Columnists shouldn’t participate in “dirty tricks” by gubernatorial candidates. Echoing Sam Bregman ads, Albuquerque Journal columnist Jeff Tucker writes that Deb Haaland “needs to answer questions about her associations with unscrupulous sex offenders.” Nonsense!
Both candidates spoke here, at Progressive Voters Alliance. I’d never met either. I had a mild preference for Haaland, but no strong feelings. Haaland gave a rabble-rousing speech on the issues, and our current situation, without particularly focusing on Bregman. Bregman shouted too loudly into a working microphone, and, when asked if convicted felons should be able to vote after serving their sentences, he understandably bragged about putting away a specific sex offender, then launched into a discussion of Jeffrey Epstein, to remind us slyly of fresh news that his opponent had once flown on an airplane connected to Epstein. I found that unappealing. Apparently he’s used this in ads, too.
What are the facts? [Opinion columnists should at least learn those.] In September 2014, then gubernatorial candidate and New Mexico AG Gary King, for a single campaign trip from Santa Fe to Washington, D.C., chartered an airplane owned by Virgin Islands-registered JEGE, LLC. Lieutenant-Governor candidate Haaland was listed as a passenger. “JEGE” was connected to Epstein, who was not on the flight. Tucker misleadingly calls this, “Haaland’s September 2014 flight from Santa Fe to Washington aboard a private jet chartered by Epstein.”
Epstein had been convicted only of 2008 Florida state charges of “solicitation of prostitution involving a minor,” given an extremely light sentence approved by U.S. Alexander Acosta, who let Epstein avoid federal charges and get a short sentence with work-release. (Trump later appointed Acosta U.S. Labor Secretary, but he resigned in 2019 after the Epstein case became a big public deal.)
In 2014 Epstein wasn’t famous. His conviction got only very local news coverage until 2018. How would Haaland, who didn’t arrange the flight or meet Epstein, and likely didn’t read local Florida newspapers, have known stuff we know now?
In Tucker’s defense, he focuses more on a pretty lame Haaland campaign publication that the campaign took down within 24 hours. Tucker reasonably asks what Haaland knew when about that.
Tucker also stresses that Haaland served on the House Judiciary Committee with Eric Swalwell, and once called him a “friend.” (Actually, Haaland served Oversight, but never Judiciary.) Again, it’s not clear how she’d have known then about his alleged sexual misconduct, which she has strongly condemned. Tucker also writes that a House subcommittee “investigated” Haaland, but he omits that the apparently partisan proceeding reached no findings.
I gather that Tucker, oddly, has been generally positive about Donald Trump. Trump unquestionably knew of Epstein’s misconduct, yet called Epstein his great pal, and joked about Epstein’s appreciation of young girls. A civil jury found Trump guilty of a sex crime. But Tucker would hang Haaland over . . . ?
If Tucker truly thinks we should decide who governs us for four years based on this 2014 flight, he’s a moron. But if we really had to decide that way, I’d eliminate Bregman, who has consistently misused the flight to malign Haaland.
If Bregman told a jury that a defendant had “associated with a sex offender” because the defendant had supported Donald Trump or worked for a company in which Epstein invested, the Judge would reprimand Bregman sharply. Bregman knows that, even if Tucker doesn’t.
Whomever you vote for, vote on issues and character.
– 30 –
The above column has already appeared on the Sun-News website but will not appear in the print paper until Sunday, 3 May. After I sent it in, we held up publication until I heard back from Mr. Tucker, for whom I’d left messages seeking to discuss this. When we did talk, he basically held to his views, insisting Haaland, as a candidae for office, should [somehow!] have known whose plane she was flying; and when I asked whether he’d research that if his publisher said they were flying to DC tomorrow on “ABC Air,” he replied that he wasn’t a candidate. He eventually softened some, given that this was a one-time flight, and allowed as maybe that was okay, but held to his views regarding her and Eric Swalwell. We agreed (amicably) to disagree, and mutually hoped we could discuss this stuff in the foreseeable future on radio, and I will invite him once we finish our current run of primary election fora.]
[The related radio commentary will air soon both on KRWG Radio and on KTAL-LP Radio, Las Cruces Community Radio.]
[I will also seek an opportunity to interview Mr. Bregman and ask for his justification of waving this innocent flight to Washington around like soiled panties.]
Because of the foregoing, no column from me appeared on this site or in the Sun-News last Sunday.
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