1 00:00:04,879 --> 00:00:05,639 Speaker 1: What's going on. 2 00:00:05,759 --> 00:00:08,119 Speaker 2: Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It 3 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:10,080 is heard live every day from noon to three on 4 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:13,839 WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content 5 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:17,160 like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily 6 00:00:17,199 --> 00:00:19,480 show prep with all the links, become a patron, go 7 00:00:19,559 --> 00:00:23,399 to thepetecleanershow dot com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button. 8 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,320 Get every episode for free right to your smartphone or tablet. 9 00:00:26,359 --> 00:00:29,000 And again, thank you so much for your support. Welcome 10 00:00:29,039 --> 00:00:32,840 to the Bonus Hour. It sounds just like the regular 11 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:38,560 third Hour, but anyway, seven four five sevenho eleven ten. Yesterday, 12 00:00:39,359 --> 00:00:43,679 the wife of former Charlotte City Councilman Tarcboocary, her name 13 00:00:43,759 --> 00:00:49,640 is Christa Bacary. She wrote a very very long I 14 00:00:49,679 --> 00:00:54,719 printed it out as four pages full dnse four pages 15 00:00:55,200 --> 00:01:02,719 outlining details surrounding this scandal that is now engulfing this 16 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:06,239 Charlotte City government over its payout of three hundred thousand 17 00:01:06,239 --> 00:01:12,879 dollars to the police chief. And she details through a 18 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:19,640 series of bullet points, basically information that requires more investigation, 19 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:24,799 and she's urging local media to keep digging into this stuff. 20 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:28,159 And it is clear that there's information she has and 21 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:33,959 she put into this post that was not known in fact, 22 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:37,640 let me do this real quick. This is over at 23 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:46,719 WCNCTV WCNC dot com. Council Member Tijjana Brown, who represents 24 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:51,359 District three, issued a statement in response to the news 25 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:54,040 conference that was held. The news conference that we covered 26 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:58,079 yesterday on the show. That news conference occurred on Wednesday 27 00:01:58,239 --> 00:02:00,840 at three pm, So right after Dray got off the air, 28 00:02:00,959 --> 00:02:05,280 they held a news conference where they, you know, we 29 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:08,560 said we're going to go after the leakers and how 30 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:11,960 dare Victoria Watlington, their colleague on council, how dare she 31 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:18,159 call us unethical and uh possibly illegal activity that you know, 32 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:23,319 she basically was alleging corruption regarding this issue, this this payoff. 33 00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:29,439 They held the news conference, they attacked her. They they said, 34 00:02:29,479 --> 00:02:32,159 we're not corrupt, We're totally fine, everything's above board, but 35 00:02:32,199 --> 00:02:39,120 we can't discuss anything because personnel matters. And Tijuanna Brown 36 00:02:39,319 --> 00:02:42,800 was not at that press conference. What she said after, though, 37 00:02:43,039 --> 00:02:47,080 was the following. As a council member representing Charlotte's District 38 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:51,039 three and as someone with expertise in harm reduction and 39 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:55,319 trauma informed care, I watched the press conference with deep 40 00:02:55,360 --> 00:03:00,680 disappointment and disbelief. The tone, the language, and the public 41 00:03:00,759 --> 00:03:03,960 nature of the response were not reflective of the values 42 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:08,759 of restoration, equity, and dignity that we as a body 43 00:03:09,759 --> 00:03:13,919 should embody. She also recalled during the council's retreat when 44 00:03:13,919 --> 00:03:16,520 they went up to Ashville. She said she was the 45 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:20,560 only member who raised her hand when asked who had 46 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:24,800 trust among their colleagues. She says, I raised my hand 47 00:03:24,919 --> 00:03:29,800 alone because I believed in building trust. That trust was 48 00:03:29,879 --> 00:03:35,680 damaged yesterday. So back to Krista Bukari's post on Facebook, 49 00:03:35,759 --> 00:03:37,439 she talked about and I covered this at the end 50 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:39,599 of the last hour. We spoke with Christa at the 51 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:45,560 beginning of the last hour withholding of critical information. This 52 00:03:45,759 --> 00:03:49,479 was about the ethics complaint that was filed by the 53 00:03:49,599 --> 00:03:54,639 NAACP president. The local chapter president filed an ethics complaint 54 00:03:54,639 --> 00:03:59,039 with the city. The city itself, the city attorney dismissed 55 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:03,319 it for lack of merit. They dismissed the complaint against 56 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:06,800 Tark Bakari, who was a sitting city councilman at the time, 57 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:11,560 dismissed it. They then the attorney and the manager knew this. 58 00:04:11,719 --> 00:04:15,360 The