nastyleg
11-10-2009, 06:07 PM
FBI to investigate alleged threat against Baird
Tuesday, November 10 | 9:46 a.m.
BY KATHIE DURBIN
COLUMBIAN STAFF WRITER
An alleged death threat reported by U.S. Rep. Brian Baird at the height of last summer's furor over health care reform has been turned over to the FBI.
U.S. Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider confirmed Monday that the FBI has taken over the investigation, which does not happen in every case. "Not every case do they jump in," she said.
Schneider said cases can remain open for years, so a three-month investigation by Capitol Police is not unusual.
Lindsay Godwin, a spokeswoman for the FBI's field office in Washington, D.C., declined to confirm or deny that the matter was under investigation. "If so, I can't share anything," she said.
She added, "We share information through our task force officers on a regular basis with the local police. We work hand-in-hand with local law enforcement."
Baird's office declined comment.
"Capitol Police told our office that they wouldn't be making any comment related to the death threat and nor should we," said Kelly Love, Baird's district manager in Vancouver. "We will follow that advice."
On Aug. 6, as emotions ran high in the health care debate, Baird went on MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show" to say that a coordinated national effort to disrupt congressional town hall meetings on health care reform reminded him of the atmosphere that led Timothy McVeigh to bomb the Alfred R. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995.
He made a similar comment to The Columbian that day in explaining why he had decided not to hold town hall meetings during the August congressional recess.
Four days later, on Aug. 10, Baird's staff reported that someone called his office in Washington, D.C., and left a message that said, approximately, "You think Timothy McVeigh was bad, there's a Ryder truck out there with your name on it." The message was forwarded to Capitol Police, according to Baird's staff.
Baird later apologized for his remarks, and went on to hold a series of raucous town hall meetings in his Southwest Washington district. But he incited a new flare-up on Aug. 19 when he alluded to the death threat in an offhand comment at a Rotary Club luncheon without explicitly explaining the reference. McVeigh used a Ryder truck in the bombing.
At the time, Clark County Republican Chairman Ryan Hart called the remark "just unbelievable."
Baird responded that his brief comment had been "taken out of context for cheap political gain."
On Saturday, Baird voted against the House Democrats' health care bill.
http://www.columbian.com/article/20091110/NEWS02/711109962
Tuesday, November 10 | 9:46 a.m.
BY KATHIE DURBIN
COLUMBIAN STAFF WRITER
An alleged death threat reported by U.S. Rep. Brian Baird at the height of last summer's furor over health care reform has been turned over to the FBI.
U.S. Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider confirmed Monday that the FBI has taken over the investigation, which does not happen in every case. "Not every case do they jump in," she said.
Schneider said cases can remain open for years, so a three-month investigation by Capitol Police is not unusual.
Lindsay Godwin, a spokeswoman for the FBI's field office in Washington, D.C., declined to confirm or deny that the matter was under investigation. "If so, I can't share anything," she said.
She added, "We share information through our task force officers on a regular basis with the local police. We work hand-in-hand with local law enforcement."
Baird's office declined comment.
"Capitol Police told our office that they wouldn't be making any comment related to the death threat and nor should we," said Kelly Love, Baird's district manager in Vancouver. "We will follow that advice."
On Aug. 6, as emotions ran high in the health care debate, Baird went on MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show" to say that a coordinated national effort to disrupt congressional town hall meetings on health care reform reminded him of the atmosphere that led Timothy McVeigh to bomb the Alfred R. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995.
He made a similar comment to The Columbian that day in explaining why he had decided not to hold town hall meetings during the August congressional recess.
Four days later, on Aug. 10, Baird's staff reported that someone called his office in Washington, D.C., and left a message that said, approximately, "You think Timothy McVeigh was bad, there's a Ryder truck out there with your name on it." The message was forwarded to Capitol Police, according to Baird's staff.
Baird later apologized for his remarks, and went on to hold a series of raucous town hall meetings in his Southwest Washington district. But he incited a new flare-up on Aug. 19 when he alluded to the death threat in an offhand comment at a Rotary Club luncheon without explicitly explaining the reference. McVeigh used a Ryder truck in the bombing.
At the time, Clark County Republican Chairman Ryan Hart called the remark "just unbelievable."
Baird responded that his brief comment had been "taken out of context for cheap political gain."
On Saturday, Baird voted against the House Democrats' health care bill.
http://www.columbian.com/article/20091110/NEWS02/711109962