‘Can’t Be Friends’: Louisiana Leaders Still Seethe Over New Orleans’ Dropped Indictment of State’s AG

Louisiana’s state leaders are showing no signs of being ready to make up with elected officials at New Orleans over the city’s since-voided indictment of the state’s attorney general, Liz Murrill. The tension between Republican state leaders and local Democratic leaders exploded this month when a New Orleans grand jury handed up the 16-count indictment.Ms. Murrill was charged with eight counts of intimidation and eight counts of malfeasance in office over her warning to city leaders that they could be removed if they went ahead with an election to fill a position that the state said did not exist.Louisiana’s Supreme Court stayed that indictment and, earlier this week, the criminal charges were withdrawn. But during a press conference on Wednesday, Ms. Murrill and Louisiana’s governor, Jeff Landry, said they are not ready to move on just because the charges have been withdrawn.“It’s not over. It’s not because I’m angry. It’s not because any of us want to retaliate against anybody. It’s because what they did can now be weaponized and used against other people,” Ms. Murrill said.The attorney general argued that New Orleans leaders “weaponized the grand jury system” to indict her for conduct that “isn’t a crime,” and warned: “There are consequences for breaking the law.”Ms. Murrill claimed that New Orleans leaders had asked for the charges to be dropped not as a peace offering but “because they want to hide records.”“You can’t be friends with somebody who wants to put you in jail for 80 years. Mutual professional courtesy and professional working relationships, absolutely. We have always extended that to the city of New Orleans and its leadership, no matter how bad their decision making is,” Ms. Murrill said. Mr. Landry and Ms. Murrill also criticized the process that led to the charges, arguing that there were leaks to reporters about the grand jury in violation of state law. Ms. Murrill also noted that one reporter was reportedly handcuffed at the courthouse and other reporters were threatened with arrest if they entered the courthouse while the indictment was being handed up. Mr. Landry previously directed the State Police to investigate the “alleged improprieties” of the grand jury that handed up the indictment. There are questions about how the charges came to be. The special prosecutor who was appointed to advise the grand jury, Laurie White; the Orleans Parish district attorney, Jason Williams; and the New Orleans mayor, Helena Moreno, all have denied being involved in initiating the charges.Grand juries typically investigate alleged criminal activity and then vote on an indictment at the direction of a prosecutor. However, the Louisiana Illuminator reports that a “lesser-known” state law gives grand juries the “authority to initiate investigations into potential crimes on their own.”But 13 former prosecutors told the Louisiana Illuminator they had “never heard of a grand jury launching an investigation into a matter independent of a prosecutor’s request,” prior to the case involving Ms. Murrill. Mr. Williams and Ms. Moreno were two of the individuals who Ms. Murrill warned could be removed from their positions earlier this year. Mr. Williams has said his office was “fully recused” when the grand jury launched its investigation of the attorney general.Ms. Murrill suggested she may bring a civil lawsuit and seek reimbursement for her legal costs, which she put at $250,000. She alleged that city officials have committed several crimes including wire fraud, injuring public records, obstruction of justice, malfeasance, and public intimidation.Mr. Landry told reporters that he is considering calling a special session of the legislature to give the state more power over the New Orleans court system. The tension between Baton Rouge and New Orleans erupted earlier this year when Louisiana lawmakers passed a law merging the offices of criminal and civil clerks, effectively eliminating one of those positions.New Orleans officials appointed an interim clerk and scheduled a special election for what they apparently believed was the creation of a new position to head the combined offices. However, Ms. Murrill said the two offices had simply been put under the clerk of court for the parish of Orleans — a position already held by Chelsey Richard Napoleon. Ms. Murrill accused city leaders of violating usurper laws and warned they could lose their positions if they went ahead with the election.New Orleans leaders have cast legislature’s decision to combine the city’s court systems as a form of interference. However, Mr. Landry and state Republicans said the move was meant to streamline the court system, and pointed out that New Orleans is the only parish that has separate civil and criminal court systems. Ms. Moreno’s office declined to comment. Ms. White said in a statement that she performed her responsibilities “in accordance with the law.”

‘Can’t Be Friends’: Louisiana Leaders Still Seethe Over New Orleans’ Dropped Indictment of State’s AG

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