[Rhodes22-list] McCain volunteer made up robbery story

[Brad Haslett]

Rob,

Wally and I discussed this the other day on "da list".  This girl was
wearing a Tennessee sweatshirt and the guy who hacked Palin's account
was a student of UT.  Moonshine?  This was a cry for attention and
should be a non-story by a responsible media.  But then again,
Sales101 teaches you, "sell the sizzle, not the steak".  The media has
a lot at stake in this campaign, like their financial survival.

Brad

On Mon, Oct 27, 2008 at 12:20 PM, Lowe, Rob <rlowe at vt.edu> wrote:
> Yes, the story says she had mental difficulties.  Did you not read it?
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
> [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Brad Haslett
> Sent: Monday, October 27, 2008 1:17 PM
> To: The Rhodes 22 Email List
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] McCain volunteer made up robbery story
>
> Rob,
>
> You're at least two days behind the news cycle.  This was all over the
> right wing blogs immediately and they "smelled a rat" and sat on the
> story until the truth came out.  The truth is, this girl has a serious
> problem.  She was previously a Ron Paul supporter with some serious
> mental health issues (like all Ron Paul supporters don't have them but
> I don't want to open a new 'can of worms').
>
> I assume you didn't write your graduate thesis with ONE data point.
>
> Try again.
>
> Brad
>
>
>
> On Mon, Oct 27, 2008 at 11:52 AM, Lowe, Rob <rlowe at vt.edu> wrote:
>> How bizarre. - rob
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> October 24, 2008
>>
>> Police: McCain volunteer made up robbery story
>>
>> By JOE MANDAK   Associated Press Writer
>>
>> A McCain campaign volunteer made up a story of being robbed, pinned to
>> the ground and having the letter "B" scratched on her face in what she
>> had said was a politically inspired attack, police said Friday.
>>
>> Ashley Todd, 20-year-old college student from College Station, Texas,
>> admitted Friday that the story was false, said Maurita Bryant, the
>> assistant chief of the police department's investigations division.
> Todd
>> was charged with making a false report to police, and Bryant said
> police
>> doubted her story from the start.
>>
>> Dressed in an orange hooded sweat shirt, Todd left police headquarters
>> in handcuffs late Friday and did not respond to questions from
>> reporters. The mark on her face was faded and her left eye was
> slightly
>> blackened when she arrived in district court.
>>
>> Todd was awaiting arraignment Friday on the misdemeanor false-report
>> charge, which is punishable by up to two years in prison. She will be
>> housed in a mental health unit at the county jail for her safety and
>> because of "her not insignificant mental health issues," prosecutor
> Mark
>> Tranquilli said.
>>
>> Todd initially told investigators she was attempting to use a bank
>> branch ATM on Wednesday night when a 6-foot-4 black man approached her
>> from behind, put a knife blade to her throat and demanded money. She
>> told police she handed the assailant $60 and walked away.
>>
>> Todd, who is white, told investigators she suspected the man then
>> noticed a John McCain sticker on her car. She said the man punched her
>> in the back of the head, knocked her to the ground and scratched a
>> backward letter "B" into her face with a dull knife.
>>
>> Police said Todd claimed the man told her that he was going to "teach
>> her a lesson" for supporting the Republican presidential candidate,
> and
>> that she was going to become a supporter of Democratic candidate
> Barack
>> Obama.
>>
>> Todd told police she didn't seek medical attention, but instead went
> to
>> a friend's apartment nearby and called police about 45 minutes later.
>>
>> Todd could provide no explanation for why she invented the story,
> police
>> said. The woman told investigators she believes she cut the "B" onto
> her
>> own cheek, but did not provide an explanation of how or why and said
> she
>> doesn't remember doing so, police said.
>>
>> Police said the woman reported suffering from "mental problems" in the
>> past, and that they do not believe anyone put her up to the act.
>>
>> Tranquilli said Todd will remain jailed over the weekend pending a
>> psychiatric evaluation, which won't happen until Monday at the
> earliest.
>>
>> The Associated Press could not immediately locate Todd's family.
>>
>> Bryant said somebody charged with making a false report would
> typically
>> be cited and sent a summons. But because police have concerns about
>> Todd's mental health, they are consulting with the Allegheny County
>> District Attorney.
>>
>> Todd worked in New York for the College Republican National Committee
>> before moving two weeks ago to Pennsylvania, where her duties included
>> recruiting college students, the committee's executive director, Ethan
>> Eilon, has said.
>>
>> "We are as upset as anyone to learn of her deceit, Ashley must take
> full
>> responsibility for her actions," College Republican National Committee
>> spokeswoman Ashley Barbera said in a statement.
>>
>> Police reported Todd's claims Thursday, as a photo of her injuries
> made
>> it onto numerous blogs and news sites. By Friday, police said they had
>> found inconsistencies in Todd's story. They gave her a lie-detector
>> test, but wouldn't release the polygraph results.
>>
>> Police interviewed Todd after she contacted police Wednesday night and
>> again on Thursday, Bryant said. They asked her to come back Friday,
>> ostensibly to help police put together a sketch of the man. Instead,
>> detectives began interviewing her.
>>
>> "They just started talking to her and she just opened up and said she
>> wanted to tell the truth," Bryant said.
>>
>> Police suspected all along that Todd might not be telling the truth,
>> starting with the fact that the "B" was backward, Bryant said.
>>
>> "We have robbers here in Pittsburgh, but they don't generally mutilate
>> someone's face like that," Bryant said. "They just take the money and
>> run."
>>
>>
>>
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