attorney knew this, and the mayor knew this. They 59 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:19,959 then go into a closed session where the attorney advises 60 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:25,639 the council to settle with the police chief because the 61 00:04:25,639 --> 00:04:29,720 police chief was threatening to sue. But the lawsuit apparently 62 00:04:30,959 --> 00:04:35,399 had no other evidence in it that was not in 63 00:04:35,439 --> 00:04:40,240 the ethics complaint. So this gets to bullet point number two, 64 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:45,079 recommending settlement to tax or settlement of taxpayer dollars lacking 65 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:49,600 a legal claim. Anthony Fox the city attorney interim city 66 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:54,199 attorney because they fired the last city attorney. They let 67 00:04:54,279 --> 00:04:56,639 that guy go, so Fox has been brought in on 68 00:04:56,680 --> 00:05:01,759 an interim basis. Anthony Fox, despite not actually having a 69 00:05:01,839 --> 00:05:07,000 lawsuit submitted to any court, recommended to council a settlement 70 00:05:07,319 --> 00:05:13,160 was warranted so as to avoid public embarrassment, which I'm 71 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:16,319 unclear as to why the city or the council members 72 00:05:16,639 --> 00:05:20,759 would suffer public embarrassment if the chief sues the city. 73 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:27,199 So you think this is you think this is better than. 74 00:05:27,079 --> 00:05:28,199 Speaker 1: A lawsuit would have been. 75 00:05:30,079 --> 00:05:31,959 Speaker 2: Well, you see, they weren't planning on all of this 76 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:38,639 getting out, so public embarrassment and two a potentially costly 77 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:42,920 legal fight that they could ultimately lose. So those are 78 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:44,839 the arguments, and this is one of the valid reasons. 79 00:05:44,839 --> 00:05:46,600 By the way to go into closed session is to 80 00:05:46,959 --> 00:05:50,360 consult with your attorney. And so you're going in there, 81 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:52,879 you're talking to an attorney. You have privilege, right, so 82 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:57,079 it's it's private, and the attorney is saying, okay, like 83 00:05:57,839 --> 00:06:00,639 you want to do a settlement. It's warranted to avoid 84 00:06:00,639 --> 00:06:03,959 public embarrassment and avoid a legal fight. Could cost a 85 00:06:03,959 --> 00:06:07,279 bunch of money and we could lose it. And what 86 00:06:07,399 --> 00:06:10,680 Christa Bocari says is that this was a premeditated falsehood 87 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:14,120 that he presented to his clients that he is bound 88 00:06:14,199 --> 00:06:18,120 to serve. As any attorney would quickly know, there has 89 00:06:18,199 --> 00:06:22,160 to be some valid form of a legal claim. The 90 00:06:22,199 --> 00:06:26,240 only two legal claims that could be argued as relevant 91 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:30,600 to the situation are defamation or a hostile work environment. 92 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:34,360 And it's clear to anyone operating with a legal license 93 00:06:34,399 --> 00:06:36,639 and a cursory review of the details of the case 94 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:42,439 that they have no merit so defamation, she says. Legal 95 00:06:42,439 --> 00:06:47,439 standards for defamation require public false statements of fact communicated 96 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:51,480 to a third party, but private messages like the text 97 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:54,759 messages between Jennings and Bokari do not meet that standard. 98 00:06:56,879 --> 00:06:59,879 There wasn't anything that Bookari said in public either that 99 00:07:00,439 --> 00:07:07,319 was defamatory, there was no justification for recommending a settlement 100 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:12,120 or getting counsel to approve a settlement for defamation because 101 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:16,519 defamation did not occur. What are the merits of this 102 00:07:16,959 --> 00:07:20,319 phantom lawsuit you know, that was never drafted, never written, 103 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:21,360 never filed whatever. 104 00:07:23,279 --> 00:07:24,160 Speaker 1: Maybe there were. 105 00:07:25,519 --> 00:07:28,600 Speaker 2: Bullet points and evidence that was presented to council, But 106 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:32,040 considering how much we have now learned about what occurred 107 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:35,600 in the council meeting, I suspect we'd have the bullet 108 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:38,959 points by now. Somebody would have said, here was all 109 00:07:38,959 --> 00:07:40,759 the evidence as to why we thought we might lose 110 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:46,240 the case. We haven't seen anything like that. Hostile work 111 00:07:46,319 --> 00:07:52,439 environment another only other potential cause for action, and she 112 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:56,279 says such claims require evidence of discrimination based on protected 113 00:07:56,360 --> 00:08:01,839 characteristics like race or gender, policy disagreements, even personal criticisms, 114 00:08:02,399 --> 00:08:08,680 even intense personal criticisms, do not meet that threshold. Jennings 115 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:11,480 is a public figure, as a public figure, not a 116 00:08:11,519 --> 00:08:14,160 public elected official, not like that, but just somebody in 117 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:17,879 the public eye. When you are in the public