Big Jolly Politics

politics in Harris County and Texas

Simpson’s Inability to Unite the Party

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Will a #NeverTrumper be able to lead the Harris County Republican Party to victory in 2018? Paul Simpson has kicked off the new year with a series of meetings to try to justify his losing campaign of 2016. Simpson and his team met separately with bloggers, including David Jennings and me, candidates, and judges and he is now on a road show to explain his losing 2016 campaign. Simpson has a lot of data to go with his talking points as to why Harris County Republicans did so poorly. This is my review of Simpson & Co.’s efforts in the 2016 election cycle.

Simpson and his consultant, Kevin Shuvalov, prioritized voter turnout in HD 134, home to Sarah Davis. The re-election of Sarah Davis, the self-identified pro-choice “Republican” was a priority to Joe Straus as Davis carried all of Planned Parenthood’s bills last session.

In the 2016 election, Texas Right to Life specifically targeted and campaigned against two Harris County “Republicans”: Sarah Davis and Devon Anderson. By now, you know that Anderson prosecuted pro-life heroes David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt for their brave videos that unveiled Planned Parenthood’s misdeeds. It should be noted that Davis endorsed Anderson.

Davis’s district is one of the most liberal Republican leaning house districts in Texas. When Anderson, in a last ditch effort to defeat her opponent, claimed that her opponent would be a weaker district attorney because of her sexual orientation, I know that Davis had to think twice about her endorsement.

Davis and the Harris County Republican Party were aided by Kevin Shuvalov, a political consultant who also does work for Straus. A very rudimentary knowledge of HD 134 and Harris County would have told you turning out the vote in the most liberal house district would not be helpful to countywide Republicans, it was not. It did help Sarah Davis.

At the outset, it was clear that Harris County Republicans would have an uphill battle. Given Ted Cruz’s posture, many of his supporters were #NeverTrumpers. Instead of using the momentum of conservative victories such as the defeat of the so-called equal rights ordinance, Simpson and the gang harnessed the #NeverTrump movement and explicitly directed voters to not worry about the top of the ticket but make sure that they vote for our judicial candidates. This approach was flawed in many ways.

First, Simpson never made a compelling argument for a Republican judiciary. Why are Republicans better on the bench? Second, by running a #NeverTrump campaign, Simpson failed to get Trump supporters to the polls.

Simpson is now claiming that two factors led to the downfall of Harris County Republicans: (1) Donald Trump and (2) Devon Anderson. Anderson’s horrendous decision to jail a rape victim and indict pro-life activists certainly did not help the Harris County Republican effort in 2016. Whether you agree or disagree with Anderson’s positions, the real damage was the endless fodder for campaign commercials that she provided to her opponent. Judging Anderson by her record, she was a failed district attorney and had to go.

Unbelievably, Anderson’s campaign made a succession of errors. First, she made this video immediately after Channel 2 broke the story on Jenny, the jailed sexual assault survivor. Then, it was revealed that another survivor and a witness were jailed in order to compel their testimony. The Anderson campaign, while criticizing her opponent for “using” Jenny, deployed Jenny’s father as a campaign tool to say that he supported the jailing of his vulnerable child by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

You cannot encourage people to vote straight ticket with a problematic candidate like Devon Anderson on the ballot. In the past, problematic candidates have been removed from the ballot to avoid a disaster like we saw in 2016. The party ballot is as good as its weakest candidate and this was true with Anderson.

Paul Simpson’s belief that moderate, establishment Republicans could win elections in Harris County without social and fiscal conservatives is a false narrative. The biggest mistake in the campaign was to not utilize our most recognized successful brands. There are three brands that have been out for over twenty years: Conservative Republicans of Harris County (Hotze), the Link Letter (Lowry), and the Texas Conservative Review (Polland). Voters are conditioned to these brands in primary and general elections.

