Warren Turner's Abuse Towards Women Permitted By N.C. State Officials

N.C. Dept Of Corrections Invokes Privacy In Warren Turner Sexual Harassment Case


The N.C. Department of Correction, which employs Charlotte City Council member Warren Turner as a Probation Officer, said Tuesday it won't release a list of Probationers whom Turner has supervised, which the Charlotte Observer had requested.

The department said it is conducting an "initial review" of the City of Charlotte's report released Monday that detailed Sexual Harassment allegations by five women that Turner made sexually inappropriate comments toward them.

According to the report, two of the employees told other city officials they didn't want to be alone with Turner. The report said Turner had been "involuntarily terminated" from the Charlotte Police Academy in 1988 after he physically threatened a female cadet and made "repeated" sexually inappropriate comments toward her.

A year after Turner was terminated from the academy, he was hired by the state as a probation officer, supervising men and women on probation.

"Warren Turner occupies a position of authority and we take that very seriously," wrote Pamela Walker, the DOC director of external affairs, in an e-mail.

Turner has said he hasn't done anything wrong and denied the allegations in the investigation. The report, however, concluded that Turner had been "less than fully truthful" during the probe.

Walker said the DOC might decide to release Turner's personnel file, which the Observer also requested. But any list of probationers won't be made public, Walker said.

The DOC wrote in an e-mail Friday that "people who are no longer on probation have a fair expectation of privacy."

The department wrote that "for those that are currently on probation and doing well, making them subject to news media questions about their supervising officer puts them in a difficult position."

Walker said N.C. law allows the state to release a list of probationers "when (Correction Secretary Alvin Keller) feels it is in the interest of public safety. The offender list does not apply in this case."

State statute says that "all information and data obtained in the discharge of official duty by a probation officer shall be privileged information ... and shall not be disclosed ... unless ... ordered by a judge of the court or the Secretary of Correction."

The Observer hasn't requested any information relating to Turner's files on probationers, only a list of people he has supervised. It is a public record in North Carolina when a person is on probation.

Turner declined to comment Tuesday when contacted by the Observer.

In an interview with WBTV Tuesday, Turner said he has been in contact with the Department of Correction about the report and that the investigation "smeared" his name.

Monday's report was spurred by a female city staff member known in the report as Employee A, who complained that on Dec. 14, 2009, Turner pulled on her sweater at waist level when she was leaving fellow council member James Mitchell's office.

When interviewed by the investigators, Mitchell said he didn't remember Turner grabbing the employee's clothing, the report said. Mitchell also told an investigator he didn't telephone her a day or two later to apologize for Turner's behavior, as the employee said.

The employee had complained two other times about Turner making what she considered inappropriate comments to her in 2008, the report said. That year she told her supervisor, known as Employee B, that she didn't want to be alone with Turner.

Four other female employees, including Employee B and the former police cadet, told an investigator that Turner had made sexually inappropriate comments toward them.

Employee B said she witnessed Turner make sexually inappropriate comments on more than one occasion, according to the report. Once, during a National League of Cities meeting in Reno, Nevada, in 2006, she and Turner were walking through a casino. She said Turner made a sexually explicit comment to her as they passed a store displaying pornographic magazines, the report said.

Employee B later had a meeting with City Attorney Mac McCarley and then-City Manager Pam Syfert. McCarley told investigators that she didn't want to be alone with Turner and asked that a male staff member attend future trips.

McCarley said Monday night he didn't confront Turner because the employees had requested that no formal action be taken.

Pat McCrory, who was mayor for 14 years until December 2009, said he had "no idea" about the complaints about Turner.

"I didn't know anything about this," McCrory said Tuesday. "This is complete news to me."

McCrory wasn't interviewed by Moore & Van Allen, the law firm the council hired to investigate the matter. McCrory works at the law firm, and was "walled off" from the investigation, according to McCarley.

When asked Tuesday whether Charlotte City staff should have confronted Turner sooner, Mayor Anthony Foxx said, "Yes. There's no question about it."

Foxx, who was elected to the City Council in 2005, said he hadn't heard anything about such incidents before he became mayor.

After Turner allegedly pulled on Employee A's sweater, the employee complained to her supervisor and City Manager Curt Walton. The supervisor then talked to Human Resources Director Tim Mayes, who said: "I can't sit on this even if (the employee) doesn't want to go forward."

