The special prosecutor in the criminal case against Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has dropped the charges at the request of New Orleans officials who were purported victims in the case.
Laurie White confirmed in text messages Wednesday she has declined to prosecute all 16 counts, including eight counts of public intimidation and eight counts of malfeasance in office, against Murrill. Her action followed letters sent to her Tuesday by New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams and five city council membersasking her to drop the chargesagainst Murrill.
“This case should have NEVER been started because there was NO crime,” Murrill said in a statement. “This outcome will not deter my efforts to get to the bottom of this. The irresponsible and illegal actions that led to this abuse of the criminal justice system need to never happen again.”
White’s decision to withdraw the charges marks a turning point in atumultuous and politically charged disputethat began in May when Murrill wrote to city officials warning she could charge them under the state’s usurper laws if they tried to hold a special election for a consolidated court clerk’s position. Republican state lawmakers had passed legislation in the spring that effectively prevented Calvin Duncan, a formerly incarcerated man who was exonerated and became a lawyer, from taking office after winning election to the clerk’s position.
Murrill’s letter prompted complaints from Moreno and her supporters that the attorney general’s message could be interpreted as a criminal threat.
An Orleans Parish grand jury handed up an indictment July 2 against Murrill, though Moreno and Williams have said they did nothing to initiate the investigation that led to the charges.
In text messages Wednesday, White distanced herself from the political dispute.
“I performed my responsibilities as an appointed prosecutor in accordance with the law,” White said. “It is important to understand that the grand jury brought this indictment, and that what followed was in accordance with their judgment. I respect the grand jury’s service and actions, as we all should, and thank them for their service.
“Extraordinary interference in this situation has been truly unfortunate, and we should all hope that it doesn’t set a precedent,” White added.
On the day the court unsealed the indictment, White told reporters the grand jury initiated the investigation on its own, a statement that led Murrill’s defense team to suggest in a news conference that day that someone was “tampering” with the grand jury.
Affidavits filed Monday into the court record from several of White’s colleagues and attorneys not connected to the case back up White’s public statements about how the grand jury decided to indict Murrill.
In one of the affidavits, noted New Orleans defense lawyer Pat Fanning wrote that he got a call from White on July 1, and she told him she tried to talk the grand jurors out of indicting Murrill but didn’t think they were listening.
Another affidavit came from one of Murrill’s own employees, Assistant Attorney General Daniel Smart, who said he ran into White in the courthouse garage on the day of the indictment and struck up a conversation asking her why she was there.
“She explained to me that she was there with the grand jury … She mentioned that she was attempting to not have the grand jury vote on the indictment today, but it seemed as though they wanted to,” Smart stated in his affidavit.
Murrill’s letters to New Orleans leaders and the ensuing indictment wasn’t the first time she has faced accusations of threats.
Last year, the attorney general sent a pointed letter to Duncan during his campaign for the Orleans Parish Criminal Court clerk’s election, warning him of legal consequences for what she claimed were conflicts of interest surrounding his exoneration. The claims were later debunked, and Duncan supporters labeled the letter as an unlawful suppression of his First Amendment rights.
In April, state Rep. Brian Glorioso, R-Slidell, gave a lengthy speech on the floor of the Louisiana House of Representativesaccusing Murrillof using “coercion and possibly even threats” to pressure his colleagues into voting for legislation she wanted passed. Glorioso, an attorney, likened Murrill’s actions to the politics of tyrannical governments.
Murrill denied making threats and demanded a public apology, prompting Glorioso to ask for forgiveness in the House the next day.
With the charges against her being dropped, Murrill said she will continue her own criminal investigation into what she claims was illegal misconduct surrounding the case.
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PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
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