All three brands focus on different turnout. Hotze messages to seniors in a mail-in ballot program. Hotze’s brand is very effective and seniors expect to get his piece in the mail the way they have for over twenty-four years. Lowry’s Link Letter focuses on early voters and systematically sends the Link Letter out to well-conditioned voters. Both Hotze and Lowry have an identifiable social conservative voting base. Polland is different and I will come back to that in a minute; however, the sophistication of these so-called slates is unique.

Branding is important and Hotze and Lowry understand that social conservatives are reliable voters. The social conservatives can sway primary votes and this is where their influence has been most visible. Simpson and company have underestimated these brands in general elections and actively worked against them. The 2016 election proved this point.

Gary Polland and the Texas Conservative Review focus on election day voters. Gary’s brand is a reflection of him and is the most moderate of the three brands. Gary’s brand is influential in general elections and has a conservative Jewish following. Watching what Barack Obama did to Israel on his way out the door gives us an excellent opportunity to expand our base in Harris County. Gary is Jewish in case you did not know. All three of these brands work well together in general elections.

Simpson does not want to recognize the importance of these assets. Donald Trump certainly knew that he needed social conservatives to win the Presidency just as Simpson needs social conservatives to win Harris County. I have asked Simpson more than once what his plan is to unite the local party. He does not have one. This will not sit well with Republican candidates on the 2018 ballot. Simpson may have been a transitory candidate and the efforts to replace him are well underway. The question is will he be replaced by a candidate who can reach out to all factions within the local party. This will not be an easy task.

David Jennings analysis

Tidying up the 2016 Harris County Republican election disaster

Harris County Republican Party disaster continued…last one!

Devon’s Last Gasp

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On Thursday, Commissioner Steve Radack came to the Downtown Pachyderm to deliver the “vote straight Republican” message. Steve announced that all Republican slates are supporting straight ticket voting. Commissioner Radack went on a rant about bloggers who were supportive of Democratic candidates. Steve brought his trusty sidekick Jack O’Connor, the least articulate man in America, with him to the meeting.

Steve’s appearance was timed exactly one hour before Rusty Hardin’s press conference concerning Jenny, one of the jailed sexual assault survivors. At his press conference, Hardin claimed to represent Nick Socias, the prosecutor who jailed Jenny. The problem with that statement is that Hardin is not the attorney of record.

The purpose of Rusty’s press conference is clear – a Hail Mary for his friends in the Anderson administration. Unfortunately for Socias, he does not see that he is being sacrificed. His supervisors, likely the same people who authorized the writ of attachment, are the true offenders.socioshardin

The only question is how high up the totem poll did the decision go? My bet is Craig Goodhart. You may remember his name from the prosecutorial misconduct allegations in the Linda Carty case. Or the David Temple case. Interestingly, Devon Anderson denied any collusion between Hardin and her campaign on the issue. It just so happened that Anderson released a videotaped statement strikingly similar to Hardin’s press conference the night before Hardin’s presser using the exact same emails.

Hardin was not the only high profile attorney chiming in on the election. Randy Schaffer also released a letter asking for Anderson’s resignation. It should be noted that Randy Schaffer practices law with his son Josh Schaffer, the Planned Parenthood lawyer, I call it the Et tu, Brute? letter. Think about that, the Planned Parenthood lawyers are asking Devon to resign.

hotzewoodfillLet’s get back to Commissioner Radack. His little buddy Jack O’Connor asked a prepared question about why so-called Republican bloggers (i.e., Big Jolly) are supporting Kim Ogg for District Attorney. O’Connor bolstered his argument by pointing out the fact that Charles Kuffner, a local Democrat and blogger, never attacks his own.

