Nifongian Mathematics

Did DA Mike Nifong lie to the judge?

"I'm glad Bannon brought up the internet. The internet is reporting that I gave 50-70 interviews. I've checked my calendar and have approximately 15 interviews noted on my calendar the last being April 1st. Otherwise I've been responding with no comment." Mike Nifong, Duke Hoax hearing, September 22, 2006

The News and Observer asks:

HOW MANY?

When one of the defense lawyers said that Nifong gave 50 to 70 interviews about the case, Nifong said he wanted to set the record straight. He checked his schedule and it showed that he actually gave more like 15 to 20 interviews. He said he had many conversations with reporters, some just to say that he would not comment on the case.

But the number 50 came from Nifong himself.

In a March 31 interview with a News & Observer reporter, Nifong was asked "How many interviews do you think you've given?"

"In excess of 50," Nifong said.

If by his own admission Nifong had given over 50 interviews by March 31, did he use Nifongian Mathematics (math unburdened by truth and science) to arrive at the number 15 he "mistakenly" used to dupe Judge Smith? Obviously, the two conflicting statements by Mr. Nifong cannot both be true and accurate. Is it possible that Mr. Nifong merely assumed that Judge Smith could not count and would simply take his word for it or is it his contention that reality not documented on his calendar does not exist?

To help determine which of Mr. Nifong's statements was false, we've compiled the following "brief" list of DA Nifong's television appearances, newspaper interviews, public appearances and press releases. Please note: this list is incomplete and does not include all of Mr. Nifong's public statements before and after April 1 with regard to the Duke Hoax.

• Abrams Report March 31, 2006

Guest: Mike Nifong, Michelle Suskauer, Susan Filan, Mickey Sherman

ABRAMS: Have you identified the person who made the 911-call?

NIFONG: Have I personally identified...

ABRAMS: Yes.

NIFONG: Do I know if the...

ABRAMS: Do you know who it is?

NIFONG: ... to my knowledge that—I do not.

ABRAMS: OK. So that person has not come forward to say I was the one who made the call.

NIFONG: To my knowledge, no one has done that yet.

• I still think that the racial slurs that were involved are relevant to show the mind-set, I guess, that was involved in this particular attack, and obviously, to make what is already an extremely reprehensible attack even more reprehensible.-- Nifong to Harry Smith of CBS's "The Early Show" on March 30

• I would like to think that somebody who was not in the bathroom has the human decency to call up and say, "What am I doing covering up for a bunch of hooligans?" I'd like to be able to think that there were some people in that house that were not involved in this and were as horrified by it as the rest of us are.-- Nifong in a March 28 interview with The News & Observer

• Exclusive Interview: Durham DA Mike Nifong Reacts to Primary Victory Wednesday, May 03, 2006

VAN SUSTEREN: Now, sir, this was a Democratic primary. Is there a general election and you're unopposed? Is that correct?

NIFONG: Yes, ma'am, that's correct. No Republican filed, so as the winner of the Democratic primary, I will run unopposed in November. [oops...]

VAN SUSTEREN: Sir, a lot of DAs are more administrative, and some actually get back into the courtroom. Based on what you just said, are you sort of a hands-on DA but one who doesn't go into the courtroom anymore, or do you actually go into the courtroom and try cases?

NIFONG: Well, I haven't been in the courtroom in the last year because I haven't had a case that was assigned to me. Obviously, there is now a case that the national media has shown real interest in, that I have said is going to be my case, and I will be trying that one in the courtroom.

VAN SUSTEREN: Why did you make the decision to try this one? What is it about this — because you just said you expect to try this case with the lacrosse players. Why?

NIFONG: Well, I think that for some of the same reasons that the lacrosse case has captured the national media attention, it's captured the attention of the people in Durham in a way that it just seems to me that the issues that are touched on by this case are ones that the voters of Durham have a legitimate expectation that the elected district attorney will try that case for them. And I think that assigning it to somebody else would be to neglect those duties.

VAN SUSTEREN: So I take it, at this point, it's not very collegial between the prosecution and the defense lawyers, at this point.

NIFONG: I haven't actually spoken to him. But I, generally speaking, let the defense attorneys kind of set the stage for how the collegial the relationship will be.

