At every stage in E.Coli-Gate, information has had to be pried from the grip of the Nixon Administration. On the rare occasions they have willingly released information, most of it has turned out to be wrong. And despite countless revisions, their story still doesn't add up.
Their only acknowledgement of these failures is that communication could have been more "precise". They make it sound like they left out some tiny detail or made some small sin of omission - but they lied to the public about a serious health hazard.
The editorial boards of both the Kansas City Star and St. Louis Post-Dispatch have called on Nixon to take responsibility for his role in E. Coli-Gate. The Kansas City Star additionally voiced its support for an investigation.
Nixon has only grown more evasive. After he was caught telling reporters about beach closures that never existed, Chad Livengood discovered the DNR had deliberately concealed a separate set of test results that indicated the Lake of the Ozarks was unsafe.
Since the name E.Coli-Gate was already taken, we weren't sure what to call this new, concurrent crisis. We've settled on Brownwater.
So now, after months of concealing his own office's involvement in E.Coli-Gate, Nixon decides to launch an "investigation" into Brownwater. We call it an "investigation" because we're skeptical for a few reasons. There's a serious disconnect between his responses to the two crises.
It's worth noting that the substance of the crises is nearly identical. The tests were taken in a similar time period, they concealed similar health hazards, and so forth.
The only difference is that one of the crises involved Nixon's office, and the other didn't. Look at how different his responses are:
Nixon's initial response:
E.Coli-Gate: "I think that there could've probably been more precise communication."
Brownwater: "angrier than words can describe . . . serious questions about institutional controls . . . Accountability is important"
On the subject of investigations:
E.Coli-Gate: Refuses to cooperate with Senate investigation, attempts to obstruct inquiries from reporters, never initiates investigation.
Brownwater: Immediately starts an investigation.
On the subject of supplying false information to the public:
E.Coli-Gate: Jeff Mazur and Jack Cardetti are let off the hook for providing false information to the public.
Brownwater: Mark Templeton is immediately suspended for providing false information to the public.
The substance of Nixon's response:
E.Coli-Gate: Promotes Joe Bindbeutel and Jeff Mazur.
Brownwater: Suspends three DNR employees (albeit only temporarily)
In two virtually identical situations, Nixon's response is completely different. Why? Because E.Coli-Gate imperils his administration. Brownwater could save it.
Putting his political appointees in control of the Brownwater investigation guarantees the outcome in advance. You couldn't find less impartial investigators if you tried. Their one job is to protect Nixon.
There are tough questions they won't ask. For instance: John Watson is Nixon's Chief of Staff - and through most of E.Coli-Gate he was Nixon's liaison to the DNR. Why didn't he know what was happening?
Because that aspect of the story risks implicating Nixon, they will never follow up with it.
The political strategy behind the fake Brownwater investigation is transparent. Nixon is trying to get in the headlines on the opposite side of the story. He did the same thing when he tried to announce the ‘clean up the lakes initiative’ - a plan his office probably put together the same day they found out Susanne Medley’s Senate interview had implicated them.
Nixon has has lied too many times. Brownwater needs to be investigated, but not by the Nixon Administration.
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