Mayes and Foxx discussed the allegation, and Foxx sent an e-mail in March to all 11 council members warning them not to sexually harass staff. It prompted intense speculation, and led to the council hiring Moore & Van Allen.

Valecia McDowell of Moore & Van Allen read the report Monday night. Council members could vote to censure Turner, though the city's policy against sexual harassment doesn't apply to council members. That means Turner can't be suspended or removed from office.

Turner told council members Monday he would respond to the report, though he didn't say when.

Much of the discussion Monday night was not about the allegations in the report, but about Foxx's decision to send an e-mail to council members. Republican Edwin Peacock asked Foxx, a Democrat, several times why the issue wasn't handled privately.

Said Peacock: "Where do we go from here after this? Where do we go to work with one another?"

Foxx said that he had asked that Walton, McCarley and other officials have a meeting with Turner, though they declined. Walton has said he didn't feel comfortable with such a meeting because the council is responsible for hiring the city manager.

Foxx said Walton then asked Foxx to address the problem before an upcoming council trip to Washington in March.

"I acted," Foxx said.

Democrat Michael Barnes, who is running for Mecklenburg District Attorney, defended Foxx's handling of the situation. He said the city would have been criticized if it attempted to investigate the situation in closed session.

"You can't expect us to deal with this privately," Barnes said Monday. "There was no reasonable set of options that would have allowed (Foxx) to privately deal with this."

Foxx sent a memo Tuesday afternoon to council members stating he was forming an ad hoc City Council Ethics Review Policy Committee to consider, among a number of issues, whether the existing sexual harassment policy should be applicable to City Council members.


View Larger Map


Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, N.C. Dept of Corrections, WBTV, WCNC, WSOC, Google Maps

Joe Wilson's Resolution..."Jackass" Number Two

Politico----

Wilson's Resolution

(Prior to being sanctioned Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) proposed an Amendment to Pres. Obama's Health Care Reform bill. Double "Jackass")



(Congressman Joe Wilson (SC) apologizes for foolishly heckling Pres. Obama last night. "Jackass")

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Short and sour... I can't imagine a resolution that uses fewer words -- 172 -- or represents the growing concerns of Dems not to go too far in scolding Joe Wilson.

RESOLUTION:

Raising a question of the privileges of the House.
Whereas on September 9, 2009, during the joint session of
Congress convened pursuant to House Concurrent Resolution
179, the President of the United States, speaking
at the invitation of the House and Senate, had his remarks
interrupted by the Representative from South
Carolina, Mr. Wilson; and

Whereas the conduct of the Representative from South Carolina
was a breach of decorum and degraded the proceedings
of the joint session, to the discredit of the
House: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives disapproves of the behavior of the Representative from South Carolina, Mr. Wilson, during the joint session of Congress held on September 9, 2009.




Joe Wilson even defiant in advance of House vote

A defiant Joe Wilson took to the House floor Tuesday afternoon and declined to apologize for shouting “You lie!” at President Obama during a joint session of Congress last week – just hours before the House was set to vote on a resolution of disapproval excoriating him for the remark.

In a one-minute speech, Wilson reiterated that over the August recess he had seen unrelenting opposition to Obama’s health care reform push from constituents.

“These were passionate events full of honest patriots,” Wilson said.

The vote to sanction Wilson, meanwhile, took on an increasingly racial tone, with Democrats saying that Wilson needed to be formally reprimanded for an action against the nation’s first black president that crossed the line. Debate should begin on the House floor around 2 p.m.

“I think there was a racial element,” said Rep. Steve Cohen, who is white but represents a heavily black Tennessee district. “I’d be sad if any Democrats voted no and I feel saddened for the Republicans that will vote no.”

"There is a fringe element that does feel racial hatred toward African-Americans," said Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), who also said he plans to vote in support of the resolution today.

While acknowledging that Wilson apologized to the president - an apology that Obama accepted - House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters on Tuesday that the South Carolina Republican "also offended the good order of the House."

However, the majority leader did not think Wilson's comments were made with any racial connotations.

Hoyer deflected questions that the resolution isn't stronger, saying leaders wanted to rebuke Wilson, but not dramatically, given his immediate apology.

But Republican leaders Tuesday slammed their Democratic counterparts for bringing what they called a purely political vote to the floor while the health care bill lags behind.

