Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Someone Got it Wrong

Last Sunday, we learned from Benjamin Niolet of the News and Observer that District Attorney Mike Nifong has never heard the accuser tell her story, yet he believes her.
“He was so confident in the accuser's story and his case that he refused to meet with lawyers who said they could prove players' innocence....Although Nifong has never heard the woman tell her story, he believes her.”
Today, we learn from David Smith, chairman of Friends of Durham, by way of the Herald Sun’s William West, that Mr. Nifong has indeed interviewed the accuser.
"And we asked Mike Nifong, and one of his comments was that he's the only one that's interviewed this victim," Smith said. "And he feels confident in his case."
Unless this interview occurred within the past week, it would appear that both of these statements cannot be accurate. When questioned by a LieStoppers’ reader about the veracity of the claim that Nifong had never heard the accuser tell her story, Melanie Sill responded that she stood behind the claim as it was based on Nifong’s statements in court. With the understanding that Nifong’s statements in court were that the facts of the case were not discussed in his meeting with the accuser on April 11, many have concluded, based on Ms. Sills defense of the Niolet statement, that this meeting was the only opportunity for Nifong to have interviewed the accuser.
Certainly it would seem incredible that Mr. Nifong had not taken the time to personally assess the accuser’s credibility yet not only did the News and Observer stand behind that claim, there has also been no correction issued by the N&O regarding their claim. The lack of a formal correction in light of their previous corrections of Mr. Nifong’s salary and the date of a memo would also lead one to believe that they confidently stood by their claim. Is it possible that, despite their confidence to the contrary, Mr. Nifong has interviewed the accuser?

Either Mr. Nifong believes the accuser despite having never heard her story or he has confidence in his case and has interviewed her. For the News and Observer to be correct, it would indicate that either the Herald Sun misquoted Mr. Smith or Mr. Smith misinterpreted the Nifongese. Regardless of the cause for the discrepancy, it will be interesting to discover which version is accurate.
If the N&O, the Herald Sun, and Mr. Smith are all accurate, can it mean anything other than Mr. Nifong misrepresented the truth, either in his Friends of Durham candidate interview or at the September 22 court hearing? Unless of course, as KC Johnson indicates, the interview did not cover the facts of the case.
"So, the revised Nifong party line appears to be: he “interviewed” the accuser, but the interview didn’t in any way involve the facts of the case. That tale is fanciful even by Nifong’s advanced standards."
Maybe it was a job interview...

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

If the lives of three innocent young men were not in the balance this would be hilarious.

Interim DA Nifong is a man unable to tell the truth.

Anonymous said...

This case would be hilarious if one of the young men were Bryan Nifong- Dingdong's son. I'd like tosee how "tough" Dingdong would be.
What goes around comes around.

Sunny skies ahead for the Lacrosse players and their families.

Anonymous said...

How can it be that someone so evil and lacking in integrity could be elected on November 7th as District Attorney of Durham? Duke Administration please wake up and save Durham by standing up for the innocent students at Duke.

Anonymous said...

If Nifong met with the accuser, then where are the notes fromn the meeting?

Anonymous said...

As much as I despise Nifong and I DESPISE him and his wife CY Gurney, bringing their son into it is absolutely as low, cheap and despicable as he is.

Leave the boy alone.


Anonymous said...
This case would be hilarious if one of the young men were Bryan Nifong- Dingdong's son. I'd like tosee how "tough" Dingdong would be.
What goes around comes around.

Sunny skies ahead for the Lacrosse players and their families.

6:13 PM

Anonymous said...

Mentioning a young boy's name on a message board is hardly in the same category as trying to put that young boy in prison for a crime he did not commit.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, maybe Nifong was interviewing her for a housecleaning position. Maybe Cy needs some help around Casa Nifong?

Anonymous said...

I feel sorry for Nifong's son. He will definitely have to get a name
change after he realizes the despicable things his father has
done to these innocent boys and their families. How can he go thru life with a last name like Nifong?

Anonymous said...

In as much people don't think Nogong's son's name should be mentioned, neither did any of the Lacrosse player's families. I am sure the parents of the boys were "thrilled" that their sons names were on a wanted poster.
Nifong asked for his surname to be household name. None of the LAX players or theri families asked for it.
Nifong is to blame for bringing his family into this mess- not the lacrosse team!

Anonymous said...

No one ever said NIfong's son was guilty of a crime..... I am sure Nifong would be singing a different tune if it were his son, grandson, nephew, etc involved!
As a man of the court, he should be treating the accused in every sense the exact way he would treat a family member.

Anonymous said...

Many thanks to all that followed this train....as Holmes said, and I've quoted elsewhere, "When all else fails, consider the obvious". Mike talked to her more than once and it was about the case.....

Anonymous said...

The only way to get back at Mike Nifong's horrible handling of this case is to let him experience what it is like for the parents of the boys he is putting through the ringer.

Since there are many who want to see Nifong to experience personal pain that he is putting the families through, it is almost guaranteed that some woman will come along and accuse his Nifong's son "Bryan Nifong" of rape.

I feel sorry that Bryan will have to pay for the horrible sins of his father and probably spend most of his life in jail.