Randy will get her done...
Posted on 10/06/2004 6:35:01 AM PDT by NYFriend
Local News for Wednesday 10/06/04
Kuhl charges 'political sabotage'
- Steuben County to probe release of candidate's divorce records.
By JEFF MURRAY Star-Gazette jmurray@stargazette.com
BATH -- State Sen. John R. Kuhl Jr., locked in an election battle for the 29th Congressional District seat, is demanding answers over the apparent illegal release of his sealed divorce records last month.
With his ex-wife Jennifer Kuhl-Peterson at his side, the Hammondsport Republican held a news conference Tuesday to tell the news media that someone visited the Steuben County Clerk's Office on Sept. 9 and requested -- and received -- divorce records that by state law are supposed to be confidential.
The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle newspaper reported in today's editions that it received a copy of the divorce records from an anonymous source Monday.
Kuhl, who faces Democrat Samara Barend of Corning in the Nov. 2 general election, said the breach of confidentiality was no coincidence. While he pointedly declined to accuse anyone specifically of carrying out the act, Kuhl also left no doubt he feels it was politically motivated.
The situation has wide-ranging implications:
- Kuhl said he wants to make sure better safeguards are in place to protect other people who have gone through divorce.
- Barend's campaign denies any knowledge of or complicity in the records release.
- County officials are investigating the actions of an employee in the clerk's office who released the records and have the name of the person who requested the records, and are investigating that person's affiliations.
Officials declined to release the name of the person requesting the records or the name of the employee in the clerk's office that released the records.
"Let me be very clear and straightforward about why I'm here today. I don't believe that what transpired at the Steuben County Clerk's Office happened by accident," Kuhl said in a prepared statement. "I fully suspect that it is part of orchestrated political sabotage. This is politics at its worst, and I'm angry about it."
Kuhl and his ex-wife divorced about four years ago after more than 20 years of marriage. They have three sons.
The only reason anyone would be interested in his private divorce records at this time would be to look for dirt that could be used in a political campaign, he said.
There is nothing incriminating in those files, but they are a chronicle of a difficult and emotional time in his and his family's lives that was not meant to be aired in public, Kuhl said.
He did not call the news conference for political gain, he said, but to try to stop the public dissemination of any information from the divorce records, and to make sure that nobody else who has gone through a divorce has to worry if their records will be made public.
"That's why the law is clear. It should be for the safety and security of others who have gone through this," he said in response to a reporter question.
"My position is, if there has been a crime, someone should pay penance. More important, others should be secure. I think it needs to be investigated from a criminal and an administrative standpoint, so nobody else has to go through this."
Kuhl defeated Monroe County Legislator Mark Assini in the Sept. 14 Republican primary. Since none of the documents copied surfaced anywhere before the primary, Kuhl said it's unlikely anyone associated with Assini's campaign accessed the records.
Still, Kuhl refused to accuse Barend or her supporters of any wrongdoing.
Nobody on Barend's campaign team knows anything about the divorce records, said campaign manager Jonah Siegellak.
"Today is the first time we've heard about any of this," Siegellak said Tuesday. "We've been busy putting out a positive message. We'll continue to put out our positive message."
Steuben County Clerk Judith Hunter and County Attorney Fred Ahrens are investigating the circumstances surrounding the release of the sealed divorce documents. District Attorney John Tunney is also looking into possible criminal charges.
"We do have procedures in place to protect the confidentiality of all records," Hunter said. "It would appear in this instance, those were not adhered to. It's all being investigated."
Divorce records are routinely sealed once each case is concluded and are only available to the parties or their attorneys, Ahrens said. Those files are clearly marked confidential, and it's not likely a employee in the clerk's office would have inadvertently released them to anyone from the public, he said.
"It's clear we have to look at the people involved. It's an administrative issue, and also possible employee misconduct," Ahrens said. "That can be anything from an act of omission or error all the way to the criminal spectrum. It depends on where the conduct falls. We have some evidence we are looking at.
"We have the name of the person who accessed the file. We can't release that. We don't even know if it's a real name."
The investigation into the actions of the employee in the clerk's office is a personnel matter and won't be made public until the investigation is complete, Ahrens said.
The person who requested the records asked for some files that involved Kuhl's involvement in several legal actions, not in his role as an attorney but as a litigant, Ahrens said.
Most of the records requested were legally available for public inspection, but the divorce file was not, he said.
Tunney said he only learned of the investigation Tuesday, and couldn't comment much on his role in it.
"I've talked to Kuhl, and I've talked to Fred, and of course we will investigate the circumstances surrounding that disclosure," Tunney said. "I anticipate the investigation will commence in the very short term."
Kuhl said he isn't looking for retribution. He said he would be happy if Tuesday's announcement meant the end of the issue for him and his family.
"It's very distressing to both Jennifer and me," he said. "The point is not the political side. The point is this is an invasion of my family's privacy. Hopefully, there will be nothing beyond today's news that the sealed records have been corrupted. My hope is that we never hear anything else about it."
Why not?
ping
This should guarantee a win for our team on November 2. The Dims are such scum.
Good question. Maybe if there is an investigation going on either the clerk of the DA doesn't want names out yet? I think Steuben County is a pretty small county, how many people can there be in the Clerk's Office?
We haven't seen this before right? Oh yea there was Jack Ryan. DUmbocrats are becomes worse by the day, I wonder how they'll be able to stand four more years of Bush/Cheney?
Perhaps because of the followup sentance: "We don't even know if it's a real name."
If I were going to do something wrong like gain access to protected documents, I certainly wouldn't use my name, I'd make one up or use the name of someone I didn't like. By publishing that name before vetting it, bad things could happen to a totally innocent person by someone with low impulse control taking matters into their own hands.
I think it was Lucy Ramirez.
And yet, the press cannot seem to muster any curiosity (or journalistic integrity) for what is in Kerry's hidden military record. And that is for a man running for the most powerful office in the world.
Sure, they will sue Bush for his records, but curiously, Kerry is free of even a single question on that topic.
It is waaaay past coincidence.
The real question is, did whoever take them out of the building stick them down their pants first?
What do you think of this girl? I have a feeling she's going to get totally crushed by Kuhl.
The girl ain't much older than me (24) running for US Congress, is she?
from Samara Barend's website:
"She received her Masters Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 2004 and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 1999 with a degree in Public Policy and Management."
Why is it that every single person I know with a masters in Public Policy is a communist, America-hating a-hole?
I would assume that they are not yet releasing the name of the person who accessed the file because they are contemplating bringing civil or criminal charges.
Given the GOP dominence in this district, I think "crushed" is a kind turn of phrase.
You're a lot closer to her district than I am. I never heard of her until this race, but it seems she's involved in the I-86 thing... something about a coalition of businesses and community groups, and her drafting legislation that got signed into law.
What do you know of this girl? As I said, it seems every democrat I've ever met with a Masters in Public Policy is a stone-cold marxist.
Randy will get her done...
She's a former Hillary Clinton staffer whose sole "claim to fame" is lobbying her boss and some other dems to get a stretch of roadway renamed.
Dirty tricks...man those Dems are a dangerous bunch!
May I add that this whole dirty trick was orchestrated so that the moment the news came out the feminazis NOW issued a statement saying that they need to know if Kuhl could be trusted to support the violence against women legislation...or some such idiocy.
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