not first-hand — of another alleged incident within the last year, and he suggested setting up an 800 number for women to report accusations against the incoming governor.

Read the whole thing to see just what kind of snake Lockyer is. He's Gray Davis with a better bedside manner, although his expressed desire to see Ken Lay gang-raped in prison caused a lot of national protest a couple of years ago. But Ah-nold's team should have known better than to let this guy get close in the first place. And what do experts think of Lockyer's idea of a toll-free number? Not much:

"If there were anything to these stories, it's up to these people to come forward on their own — not to have the attorney general promoting it," said Harland Braun, a criminal defense lawyer in Los Angeles and a Democratic activist. ... Jan Handzlik, a former federal prosecutor and past chair of the American Bar Assn.'s national white-collar crime committee, said: "Instead of proposing a toll-free number to locate possible victims of possible crimes that may or may not have taken place, he should be seeking advice from the experienced prosecutors in his office about sensible investigative steps and appropriate prosecutorial practices."

It's widely known that Lockyer covets the Governor's office in 2006; maybe he wants the 800 number to double as a campaign line.

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry is