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Womp womp: These aren’t the indictments you’re looking for

Decaturish updates

Womp womp: These aren’t the indictments you’re looking for

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Editor’s note: I’m from Alabama, I live in Atlanta, and I am still quite concerned about what’s going on in Alabama politics. 

Alabama’s fever swamp of political speculation let out a giant poot of swamp gas today.

Yesterday I wrote that I had received a copy of a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Birmingham. I’ve since had its authenticity confirmed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office along with some other useful information: the public corruption charges released today don’t involve elected officials.

Gayle Cunningham, who in March resigned her job as executive director of the Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity, and her daughter were charged with stealing nearly $500,000 from JCCEO. Both have entered a plea agreement. The group apparently receives federal money to fund its operations, hence the U.S. Attorney’s involvement.

The U.S. Attorney did its job. Good work, case closed.

The announcement did not, however, live up to the hype.

I was debating whether it was worth a post at all, but the circumstances and chatter on social media intrigued me. But intriguing and convincing are two different things.

I am also reminded that social media too often blurs the lines between fact and speculation. It’s an important distinction.

There may still be a day in the near future when some of these questions about investigations, resignations and odd coincidences in Alabama politics are answered. But not today.

Update: I’ve changed the original post because I think I was too harsh on the people who were discussing this on social media. Everybody speculates to some degree and I am guilty of it, too. If I could do this over again, I’d probably have held off on a post until seeing what all the fuss was about. It’s real easy to get swept up by the hype machine. I hedged and qualified the hell out of my previous post, but even so, I was placing speculation above actual information. It was, quite simply, a waste of everyone’s time and I don’t want my readers to feel like they’re wasting their time when they read this blog. I apologize for throwing that stuff out there. It was stupid of me and it’s a mistake I don’t intend to repeat.

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