House Minority Leader John Boehner said that Democrats were “piling on,” and taunted leaders for bringing a resolution to the floor taking aim at Wilson while they couldn’t bring a health care bill to the floor.

“While Democrats want to change the subject, Americans are concerned about the plan for a government takeover of health care,” Boehner said.

“It’s a disappointment to millions of Americans,” added House GOP Conference Chairman Mike Pence. “The American people want less politics, more jobs.”

GOP aides privately estimate that around 15 of their members will vote in favor of the Wilson resolution.

One GOP leadership aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that Wilson had not requested party leaders to whip members to rally against the resolution.

“Joe Wilson hasn’t asked for it to be whipped. It won’t be whipped,” this aide said.

While Republicans are rallying behind Wilson in advance of the resolution vote, Democratic leaders may be losing a little support from some of their own. On Monday night, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), told POLITICO that Democrats shouldn’t allow Wilson to become a “martyr” under this resolution.

And on Tuesday morning, Rep. Paul Hodes (D-N.H.), said he was a firm no vote.

“I found his conduct offensive and disturbing. He apologized to the president and frankly, he should apologize to his colleagues and to the American people,” Hodes said in a statement. “But, the focus on his outburst has served as a distraction to the larger goal of providing affordable, portable, high quality health care to every family. We need to work together as Republicans and Democrats to craft a bill that seeks to lower costs, increase quality of care, and put families back in control of their health care. In my judgment, it’s time to move on and I do not support this resolution.”

Cohen, the Tennessee Democrat, expressed deep disappointment with Hodes, who is waging a campaign for Senate.

“Paul is my dear friend. I hope he makes it to the Senate. But he is making the wrong vote,” said Cohen.

In a closed door caucus meeting this afternoon, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, who has taken the lead in bringing the resolution to the floor, sought to stanch any bleeding for Democratic support, listing for members a series of reasons why they needed to get behind the resolution.

To bolster this formal resolution of disapproval, the House Rules put out a document listing precedents and rules about what lawmakers are allowed to say and aren’t allowed to say. For example, a lawmaker can say a president’s policies are a “disgrace to the country,” but they are not allowed to call the president a “hypocrite” or a “liar.”

Boehner would not say whether he was pushing for a party unity vote against the resolution today, saying, ”Our members are going to make their own decision.”

But Boehner said Wilson had already apologized to the White House for the incident and that any further action was not necessary.



View Larger Map


Sources: Politico, MSNBC, Google Maps

US House Dem Leaders Consider Formal Reprimand Following Wilson's Stupid Outburst

Politico----

Tensions remain after Joe Wilson apology

(Pres. Obama accepts Rep. Joe Wilson's apology, however US House Dems say they want Wilson to apologize on the floor, before Congress.)



(SC Rep. Joe Wilson's stupid, disruptive "You Lie!" outburst during Pres. Obama's recent Health Care Reform address to Congress last Wednesday night.)




Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) says he’s done apologizing for his outburst during President Barack Obama’s prime-time speech Wednesday, but two House Democratic leaders are calling for a formal reprimand if Wilson continues to refuse to make a public statement of contrition on the House floor.

Wilson told reporters Thursday that at the request of GOP leaders he called White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday night to apologize for shouting “You lie!” after Obama said illegal immigrants would not get insurance coverage through health care reform. But Wilson said he planned no further statement and suggested his error was more one of protocol than a poor choice of words.

“My statement to Rahm Emanuel was a general apology to anyone and everyone about speaking out of turn. Period,” a nervous, but defiant Wilson told POLITICO.

Democrats said a House vote was delayed Thursday so Wilson could apologize on the House floor. GOP aides also said House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) had asked Wilson to make such a statement. But none took place.

The debate over Wilson’s punishment seems likely to carry into next week, an outcome which will delight many Democrats by keeping a media spotlight on what they view as a pattern of offensive behavior by opponents of Obama’s health reform efforts, now symbolized by Wilson.

Although both Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said it was time to move past the episode, both Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) said they want Wilson to go to the well of the House and do penance for his breach of decorum.

“We invite the president of the United States to come and address a joint session of Congress, and a member of the House ... does something that in the 29 years I haven’t seen,” said Hoyer. “I think it’s something that needs to be dealt with.”

Clyburn, the dean of the South Carolina delegation, was even more forceful in his denunciation of Wilson’s comments. He said in an interview that he repeatedly asked Wilson to apologize during a conversation the two had Thursday morning, but Wilson refused.