Radack was very careful with his words. He made no excuses for Devon’s bad behavior, which includes jailing rape victims; charging pro-life activists for investigating Planned Parenthood; allowing a grand jury to no bill Doug Karpen, a notorious abortionist whose own employees came forward to say he was murdering children after they were born; covering up misconduct by an HPD homicide investigator; and failing to notify defendants of evidentiary problems. Steve Radack did not defend Anderson’s record. Nor did Steve ever point out that Texas Right to Life sent out a mailer encouraging the pro-life community not to vote for Devon Anderson or Sarah Davis. Steve’s message was simple: vote “straight” R. I am sure that Commissioner Radack’s message was not coordinated by Devon Anderson either. I wonder what Allen Blakemore has been up to the last few days.

Meanwhile, when I got home, I had several slate mailers encouraging me to vote a “straight” R ticket. The Hoopers were first in line to vote on Monday morning; so any good campaign should delete us from their mailing list. Alas, the mail has continued. The one piece that got my attention was from Steve Hotze and Jared Woodfill. They may want to be more careful in the candidate review process if they want a “straight” R ticket.

Devon Anderson’s Whisper Campaign Against Kim Ogg

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Kim Ogg

A whisper campaign has sprung up in the District Attorney race. I wanted to share a couple of emails that were being circulated in some Republican clubs and church groups. The emails speak for themselves but one is signed by Carolyn Vance, wife of former District Attorney Carol Vance. I will let you read them.

Dear Team,

That’s the title of a Friday “Houston Chronicle” article, followed by “Billionaire pumps $500K into race for district attorney.” We got that beautifully printed,  glossy ad in our mail yesterday, and you probably did too. So who is George Soros? He is the extremely wealthy ($24.9 billion) 86 year old Democrat who supports the most liberal causes. That would include a huge contribution to Hillary as well. To be truthful, I would NEVER want to vote for anyone he supports. His desire is to radically change this country just as Obama has tried to do. The fact that he is reaching down to influence local elections, like Kim Ogg’s running for DA, with his money is scary.

I have been told that Kim Ogg was a good prosecutor in her time at the DA’s office, but I have also been told that she is a lesbian and has a partner. Having seen our lesbian former mayor marrying her partner and kissing her in public, plus remembering her unrighteous stand on the bathroom issue – all of that leads me to believe that Devon Anderson will get my vote! I did not like it when David Daledin and his assistant were charged by the Grand Jury, but my husband has explained how a Grand Jury works and is not under the control of the DA. I will try to get him to write that out for us so we will understand and not blame Devon for it.

Praying for the Lord to intervene in all of the elections! Carolyn”

“Dear Friends,

One thing I wanted to make sure you know about regarding the local district attorney’s race is that the current DA Devon Anderson is the widow of the former DA who died in office and ran for DA after he died. She is the DA who tried to prosecute the baby selling whistleblowers David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt INSTEAD OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD. These charges have since been dropped, praise be to God! But before the hackles on your back rise any further, please be aware that the opponent KIM OGG is a LESBIAN. As a lesbian I think we can be sure that Ms. Ogg will promote this agenda. We have just fought this demon with Anise Parker.”

The religious overtone is designed to convince the reader not to support Kim because of her sexual orientation, homophobia. The first thing you should know about the dismissals is that Judge Diane Bull dismissed the selling of the baby body parts case. Devon Anderson criticized that decision. Devon Anderson was forced to dismiss the felony indictment after Jared Woodfill, Daleiden’s attorney, asked for the list of the grand jurors from the trial judge.

I wonder what gay crime victims and employees of the District Attorney’s office think of this campaign strategy?

Harris County Presidential Election of 2016

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Murphy Turner

There is no question that the 2016 election will be talked about for many years to come. This election is unusual for several reasons and the candidacy of Donald Trump has added more stress for Harris County elected officials and candidates. Paul Simpson is doing the greatest Kabuki dance of all time trying to support what is arguably the worst field of candidates in Harris County history. Folks like Devon Anderson, Mary Lou Keel, Mike Sullivan, and Jim Murphy must give every true conservative on the ballot this election cycle tremendous heartburn. At this point, full panic mode is setting in. If you notice, Paul Simpson does not have one nice thing to say about Donald Trump and let me tell you why.

