Cohen quotes the actual letter & Phillips’ attorney fires shot across Christopher’s bow
These are the first direct quotes from the letter that I’ve seen.
“This letter is written to inform Delaware elected officials, elected by the people I might add, of the situation that began in 2010 and may still be ongoing today involving Sussex County Councilman Vance Phillips of the 5th District and an under aged girl,” it began.
That certainly got everyone’s attention.
The letter was two pages long. It accused Phillips, a Republican, of carrying on an improper relationship with a 17-year-old whom he met while both of them were working on the campaign for Glen Urquhart, the Republicans’ congressional candidate two years ago.
“I place the ball in your court and request you ferret out your own bad apple. I suggest to you that if you fail to do the right thing with regard to Mr. Phillips, the situation will be made public through the regular media as well as social media. In addition, the public will be made aware that you were complicit,” it said.
The letter was signed, “An Anonymous Sussex County Citizen.”
The parenthetical expression, “elected by the people I might add,” tips off that this was composed by a teabagger. I think the other interesting part of Cohen’s piece is this statement by Vance Phillips attorney:
“My guess is the letter is from someone in the law enforcement community. It is threatening. Let the coward come out of the darkness into the light, and there will be a responsible accounting. It’s a bullying, cowardly personality that wrote that,” Hurley said.
Two things… Law enforcement community? Really? Is he trying to flatter Christopher into tipping his hand? Also, it is clearly a threatening letter, but the people being threatened are state legislators.
I suggest to you that if you fail to do the right thing with regard to Mr. Phillips, the situation will be made public through the regular media as well as social media. In addition, the public will be made aware that you were complicit
Could the letter writer really be so naive as to think that the recipients would respond to such a ham fisted, and meaningless threat?
If I was a cop, I’d be looking for the dog that hasn’t barked. What commenter at DelawarePolitics hasn’t commented for a while? Who are the teabag callers to WGMD that have suddenly come down with a case of laryngitis? I’d make a Romney sized bet that this letter wasn’t the first time this person tried to call out Vance Phillips.
I was about to trash this post DD. We followed the same lines so closely that it was uncanny.
No, you keep this.
Maybe, after all these years, we can reveal we are the same person??? LOL
Here are my thoughts from my post, which I trashed since Jason posted first:
It seems we are given an opportunity to start a new thread on this, as the prior one was getting quite full. Celia Cohen got her hands on The Letter, and she quotes from it over at Delaware Grapevine.
Doesn’t that sound like a Christopherian Teabagger?
As if Jeff Christopher, Vance Phillips, and Glenn Urquhart are the General Assembly’s problem. All three are radically conservative Republicans and birthers, and yet somehow they are the bad apples of the General Assembly as controlled by the Democratic Party. They may be Representative Gerry Hocker’s problem. They may be the authors’ problem, seeing as he or she is one of them. But it ain’t the Democrats’ problem. Well, I suppose it is now since we Democrats have to clean up yet another Republican mess.
Since we posted the alleged contents of the letter on Thursday, it has been awfully quiet downstate, except for this:
Phillips got himself a lawyer. It is Joe Hurley, the noted defense attorney.
Seems like Hurley, and by extension, Vance, are quite clearly blaming Sheriff Christopher, except that Sheriff Christopher is not in the law enforcement community. Bah-da-bumb.
Begun, the Sussex County Civil War has.
Everyone must know the letter came directly or by proxy from Eric Bodenweiser, Don Ayotte, or Jeff Christopher. All three are ardent about imposing their own worldview on society and felt betrayed by Phillips for sharing a moment of sanity with the rest of the Sussex County Council in halting Christopher’s plan for county domination or world domination, whichever it was.
Again the question remains, who knew, when did they know, and what did they do about. Those 3 “insiders” must have known if it was common knowledge, so why didn’t Don, Jeff, and Eric say something as soon as they knew?
Knowing it and proving it are two different matters. If the three of them are in on it, I’m sure it will be proven quickly when they roll over on each other like a pack of dogs.
The prisoner’s dilemma never fails to produce results.
Indeed. I know Roger Clemens took steriods. We just can’t prove it in a court of law. I know OJ Simpsons killed two people. We just can’t prove it in a court of law.
“The prisoner’s dilemma never fails to produce results.”
Untrue, unfortunately.
If the guessing is to begin, I would eliminate Don Ayotte right off the bat — not enough exclamation points!!!
I should have said, “rarely fails” especially when people of such low character are involved.
True about the exclamation points.
Maybe the Sherriff of Nuttingham had one of his “deputies” write it?
No no. The question is not who wrote the letter. Rather it is why didn’t those folks who had common knowledge of the situation report it they became aware of it?
WGMD has also learned that the person named in the letter has now retained legal counsel and at some point today Attorney Joe Hurley is expected to release information about the accusations levied against his client in the letter. We will have more information as soon as Hurley releases details.
http://www.wgmd.com/?p=60235
I have to say that the line here:
I suggest to you that if you fail to do the right thing with regard to Mr. Phillips, the situation will be made public through the regular media as well as social media. In addition, the public will be made aware that you were complicit
reminds me of someone else’s prose altogether.
Agreed, LG. Republican legislators (and Sussex Republicans in general) have more than one enemy that holds a grudge against them, and is capable of this kind of stunt.
