True North

After reading this headline, I'll never again question whether miracles happen. It seems that the Agenda Media has finally decided to report on the tumult surrounding Attorney General Lori Swanson's office. Prior to this, the only reporting done was by bloggers like Drew Emmer, Michael Brodkorb and myself. Here's what the Strib's Pat Doyle is reporting:

Sen. Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope, a member of the audit commission, said Thursday that complaints that Swanson interfered with union organizing efforts and pressured subordinates into compromising situations prompted the panel to consider an inquiry.

Rest said the union grievances are better resolved by a court order or legislation, but that the ethical complaints might be eligible for evaluation by Legislative Auditor Jim Nobles.

"If someone is alleging there are things that are going on that are ... not ethical ... we'll have to see whether it's appropriate for the Legislative Auditor to act," Rest said. The panel will meet this morning.

It's only been a year since these allegations were brought to bloggers' attention.

What took Sen. Rest and others on the audit commission to take this long before even announcing that they might investigate? It's not like these allegation just suddenly popped up. I wonder if Drew has any idea why the commission is taking things more seriously now.

I'm also curious what Rep. Sertich's reaction to this is. You'll recall that Rep. Sertich said that the House Legal Counsel told him not to proceed with an investigation:

Sertich responded Wednesday afternoon saying, "We actually had a discussion last spring about this that Rep. Emmer seems to have forgotten." According to Sertich, the rules committee went to the non-partisan legal counsel that the House has on staff. "They advised us not to interfere in any ongoing employment dispute with any potential legal ramifications," Sertich said.

My question for Rep. Sertich is simple: Do you think that the Senate Legal Counsel told the commission that it was ok to start an investigation?

Here's some interesting information that I didn't think would make it to the pages of the Strib:

The office, headed by Attorney General Lori Swanson, has been roiled by discontent for more than a year, with high turnover of lawyers amid complaints of low morale and an atmosphere of intimidation.

If Pat Doyle knew that lawyers had filed complaints about being intimidated, why didn't he investigate this sooner? It isn't like he's restricted by the House or Senate Legal Counsel's recommendations.

The good news is that this has finally made it into the Strib. The bad news is that it took over a year of hard work by bloggers to get it there.

Comments welcome at LFR.