Assassinating Riddell -- tin foil helmet edition
We're still brooding about the all-out attack by the Old Boy Network against Sean Riddell, recently bounced as the chief criminal lawyer for John Kroger and the Oregon Justice Department. There's something about this flap that is tantalizing for armchair pundits. Part of us wants to think that it's an attack on Kroger, who's made his share of enemies in less than two and a half years in office. But maybe not. In fact, the more we think about it, the more it seems that perhaps the main thrust is to disgrace Riddell, in time to stop him from becoming the next Multnomah County district attorney. It's a job he's already said publicly that he'd greatly like to have.
The current D.A., Mike Schrunk, isn't getting any younger -- he's pushing 70 -- and the word on the street is that this is his last term. He might even quit early. Like his father before him -- a 17-year Portland mayor who was accused but never convicted of corruption during his tenure -- the younger Schrunk is the keeper of many secrets. If we had to guess, we would say that some people in town with a lot of money and power are keenly interested in who sits in that seat next.
Maybe they don't want it to be Sean Riddell.
| Posted at 8:47 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (6)
It's times like this that I sure miss Phil Stanford.
Posted by msmith | June 27, 2011 9:18 AM
Phil was one of the last truthful journalists left, willing to ask the right questions, and to hell with who got in the way.
The remaining media are just puppets for the status quo.
Posted by portland native | June 27, 2011 10:50 AM
Oh, Nigel Jaquis comes up with some interesting stuff over at Willy Week.
Posted by Max | June 27, 2011 11:04 AM
Maybe he should never have gone public about his desire to be the next DA.
Posted by boycat | June 27, 2011 1:49 PM
I still think the simplest explanation is the right one. Kroger is all about press releases and public image. There was "something" in that whole DOE contract saga, and Kroger and his men were going to uncover it AT ALL COSTS. So Riddell was given the green light to push hard, and in doing so found himself on the wrong side of the law, or at least the ethical code. And has happened time and time again when the self-righteous find themselves being investigated, they panic and engage in the very behavior they have been fighting against.
Riddell was clearly a bully. And part of me has always liked watching a bully get taken down -- even if it's by another bully.
Posted by Miles | June 27, 2011 4:47 PM
Sean Riddell was the most incompetent manager and reckless attorney in the history of CJD. The damage he inflicted to the internal structure of the division is similar to that of a tornado aftermath. Kroger couldn't defend his favorite anymore. Nothing more or nothing less.
Posted by Amadeus | June 27, 2011 11:05 PM