Marc Dann’s Condogate- Another Update
Published April 11th, 2008 @ 7:41 am. Tags: marc dannFirst, Marc Dann’s hometown newspaper, the Youngstown Vindicator, ran a column today by David Skolnick, who slams AG Marc Dann for hiring his unqualified friend, Anthony S. Gutierrez, as his director of genital services.
Second, as I suggested yesterday, according to today’s Columbus Dispatch, the definition of “pajamas” is in question. How Clintonian!:
Further, he said he believes she was there Sept. 10, but had no “specific recollection” of it.
“She’s never been in my house in pajamas,” Dann said. “She certainly wasn’t that night. That’s the strangest thing I can imagine.”
Stankoski said she told Angela Smedlund, the state EEO officer who took her complaint on March 31, that Utovich was wearing “comfortable clothes,” perhaps sweat pants and a sweat shirt. In her handwritten notes, Smedlund translated that into “pj’s.”
Third, that same Dispatch article notes that Vanessa Stout, one of the two women accusing Anthony Gutierrez of sexual harassment or sexual assault, saw Dann’s scheduler leaving his condo in the morning on a number of occassions:
Stout, the other complainant, was not there that evening. But she had a bird’s-eye view because, at the time, she lived directly across the parking lot from the condo that was shared by Dann, Gutierrez and Leo Jennings III, Dann’s communications director. Dann moved out in December.
Stout said when she visited the condo late last year, she saw Utovich on two or three occasions, sometimes dressed casually. She said that, from her condo, she saw Utovich “multiple times” leaving Dann’s condo in the morning.
And yesterday, The Cleveland Plain Dealer editorial page is demanding that AG Marc Dann must hand off this investigation to a private investigator…. which sounds a great deal like what candidate Dann demanded about “Coingate” in 2006:
Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann’s decision to conduct an internal investigation into explosive allegations of sexual harassment leveled against one his top appointees is unacceptable. Dann’s decision to remove himself from that inquiry isn’t sufficient.
Dann’s career is on the line here. At the very least, he is a potential witness in a case involving the hiring of a pal from the Mahoning Valley who, like a number of other Dann hires, came to the job with a boatload of baggage.
Unless Dann asks for the hiring of a special counsel with impeccable credentials to investigate a problem that’s one revelation away from becoming a full-scale scandal, suspicions of a cover-up will just keep building.
If it turns out, as today’s story suggests, that the whole “pajamas” thing was off-base, and that it was not even the accuser’s description to begin with, then the Dispatch royally screwed up. They were so zealous about going after Dann’s alleged “affair” that they’re looking foolish. Meanwhile, these so-called reporters who asked Dann, on-camera, about the PJs should have directly asked him about his role in the Gutierrez story. “Did you invite his 26-year-old subordinate to come home with him? Do you think it’s a good idea for your managers to get take their aides to drink and then home?”
They were not zealous to go after a story about an affair, they quoted the complaint that was filed. At any rate, the quote was clarified and now we all understand that “p.j.s” was the description that the person taking notes used. I
t was relevant to the story and I’m glad that they included the information. I’m also sure that there are lots of questions being asked by reporters but not all of them wind up being broadcast. AND there are plenty of questions that can’t be answered if there is an ongoing investigation. Don’t blame the reporters on this one, blame the (alleged) offenders!
It doesn’t matter WHAT Utovich wore, it matters WHERE she slept.
Look at it THIS way,
Sweat Pants vs. pajamas.
Was she working out in those pants or SLEEPING. What I am saying is this is turning into Clinton style is “is” a word, Legalize.
Did she sleep in the damned pants overnight at Dann’s or did she go home in her pants after Gutierrez allegedly let his fingers do the walking.
People sleep in sweat pants quite frequently and more frequently sleep in sweatpants then workout in sweatpants. So sweatpants are more propperly USED as pajamas then they are workout attire for sweating.
Utovich slept overnight, Gutierrez molested his co-worker after he coerced her and Dann enticed her for Gutierrez to his lair. Dann and Jennings lied about it.
Watch Dann squirm here…….http://darkegop.blogspot.com/2008/04/video-marc-dann-answers-pajama-question.html
Oh and while I’m at it……
Dann quote, “”She’s never been in my house in pajamas,” Dann said. “She certainly wasn’t that night. That’s the strangest thing I can imagine.”
Legal dodging.
“She’s never been in my house in pajamas”
“She certainly wasn’t that night.”
Which is it Dann?
Has she NEVER worn pajamas in your house OR was she certainly not THAT night?
This guy needs to go back to his megalomania in the senate.
Keep talking Dann and you’ll tell us where Hoffa is buried and where your Mom hides the cookie money.
I know for a fact that Dann attempted to “separate from employment” AGs that were Republican. And this was for no other reason than that. Of course, the reason given was that they needed to have their own people in to give the office their own flavor and that it would not likely be possible with the budget to keep the Assistant AG. Given the fact the Assistant AG was pretty much the bottom rung on the food chain as far as decision making was concerned, there was no other explanation for separating this person from service except for being a Republican. While the AGs are at will employees, the First Amendment guarantees nonpolicy makers who are of different political parties protection from being fired in such circumstances.