May 4, 2006 NBC17 Television Interview

• In an interview with NBC17, Nifong asserted it was Osborne who was using the election strategically. He believes the attorney filed the motions the day before voters hit the polls with hopes that the district attorney would lose."You have to understand, obviously the defense attorneys would like the opportunity to try the case against somebody who is less experienced than I am or try to get somebody who is less experienced or less committed to the case," Nifong said. "If I was one of those attorneys, I wouldn't want to try the case against me either."Nifong said, based on evidence in this case, he cannot imagine it not going to trial. He expects that to happen sometime next spring.

• In an [March] interview with the Charlotte Observer, he [Nifong] mused, “I would not be surprised if condoms were used. Probably an exotic dancer would not be your first choice for unprotected sex."
• In an interview with the N&O that was published March 30, Nifong suddenly and dramatically reversed course on the significance of DNA to the case. He now suggested that the attackers could have used condoms—even though the accuser had denied her alleged attackers used condoms, which the district attorney would have known had he read his own file before speaking out publicly.
• March 27, NBC 17 #1: "The information that I have does lead me to conclude that a rape did occur," Nifong said. "I'm making a statement to the Durham community and, as a citizen of Durham, I am making a statement for the Durham community. This is not the kind of activity we condone, and it must be dealt with quickly and harshly."
• NBC 17 #2: "As you get additional information through Crimestoppers or through other witnesses, there are leads to follow up on the possible identities of some of the suspects," Nifong said.

• ABC "It is a case that talks about what this community stands for," Nifong said.

• NBC 17 March 29 "The circumstances of the rape indicated a deep racial motivation for some of the things that were done," District Attorney Mike Nifong said. "It makes a crime that is by its nature one of the most offensive and invasive even more so."
• "The racial slurs involved are relevant to show the mindset … involved in this particular attack," Nifong told Syler. "And, obviously, it made what is already an extremely reprehensible act even more reprehensible." - CBS March 30
• When the case first broke in the press, Prosecutor Mike Nifong, a whiteman who is running for election in a racially mixed county, hinted to Newsweek that blood and urine tests of the woman would reveal the presence of a date-rape drug.
• May 3, 2006 Rita Crosby Interview: On tonight's Rita Crosby, she asked him about some people saying he hasn't seen the exculpatory evidence; he (Nifong) said he has seen it.

We have also borrowed additional Nifong interviews from Michael Gaynor's list:

