Thursday, May 30

Shapiro Continues His Crime & Justice Charade

PA Attorney General Josh Shapiro continues to waste tax payer dollars to pushing his "no one is above the law" charade

By 
Ray Blehar
May 30, 2019, 9:06 PM, EDT; Updated at 9:40 PM

Yesterday, PA AG Josh Shapiro filed notice that his office intends to appeal the Federal Court's decision to vacate the verdict against former Penn State University (PSU) President Graham Spanier.  According to media reports, Shapiro continues to insist that the U.S. District Magistrate overreached in vacating the decisions of various Pennsylvania county and state courts who allowed the ex post facto application of the law every step of the way in the Spanier case.

Shapiro's appeal will be heard by the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.  The court notably includes former AG D. Michael Fisher, who some believe may have had a role in influencing the outcome of  the 1998 investigation of Jerry Sandusky. 

In a tweet (sent out by his lackey, Joe Grace), the AG's office told a baldfaced lie by stating that Spanier was told children were being abused.  No such evidence was presented at the trial nor does that evidence exist anywhere else in the universe.

Tuesday, May 14

We Reached 3 Million views

Dear Readers,
In late April 2019, notpsu.blogspot.com passed 3 million views. 



Although that is the official count, back in 2014 google's counter stopped counting views/traffic from web-sites like Blue-White Illustrated and Scout.com.   I am sure the real number of views is significantly higher.

Thanks so much for your support!


Monday, May 6

Dick Anderson's Statement to PSU BOT

Former Penn State football assistant Dick Anderson's statement to the Penn State Board of Trustees regarding the Sandusky scandal and the Freeh Report

"On Nov. 9, 2011, Joe Paterno was fired by the Board of Trustees without due process, despite his 61 years of unparalleled service to this University and this community. The Board, confused and conflicted, was influenced by a vengeful Governor Corbett and a trustee with a personal vendetta that high-jacked its leadership. In addition, there was a bold-faced lie written by PA Prosecutor Jonelle Eshbach.

"The Board, fearing the NCAA, and lacking experience from within, jumped outside the University for counsel. They neglected to seek advice from PSU Professsor John Coyle, an internationally recognized logistics expert, who was the Faculty Representative to the NCAA for 30 years, and John Bove, who served as Penn State’s Compliance Coordinator for 14 years. Both men had intimate knowledge and personal relationships with the NCAA.

"The NCAA, not sure of their own standing on this matter, bluffed the University with the help of the Freeh Group and a lying and leaking Attorney General’s Office. It is important to note that Mark Emmert was told by his own staff not to get involved – this was not in their jurisdiction! Eventually the NCAA accepted the Freeh Report in place of their own investigation and levied one of the harshest sanctions in their history on Penn State.

"On August 28, 2012, a statement of past Chairs of the Penn State Faculty Senate was released. This ad-hoc group of 30 faculty members wrote the following:

"As a document in which evidence, facts, and logical arguments are marshaled to support conclusions and recommendations, the Freeh Report fails badly. Not only are the assertions about the Penn State culture unproven, but we declare them to be FALSE.

"John Snedden, an NCIS investigator, was sent by the Federal government to investigate President Spanier and the alleged cover-up. He concluded that there was no crime and therefore NO COVER UP.

"The A-7 report was a breath of fresh air. It exposed the Freeh Report for what it is – dishonest, deceitful, and geared to fulfill a narrative.

"In the end, the Freeh Report provided the impetus for the extreme NCAA sanctions, the incarceration of 2 outstanding administrators, the dismissal of another, the prosecution of President Spanier, the vilification of Joe Paterno, and unmeasurable damage to the University, the football program, its coaches, and this community.

"By your silence, you have made yourself complicit with the Freeh Report. Many are of the opinion that the money that has been squandered is the underlying factor that prevents the Board from acknowledging the truth. Regardless, the Board and President Barron need to stand up and publicly reject the Freeh Report.