You cannot understand the 2016 race without looking at the 2014 election of Paul Simpson. In that election, Simpson was supported by a coalition of institutional, big government, pro-immigration, establishment Republicans who teamed up with Libertarians and Log Cabin Republicans to defeat Jared Woodfill.  Another group of supporters bought into the fallacy that the defeat of Woodfill will bring down the “pay to play” guys (i.e., Hotze, Lowry, and Polland). Of course, the real goal for many Simpson sympathizers was to replace the so called “pay to play” slates with their own “pay to play” slates. Allen Blakemore, of course, has his hand in both camps. See Wayne Smith’s primary defeat.

Kevin Shuvalov
Kevin Shuvalov

Simpson’s strategist was Kevin Shuvalov of the Mammoth Group who works for Joe Straus. Think about that for a second. Straus is the establishment Republican whose job is to keep money flowing to contractors, party bosses, police and fire unions, Planned Parenthood, etc. in the Texas Legislature. After two failed campaigns, Simpson turned to Shuvalov’s establishment consulting group in Austin, the Mammoth Group for his 2014 campaign. Following Simpson’s victory, the Mammoth Group basically operates the Harris County Republican Party, and, in turn, the party’s campaign in November. The Mammoth Group works for establishment Republicans and is a reconstituted version of Karl Rove’s old group.

Simpson’s supporter list prohibits him from supporting Trump. Dick Weekley, a big Simpson financial supporter, would punish Paul if he even thought of supporting or helping Trump. Sad but true. It is important to remember that these folks are dependent on cheap foreign labor for their businesses to succeed. This need is juxtaposed against the Trump Train and Mr. Trump’s strong stance against illegal immigration and wasteful government spending. Weekley is not alone and a coalition of political economic opportunists have set their sights on Harris County – the biggest prize in contracting in the state.

The Cruz pity party adds to the crosscurrents of the local political outlook. When Trump defeated Cruz in the Presidential primary, many Cruz supporters in Harris County were disappointed and angry at Trump. Ironically enough, Cruz and Simpson share many supporters. How can Cruz, a man who claims to value the United States Constitution and the legacy of Mr. Justice Scalia, be so shortsighted? What will Cruz say if Hillary is elected and Justice Scalia’s legacy is tarnished by a very liberal court? Cruz and his hurt feelings do not bode well for down-ballot races in Harris County. Cruz’s failure to endorse Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland hurt Harris County Republicans.

JennyThen, we have Devon Anderson as the District Attorney candidate. Devon’s problems have been well documented by me, David Jennings, The Houston Chronicle, Jace Larson of Channel 2, and just about every news organization in the country. Devon’s problem is the other battlefront in the conservative movement – social conservatives. Devon Anderson’s indictment and prosecution of David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt set off a political firestorm within the pro-life movement. The damage done to the pro-life movement nationally by Devon’s actions may well cost many Harris County Republicans this November. Devon Anderson to this day does not understand the damage she caused the pro-life movement. Social conservatives are rightfully angered by her mere presence on the ballot. See Dr. Hotze’s email to Devon et al. from Saturday night.

The fact that our local party officials are running away from Donald Trump is a disaster in the making. When you see Jim Murphy standing with Sylvester Turner supporting Turner’s pension reform plan, Harris County has a problem. Simpson did not want to involve himself with Devon Anderson and the indictment of Daleiden and all candidates will pay a price. With Simpson at the helm, the local party does not stand for life or fiscal conservatism. The pro-immigration issue is not helping much either. Simpson’s Muslim pep rally and recent carnival were symbolic of the utter failure of the local party. Simpson’s reliance on establishment money creates a well-funded local party, but one devoid of principle. The new mantra is pro-life is taboo and fiscal conservatism does not align with their big government contracts.

It kind of makes me miss Jared.