eye, 118 00:08:18,079 --> 00:08:22,759 the standard for defamation libel, slandered. It's higher than against 119 00:08:22,759 --> 00:08:27,279 just a private individual. You are expected to take slings 120 00:08:27,279 --> 00:08:32,159 and arrows when you enter the public arena, and when 121 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:35,360 they come you don't get to sue anybody because they 122 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:40,600 called you names, which Bokari, by the way, did not 123 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:46,679 do next violating rules of procedure to subvert the council's will. 124 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:49,960 This gets to the original vote that was held on 125 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:53,679 April twenty eighth, and it went five to two to 126 00:08:53,799 --> 00:08:56,879 do the settlement because the council members did not have 127 00:08:56,919 --> 00:09:00,639 all of the information, namely that the complaint that had 128 00:09:00,639 --> 00:09:04,480 the same charges in it was rejected by the city 129 00:09:04,519 --> 00:09:06,240 government by the same city attorney. 130 00:09:06,279 --> 00:09:07,759 Speaker 1: They said, no, it's without merit. 131 00:09:07,919 --> 00:09:11,399 Speaker 2: Then they turned around and recommended it as the reason 132 00:09:11,399 --> 00:09:13,919 for a settlement of three hundred K. That's why I 133 00:09:13,919 --> 00:09:17,039 say it smacks of just a shakedown, because if you 134 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:20,559 had enough evidence that made you so scared to litigate 135 00:09:20,559 --> 00:09:23,799 against this thing, to defend yourself against a frivolous lawsuit. 136 00:09:24,279 --> 00:09:26,879 If you were so worried, why wouldn't you have Why 137 00:09:26,919 --> 00:09:34,399 wouldn't you have upheld the complaint? So they go into 138 00:09:34,399 --> 00:09:37,679 their closed session. The vote is five to two, but 139 00:09:37,759 --> 00:09:40,120 it doesn't have a majority of the eleven members, so 140 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:44,639 it fails. When the Council members then reconvene for the 141 00:09:44,679 --> 00:09:48,559 second closed session on May fifth. She says they walked 142 00:09:48,559 --> 00:09:53,360 into a strategically designed trap based upon a technicality because 143 00:09:54,559 --> 00:09:58,120 at the first meeting they apparently did have enough members 144 00:09:58,159 --> 00:10:01,559 for a majority, but one of them them left. And 145 00:10:01,759 --> 00:10:05,159 when you start a meeting and then leave, every vote 146 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:08,240 of anything that comes up is a yes vote. That's 147 00:10:08,279 --> 00:10:11,840 what council was unaware of. When they show back up 148 00:10:11,879 --> 00:10:13,919 on May fifth, they think they're going to try to 149 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:17,840 vote this thing again, and they're told it already passed 150 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:22,320 because of this rule, which I guess nobody knew about, 151 00:10:22,679 --> 00:10:25,879 which is odd because y Lyles, the mayor, has been 152 00:10:26,279 --> 00:10:29,000 in city government for thirty years. 153 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:33,120 Speaker 1: I knew this rule. How could she not? 154 00:10:33,639 --> 00:10:35,440 Speaker 2: All right, if you're listening to this show, you know 155 00:10:35,519 --> 00:10:37,519 I try to keep up with all sorts of current events, 156 00:10:37,519 --> 00:10:39,600 and I know you do too, And you've probably heard 157 00:10:39,639 --> 00:10:42,320 me say get your news from multiple sources. 158 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:43,159 Speaker 1: Why. 159 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:46,200 Speaker 2: Well, because it's how you detect media bias, which is 160 00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:49,279 why I've been so impressed with ground News. It's an 161 00:10:49,360 --> 00:10:52,759 app and it's a website, and it combines news from 162 00:10:52,799 --> 00:10:54,960 around the world in one place, so you can compare 163 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:58,120 coverage and verify information. You could check it out at 164 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:02,679 check dot ground, dot news slash pete. I put the 165 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:05,879 link in the podcast description too. I started using ground 166 00:11:05,879 --> 00:11:08,600 News a few months ago and more recently chose to 167 00:11:08,639 --> 00:11:10,559 work with them as an affiliate because it lets me 168 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:14,440 see clearly how stories get covered and by whom. The 169 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:17,480 blind spot feature shows you which stories get ignored by 170 00:11:17,519 --> 00:11:21,360 the left and the right. See for yourself check dot ground, 171 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:25,240 dot news slash pete. Subscribe through that link and you'll 172 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:28,440 get fifteen percent off any subscription. I use the Vantage 173 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:31,919 plan to get unlimited access to every feature. Your subscription 174 00:11:32,039 --> 00:11:34,720 then not only helps my podcast, but it also supports 175 00:11:34,759 --> 00:11:39,799 ground News as they make the media landscape more transparent. Alrighty, 176 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:43,600 So back to Krista Bacari's rite up here, and just 177 00:11:43,639 --> 00:11:47,000 to finish off one last detail on the previous bullet 178 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:53,480 point about violating rules of procedure. This was the you know, oh, 179 00:11:53,519 --> 00:11:55,399 we didn't have enough votes to pass, and then you 180 00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:57,000 