7 ms·

>Cole County Prosecutor Locke Thompson released a statement Friday saying there is an argument to be made that there was a violation of law, and that the issues

>Cole County Prosecutor Locke Thompson released a statement Friday saying there is an argument to be made that there was a violation of law, and that the issues at the heart of the investigation have been resolved through non-legal means, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. That sounds more like that "we would have prosecuted the reporter" if they hadn't discovered that the "state education commissioner initially planned to thank the newspaper for finding the problem". They should have profusely thanked him and also given him an award.

MBCook 5y ago
I read it as more of “he did nothing wrong but I can’t make the governor look bad so I’ll imply it was obvious he was guilty but we’re being magnanimous about it.”
- ziml77 5y ago
  That seems to be exactly what he's saying. People here seem to want to make the DA out to be as stupid as the governor or as a malicious person, but based on this statement he didn't actually think he had a case. Saying that something could be argued means that you're coming in with an argument that could be accepted if you overlook all sorts of details and context.
  - shadowgovt 5y ago
    Yep. The right way to read this is that if a persecutor thinks there's a case, they'll prosecute. Not prosecuting means they don't think they can possibly win. Anything that comes out of their mouths after is window dressing.
  - mannykannot 5y ago
    I also feel MBCook is probably right. In this particular case, however, there does not appear to be any argument for prosecution that does not immediately look preposterous as soon as you give it any thought. If this is so, then, by equivocating - for political expediency or any other reason - the DA is inviting doubts about his competence or integrity. I'm hoping that "the issues at the heart of the investigation have been resolved through non-legal means" is a paraphrase for saying that the DA pointed out to the governor, directly or through his aides, that any attempt to prosecute would fail and bring down a heap of public ridicule.
    - CRConrad 5y ago
      > the DA pointed out to the governor, directly or through his aides, that any attempt to prosecute would fail and bring down a heap of public ridicule If so, then apparently not strenuously enough: The governor went right out and issued a press release that invites just as much ridicule as his previous statements.
- faeriechangling 5y ago
  That was certainly my interpretation. I can't really think of a more politically savvy thing the prosecutor could have said. "there was an argument to be made that there was a violation of law" is fantastic in the way it appears to be saying something but it's not actually saying anything.
jrockway 5y ago
> also given him an award Find a vulnerability for a big tech company, get $10,000. Find a vulnerability for the government, get prosecuted. I wonder why government IT is so far behind the private sector!
- barbazoo 5y ago
  Except that they didn't get prosecuted.
  - yashasolutions 5y ago
    well, it was on table for a brief moment... hence the article to communicate it is not happening...
    - datavirtue 5y ago
      And the place is sufficiently corrupt enough to have the prosecutor walking a tightrope so Parsons doesn't go after his ass too. I found the prosecutors statement very unsettling. He basically said that the reporter conducted criminal action but they are going to let it go because he has been punished enough already. Missouri sounds like a toxic, corrupt hell hole.
  - rfrey 5y ago
    How stressful do you think the last couple of months have been for that reporter?
    - bruceb 5y ago
      Stressful but also good. Much more widely known than had not been subject to this threat. Probably good for future career prospects.
      - dylan604 5y ago
        Except, to be honest, I know this story (and love to make fun of it), but I couldn't pick the name of the reporter out of a list of names
coffeefirst 5y ago
That's some serious weasel wording. "There is an argument to be made" means that one could make that argument, not that you are making the argument, or that the argument has any merit, or whether it would be thrown out of court, or whether you consider this whole thing a waste of your time and would rather be doing your real job right now. Actually, I think I'm going to use that.
- labster 5y ago
  There’s an argument to be made that this DA is competent at his job.
  - CRConrad 5y ago
    A far better one than him phrasing it that way; a way which shows that he is pretty competent.
vmception 5y ago
Why is it so hard for states to admit that they were wrong? They really act as if there would be an immediate coup if people saw the rulers were flawed.
- pc86 5y ago
  Because someone on the other side will use it in a campaign add within 48 hours.
- shadowgovt 5y ago
  > They really act as if there would be an immediate coup if people saw the rulers were flawed. January 6 was kind of a big deal...
tehwebguy 5y ago
Just another reminder that DAs and prosecutors are just cops with law degrees. No interest in figuring out what really happened and furthering justice, everyone on the other side of the line is guilty and they only decide to charge or not based on whether it serves them, and most importantly they are never, ever wrong.
- temac 5y ago
  That's a state of mind that is favored by an adversarial system.
  - cryptonector 5y ago
    Granting the premise (not sure quite what the premise is) for the sake of argument, what would be the alternative?
rdiddly 5y ago
Sounds like he's just being diplomatic. It would sound a lot more like criticizing the governor if he were to say things like "There is no argument whatsoever that can be made. In fact I don't know how the this dumbass case ever got this far" and so forth.
linspace 5y ago
There was a violation of the law: the dissemination of private information by the government. Unfortunately they are not interested in prosecuting that but it would have been nice if someone had sued them as they were sending it completely in the open. At leasr they could make some introspection in what kind of contracting process is in place because it's a complete disaster.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
jasonm23 5y ago
The language is steeped in "don't embarrass the boss"