#NeverDevon

@DonPHooper

 

Devon and the FEDS

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Devon Anderson

In 2012, the Andersons told Harris County voters that they should vote against incumbent District Attorney Pat Lykos because she was under investigation by the Texas Rangers and her pre-trial diversion program was illegal. In 2016, Devon Anderson decided to kick off the official start of campaign season with her own federal investigation. Anderson has expanded use of the diversion program started by Pat Lykos to most misdemeanors and some felonies. Once again, Devon Anderson has demonstrated that she does not have the ability to serve as District Attorney. This time, Devon’s very poor decision making could lead to criminal charges. Today, District Attorney Candidate Kim Ogg will call for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the latest misconduct by Devon Anderson.

The feds are investigating whether or not Devon’s office sent people to prison without evidence. An employee of Precinct Four Constable Mark Herman allegedly destroyed thousands of pieces of evidence in the Precinct Four property room. There is a lot of finger pointing going on right now and it is tough to tell who is telling the truth. The standard defense of “I was ordered by my superior to do it” is being used. The real question is what did Devon know and when did she know it.brady

Did Devon send folks to prison knowing the evidence had been destroyed? Did Devon’s prosecutors follow the Michael Morton Act? Did Devon’s prosecutors follow Brady? You may be asking yourself why this is important or you may be thinking this is just a technicality. The destruction of evidence is important. Some evidence, like drugs and blood, requires scientific testing. Additionally, a defendant should have the opportunity to test the evidence himself. What if a defendant possessed oregano and not marijuana? What if blood evidence could lead to the right defendant? Think about sexual assault kits. Evidence can inculpate and it can exculpate.

We know that Devon knew that Precinct Four evidence was missing as early as February 2016. At that time, Devon should have stopped pleas on all Precinct Four cases. Instead, Devon limited the awareness of the information to one special division within her office. So, for at least six months, line prosecutors were not telling defendants that evidence was missing.

Devon is now blaming Constable Herman but it was Devon who made the decision to keep this information from defendants and some of her own prosecutors. This is a pattern – blame others, not Devon. She has blamed a judge for jailing a rape victim. She has blamed Sheriff Hickman for the failings of the Goforth investigation. She has blamed a grand jury for indicting David Daleiden. Don’t we want and deserve a chief law enforcement officer who will take responsibility and make good decisions?

At this point, law enforcement and the entire Republican ticket should keep their distance from Devon Anderson.

#NeverDevon

@DonPHooper

Daleiden Dismissed for Now

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David D CourthouseA few months ago, I spoke to the Spring Tea Party about the prosecution of David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt, the citizen journalists who investigated the unlawful selling of body parts by Planned Parenthood. This followed my appearance at the Daughters of Liberty (DOL) where I was invited to speak by DOL president, Bonnie Lugo, about the indictments. David Jennings wrote a story about Devon Anderson’s attempts to prevent my speech and you can read it here. Bonnie Lugo says it best, “I am pro-life before I am a Republican.” She is a pro-life warrior and I cannot thank her enough for allowing me the opportunity to speak to her group in the midst of enormous pressure by Devon Anderson to cancel my appearance.

Since the Spring Tea Party meeting was days before the May runoff, Mary Lou Keel showed up to campaign in her race for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, our highest criminal court. Keel held over her October grand jury, which indicted David and Sandra in January. At the meeting, Keel challenged my request for the names of her grand jurors. She said that she would never reveal the names of her grand jurors to me or any reporter.

Think about that concept for a second. Mary Lou KeelWhat happens when a grand jury indicts a police officer in this anti-police environment? I know that high ranking officials of the Houston Police Officers’ Union are concerned about this possibility. Under Susan Brown’s leadership, all but one of the Harris County felony court judges have a standing order with District Clerk Chris Daniel to hide the names of their grand jurors. These orders are in conflict with the spirit of opinions from three Texas Attorneys General. You can read all of the various opinions from the Texas Attorney General’s Office here: 1 Mr G Brian Garrison, 2 Barnhart vState, 3 Mr Rodolfo Ramirez, 4 Mr Scott A Durfee, 5 Ms Angelia Orr, 6 Ms Ashley D Fourt, 7 Ms Donna M Hawkins. Transparency is justice.