For someone who was very loud regarding Republican corruption, Dann certainly has not followed through on ending such activities. After all, didn’t we hear how the coin dealer was a friend of Taft’s over and over again….seems like the thugs from Y Town stick together. Where’s the “independent investigation” that Dann would have clamored for if this was a Republican?
Dion, do you not understand the English language? Dann’s two statements don’t contradict each other. If she’s never been at his house in p.j.s, then she could not have been in p.j.s that night. It’s like an SAT question:
If A = B and B = C, then A = C.
If there are no days or nights in which Utovich has been present at Dann’s house in pajamas (or, worded differently for you, Jessica’s never been there in p.j.s) and September 10 was both a day and a night, then one can conclude that on September 10, Utovich wasn’t present at Dann’s house in pajamas.
Also, other than Stout’s allegations, I haven’t seen anything else suggesting Utovich slept at Dann’s or slept there that night. You’re just throwing stuff around with the hope that things stick.
Also, it’s not Clintonian legalizing of a word to say “you said pajamas and she wasn’t there in pajamas.” Yeah, sweats are often used for sleeping, but they’re also used for running errands or hanging out during off-work hours for tons of young women in their 20-30s. Pajamas, however, are not used for most of those other things. There’s a big difference, say, in wearing sweats to the grocery store and wearing pajamas. One won’t even get noticed by your check-out person and the other will not only get you extra looks but probably a few snickers. Running errands for your boss in sweats, totally acceptable; doing so in pajamas is less so.
Shadow - for the most part, AOAGs serve at the pleasure of the OAG. This happens whenever there’s a change in party leadership at the major political offices. It’s like when Ambassadors change each Presidential term; you don’t get to claim First Amendment protection when it was your political party that got you the job in the place. As a result, the fact that Republicans are being dismissed because of their political party doesn’t really even matter or raise eyebrows. The only difference is that Republicans had the AG’s office for successive terms before so there hasn’t been this changeover for political reasons in recent years.
OLS,
Thank you for your response. My question is, are you a lawyer? Because I am. I am the AAG who was requested tobe separated from employment even though I was only there for nine months. Luckily the state agency who was my client liked me and appreciated my work and the new Democrat agency director along with other Democrats in the AGs’ office did not think the separation was right and fought to keep my job.
As someone who has worked in politics for years, I know that with changes in administration comes changes in personnel who are different political parties. That’s the nature of the beast and is accepted for us who worked in politics. However, never had such a change in administration had reached down to lowly AAGs. I am not the one who said this but 30 year veterans who are Democrats who told me that. Not ever. Further, I did not get the job because I was Republican, I got the job because I was qualified and while that explanation might be dismissed as such, that is fine.
Further, I have seen Dann in action in the Senate. He’s a blow hard and that is not because he’s a Democrat. I know Republicans who are the same. However, for someone who claims to be a change of pace from the Republicans in office before, he is doing the same things he claimed Taft did which was to conceal information from the public.
You certainly are correct that AAGs serve at the pleasure of the AG. However, case law on the First Amendment is clear, non-policy makers cannot be terminated for their political leanings. If you knew what you were talking about you would have known that, and I mean that in a polite way. The only people when a change of adminstrations occurs who can be terminated for being of a different political party, even in at will employment states, are those who have policy making authority. Courts allow this because it would hinder the new administration’s executing of its policy. While lowly AGs who have been there not even a year are not policy makers so you are 100% wrong. Democrats who were AAGs when Brown, Celebreeze, Fisher were AGs were working through the Montgomery and Petro administrations because they were not in the administrative/policy making end of the AGs office. If they were then they would be dismissed and Republicans in policy areas would be dismissed in the Dann administration, which they should be. That is consistent with case law.
Ols,
If you say pajamas haven’t been used for running errands, YOU haven’t been on campus on a Sunday morning.
Defending the statement, “She certainly wasn’t there THAT night” is just sandbagging.
If and when it comes out that an affair was being hidden, you will feel foolish.
Mu point, single women shouldn’t go to MARRIED men’s condos, at night, when drinks are flowing, when the wives and families are absent.
It doesn’t avoid the appearance of impropriety.
There are reports that Jessica had been seen leaving the condo at night and our AG is way off base having this type of behavior IN HIS CONDO, with his staff, with his friends. This woman was a 1/2 step away from being sexually assaulted.
You can argue all day and night about pj’s vs. sweatpants but you can’t argue Dann’s poor judgment in his condo, with his friends and his staff.
The federal investigation and the voters will decide this issue.
OLS,
DO I not understand the English language?
Yes, I didn’t graduate from an Ohio HS nor an Ohio University so I am ahead of the curve there.
Dann is a dirtbag in any language. and embarrassment to Ohio and the democratic party.
As a democrat I take offense to Dann’s behavior and his choice of friends that he hired for taxpayer paid jobs.
OLS,
Ahhhh
So we DO agree!
As a Democrat I take offense to any of these people that don’t represent ALL of us, not just special interest groups that cry, bitch and moan the loudest.
It seems like the little guy (myself) has been forgotten.
First, thank you Shadow for correcting OLS. Second, yes Dion it is so angering when someone claims to stand for all that is good in your party, church, business, family or other group and then goes on to reveal that all they were ever really about was themselves. Yes, Dion, I’m afraid you are right that you have been forgotten. Especially if you voted for Dann.