LA Focus: Blogger’s Biased Screed Against Ridley-Thomas Lacks Credibility

By: Tavis Smiley | October 11, 2024

As we approach the three-year anniversary of Dr. Mark Ridley-Thomas’s indictment on charges of bribery, conspiracy, and fraud, media actors continue to abdicate their responsibility to truthfully and accurately cover developments in the case.

Consequently, prosecutors have been able to propagate exaggerated claims of corruption and disinformation unhindered by the critical and skeptical examination of information and facts we used to associate with the Fourth Estate.

The traditional check on abuse of power is not what it used to be. The MRT case provides several examples:

• A veteran Los Angeles Times reporter was scooped by student journalists at USC who found evidence that senior campus administrators were fully aware of the USC School of Social Work dean’s compliance with the institution’s policy to seek a waiver of rules associated with awarding adjunct professorships.

• The absence of any evidence submitted at trial that more than one contract was at issue and that its value was 16 times less than the $8 million unvetted claim implied by government prosecutors in the indictment.

• Now we have a local criminal justice blogger, Meghann Cuniff, writing an article with the headline: “Why isn’t Mark Ridley-Thomas serving his sentence?”

That’s an easy question to answer.

There are three standard criteria to secure bail pending appeal after being convicted in a federal court: flight risk, public safety, and strong legal arguments against the verdict.

(1) MRT is not a flight risk. (2) MRT is not a threat to public safety. (3) MRT’S appeal is meritorious on 8 distinct legal fronts.

These points are so irrefutable that the U.S. Attorney’s office didn’t even put up a fight. So, this is Criminal Justice 101! How could Meghann miss that? Because she wanted to miss it.

One noted constitutional scholar commented that “Meghann the Blogger” made no mention of the concept of bail pending appeal in her hopelessly slanted piece. Another appellate practitioner familiar with MRT’s case said of Meghann’s blog, it’s “sad and ignorant.”

For example, the recent Supreme Court Snyder case slamming overzealous prosecutions (favoring MRT’s case) was not simply about what can be prosecuted but more to the point—who can prosecute. In its 6-3 ruling (not the 5-4 error that Meghann the Blogger claimed), a SCOTUS majority said State government, not the Feds, is on first base. In other words, no “big footing” allowed—that is called federalism—the essence of prosecutorial overreach.

If this uninformed blogger had taken the time to objectively or even carefully review the most recent MRT legal team briefs, she would have understood that there were instructional errors given to the jury, resulting in MRT’s conviction, making reversal of the verdict the only just thing to do.

Instead, this blatantly biased blogger drank the government’s Kool-Aid in their attempt to defame MRT. From the government’s point of view, MRT was an arrogant, out for himself, career politician and a shakedown artist who used his power for self-enrichment, brand promotion, and illicit family preservation.

This view stands in stark contrast to our community’s far more informed view of MRT as a dedicated public servant who used his talents as an innovator, fearless advocate, and change agent on behalf of his constituents for more than 30 years.

But Meghann the Blogger did not stop there! Oh no! She went further to whack MRT’s colleagues and supporters, including Mayor Karen Bass and yours truly. The mayor and I can handle it, but how could besmirching the names of noteworthy leaders help answer her thoughtless question about MRT not being in prison?

In trying to impugn Mayor Bass for appearing in a photo with MRT, Meghann deliberately made no mention of the event at which they were both present. So, let me tell you. They were both my guests at a nationally televised climate justice symposium on C-SPAN featuring an all-star panel of people of color – the disproportionate victims of these climate maladies who are always left out of the dialogue. This conversation was part of a yearlong climate justice campaign helmed by my LA radio station, KBLA Talk 1580, the only Black talk station west of the Mississippi.

In going after MRT for appearing in a photo with me, here again Meghann did not bother to mention that MRT was speaking at a ceremony where I was honored to receive the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

See the problem here?

Meghann chose to advance a narrative that is nothing more than a shameless propaganda piece for the prosecutors in the case of USA vs. MRT and trashing other innocents in the process was of no consequence to the writer. I will forgo sharing my personal sentiment on the race-tinged nature of Meghann’s vicious assault. Suffice it to say, alongside MRT, both Karen Bass and yours truly are African Americans.

The personal animus of writers has no place in real reporting. And if, like Meghann, one chooses to go there anyway, for goodness sakes, be a little less obvious.

Tavis Smiley is a host on KBLA Talk 1580 and Chief Visionary Officer for the parent company, SmileyAudioMedia, Inc. His most recent book is The Covenant With Black America: 20 Years Later.