come back a week later and it's like, oh, actually 181 00:11:57,080 --> 00:12:02,399 we did, and so it already passed. They go in 182 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:05,320 there thinking they're going to cast a vote on the 183 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:10,639 settlement deal, but because the lawyer then says, well, we 184 00:12:10,759 --> 00:12:14,480 already passed it because of this rule that if you 185 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:16,440 show up and then leave, you get counted as a 186 00:12:16,519 --> 00:12:19,080 yes vote. And apparently a council member showed up and 187 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:21,960 then left the closed session, and then they took a 188 00:12:22,039 --> 00:12:25,919 vote and it counted as a yes. But nobody said that. 189 00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:29,399 Nobody knew that. We are to believe that nobody knew 190 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:31,960 this rule until a week later when they show up 191 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:34,519 to vote again on the settlement because they all thought 192 00:12:34,519 --> 00:12:37,799 it didn't pass. They are then informed it did actually pass. 193 00:12:38,399 --> 00:12:38,840 Speaker 1: She says. 194 00:12:38,879 --> 00:12:42,039 Speaker 2: Then they spent the remaining time threatening council members on 195 00:12:42,159 --> 00:12:46,840 what the consequences would be of leaking this information. On 196 00:12:46,919 --> 00:12:49,960 May fifth, one council member who had voted in support 197 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:54,000 of the settlement the previous week then learned from the 198 00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:57,960 media the stuff that they were not told before they voted. 199 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:03,240 That council member named stated that they wanted to change 200 00:13:03,279 --> 00:13:07,080 their vote. They were then told they were not going 201 00:13:07,159 --> 00:13:09,639 to be allowed to, and she says, they were I 202 00:13:09,639 --> 00:13:11,639 guess this was aggressively told you. 203 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:12,279 Speaker 1: Cannot do that. 204 00:13:13,759 --> 00:13:18,440 Speaker 2: Next bullet point advising knowingly false legal advice with the 205 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:23,600 intent of intimidating a whistleblower. City attorney Anthony Fox during 206 00:13:23,639 --> 00:13:26,600 the May fifth closed session and then subsequently to the 207 00:13:26,679 --> 00:13:31,759 media that week, told council members leaking closed session information 208 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:34,399 was a criminal offense and he would be launching an 209 00:13:34,399 --> 00:13:40,600 investigation and there would be consequences. She Christa Bakari says, 210 00:13:40,639 --> 00:13:45,919 there is only one nuanced situation where leaking closed session 211 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:50,399 information is potentially a criminal offense, when a person shares 212 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:54,879 a personnel file publicly. This does not apply to talking 213 00:13:54,879 --> 00:13:58,120 about a personnel file either. It's the physical sharing of 214 00:13:58,159 --> 00:14:00,759 the file. She says, not only was there no personnel 215 00:14:00,799 --> 00:14:05,279 file involved in these closed sessions, making his claim technically impossible, 216 00:14:05,759 --> 00:14:09,480 there was actually no personnel content included as any part 217 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:13,960 of the closed sessions. There was Bacari's text messages, There 218 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:17,120 was jennings threats of a lawsuit and requests for a settlement. 219 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:21,879 At no point was Jennings's performance history or any other 220 00:14:22,039 --> 00:14:28,519 personnel categorized information discussed. The absolute worst outcome that can 221 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:32,440 occur if the council votes is if the council votes 222 00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:37,360 to censure. That's a far cry from a criminal charge. 223 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:41,279 There is no scenario any city attorney would not know this. 224 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:42,279 Speaker 1: She says. 225 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:44,720 Speaker 2: This is grounds for an ethics complaint to be sent 226 00:14:44,759 --> 00:14:49,200 to the North Carolina Bar Association for review with potential disbarment. 227 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:53,600 I got an email here from John who says one 228 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:55,919 of the three council members that voted against the settlement, 229 00:14:56,039 --> 00:14:59,360 especially the one who's claiming illegal activity, should file a 230 00:14:59,399 --> 00:15:03,399 complaint with the bar over the lawyer for not fulfilling 231 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:06,600 his duty as the counsel's lawyer and representing them in 232 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:10,399 this case by intentionally leaving out key information. Yeah, this 233 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:14,240 is a very big no no for lawyers. You're not 234 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:17,600 allowed to do that. If you get a like a 235 00:15:17,639 --> 00:15:20,480 plea deal or something, you have to bring it to 236 00:15:20,559 --> 00:15:24,600 your client. You don't get to hide stuff from your client, 237 00:15:25,679 --> 00:15:29,840 because they need to be the ones that call the shots. 238 00:15:30,559 --> 00:15:37,519 You work for them. Next up, ignoring clear workplace retaliation instances. 