• The district attorney's office said team members deny the accusations, but admit there was underage drinking at the party. Otherwise, they are not cooperating with authorities. Nifong, who said Monday that he himself will prosecute the case, said authorities may apply for more search warrants in the case and that more charges for aiding and abetting may be possible against partygoers. "There's a good chance, if someone had spoken up and said, 'You can't do this,' it might not have happened," said Nifong. WRAL, March 27, 2006.
• "This is the type of case that because of the — on top of the rape, which is already an abhorrent crime enough, you have the additional racial animus and hostility that just seems totally out of place for this community in this day and age. And I felt that this was a case that we needed to make a statement, as a community, that we would not tolerate this kind of behavior here in Durham. And I felt that the best way to make that statement was to take this case myself." Nifong on MSNBC, Rita Cosby Live & Direct, March 28, 2006.
• Meanwhile, Nifong said charges are possible against those who were at the party but did nothing to stop a rape. "We're talking about a situation where had somebody spoken up and said, 'Wait a minute, we can't do this,' this incident might not have taken place," Nifong said. Nifong said he plans to prosecute the case himself to send a message to the community that authorities are taking the offense seriously. AP, March 28, 2006.
• "The thing that most of us found so abhorrent, and the reason I decided to take it over myself, was the combination gang-like rape activity accompanied by the racial slurs and general racial hostility," Mr. Nifong said Tuesday in a telephone interview. "There are three people who went into the bathroom with the young lady, and whether the other people there knew what was going on at the time, they do now and have not come forward. I'm disappointed that no one has been enough of a man to come forward. And if they would have spoken up at the time, this may never have happened." New York Times, March 28, 2006.
• "I am convinced there was a rape, yes, sir. ... There is evidence of trauma in the victim's vaginal area that was noted when she was examined by a nurse at the hospital. And her general demeanor was suggestive of the fact that she had been through a traumatic situation....Well, I don't want to go into a lot of the details of the evidence right now, but obviously, the story that these people were hired to dance and were asked to leave is the alternate story." Abrams Report, MSNBC, March 29, 2006.
• "My reading of the report of the emergency room nurse would indicate that some type of sexual assault did in fact take place," Nifong said. WRAL, March 29, 2006.
• "The circumstances of the rape indicated a deep racial motivation for some of the things that were done," District Attorney Mike Nifong said. "It makes a crime that is by its nature one of the most offensive and invasive even more so." NBC 17, March 29, 2006.
• There's no doubt in my mind that she was raped and assaulted at this location. FoxNews, The O'Reilly Factor, March 29, 2006.
• "The victim was examined at Duke University Medical Center by a nurse who was specially trained in sexual assault cases," Nifong said. "And the investigation at that time was certainly consistent with a sexual assault having taken place, as was the victim's demeanor at the time of the examination."..."The lacrosse team, clearly, has not been fully cooperative" in the investigation, Nifong confirmed to Syler. ... "The racial slurs involved are relevant to show the mindset...involved in this particular attack," Nifong told Syler. "And, obviously, it made what is already an extremely reprehensible act even more reprehensible." The Early Show, CBS, March 30, 2006.
• "There's been a feeling in the past that Duke students are treated differently by the court system," Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong says. "There was a feeling that Duke students' daddies could buy them expensive lawyers and that they knew the right people. It's discouraging when people feel that way, and we try not to make that the case." USA Today, March 30, 2006.
• Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong said Wednesday that even if DNA results, which are expected as early as next week, do not match team members, no one is necessarily exonerated. The attackers could have used condoms or might not have been team members, Nifong said. "How does DNA exonerate you? It's either a match or there's not a match," Nifong said. "...If the only thing that we ever have in this case is DNA, then we wouldn't have a case." Raleigh News & Obsetver, March 30, 2006.
• "There are certainly people who've told me that the timing of this could not be better for the election," Nifong said. "I had nothing to do with the timing of this case. I had nothing to do with anything about this other than the fact that what happened here was one of the worst things that's happened since I have become district attorney."' WRAL, March 31, 2006.'"If it's not the way it's been reported, then why are they so unwilling to tell us what, in their words, did take place that night?" Nifong told [ESPN's George] Smith on Thursday. "And one would wonder why one needs an attorney if one was not charged and had not done anything wrong." ESPN.com, March 31, 2006.
• Nifong, asked a week ago about news coverage of the case, said, "Having said something other than 'no comment' in the first place, it's kind of like going into Iraq. It's not a question of if you're right to go in there. It's a question of is it right to leave things a mess at this point in time?" Raleigh News & Observer, April 8, 2006.
• [Nifong] implied that members of the lacrosse team were engaging in a conspiracy of silence. "I would like to think that somebody [not involved in the attack] has the human decency to call up and say, 'What am I doing covering up for a bunch of hooligans?' he said. Nifong expressed confidence that the DNA would be important to filling charges. "By next week, we'll know precisely who was involved," he said, shortly after the samples were taken. "I'm trying to be as honest and as straightforward as I can without jeopardizing the case, without being unfair to any person." Raleigh News & Observer, April 10, 2006.
• Asked whether the DNA tests hurt his case, Nifong said that cases are often won on eyewitness and victim testimony. "The absence of DNA doesn't prove anything," Nifong said. Raleigh News & Observer, April 10, 2006.
• "The reason that I took this case is because this case says something about Durham that I'm not going to let be said," said Nifong. "I'm not going to allow Durham's view in the minds of the world to be a bunch of lacrosse players at Duke raping a black girl from Durham." WRAL, April 13, 2006.
• "What does it mean that she was intoxicated?" said Nifong. "Just as an example — speaking hypothetically — if I had a witness who saw her right before this and she was not intoxicated, and then I had a witness who said that she was given a drink at the party and after taking a few sips of that drink acted in a particular way, that could be evidence of something other than intoxication, or at least other than voluntary intoxication," Nifong told Newsweek. "There are many explanations for someone appearing to be intoxicated," he said. Asked if he had any evidence suggesting this scenario took place the night of the alleged rape, Nifong responded, "I don't have any evidence that I want to talk to you about right now." Still speaking hypothetically, he went on to say that, depending on the circumstances, an alleged victim's intoxication might make her a more credible witness. Newsweek Magazine, April 18, 2006.

