U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown addresses the media outside the Federal Courthouse on Friday. Brown and her chief of staff have been charged with multiple fraud and other federal offenses in a grand jury indictment unsealed Friday. (Bob Self/The Florida Times-Union via AP)
We at The Fix are not legal experts -- many of us went into journalism precisely because we did not want to go to law school -- so we would never presume to offer a lawmaker under indictment our thoughts on their legal strategy. But we do get paid to report on politics, so we do feel somewhat qualified to analyze the political strategy a lawmaker might embrace under those circumstances.
And this is one of those times. Here is what Rep. Corrine Brown (D-Fla.) had to say to reporters Friday, following a 24-count indictment on fraud and conspiracy charges:
"These are the same agents that was not able to do a thorough investigation of [Orlando shooter Omar Mateen], and we ended up with 50 people dead."
In other words: the Orlando shooting victims would still be alive if the Department of Justice hadn't spent so much time investigating her.
Oof. Of all the things one could say when under indictment and in a tough reelection campaign, this likely tops the list of what NOT to say.
At best, Brown is making parallels that don't seem to be there, and at worse, she's using the deadliest shooting in mass history -- a month old Tuesday -- to her political and legal advantage.
Her lawyer apparently doubled down on the highly questionable logic while talking to reporters Friday, moments after Brown pleaded not guilty to a myriad of corruption and fraud charges that stem from what authorities say is a fake nonprofit she and her chief of staff set up in Virginia and used as a "personal slush fund."
| 