239 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:41,279 In addition to Chief Jennings' top aids working behind the 240 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:45,600 scenes to attack Bokari via the NAACP complaint, the same 241 00:15:45,679 --> 00:15:49,159 theme was playing out for Officer Daniel Redford in the FOP. 242 00:15:49,519 --> 00:15:54,679 I covered this yesterday. He got hit with a lawsuit 243 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:59,879 from one of the aids to Jennings. The chief spokes 244 00:16:00,039 --> 00:16:07,240 person for CMPD sued the Fraternal Order of Police president. 245 00:16:07,639 --> 00:16:12,519 That lawsuit was denied by the court. I believe she's 246 00:16:12,559 --> 00:16:16,840 now filing an appeal for it. But Redford, the FOP president, 247 00:16:16,919 --> 00:16:19,600 was brought to the Civil Review Board on allegations that 248 00:16:19,639 --> 00:16:22,879 he used his role in the FOP to comment negatively 249 00:16:22,919 --> 00:16:27,120 about the chief during the battle over the vests. And 250 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:32,120 he got a suspension for that. And she says he 251 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:34,919 was exercising his First Amendment right as a private citizen 252 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:38,240 to voice his opinion. When he returned to work, he 253 00:16:38,399 --> 00:16:41,240 was then demoted from the post that he had earned 254 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:46,720 over a career keeping cats safe the Charlotte Area transit system. 255 00:16:46,759 --> 00:16:49,159 I guess, well not, I guess it is like the 256 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:53,440 Charlotte Area transit system. They busted him down to patrol. 257 00:16:54,840 --> 00:17:03,360 That's retaliation. That's actually illegal. Next, making false public statements 258 00:17:03,639 --> 00:17:07,680 while not properly investigating employee Code of Conduct violations. 259 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:08,920 Speaker 1: I'll cover that one. 260 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:12,160 Speaker 2: Next, here's a great idea. 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Call or 279 00:18:13,799 --> 00:18:17,119 text eight two eight, three six seven seventy sixty eight 280 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:19,559 or check out all there is to offer at Cabins 281 00:18:19,559 --> 00:18:23,160 Offashville dot com and make memories that'll last a lifetime. 282 00:18:23,519 --> 00:18:26,640 Here's a message from Russ. He says, every scrap of 283 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:31,839 new information on this payout looks worse. The mayor, the chief, 284 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:37,319 the attorney all look really bad, possibly criminal, and council 285 00:18:37,359 --> 00:18:41,240 members seem either naive or incompetent at best. 286 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:43,400 Speaker 1: Yeah. 287 00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:51,000 Speaker 2: So there comes a point where people need to people 288 00:18:51,039 --> 00:18:53,680 need to make a decision. You know, there comes a 289 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:57,160 point where the elected officials are going to have to 290 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:02,079 make a decision on whether to keep pushing forward with 291 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:07,319 this current narrative hoping it just goes away, or they're 292 00:19:07,319 --> 00:19:09,720 going to have to turn right. 293 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:14,079 Speaker 1: And I make no predictions. 294 00:19:14,599 --> 00:19:16,960 Speaker 2: I don't know who's going to decide when, but I 295 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:19,960 can say that this story, like, this story is not 296 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:24,519 going away for me, and there's blood in the water. 297 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:32,480 Local media is they are swarming. Let me see here 298 00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:40,480 I had, Oh, well this is our h pub said 299 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:44,519 more Democrat corruption. Yeah, let me get to the remaining 300 00:19:44,519 --> 00:19:49,599 bullet points here from Chrysto Bucari's Facebook post. The next 301 00:19:49,599 --> 00:19:54,519 one was making false public statements while not properly investigating 302 00:19:54,559 --> 00:19:58,480 employee code of conduct violations. When the bombshell proof dropped 303 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:03,559 from WSOCTV that Jennings two top aides used their personal 304 00:20:03,599 --> 00:20:07,279 emails to direct the local NAACP president to make the 305 00:20:07,319 --> 00:20:11,359 Foyer request and the ethics complaint against tark Bakari. Within 306 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:14,799 an hour, the City of Charlotte released a statement saying 307 00:20:14,839 --> 00:20:18,039 that they had completed an HR investigation and found there 308 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:21,279 was no violation by those two employees. They were acting 309 00:20:21,279 --> 00:20:24,480 in their capacity as private citizens voicing their opinions, and 310 00:20:24,559 --> 00:20:29,119 so no action would be taken. The only reason that 311 00:20:29,279 --> 00:20:35,559 these emails were discovered was accidental because the NAACP president 312 00:20:35,599 --> 00:20:45,599 Corin mac accidentally forwarded that email to Joe Bruno at WSOCTV. 313 00:20:47,039 --> 00:20:50,680 Accidental forward of an email, she says, and so Christa 314 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:53,599 Bakari says. It is reasonable to believe that if they 315 00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:56,319 had used their personal emails in this one instance, there's 316 00:20:56,440 --> 00:21:00,119 likely additional evidence of violations in their personal emails, which 317 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:03,839 certainly would have been deleted by them by now, but 318 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:06,960 can be recovered from the carrier with the proper authority. 