Yet more interviews and public statements:

• PAULA ZAHN NOW, CNN, aired March 29, 2006: MICHAEL NIFONG, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: It just seems like a shame that they are not willing to violate this seeming sacred sense of loyalty to team for loyalty to community which seems to me to be a bigger issue.
• Nifong told the forum crowd at NCCU that his presence there meant the case was "not going away.""My conviction that a sexual assault actually took place is based on the examination that was done at Duke Hospital," Nifong said.
• Nifong press release April 28: "Many of the so-called facts that have been reported and commented on are wrong." [Uhm...Is he referring to the so-called fact that he gave 50 plus interviews or the so-called fact that he only gave 15?]
• Abrams Report March 28, 2006:

NIFONG: I am convinced that there was a rape, yes, sir.

ABRAMS: And why are you so convinced of that?

NIFONG: The circumstances of the case are not suggestive of the alternate explanation that has been suggested by some of the members of the situation. There is evidence of trauma in the victim’s vaginal area that was noted when she was examined by a nurse at the hospital.

• WRAL March 29, 2006: Durham County District Attorney Nifong said he had no doubt that the victim was raped."My reading of the report of the emergency room nurse would indicate that some type of sexual assault did in fact take place," Nifong said.
• Nifong press release June 17, 2006 None of the "facts," indeed, none of the evidence I have seen from any source, has changed the opinion that I expressed initially.
• "Mr. Osborn has said many things," Nifong said. "There is some possibility there might be one kernel of truth in one of his motions somewhere." Herald Sun
• Nifong's July 28 Press Conference "I have not backed down from my initial assessments of the case...There were things we hoped to have in terms of evidence that we ended up not having...My handling of the media coverage of this case has occasioned substantial criticism, some of which is undoubtedly justified," Nifong said during a half-hour press conference...I both underestimated the level of media attention this case would draw and misjudged the effect that my words would have...I understand someone is calling this the 'Anybody but Nifong' election."

From Osborn's recusal motion, we find several more examples:

• "The 46 members of the No. 2 ranked team are united in silence and refusing to talk with investigators probing the rape case." ABC News 3/29/06.
• "Even if DNA results do not match team members, no one is necessarily exonerated. The attackers could have used condoms or might not have been team members." News and Observer 3/30/06
• "If defense attorneys were angling for a change of venue, they wouldn't have much luck. After all the media have been here this week, we'd have to move it to China....There's been a feeling in the past that Duke students are treated differently by the court system. There was a feeling that Duke students' daddies could buy themexpensive lawyers and that they knew the right people." USA TODAY 3/3 1/06
• "In 75% to 80% of sexual assault cases, there is no DNA evidence. A lot has beensaid in the press, particularly by some attorneys . . . that this case should go away... I hope you will understand that my presence here means that this case is not going away. . . . DNA results can often be helpful, but I've been doing this a long time, and for most of the years I've been doing this, we had to deal with sexual assault cases the good old-fashioned way. Witnesses got on the stand and told what happened to them. . . . The fact is anytime you have a victim who can identify her assailant, then what you have is a case a judge must let go to the jury. In this situation, I would suspect that a jury will get to evaluate the evidence. . . . There are many types of DNA tests that can be done. It might surprise you, or might not surprise you, that we're still waiting for some DNA tests that have not been done. . . . Certainly I have heard the criticism that if the situation were reversed, it's usually said that if this was a white girl and the focus was on the N.C. Central basketball team, they would all be in jail right now, and I understand that is a sentiment in the community, but I just want you to know, that's not the way I conduct business." USA TODAY 4/11/06

Not wanting to accuse Nifong of intentionally lying to the judge, LieStoppers has to assume that Mr. Nifong is suffering from memory problems instead. These "memory problems" appear to leave Mr. Nifong unable to remember certain things and to become rather Nifongian with numbers. What could be the reason behind Mr. Nifong’s cognitive difficulties? Could Mr. Nifong’s memory problems be due to the fact that he accidentally cut off oxygen to his brain while demonstrating chokeholds on national TV?