Clyburn said he would support a resolution reprimanding Wilson, or another punishment called a “resolution of disapproval,” unless the South Carolina Republican took some further step to defuse the majority’s anger. “I said to him that the proper thing to do would be go to the well [of the House] to apologize to his colleagues,” Clyburn said.

Otherwise, he cautioned Wilson that “there are more than 218 votes on my side” for some kind of sanction against him. “He has no remorse whatsoever. So his words have very little meaning,” Clyburn complained on MSNBC.

Obama sought to rise above the fray Thursday, declaring that he had accepted the conservative congressman’s apology. “I’m a big believer that we all make mistakes. He apologized quickly and without equivocation, and I’m appreciative of that,” Obama said in response to questions at a Cabinet meeting.

At his daily briefing, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs seemed to downplay the idea of censure. “We take Congressman Wilson at his word that he apologizes for an outburst that he regrets,” Gibbs said, adding that Americans would rather see Obama and Congress focusing on health care “rather than debating the back and forth of the apology.”

Pelosi took the same approach. “I’m on to health care reform,” Pelosi told reporters at her weekly news conference. “I’m not going to discuss Joe Wilson,” she said. “I think his action spoke for itself. He has apologized. He will figure out what is appropriate for him to do.”

Earlier Thursday, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) had also called Wilson’s apology insufficient and said he should face a formal sanction. But Gibbs said the White House considered the matter closed. “I think the story largely goes away,” he said.

If it does, it will be despite the efforts of groups like MoveOn.org and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which were blasting e-mailing supporters yesterday in an effort to raise money and foment outrage over Wilson’s remarks.

“Stand against Joe Wilson’s unacceptable outburst,” the DCCC wrote in a message it urged backers to retweet on Twitter. “Calling the President of the United States a liar in front of the nation is a new low even for House Republicans.”

The DCCC said that Rob Miller, a Democrat and Iraq war veteran planning to challenge Wilson next fall, had scored more than $350,000 in online donations and pledges after the incumbent’s high-profile exclamation Wednesday.

Democratic analysts said the controversy provoked by Wilson had drowned out the GOP’s substantive criticism of Obama’s health plan and focused attention on the party’s obstructionist tactics.

“The White House has handled it beautifully,” said Democratic consultant Steve McMahon.

“Obama accepted the apology, but Joe Wilson’s behavior is a metaphor for the Republican Congress and many of those who participate in town hall meetings who are loud, ill-informed and not particularly persuasive to most people.”

Republicans spent much of their day either defending Wilson or refusing to comment on the controversy, although a number of GOP members complained privately that the episode had distracted from their substantive attacks on Obama’s health reform proposal.“This is not something we wanted to spend the day talking about,” said a GOP lawmaker close to Boehner.

Wilson, for his part, continued to press the issue that prompted his outburst — his view that Democratic legislation would give health care benefits to illegal aliens. There are provisions in the Democratic legislation that would deny federal insurance subsidies to illegal aliens, but Republicans say that the bills would not bar illegal immigrants from participation in new health insurance exchanges and that there are inadequate safeguards to keep aliens from signing up.

“The Congressional Research Service has indicated that indeed the bills that are before Congress would include illegal aliens. I think this is wrong,” Wilson said. “People who have come to our country and violated laws, we should not be providing full health care services [to them].”

While not defending Wilson’s tactics, Boehner and other Republicans yesterday echoed Wilson’s assertion that illegal immigrants would get new coverage under Democratic plans.

Boehner said it was “pretty clear” that illegal aliens could buy insurance through exchanges set up under one House bill. And conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh spoke for many conservatives who cheered Wilson’s confrontational approach and derided fellow Republicans for abandoning him.

“One of the things that’s really irritated me all morning and last night was listening to Republicans, even after Wilson had apologized — and I wish he had not. ... members of his own party were all over television denigrating him,” Limbaugh said on his program Thursday.

“We are in the midst of an administration that is trying to tear down the institutions and traditions that have made this country great. He is lying, President Obama is, from the moment he opens his mouth until he ends the speech. I was shouting, ‘You’re lying,’ throughout the speech at the television,” Limbaugh said. “Joe Wilson simply articulated what millions of Americans were saying.”




View Larger Map


Sources: Politico, MSNBC, Google Maps