319 00:21:07,839 --> 00:21:12,200 It is difficult to believe that the city manager, the mayor, 320 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:17,319 and the city attorney and the HR department all completed 321 00:21:17,359 --> 00:21:23,039 a comprehensive investigation covering all these aspects, plus interviews and 322 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:26,119 potentially questioning people under oath, and they did this all 323 00:21:26,119 --> 00:21:30,200 in under an hour before they publicly cleared the two 324 00:21:30,279 --> 00:21:35,960 CMPD officials of wrongdoing. Breaking like that, that does not 325 00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:40,319 sound like a thorough investigation to me. Okay, maybe it was, 326 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:43,839 but it doesn't sound like it to me. Next, breaking 327 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:47,160 confidentiality rules of closed session with knowingly false statements, The 328 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:50,480 Mayor vy Lyles made the following statement to the media. Quote, 329 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:53,240 the chief was publicly attacked by a former council member 330 00:21:53,519 --> 00:21:56,519 who stated his intent was to damage his reputation and 331 00:21:56,720 --> 00:22:00,920 end his career. But Bakari actually did not publicly attack Jennings. 332 00:22:01,559 --> 00:22:05,039 Speaker 1: That did not happen. This information. 333 00:22:06,279 --> 00:22:08,440 Speaker 2: Was only made public by the strategic efforts of the 334 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:16,000 two top aids of Jennings. The text messaging was that 335 00:22:16,079 --> 00:22:21,960 was sent to Corinn mac at the NAACP that wasn't public. 336 00:22:22,279 --> 00:22:24,359 Butkari is saying, you know you need to you need 337 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:26,000 to compromise with me on this. You need to meet 338 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:28,079 me halfway and I you know, I will go after 339 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:31,640 you like it's not personal. And but he never he 340 00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:39,680 never attacked or defamed the chief. And what Christa Bakari 341 00:22:39,799 --> 00:22:43,720 says is that the mayor's actually breaking the confidentiality of 342 00:22:43,759 --> 00:22:47,319 closed session publicly talking about the content that was discussed 343 00:22:47,319 --> 00:22:49,880 in that room and relaying the sentiment that the Chief 344 00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:54,799 was indeed inappropriately attacked. Vy Lyles is only exposed to 345 00:22:54,839 --> 00:22:57,960 censure for these actions, though that's not even a criminal 346 00:22:58,519 --> 00:23:03,119 criminal behavior, because just like the threats of criminal charges 347 00:23:03,119 --> 00:23:09,359 for any leaker, the worst you'll get his censure, she says. 348 00:23:09,359 --> 00:23:11,839 In summary, the City of Charlotte had no legal exposure 349 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:15,359 to a claim by Chief Jennings. Yet the Mayor, the attorney, 350 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:20,960 and the manager relied on an improperly used procedural technicality 351 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:26,000 and these additional tactics to approve taxpayer dollars for their friend, 352 00:23:26,079 --> 00:23:29,279 and in doing so performed the unethical, immoral, and potentially 353 00:23:29,279 --> 00:23:34,279 illegal actions they are now exposed to. Councilman Bacari's advocacy 354 00:23:34,319 --> 00:23:39,079 for outer carrier vests can be viewed as part of 355 00:23:39,119 --> 00:23:44,359 his legislative duties, which are protected under legislative immunity. There 356 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:47,000 is no public evidence indicating that Bacari made any false 357 00:23:47,039 --> 00:23:51,000 statements about Chief Jennings. His criticisms focused on policy disagreements 358 00:23:51,359 --> 00:23:55,799 his actions. The Councilman's actions did not involve misuse of 359 00:23:55,839 --> 00:23:59,839 his official capacity. The text messages in question were private 360 00:24:00,079 --> 00:24:05,000 communications between the councilmen and the Chief. Defamation claims require 361 00:24:05,039 --> 00:24:08,839 that false statements be made publicly to third parties. Since 362 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:12,440 these messages were private, they were not disseminated publicly Bible kari. 363 00:24:12,559 --> 00:24:14,839 In fact, they were released publicly at the direction of 364 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:18,720 the Chief through his top aids to the NAACP. It 365 00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:24,119 doesn't make the standard of criteria for defamation. Were council 366 00:24:24,119 --> 00:24:27,079 members advised on any of this? In the closed session? 367 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:31,440 Tijuana Brown, one of the council members, said, I was 368 00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:35,519 not aware of any of this. That's a problem, all right. 369 00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:38,920 So spring is here a time of renewal and celebrations. 