FYI, there are a number of updates to the Patrick Moran/James O’Keefe/voter fraud story which broke yesterday. First off, ArlNow – which has been on top of this story, big time (much more so than the area’s corporate media outlets) – reported late this afternoon that “The Arlington County Police Department has opened a criminal investigation into a video of Patrick Moran, son of Rep. Jim Moran and former field director of his reelection campaign.” In addition, ArlNow quotes an Arlington County Police Department spokesman that “[a]ll parties will be involved in the investigation,” and that “‘it would be irresponsible’ to not investigate the video.” I agree 100%; good work by the Arlington County Police Department.
Second, the Jim Moran for Congress campaign released a statement a little earlier this evening:
Our campaign welcomes a thorough investigation and we will fully cooperate. The incident involving Patrick was an unfortunate situation. While clearly lacking good judgment, Patrick’s unsolicited interaction with a right wing political operative seeking to trap him in a damaging conversation did not constitute an unlawful action. We are confident this unwelcome chapter in the campaign will be quickly and favorably closed.
Third, here’s a statement from Rep. Moran personally, also released a bit earlier this evening:
Congressman Moran released the following statement regarding Patrick Moran and the O’Keefe video:
“I don’t condone the actions of the right wing organization in question, but I recognize that this incident is teaching Patrick a tough lesson early in life. I know that my son’s intention was to deflect the line of questioning by this trained political operative bent on goading him into a specific response.
“But the fact remains that the conversation drifted into discussions that reflected a serious error in judgment that Patrick wishes he could take back.
“In life, if we learn from our mistakes, we move forward stronger, wiser, and committed to ensuring they are not repeated. I know Patrick will come out of this tough situation a better man for it.”
Hopefully, the Moran campaign is right that Patrick Moran comes out “wiser” from this, and more importantly from a political perspective, that this case “will be quickly and favorably closed.” For now, though, it’s in the hands of law enforcement authorities, as well it should be. Stay tuned…
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