Posted on 08/27/2004 7:11:15 AM PDT by igoramus987
French Suspended By Nick Voll (August 27, 2004)
Oregon City - The Clackamas County Prosecutor who appeared in an ad against John Kerry has been suspended from his job, but not for speaking out. Al French has been the target of local protests after his appearance in a political ad questioning the the Democratic candidate's war record.
On Thursday he was placed on leave by the Clackamas County District Attorney's office. It wasn't for his statements against Kerry, but for lying about an extra-marital affair. Reports say French misled his former boss ten years ago to avoid getting fired.
French has faced a great deal of scrutiny since the ad first aired, with veterans calling for his resignation. He said in the spot that he had served with John Kerry, and that Kerry exaggerated his war record. He also signed an affidavit, swearing to tell the truth during the taping. French later admitted he had not served with Kerry, but relied on accounts from his friends.
That irked local veterans, who complained to the Oregon Bar Association. They say French violated his duty as a state official by lying on the affidavit, and can no longer be trusted.
The Clackamas County district attorney's office said French had been placed on a 30-day paid leave while it conducts an investigation into his conduct.
Foote declined to say what aspects of French's conduct the office would investigate. But Chief Deputy District Attorney Greg Horner said the investigation is in response to the specific questions raised by The Oregonian.
"We're going to investigate all the facts we've been told, and once we get all the facts we're going to make a decision about what we should do," Foote said.
(French's former boss) O'Leary said Thursday that he heard about the rumored affair about a year before he retired as Clackamas County district attorney in 1995. After French denied it, O'Leary did not talk to the woman but asked his chief legal secretary to do so, he said. No one was disciplined as a result.
At the time, O'Leary's policy forbade employees from having extramarital affairs with colleagues, he said. Clackamas County had a sexual harassment policy that covered the district attorney's office, but it did not specifically cover extramarital office romances.
Foote later heard a rumor about the relationship. But he never asked French about it, saying he thought it "was a personal matter and I try not to mix people's personal lives with work."
He said he does not think he ever talked to French about it in detail until contacted by The Oregonian on Thursday.
"I do think this is the first time I really sat down with him and said, 'What is this about?' " Foote said.
Since the anti-Kerry commercial catapulted to the forefront of the presidential campaign last week, French has been the target of protesters who say he violated legal ethics in his affidavit.
In the document, French said Kerry "wildly exaggerated and lied about his record in Vietnam." He asserts Kerry received two of his three Purple Hearts under false pretenses.
French also said Kerry lied about the record of their unit twice when he returned from Vietnam. But French later acknowledged that he was relying on the account of trusted friends when he said Kerry lied about the two Purple Hearts.
The reporter who wrote this story for the Oregonian is Stephen Beaven
Phone: 503-294-7663
Email: stevebeaven@news.oregonian.com
Counties in Oregon are riddled with politics and the deputy district attorneys are always being fired and rehired, depending on who wins the latest election. One of French's former employers, a female district attorney, was disbarred by the Oregon Supreme Court for breaking the law.
I don't think he has yet.
Yeah, right. sniff sniff...something smells rotten, like Clinton rotten.
What's the statute of limitation for lying to somebody who no longer works there? Isn't lying about sex permissible in today's liberal society?
Thank you for contacting the Clackamas County District Attorney's Office. This office will no longer be responding to messages regarding Al French.
I missed a dot somewhere.
Dot One: Al French lied or misled his boss about his adultery.
Dot Two: Anti-Swift Vets disclaim his services as a Prosecuting Attorney because of his affidavit/s re the ads
Dot Three:
Dot Four: Al French is suspended.
The article fails to mention how Mr. French's boss learned French lied/misled him about the adultery. (not condoning adultery here)
I want to assure you that we have supported Mr. French every step of the way in his right to express his own opinions. What has happened now is that two former DA's have accused him of what they call office misconduct 10 or more years ago. In light of this new pressure on Mr. French and the office, both Mr. French and we thought it would be good for him to take some paid leave to sort out these personal issues. We are also trying to determine as best we can what happened those many years ago when I was not in office here. When Mr. French and we have sorted these things out, we will decide what is the right course of action. At this point we have not made any decisions to discipline or punish Mr. French.
Thank you for your concern.
John Foote
ping
"It's a private matter! He must be allowed to get back to doing the work the Clackamas County District Attorney's office hired him to do!" Wait, his name isn't Clinton you say? He's TOAST.
And if he indeed did outright lie on an affidavit when making the commercial, it would be right and proper to ostrocize him.
Do you realize how insane that sounds? I can hear it now... "it's the seriousness of the allegation, not their unsubstantiated nature that prompts this action."
I agree. It's the craziest thing I've ever heard. It just shows how desperate the Kerry camp is.
Not so much Clinton rotten as Kennedy rotten. Kerry and Teddy have been cronies since Jack and Bobby were around.
Real heros continue to fight even when up against considerable odds. The Swiftboat vets are showing the world what real heros are made of.
They are also using their own ignorance of things military and that of the general public against the Swifties as well. Their "was he on the same boat?" defense uses the public perception of Kerry commanding a battleship being a Navy "Boat" and not yacht on steroids
The media uses the same perception for "stockpiles of weapons". The general population thinks of WWII weapons as the object of a search and wonder why we can't find them, while we're looking for some containers that could be smaller than a paint can, mason jar or prescription bottle that could kill hundreds of thousands.
"To: igoramus987
Kerry is truely dangerous, as his actions show that he is morally bankrupt.
He has studied the Clinton playbook extensively."
No, he studied the Lenin playbook extensively. Same place Clinton learned it.
But only to the United States. Kerry is, as well, a comfort to its enemies.
Actually, he didn't lie, he only misled.
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