MBCook 5y ago

I read it as more of “he did nothing wrong but I can’t make the governor look bad so I’ll imply it was obvious he was guilty but we’re being magnanimous about it.”

ziml77 5y ago
That seems to be exactly what he's saying. People here seem to want to make the DA out to be as stupid as the governor or as a malicious person, but based on this statement he didn't actually think he had a case. Saying that something could be argued means that you're coming in with an argument that could be accepted if you overlook all sorts of details and context.
- shadowgovt 5y ago
  Yep. The right way to read this is that if a persecutor thinks there's a case, they'll prosecute. Not prosecuting means they don't think they can possibly win. Anything that comes out of their mouths after is window dressing.
- mannykannot 5y ago
  I also feel MBCook is probably right. In this particular case, however, there does not appear to be any argument for prosecution that does not immediately look preposterous as soon as you give it any thought. If this is so, then, by equivocating - for political expediency or any other reason - the DA is inviting doubts about his competence or integrity. I'm hoping that "the issues at the heart of the investigation have been resolved through non-legal means" is a paraphrase for saying that the DA pointed out to the governor, directly or through his aides, that any attempt to prosecute would fail and bring down a heap of public ridicule.
  - CRConrad 5y ago
    > the DA pointed out to the governor, directly or through his aides, that any attempt to prosecute would fail and bring down a heap of public ridicule If so, then apparently not strenuously enough: The governor went right out and issued a press release that invites just as much ridicule as his previous statements.
faeriechangling 5y ago
That was certainly my interpretation. I can't really think of a more politically savvy thing the prosecutor could have said. "there was an argument to be made that there was a violation of law" is fantastic in the way it appears to be saying something but it's not actually saying anything.

jrockway 5y ago

> also given him an award Find a vulnerability for a big tech company, get $10,000. Find a vulnerability for the government, get prosecuted. I wonder why government IT is so far behind the private sector!

barbazoo 5y ago
Except that they didn't get prosecuted.
- yashasolutions 5y ago
  well, it was on table for a brief moment... hence the article to communicate it is not happening...
  - datavirtue 5y ago
    And the place is sufficiently corrupt enough to have the prosecutor walking a tightrope so Parsons doesn't go after his ass too. I found the prosecutors statement very unsettling. He basically said that the reporter conducted criminal action but they are going to let it go because he has been punished enough already. Missouri sounds like a toxic, corrupt hell hole.
- rfrey 5y ago
  How stressful do you think the last couple of months have been for that reporter?
  - bruceb 5y ago
    Stressful but also good. Much more widely known than had not been subject to this threat. Probably good for future career prospects.
    - dylan604 5y ago
      Except, to be honest, I know this story (and love to make fun of it), but I couldn't pick the name of the reporter out of a list of names

coffeefirst 5y ago

That's some serious weasel wording. "There is an argument to be made" means that one could make that argument, not that you are making the argument, or that the argument has any merit, or whether it would be thrown out of court, or whether you consider this whole thing a waste of your time and would rather be doing your real job right now. Actually, I think I'm going to use that.

labster 5y ago
There’s an argument to be made that this DA is competent at his job.
- CRConrad 5y ago
  A far better one than him phrasing it that way; a way which shows that he is pretty competent.

vmception 5y ago

Why is it so hard for states to admit that they were wrong? They really act as if there would be an immediate coup if people saw the rulers were flawed.

pc86 5y ago
Because someone on the other side will use it in a campaign add within 48 hours.
shadowgovt 5y ago
> They really act as if there would be an immediate coup if people saw the rulers were flawed. January 6 was kind of a big deal...

tehwebguy 5y ago

Just another reminder that DAs and prosecutors are just cops with law degrees. No interest in figuring out what really happened and furthering justice, everyone on the other side of the line is guilty and they only decide to charge or not based on whether it serves them, and most importantly they are never, ever wrong.

temac 5y ago
That's a state of mind that is favored by an adversarial system.
- cryptonector 5y ago
  Granting the premise (not sure quite what the premise is) for the sake of argument, what would be the alternative?

rdiddly 5y ago

Sounds like he's just being diplomatic. It would sound a lot more like criticizing the governor if he were to say things like "There is no argument whatsoever that can be made. In fact I don't know how the this dumbass case ever got this far" and so forth.

linspace 5y ago

There was a violation of the law: the dissemination of private information by the government. Unfortunately they are not interested in prosecuting that but it would have been nice if someone had sued them as they were sending it completely in the open. At leasr they could make some introspection in what kind of contracting process is in place because it's a complete disaster.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

jasonm23 5y ago

The language is steeped in "don't embarrass the boss"