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Diamonds to Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce for his candid reaction to this week’s embarrassingly partisan Congressional hearing on Luzerne County’s embarrassingly incompetent shortage of ballot paper during last November’s general election.
Sanguedolce said he and county detectives took the time to watch the three-hour hearing, and he observed questions were raised about why the county is relying on the DA’s office to handle the paper shortage investigation when every aspect of the investigation may not be criminal.
The Pennsylvania election code mandates these investigations be handled by the DA, he said. County election boards must investigate election irregularities and violations and report all suspicious circumstances to the DA, he said. This is how the DA’s Office has primary jurisdiction in complaints related to election matters, he said.
Early on, in accepting the investigation, Sanguedolce said he realized some allegations may not be criminal.
“However, some of the allegations actually came across as being criminal, and whether or not they come to fruition doesn’t stop our office from investigating,” he said.
“I’m confident our report will answer many — if not all — of the questions raised since the election and in today’s hearing,” Sanguedolce said.
In language that was faultlessly polite, Sanguedolce justifiably took aim at how that hearing was conducted and what some witnesses had to say. The DA said he and his detectives watched the hearing and observed testimony of “occurrences that simply did not happen.”
“Our experience has taught us that anecdotes shared at the lunch counter, from a barstool or anonymously by email are often very different than facts told from the same people to detectives in a formal investigation,” the DA added.
Coal to uninformed partisan hacks who took to our website, Facebook page and other platforms to spout conspiracy theories in response to what Sanguedolce had to say, often behind the cowardly protection of anonymous accounts.
One charming soul who goes by “Scranton Stooge,” complete with a profile photo of legitimately elected President Joe Biden, kept referring to Sanguedolce as “RINO D.A. Swampy Sammy.”
For those who may not know, that stands for “Republican in name only.”
It’s shameful that so many deluded people clearly and passionately believe loyalty to the party line trumps the rule of law and due process, but here we are.
We don’t care what party Sanguedolce belongs to. We care that he stands by his oath to uphold the law, without fear or favor.
Diamonds to the Moonlite Drive-In and Garden Drive-In as they embark on another season of bringing movie magic to viewers in the great outdoors.
As reporter Margaret Roarty explained, the two local drive-ins open again today.
In addition to screening the latest releases, the drive-ins will have a number of craft fairs and fundraisers coming up in the next few weeks.
For some of us, drive-ins evoke the pleasures of a bygone era. For others, they simply offer a fun way to spend an evening with friends and family.
Either way, we are lucky to have two of them in our area, and we wish them well this season.
Coal to the person suspected of stealing a tip cup from Donut Connection on Wyoming Avenue on Tuesday. Yeah, times are tough. We get it. Service employees who rely on tips know that as well as anyone. Stealing from them is especially low.
Coal also to Idris Ibn Sharee Hollis, of Wilkes-Barre, who is accused of twice offering a used cell phone for sale on social media only to rob the unsuspecting buyers. The allegations against Hollis sadly give added significance to the old warning, “buyer beware.”
— Times Leader