Since Anderson’s office failed to prosecute Dr. Karpen, I have been following Anderson’s injustices when it comes to protecting life. I knew that Tuesday, July 26, 2016 would be an important date for David and Sandra.

Keel’s grand jury indicted David and Sandra for the felony offense of tampering with a government document because they allegedly used fake identification to work undercover and expose Planned Parenthood. The grand jury also indicted David for offering to purchase baby body parts, a misdemeanor. David’s attorneys filed a motion to quash both the felony and misdemeanor indictments.

In a thoughtful four page order, Judge Diane Bull dismissed the misdemeanor indictment against David on June 13. Judge Bull deserves credit for seeing Devon’s nonsense.

The felony case fell into the 338th District Court with Brock Thomas presiding. When Devon Anderson and Thomas lost their benches in 2008, they practiced criminal defense together.

Thomas set a hearing on David’s motion to quash for July 26. David’s attorneys filed a motion to quash and the government filed a response, which included an affidavit from Josh Schaffer, attorney for Planned Parenthood. Exhibit C {Josh Schaffer’s Affidavit}

As I revealed a few days ago, Devon Anderson was adamant that the prosecution of David and Sandra was just and being handled by her top staff. Sunni Mitchell, the much-touted and tenured prosecutor leading the charge, was in the courtroom but seemed to be a passive participant. Mitchell also led the “investigation” into Douglas Karpen that ended in a no bill.

I got to the courthouse early and entered the courtroom to see what I could see before the hearing began. The audience was filled with local reporters and defendants on the daily court docket. As I sat in the courtroom, I saw Jared Woodfill approach David and whisper something in his ear. Then, Judge Thomas announced to the crowd that the state dismissed the indictment against David.

I knew that the state had subpoenaed three people: (1) Josh Schaffer, Planned Parenthood’s lawyer, (2) Inger Chandler, a prosecutor from the DA’s conviction integrity unit, and (3) Murphy Klasing, David’s original attorney who communicated with Sunni Mitchell when David submitted his videos to the DA’s office. Schaffer was conspicuously absent from the hearing.

I ran into Murphy Klasing in the courthouse elevator. He was a little late and surprised that he missed the hearing since he was an expected participant. Murphy said that the prosecutors called him on Friday to say that they would prep him on Tuesday morning. Murphy told the prosecutors that he wanted to prep on Friday because he wanted to be prepared. Also, he was a little perplexed as to why the state wanted him as a witness because he did not have anything to say that would help the government; but, the prosecutors put him off. Murphy was the lawyer who first realized that the DA’s office had given David’s videos to Planned Parenthood so his testimony was crucial to David’s defense.

The interesting no show was Josh Schaffer. If he was a subpoenaed witness, why wasn’t he there? I was anticipating Josh’s testimony because what would he say on the stand after writing an affidavit that supported the defense’s contention that the grand jury investigation was improper? I know Josh to be a good lawyer and doubt he would perjure himself for his client or Devon Anderson.

The government’s dismissal form reads as follows:

“Colorable claim raised regarding whether grand jury investigated new matters after extension order was issued.”

Daleiden Dismissal

Now, more than ever, I believe that Mary Lou Keel’s grand jury did nothing with this investigation until after the grand jury term was extended on December 16, which is not in compliance with the Code of Criminal Procedure. When I spoke at both the Daughters of Liberty and the Spring Tea Party, I discussed what I called the smoking gun.

In his affidavit, Josh Schaeffer said that Planned Parenthood did not know Sandra Merritt’s name until after January 2 when David Daleiden gave a deposition in California. If this was true, Mary Lou Keel’s grand jury could not have been investigating Sandra when it was extended in mid-December. In Texas, grand juries can only be extended to continue an investigation.