370 00:24:39,119 --> 00:24:42,720 You've got graduations, weddings, anniversaries and the special days for 371 00:24:42,839 --> 00:24:45,160 mom and dad. Your family's making memories that are going 372 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:47,599 to last a lifetime. But let me ask you, are 373 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:50,839 all of those treasured moments from days gone by? Are 374 00:24:50,839 --> 00:24:54,200 they hidden away on old VCR tapes, eight millimeter films, 375 00:24:54,359 --> 00:24:58,720 photos slides? Are they preserved? Because over time, these precious 376 00:24:58,720 --> 00:25:02,880 memories can fade and deteriorate, losing the magic of yesterday. 377 00:25:03,079 --> 00:25:06,240 At Creative Video, they help you protect what matters most. 378 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:10,319 Their expert team digitizes your cherished family moments and transfers 379 00:25:10,359 --> 00:25:13,200 them onto a USB drive, freezing them in time so 380 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:16,240 they can be enjoyed for generations to come. I urge 381 00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:19,400 you do not wait until it's too late this spring, 382 00:25:19,640 --> 00:25:22,960 celebrate your past. Visit Creative Video today and let them 383 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:26,400 preserve your legacy with the love and care that it deserves. 384 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:31,039 Creative Video Preserving Family Memories since nineteen ninety seven, located 385 00:25:31,039 --> 00:25:33,680 in mint Hill, just off four eighty five, mail orders 386 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:36,640 are accepted to get all the details that create a 387 00:25:36,839 --> 00:25:40,680 video dot com when what comes up right after me 388 00:25:40,839 --> 00:25:43,720 on WBT here? So Brett, welcome, Sarah? 389 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:44,880 Speaker 1: You do all right? It's good to be here. 390 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:47,640 Speaker 3: Yeah, oh absolutely, yes, I'm ready, all right, I'm ready 391 00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:47,960 big time. 392 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:49,680 Speaker 1: All right, I'm going to read to you something big lely. 393 00:25:50,519 --> 00:25:52,640 Speaker 2: I've given him no notice, no, so this will be 394 00:25:53,839 --> 00:25:58,200 raw and unfiltered, well with an FCC guidelines, of course. 395 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:05,599 I saw a girl on reels the video shorts on Facebook, 396 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:06,720 right the reels or whatever? 397 00:26:06,799 --> 00:26:07,559 Speaker 1: What are you doing? 398 00:26:07,799 --> 00:26:12,039 Speaker 2: I saw a girl on reels say that she incentivized 399 00:26:12,119 --> 00:26:17,599 people to RSVP to her wedding by making the order 400 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:22,640 in which people RSVP the same order that they get 401 00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:25,000 to stand up and go get dinner at the wedding. 402 00:26:26,559 --> 00:26:29,480 So in other words, you send out the invitations and 403 00:26:29,519 --> 00:26:33,000 the order in which you receive the rsvp's back, that's 404 00:26:33,039 --> 00:26:36,400 the order that you get your food at the reception. 405 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:41,720 Speaker 3: So if if the brother in law came in first, 406 00:26:41,799 --> 00:26:44,400 he's going to get to get the primary. 407 00:26:44,119 --> 00:26:48,440 Speaker 2: First first, right, So because people you know, don't because 408 00:26:48,599 --> 00:26:51,839 they don't RSVP fast enough. And you're you, you know, 409 00:26:52,519 --> 00:26:54,400 I don't know if you're like, we had lists. We 410 00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:56,519 had I guess I shouldn't say this, but we had 411 00:26:56,599 --> 00:26:59,440 a list B list. Oh really, yeah, because well we 412 00:26:59,519 --> 00:27:02,079 had a we had a small venue, so we wanted, 413 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:05,160 you know, every seat full, and makes sense we needed 414 00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:07,880 to invite the you know, certain people you have to you. 415 00:27:07,839 --> 00:27:10,200 Speaker 3: Know, yeah, yeah, there are the mustavs. 416 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:12,680 Speaker 2: Right, and so this is and so when you're not 417 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:15,599 getting the RSVPs back, now you're cutting down on the 418 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:18,359 time that you have to email or mail out the 419 00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:20,359 invitations for the B list. 420 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:21,079 Speaker 1: This is the same. 421 00:27:21,319 --> 00:27:22,200 Speaker 3: I'm guessing she's a. 422 00:27:24,079 --> 00:27:24,480 Speaker 1: Virgo. 423 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:29,039 Speaker 2: I don't know who the person is, but I like 424 00:27:29,119 --> 00:27:33,799 this idea because I have been to a wedding where 425 00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:37,359 they ran out of food because they called the table 426 00:27:37,559 --> 00:27:38,200 all you can eat? 427 00:27:38,319 --> 00:27:38,480 Speaker 3: Was it? 428 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:39,799 Speaker 1: And all you can eat? 429 00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:42,799 Speaker 2: No, obviously not because they ran out. So we but 430 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:45,160 we are at the table, and we thought because we 431 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:47,440 were so hungry. It was like an afternoon wedding and 432 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:49,359 so we were so hungry for dinner. We sit down 433 00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:51,240 at the table, We're thinking, we're right next to the food. 434 00:27:51,279 --> 00:27:53,079 We're like, this is good the buffet line, but it 435 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:56,759 was self serve, right, And