Saturday, January 24, 2009

A big point: Rep. Lynn did not seek publicity for sexual harrassment complaint against Speaker

In their rush to take sides, some Tennesseans are forgetting to take note of a very important fact in the case of the sexual harassment complaint filed against the representative who became a puppet House Speaker earlier this month.

Rep. Susan Lynn filed the complaint almost two years ago after she says that Williams told her that he would give a week's pay to see her naked and made her feel uncomfortable in another situation. And she only filed it with her party's leadership to maintain discipline and respect in its ranks -- without publicity.

That was how far as it was supposed to go. Still, some bloggers reported on the complaint back then.

It was only after the media inquired that the complaint was released this week and re-reported. And now that Williams is puppet speaker at the service of outgoing Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, the complaint became more newsworthy.

As one legislative source told me tonight: "When the media asks for an open record, you have to turn it over."

I'll have more on this case tomorrow morning and new areas where the media investigation is headed concerning Williams and his alleged kind of conduct.

The puppet speaker has denied these allegations.

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