Andrea Mitchell Asked Rendell A Question Re: Sandusky That I've Wondered About Too

She brought up the fact that Gov. Corbett, then the state AG, had this case in 2008 yet nothing had been done in the ensuing 3 years and she asked Rendell why. He had no answer and basically glossed over the matter.

Did he put the case on hold while he campaigned for governor?

I understand questioning with Rendell but Rendell is only going to know what was told to him by his AG. And I don't think AG Corbett is responsible to tell the Governor of all his investigations.

Though I think an 'I don't know' might've been a better response than trying to change the focus of the question.

Who knows when the others (including the victims) testified.

They were basically ready to charge Curley and Schultz almost a year ago.

to pay a state tax to compensate for harm done. He is not an advocate for the 99%. I would be surprised if he would have told Rendell unless it affected one of the 1% or a personal friend. Have you noticed that that's the way most republicans roll?

and is pretty much an independent agent, what would Rendell have to do with it?

As I said already om this thread Rendell is not the issue and my question, as well as Andrea's, was why a case that he was handed over in 2008, was still an outstanding matter up until a few weeks ago. Now that being said, Rendell did accept an invite onto a television show to discuss the scandal and I think it would've looked better for him if he hadn't side-stepped the issue when it came to Corbett.

But he came on to discuss the matter and it was a fair question for as I said, I wondered about it too.

There's 40 charges, relating to 8 different victims. That would likely take quite a bit of time to sort out, particularly tracking down witnesses from things that happened 10-15 years ago.

Of course, I assume the AG is in charge of who and how many are assigned to the investigation. . . .

I just heard that.

(I think it was Friday). He was elected Attorney General in 2004.

Here is info from an article about why it took so long to investigate:

Patriot-News Special Report: Inside the Jerry Sandusky investigation - why did it take so long?

snip

At first, the case shuffled through the legal system. It was referred from Clinton County to Centre County, where the crimes were alleged to have taken place. In March 2009, then-Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira transferred the case to then-Attorney General Tom Corbett’s office, citing a conflict of interest.

Despite the fact that Sandusky might continue to have contact with young boys through The Second Mile, despite the explosive possibility that a legendary Penn State coach might have committed repeated sexual assaults, only one state trooper was assigned to the case.

A grand jury began looking at the case in Harrisburg, but the investigation centered around only the one alleged victim and one set of incidents of abuse.

Finally, in fall 2010, the attorney general’s office began to supervise the case.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/11/special_report_why_the_jerry_s.html

I grew up watching Pac 8 (later Pac 10, now Pac 12) basketball. During my formative years, John Wooden's UCLA Bruins won everything, and I mean everything. Every year, they had the best talent, the best team, and the best record. Every year, no exceptions. I'd bet that the second best team in the country was often Bob Boyd's USC Trojans, but because UCLA held the deed to first place, the Trojans never got a chance to show how they could do against the best of the rest of the country. Breaking that "UCLA is the best" mentality took years, and there's still a hangover in Pac 12 basketball that if UCLA isn't the champ, it's an off year for the conference. If you're not an intimate of the Pac 12, you can't really know how pervasive the Bruin influence is.

In Happy Valley, Penn State football is similarly the only game in town. They dominate the town, the region and the state in ways small and large that are beyond an outsider to comprehend. Everything flows from the Nittany Lion football program, everything finds the ground of its being (in the Tillichian sense) in Penn State football, and it's difficult to overstate that influence. There's just no such thing as a neutral observer of Penn State in that area, and opponents learn real fast to just keep quiet about it, at least in polite company. Whether it's the corner grocery, the local burger joint, or even into the supposedly above-the-influence offices of elected officials, there's no getting away from Penn State, Joe Paterno, and Nittany Lion football. You want to beard that lion (no pun intended), you best be prepared to walk that road very much alone through very hostile territory. And while the word hero has been devalued nearly to the point of meaninglessness in our society, there just aren't very many heroes who will walk that road, knowing that the most probable outcome is career suicide and social ostracism.

culture and it is why child abuse/rape continues to be one of the most under-reported violent crimes. Until destructive, ugly cultures like that are ostracized like those very few courageous ones are ostracized now, little will change and that is disgusting beyond belief, imo.

This mindset in a way reminds of way of some comments in another thread about Chelsea Clintin being waltzed in to a position at NBC. That Chelsea is an intelligent woman is not the issue, the issue is the degree that celebrity and connections opens doors. What I found troubling are those who seem so enanourmed with her that criticism is out of the question. This propensity for many to shield those who for some reason or other have attained near god-ike status really needs to be questioned.

p.s. Your post deserves its own thread as it really sheds light on the PS mindset.

Looks like a lot of balls were dropped along the way. I also notice a discrepancy from when I heard the case was handed over (2008) and when the article says it was (2009).

of investigation. The first level began in 2008 at the county level and it wasn't until 2009 it was transferred to Corbett's office. To have only ONE state trooper assigned to the case after it landed in Corbett's office for a year, that one alone is a big eye-opener, imo.

As I said I wondered, especially after seeing a number of interviews with Corbett, but I hadn't heard the question asked on the airwaves until Andrea asked it today. It surprised me when she did because her questions aren't usually so astute.

and somewhat surprising, indeed, that it was asked by her given her past performances.

Thanks for you thread, btw, I would not have known the question had come up at all other than in the local news article I had read had you not posted this.

Thanks for the info, I hope this is just the beginning in examining why it took so long and why only one trooper assigned for the investigation until 2010.

He has been excellent covering this issue.

It moved faster after the new AG came in in 2011. Two and a half years is a long time. Who knows what else was going on with Sandusky from 2008 on.

I wonder if we will ever know.

something smells real bad

the protection of children should be among the highest priority and not put at the lowest where it was, imo, given only ONE trooper was assigned to the investigation for a year.