Lead prosecutor Stephen Kunz files for retirement while WMBB-TV tampers with a witness in the Lynn Haven corruption case.?
Federal Judge Mark Walker will explore the testimony of the prosecutors’ lead witness in which he claimed that Kunz coerced him into saying that James Finch bribed him.
Former Lynn Haven Commissioner Antonius Barnes told Judge Walker during last week’s evidentiary hearing that Kunz threatened to add charges unless Barnes testified against Finch.
Barnes has always told prosecutors that he did not sell his vote to Finch. WMBB-TV is reporting that Barnes took a plea deal by admitting that Finch bribed him.
That is not true.
Barnes pled guilty to lying on a bank loan application about money that Finch either loaned or gave him to start an insurance business.
Any witness would be in serious trouble if he admitted guilt to prosecutors for a plea deal, and then later denied guilt on the witness stand.
That is not what happened in this case. WMBB is conflating the fraudulent bank loan application (to which Barnes admits) with selling his vote (to which Barnes has always denied).
WMBB-TV is framing the story as if Judge Walker is figuring out if Barnes lied to secure a plea deal or if Barnes lied on the witness stand. The truth is that the prosecutors didn’t deny Barnes’ testimony, and they didn’t cross examine him.
That’s when Judge Walker became angry and ordered the emergency hearing “in regard to Kunz and Mr. Barnes.” At issue is whether or not Kunz crossed the line in coercing Barnes into a plea deal.
The next day, prosecutor Kevin Grogan told Judge Walker that Barnes’ attorney had called and said Barnes spoke inelegantly. Notably, Barnes’ attorney had abandoned him before he took the witness stand.
In reality, Barnes had been very precise in his testimony. Judge Walker told Grogan that he “didn’t care what Barnes’ lawyer told the government,” and that they better schedule the emergency hearing.
Reporter Brady Calhoun, who attended the hearing, and news director Tom Lewis are tampering with a witness by repeatedly running stories accusing Barnes of lying either to prosecutors or to the Court.
WMBB-TV, Calhoun, and Lewis know the truth but continue to run stories painting Barnes in a negative light. Their false reporting has caused many in the community to accuse Barnes of being a proven liar.
The news outlet has only a few days left to tell the story accurately before Thursday’s emergency hearing at the federal courthouse.
Barnes’ testimony last week was one of several shocking developments as defendants Finch and Margo Anderson presented evidence pointing to a targeted investigation and vindictive prosecution.
WMBB-TV has also ignored the final result of last week’s proceedings: Judge Walker told the defendants to provide a list of “bad actors,” “bad acts,” and sanctions that the Court could issue against them.
Earlier this year, Judge Walker rebuked the investigators and prosecutors as unprofessional, haphazard, and reckless.
