Gov. Jay Nixon and local prosecutor Robert McCulloch are engaged in a war of words that sounds like a shoving match on the school playground.
Cloud over Michael Brown inquiry as attorney general arrives in Ferguson
The investigation into the killing by a police officer of an unarmed Missouri teenager has been thrown into uncertainty with a tussle between the state governor and the local prosector, hours before a grand jury was due to begin hearing evidence and on the eve of a visit on Wednesday by US attorney general Eric Holder.
As Ferguson experienced a night of relative calm – at least compared to the violent clashes of recent nights – governor Jay Nixon and St Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch issued duelling statements over the investigation into the death of Michael Brown, shot dead by a Ferguson police officer on 9 August.
McCulloch, whose impartiality has been repeatedly called into question, threw down what amounted to a challenge to Nixon, saying that he would recuse himself from the inquiry into the death of Brown if the governor demanded he do.
Nixon responded by saying that he would not make such a demand. But in a late-night statement that stopped well short of a ringing endorsement, the governor reiterated that McCulloch could step down if he wished.
“There is a well-established process by which a prosecutor can recuse themselves from a pending investigation and a special prosecutor be appointed,” Nixon said. “Departing from this established process could unnecessarily inject legal uncertainty into this matter and potentially jeopardize the prosecution.”
Both of these politicians are doing everything they can to avoid taking responsibility for prosecution decisions in dealing with a case that is politically loaded. McCulloch is trying to hide behind a grand jury that he is not compelled to deal with. He is now taunting the governor to remove him from the case. The governor lacks the courage to do that.
Whatever decision is ultimately made about a prosecution of Darren Wilson, there will be large numbers of people who will be angry about it. The politicians who are involved are contributing to the climate of chaos and tension.