then they said we're going 436 00:27:56,839 --> 00:27:59,000 to go for old people first. I was like, okay, fine, 437 00:27:59,039 --> 00:28:01,079 I can't object to that. Christy's mom gets up and 438 00:28:01,119 --> 00:28:03,279 gets her plate of food, brings it back, and it's 439 00:28:03,359 --> 00:28:06,240 just she didn't even think. Like we were like, Betty, 440 00:28:06,279 --> 00:28:07,480 what are you doing? Why didn't you bring like a 441 00:28:07,519 --> 00:28:09,559 whole mountain of food for the whole table? And she's like, 442 00:28:09,599 --> 00:28:12,440 oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. And then they ran 443 00:28:12,519 --> 00:28:15,599 out because they started at the other end of the 444 00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:17,400 other end of the room. I was literally the last 445 00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:19,559 one in the line. Wow. 446 00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:24,960 Speaker 3: See if I can I critique it? Yeah, yeah, okay. 447 00:28:25,039 --> 00:28:26,759 If if I'm the last one on the line, I'm 448 00:28:26,759 --> 00:28:27,640 just not gonna eat. 449 00:28:27,839 --> 00:28:28,880 Speaker 1: I didn't. I'm just gonna know. 450 00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:30,759 Speaker 3: I'm just gonna stay in the seat I'm just gonna 451 00:28:30,799 --> 00:28:33,000 be like, I'll grab a burger later on dead air 452 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:34,000 at the night or tomorrow. 453 00:28:34,559 --> 00:28:35,039 Speaker 1: You would you. 454 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:38,599 Speaker 2: Wouldn't even get up, No, I think if I'm the 455 00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:41,160 last person there. There was a little bit of mashed 456 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:44,119 potatoes left, but there was no toppings, so I did 457 00:28:44,119 --> 00:28:45,559 get a little bit of mashed potatoes. 458 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:48,119 Speaker 3: Did you get wedding cake? 459 00:28:48,799 --> 00:28:48,839 Speaker 2: No? 460 00:28:51,079 --> 00:28:51,440 Speaker 1: They had. 461 00:28:51,599 --> 00:28:53,640 Speaker 2: This couple had to sue their caterer. 462 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:56,400 Speaker 1: Wow, but no kidding. 463 00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:59,720 Speaker 2: I am amazed at how many people know of this 464 00:28:59,799 --> 00:29:02,400 kind of thing, like where people serve, and so it 465 00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:05,680 raises this question, do you ever remember the food at 466 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:10,960 a wedding? And I would submit you only remember the 467 00:29:11,039 --> 00:29:11,599 bad food. 468 00:29:12,799 --> 00:29:13,119 Speaker 1: I don't. 469 00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:15,319 Speaker 2: I haven't really had bad food at a wedding. 470 00:29:15,599 --> 00:29:18,599 Speaker 3: I mean, I mean really, I can't think of it 471 00:29:18,759 --> 00:29:20,640 like where I hate it And I was like, oh, 472 00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:24,920 this is the worst thing ever, right, mostly because there's 473 00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:28,119 a lot of alcohol being consumed, true, true, and the 474 00:29:28,119 --> 00:29:32,240 bubbly and right, you know, the parifs. 475 00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:34,680 Speaker 2: And then the dancing. It takes up a lot of time. 476 00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:41,359 Speaker 3: Here's one thing I hate, I mean capital h at 477 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:46,920 the lack of manners. Everybody has just become a savage. 478 00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:48,759 Speaker 1: I mean it's awful. 479 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:52,839 Speaker 2: I used to just call it inconsideration. It's beyond a 480 00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:53,640 lot of it's beyond that. 481 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:57,400 Speaker 3: It's because people are too lazy to teach their kids 482 00:29:58,319 --> 00:30:01,279 any sort of manners. And he sort of met Please, 483 00:30:01,359 --> 00:30:04,519 thank you, How are you any of that. 484 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:10,720 Speaker 2: While demanding quote respect from everybody else. Correct, Yeah, it's awful, 485 00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:12,039 Yeah it really is. 486 00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:12,440 Speaker 3: I mean it. 487 00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:13,880 Speaker 1: I blame COVID. 488 00:30:14,759 --> 00:30:19,799 Speaker 2: Oh no, it's and sexism and racism. I blame Obama. Okay, 489 00:30:20,319 --> 00:30:21,720 I don't blame Oma. Oh no, I was just going 490 00:30:21,759 --> 00:30:24,920 with Joe Biden's blames. I'm going, all right, Brett Rennevill 491 00:30:25,039 --> 00:30:27,880 stick around because he's uh, he's coming up next, and 492 00:30:27,880 --> 00:30:29,119 I'm gonna hang around with him too. 493 00:30:31,319 --> 00:30:31,680 Speaker 1: All right. 494 00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:34,079 Speaker 2: That'll do it for this episode. Thank you so much 495 00:30:34,079 --> 00:30:36,160 for listening. I could not do the show without your 496 00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:38,960 support and the support of the businesses that advertise on 497 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:41,799 the podcast, so if you'd like, please support them too 498 00:30:41,839 --> 00:30:43,519 and tell them you heard it here. You can also 499 00:30:43,559 --> 00:30:46,119 become a patron at my Patreon page or go to 500 00:30:46,279 --> 00:30:49,960 thepetecleanershow dot com. Again, thank you so much for listening, 501 00:30:50,079 --> 00:30:53,839 and don't break anything while I'm gone.