Attorney General John Kroger stuck very closely to script in a noon press conference about the investigation report [PDF] his office released this morning regarding the 2005 relationship between Mayor Sam Adams and Beau Breedlove.
Kroger, a Democrat who won election in 2008, was very specific about what his investigators found during their five-month investigation: “insufficient evidence to charge Mayor Adams with a criminal offense.”
He was equally specific about what the report, which examined five possible theories of criminal conduct, did not do: “This report makes no assessment of Sam Adams’ credibility,” Kroger says.
Kroger’s investigators interviewed 57 witnesses, including speaking to Breedlove six times. Chief investigator Ron Nelson says Breedlove’s story remained consistent throughout the interviews. He added that only one potential witness—Breedlove’s former boyfriend, Mark Merkle—declined to cooperate.
Kroger acknowledged, however, that there is no guarantee any witness told the truth because of a quirk in Oregon law.
In Kroger’s old job—he was a federal prosecutor in Brooklyn—witnesses were told that lying to federal investigators was against the law. There is no such state statute in Oregon.
“It’s an anomaly of Oregon law that you can lie to investigators,” Kroger says.
It is against the law to lie to a grand jury. But Kroger says there would have been no benefit to bringing both Adams and Breedlove to a grand jury under oath in hopes of reconciling their conflicting stories about whether they kissed in a City Hall bathroom before Breedlove turned 18. Kroger says that’s because any testimony given to the grand jury would not have been usable at trial.
clarification: Kroger’s spokesman, Tony Green, explains that grand juries are typically empaneled after the decision to charge a suspect has been made. He further adds that while anything Breedlove told a grand jury would have been admissible, Kroger had no ability to compel Adams to testify in front of grand jury or to give testimony that might incriminate himself.
“I determined that we would not convene a grand jury,” Kroger says.
Any such grand jury testimony, Kroger says, would have limited the amount of information available and done nothing to increase the likelihood of bringing charges.
In any case, Kroger says, there was simply no corroboration of Breedlove’s claim or evidence that any crime related to a cover-up occurred.
“We conducted an extensive, comprehensive investigation,” Kroger says. The result was a case that “was too weak to charge.”
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- Interview with John Kroger, Part 1 Here
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Tags: beau breedlove, John Kroger, Sam Adams
I hope that if the attorney general ever ask to look at my computer or cell phone, I will be given one week too to wipe them clean of any information. Everyone knows the fix was in. If this wasn’t fixed, there would have been a grand jury.
“This report makes no assessment of Sam Adams’ credibility.”
The report sure isn’t shy about making assessments about Breedlove’s credibility. I wonder why Kroger felt compelled to explicitly give Adams a free pass. Apparently he finds Adams to be a very believable and credible person.
Whoa, with a capital W H O A. I think I might need to barf my lunch.
You hit it, tw. The report had no apparent problem making assessments on Breedlove’s credibility. In fact they seemed to go a bit overboard in why he can’t be held reliable, now for any info about anything that happened to him at 17 and 18 and currently. In the meantime, “This report makes no assessment of Sam Adam’s credibility.” And the advantages taken of the kiddo, just keep on comin’………..
Seriously, I need to go puke…….
There was nothing to assess, since Adams never made any claims about illegal conduct. Kroger was reviewing evidence of illegal conduct. Breedlove was the only source of that evidence, and he was not found credible. Adams’ credibility was never at issue in this case.
“Adams’ credibility was never at issue in this case.”
You’re an idiot.
“The report sure isn’t shy about making assessments about Breedlove’s credibility.”
Duh. Welcome to America, where the onus is on the PROSECUTION to prove charges! Where exactly do you think would be the legal value in assessing Adams’ credibility?
As much as I believe Breedlove on this point, he’s done irreparable damage to his own credibility and Kroger is right: it wouldn’t hold up in court for a minute.
This was an investigation into whether or not charges could be brought, not a prosecution of existing charges. You’re not paying attention.
Kroger uses Breedlove as a pretext for washing his hands entirely of the question of whether or not Adams provided a credible account of his actions. That’s his choice. But it begs the question of why he even bothered talking to Adams at all.
“Irreparable damage to his own credibility”…at 22 the guy has done “irreparable damage”? DON’T BUY INTO THAT PIECE OF PURE BULLSHIT, BEAU! Not even if this were the year 1100, would your statement be credible, john lowry, and sorry but your understanding that Breedlove’s credibility wouldn’t hold up in court…….you might want to hit your nearest friendly film rental outlet, and rent “The Accused”, ASAP.
No. Beau wasn’t raped by Sam, but if ever anyone lacked credibility, according to your and the AG’s system, and what makes up a profile of the credible in court, this should bring you up to speed real quick.
Kroger should have never taken this on if he wasn’t willing to get in and get his hands dirty.
Watching him today is was clear that everyone got the feeling they botched the investigation. As a result he just added his name to the list of people whose credibility was damaged by this whole thing.
The press was skeptical and had a right to be. This event was choreographed and almost came off as “we asked Sam if he was guilty, he said he wasn’t, and no one else was credibile.”
Exactly. What a farce.
There is a man who swore that Kroger was the guy…vote for him Jack, I did, I was pissed off at this so called crime fighter who said to vote for him, and then got lost on another issuse close to me as well,now I’m really pissed!
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