Prior to the hearing, on July 1, David’s attorneys filed two motions. The first motion requested the names of the grand jurors who indicted David and Sandra. The second motion requested the grand jury testimony. It took over five months for David’s attorneys to request this information. Sandra’s attorneys never requested this information. The motion is linked here: Daleiden’s Motion to Disclose Grand Jury List, Daleiden’s Motion to Disclose Grand Jury Testimony

I requested the names of the grand jurors from Harris County District Clerk Chris Daniel; but, every attempt was thwarted. David Daleiden always had the right to this information as a defendant.

When asked about releasing the grand jury information on the campaign trail, Mary Lou Keel would say, “Well, David’s lawyers have not asked for the grand jury names.” In her race for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Keel used quotes from David and Sandra’s lawyers to support her claim that she did nothing improper in relation to this investigation.

“I’ve known Judge Keel since we were prosecutors together over 25 years ago.  She is a highly ethical, by-the-book judge who knows and follows the law.  She will be a tremendous asset to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.” Terry Yates (David’s attorney)

“I have known Judge Mary Lou Keel for almost 30 years. I first met her as an Assistant District Attorney where she was a tough, but fair prosecutor. As a lawyer having appeared in front of Judge Keel for more than 20 years, I have found her to be knowledgeable, straightforward and very well informed. Her experience and expertise make her uniquely qualified to serve on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.” Dan Cogdell (Sandra’s attorney)

In November, pro-life voters need to remember Keel’s efforts to hide the names of her grand jurors. The win-at-all-costs mentality from Anderson and Keel is pervasive. Keel, wounded after her grand jury indicted two pro-life activists, obtained references from two attorneys representing David and Sandra. I believe that it was improper for these attorneys to support Keel, especially when Keel improperly extended the grand jury that wrongfully indicted their clients. It was certainly improper and unethical for Keel to seek out and use these endorsements. This impropriety places a stain on her campaign to sit on the highest criminal court in Texas.

Since David and Sandra were indicted, Anderson and Keel have emphatically supported their actions. Keel said that she did not mishandle her grand jury and the extension was proper. Anderson said that the indictments were valid and claimed to feel like Atticus Finch. In other words, Anderson likened her prosecution of David and Sandra to Atticus and his defense of an innocent black man.  Both Keel and Anderson said over and over that they are pro-life. Then, on July 26, Anderson’s prosecutors dismissed David and Sandra’s tampering case with the notation that the grand jury investigation was invalid.

Is it a coincidence that the DA’s office dismissed the indictments against David and Sandra after David’s attorneys requested the grand jury information? I say NO. The dismissal happened on the very next court setting.

Also important is the fact that Devon and her minions have left open the possibility of re-indicting David and Sandra. I am afraid that this is not over.

Nonetheless, the damage to the pro-life movement by Mary Lou Keel and Devon Anderson and her office is undeniable. The RICO case against David and Operation Rescue has one purpose: to silence Planned Parenthood critics.

Paul Simpson, Jim Murphy, and Jacquie Baly have proven that they do not value life by participating in endorsement videos for Devon’s reelection effort. You have to really question the judgment of these folks in light of Devon jailing several rape victims and a homeless witness to illicit testimony in court.

There are two reasons why Devon dismissed the cases against David and Sandra and justice is not one of them. First, the DA’s office was adamant to protect Keel’s grand jury. As I have outlined before, the DA’s office had at least fifteen grand juries that could have heard this information. Why hold over this particular grand jury? Second, Devon is feeling the heat from the revelation that her office requested the placement of a sexual assault survivor in the Harris County Jail. Backed into a corner, Devon was forced to do something to improve her image in the community.

I implore you to not let Devon sweep this under the rug. Devon did not have a sudden change of heart on these cases. You have an opportunity to right this injustice in November.

#neverdevon #byedevon