But what would be the motivation?
Revenge. It’s some kind of hillbilly feud, except without the hills.
Here is Vance Phillips response through his attorney.
http://www.wgmd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/06-19-12-phillips-PRESS-RELEASE.pdf
“The question is not who wrote the letter. Rather it is why didn’t those folks who had common knowledge of the situation report it they became aware of it?”
Report what? That a middle-aged man in a position of power had pulled a Mark Sanford? How could anyone know that the affair went beyond mere flirtation, creepy as that would be?
The reason nobody said anything is that Vance Phillips has a lot of power in Sussex County. Those who knew about this were probably using it to try to buy his cooperation, similar to the situation when then-NCCo Councilman Chris Roberts had been accused of sexual harassment of a staff aide.
In that case, the information was taken not to the police but to the County Executive, Tom Gordon — and by an officer of the court, then-head public defender Larry Sullivan, who suffered not a whit for his dereliction of duty. None of this was made public for many months, and didn’t become public until the investigation/prosecution of Gordon by the US Attorney had begun. Until that revelation, people were left to wonder why Roberts, who previously had routinely opposed every Gordon-Freebery initiative, suddenly voted for all their proposals.
This was exactly the way J. Edgar Hoover ran the FBI, it’s how Richard Nixon ran his White House — that’s the kind of pedigree it takes to use this information for personal benefit. It might help explain to doubters why I wouldn’t trust Tom Gordon as far as I can throw an anvil.
Props to Ms. Cohen for not releasing the name, not like people who know things can’t figure it out by now. Bleh. Joe Hurley’s response is a bit over the top, isn’t it? Invoking bin Laden? Revolting.
All of it.
Wow. That Hurley statement is borderline unhinged, and does his client no favors.
I don’t care whether Phillips broke the rape laws. I care about whether he has been honest with the public about how seriously he takes his “family values.”
BORDERLINE?
I think the Hurley statement is designed to drive its teabagger audience crazy (short drive).
He is talking their language. Maybe it will provoke them into a move that outs themselves, or prompts someone to let something slip. Remember a lot of people probably know who they are.
I agree with Puck. The previous “law enforcement community” comment is part of the same game plan.
Solving this is a job for Jerry Springer.
Well, I didn’t say which side of the border.
Puck wrote:
“Solving this is a job for Jerry Springer.”
Unless a paternity test is involved. In which case, Maury’s your guy.
At least he’s not related to the girl.
.
.
.
He’s not related to her, is he?
Puck owes me a keyboard.
“Report what? That a middle-aged man in a position of power had pulled a Mark Sanford?”
Just going by what I heard Geezer, that the relationship was “common knowledge” and the allegations are that it went beyond “mere flirtation.”
Look I don’t lend any credence to the allegations, but if someone knew something and they felt it was appropriate to “report” it now, it should have been reported then. So, what did they know and when did they know it?
I actually agree with the statement from Vance’s attorney, let’s see who has some cajones over there in West Vir..Sussex.
Unless a paternity test is involved. In which case, Maury’s your guy.
“You are NOT the baby’s father… You are, however, the mother’s father.”
Hurley’s statement was to weed out the person who wrote the letters. Smart man. At first glance you think is this guy nuts ? Nope smart move. As far as all of this, I say get rid of Vance. The guy made headlines for his assault on the Sheriff and then now for messing with a underage girl….. this is a public official ? Come on people ! We are losing jobs and homes.. and this guy from “Laurel” a watermelon farmer is saying where our tax dollars are spent ? ha…. joke….
The sheriff in Sussex County was NEVER assaulted. Hell, he even lied to his doctor about what had happened.
How do you know what Christopher told his Doctor… ? Isn’t that information protected ? Guess not in the Sussex County Fish Bowl.. !! SAD SAD
Delawaregay,
You are an ignorant dumbass. If you read the AG’s report on the notebook incident, you’ll see what MJ means.
That Hurley press release can’t be real. Why would anyone equate a Tea Party feud to the 9/11 attack? Attacking Vance Phillips is akin to killing 3000 innocent Americans? Talk about ego.
Is there a way we can get these folks to self-deport? They can’t be real Americans.
HAHAHA – good bash on Delawaregay – the ignorance rises to the top every time and is then slapped down
ROTFLMAO
Sussex Watcher and MJ-
Sorry I didn’t read the AG’s report- But that doesn’t make me a ignorant dumbass. I could honestly care less about Vance Phillips or Jeff Christophers little fight. What I am trying to say that Delaware Politics are way out of hand. Everyone of us is having some type of difficulty in this crazy world, and to have ANY elected person act the way both have in public, needs to go. We as voters PUT THEM IN OFFICE AND WE SHOULD TAKE THEM OUT OF OFFICE and elect someone that can do the job. I am not looking for a word match with anyone – just wanted to express my feelings on the subject.
SUSSEX COUNTY PERSONNEL BOARD HAS UPHELD THE TERMINATION OF DEPUTY TORRES
AND WHAT WAS SAID IN TESTIMONY IS REMARKABLE!!! WOW
http://sussexcountyde.gov/docs/agendasMinutes/index.cfm?resource=day¤tDate=6/20/12
Then don’t comment on something if you don’t have the facts. The AG’s report has been on this blog in the the media for months.