"Truth, transparency, and integrity are critical to the University’s mission. Embracing the “montra” that time will erase the memory of this catastrophe is false. It will not go away. Ladies and Gentlemen – by the very nature of your position, you control our legacy and future. We have been wronged by many people and are hurting as a result. You can take a big step toward the healing process. Please do the right thing and denounce the Freeh Report."

Thursday, May 2

CNN's Biased Coverage of Spanier Case

CNN continues its bias against all things Penn State as it promoted the factually challenged statement of AG Josh Shapiro and hasn't published the Spanier response

By
Ray Blehar
May 2, 2019,10:55 AM EDT

Over the last several years, CNN has relied on anonymous sources, single sources, and unquestionably unreliable and biased sources in its coverage of all things related to Joe Paterno and Penn State. 

This practice dates back (at least)  to June 2012 when Susan Candiotti was told about excerpts of PSU emails and spewed forth the PA Attorney General's preferred narrative when it came to interpreting their meaning.

Yesterday, CNN's Madeline Holcomb, with support from three other reporters not named Sara Ganim, gave rather biased coverage that was favorable to PA Attorney General Josh Shapiro's factually challenged press release regarding his alleged intent to appeal the court's decision to vacate the verdict against former PSU President Graham Spanier

Of course, CNN didn't fact check any of the quotes they used from Shapiro's release, thus repeating the following falsehood:

"As the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has made crystal clear, Spanier's conduct was illegal," 

The fact was/is that the PA Supreme Court never ruled on the merits of the case.

Wednesday, May 1

Spanier Response to Shapiro Statement

Statement of Graham B. Spanier’s Attorneys Samuel W. Silver and Bruce P. Merenstein
 in Response to Statement of Attorney General Josh Shapiro


We are dismayed that the Pennsylvania Attorney General, the highest law enforcement official in the state, would blatantly and prejudicially misrepresent facts in a public announcement of his intent to appeal the federal court’s ruling that Graham Spanier’s conviction violated the United States Constitution.

Contrary to Attorney General Shapiro’s statement, there is no evidence that Graham Spanier was personally advised that children were being sexually abused.  And Attorney General Shapiro knows that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court made nothing crystal clear about Dr. Spanier’s conduct, as it did not hear this case on the merits at any time.

We are stunned that Mr. Shapiro accuses Dr. Spanier of engaging in a “cover-up,” when a jury expressly acquitted Dr. Spanier of having engaged in a conspiracy or a continuing course of conduct. 

We will continue to defend Dr.  Spanier against this overzealous and unlawful prosecution.  And we will continue to do so in the courts, where the dispute belongs — and not through hyperbolic statements like that of the Attorney General.

Shapiro Press Release on Spanier Conviction Is Nonsense

The PA Attorney General's announcement to appeal the Spanier decision is filled with lies and half truths

By
Ray Blehar
May 1, 2019, 1:35 PM EDT, Updated at 6:30 PM EDT

Unwilling to admit defeat, corrupt Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro allegedly intends to appeal the Federal court's ruling on the Spanier case.

Yesterday's ruling confirmed that former Penn State University President (PSU) Graham Spanier's Constitutional Rights were violated due to the ex post facto application of the child endangerment statute.

It is unclear at this time how Shapiro is going to appeal this ruling, but his press release makes it clear that he intends to ignore the law and evidence to make his case.   See below (my emphasis added):

Spanier Verdict Vacated

U.S. Magistrate Karoline Mehalchick ruled that Spanier's Constitutional Rights were violated by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General

By
Ray Blehar
May 1, 2019, 8:35 AM EDT

Finally, some justice.

Former Penn State University (PSU) President Graham Spanier and his legal team battled for nearly six years to have the courts dismiss the charges of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (EWOC) on the grounds that it was an ex post facto application of the law.   Numerous judges in the Pennsylvania courts either dismissed the motions, refused to rule on them, and in the case of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, refused to hear the argument.

But yesterday, a Federal Judge ruled that Spanier's rights were indeed violated when then Attorney General Linda Kelly allowed prosecutors to charge Spanier with a 2007 version of the EWOC statute for an incident occurring in 2001.  She vacated the trial verdict.

The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General (PA OAG) has 90 days to retry Spanier.