Alleged libelous comments removed from Roe blog

The posts that brought a libel suit against Republican operative and blogger Jeff Roe have been removed from his blog, The Source.
As The Turner Report was the first to note in a March 30, 2007, post, St. Charles County Commissioner Joe Brazil filed the libel suit against Roe after Roe slammed him in two posts just before Brazil's primary race for state senate against Scott Rupp. Brazil was beaten soundly in the election.
All of Roe's archives, with the exception of the past three months, have been removed from the website. Fired Up Missouri notes that both Roe's blog, and the GOP blog, The Pulse, written by John Hancock, either changed (in the case of the Pulse) or removed (in the case of The Source) potentially libelous materials concerning Scott Eckersley, Gov. Matt Blunt's attorney, who was fired during the recent controversy over destruction of e-mail messages.
But the attacks on Roe are among the wealth of other material that no longer is accessible to the public, at least at this time.

Roe's first attack, in the August 1, 2006, Source, read like this:

Then Senator Jon Dolan was phoned many times by Brazil’s constituents as they complained about a “drunk and rowdy crowd” at the New Melle Festival. Imagine the shock when Dolan came to find out that Brazil was the ringleader of the drunken ruffians. But Party Boy Brazil’s escapades don’t stop there. During one of his golf events, Brazil allowed women in attendance to discard their clothing and go topless.

Is this what Missouri needs in one of its Senators? The Source thinks not. Perhaps Joe Brazil should examine his own past before he attempts to disguise himself as a Republican. Brazil has no business even thinking about running a campaign against incumbent Scott Rupp. Rupp is what Missouri needs in the StateSenate. He is a responsible, strong, family man who Brazil could learn a lot from.

The second attack, three days later, was the one which caused Brazil to tell First Capital News "He (Roe) told lies, misrepresented facts and brought up an incident that happened when I was 18 years old and then lied about it,"

In his Aug. 4 post, Roe wrote:

According to www.darwinawards.com, in 1982, Brazil was attempting to pull off a senior class prank at McCluer North High School in Florissant, Missouri. Brazil plan was to deposit thousands of pounds of sand into the school’s faculty parking lot. Brazil even owned a dump truck that could be used to aid in the prank.

After quite a few beers, Brazil and his buddies loaded up the dump truck with sand and drove to the school. One of Brazil’s friends, Norval Pierce sat on top of the bed of the truck while Brazil dumped the sand. Brazil drove slowly while dumping attempting to adequately spread the sand in the parking lot. As Brazil was driving the truck jumped forward, throwing Pierce through the frame of the truck. Not realizing what had happened, Brazil continued to drive while drunk and dumping sand. Brazil proceeded to crush Pierce under the truck.

So now we have another instance of Brazil’s irresponsibility and not owning up to his mistakes. What else do we need to know Joe?

Roe's allegations were not supported by the facts. In its Feb. 6, 2007, edition, the Kansas City Star examined Roe's role in the senate race:

Last year, Roe trained the focus of his daily political blog, The Source, on a state Senate race in east Missouri. Roe talked about the death of a best friend of Joe Brazil, a candidate in the race whom Roe opposed.
Brazil and his friends were dumping sand in their high school parking lot for an unauthorized "beach party" during their senior year. Brazil was driving a dump truck and accidentally ran over his friend while backing up.
Roe wrote that alcohol was involved. Brazil denied it; authorities had filed no charges.
Still, the story zipped through cyberland, and Brazil lost.
Asked about the Brazil race, Roe said, "If they don’t like it, then they don’t like the truth."

The veracity of Roe's story was addressed by the blog, the O'Fallon Watchdog, which broke the lawsuit story along with The Turner Report:

Mr. Brazil has vehemently denied the allegation that he was drunk or that he had any alcoholic beverages the night of the accident. Mr. Brazil's denial is supported by the Florissant police officer who was called to the scene and indicated in his report that Mr. Brazil was not drinking. No charges were ever filed. In addition, classmates of Mr. Brazil who were with him the day of the accident have also indicated Mr. Brazil was not drinking. A story discussing Mr. Roe’s August 4, 2006 web posting appeared in the St. Charles Suburban Journals which quoted Mr. Pierce's mother as saying she never blamed Mr. Brazil for the accident and that to her knowledge alcohol was not involved. Mrs. Pierce went on to state
"believe me if it had not been an accident I would have prosecuted...but he (Joe Brazil) was as tore up as I was."

Brazil's libel suit against Roe was filed in St. Charles County Circuit Court. No hearings are currently scheduled.

***
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St. Charles publication asks for dismissal of Roe lawsuit

In a motion filed Tuesday in St. Charles County Circuit Court, Ronald Brockmeyer, attorney for First Capital Publications and Photography and First Capital News, asked for dismissal of a third-party suit filed against them by political operative and blogger Jeff Roe.
Roe, the former chief of staff for Sixth District Congressman Sam Graves, filed the lawsuit against the companies after he was sued for libel by St. Charles County Commissioner Joe Brazil. Roe also filed a countersuit against Brazil.

Brazil filed a motion to dismiss Aug. 6. Brazil filed his lawsuit againt Roe after last-minute attacks were launched against Brazil in Roe's blog, The Source, just before Brazil's state senate primary loss in August 2006.


Brazil's lawsuit against Roe was first revealed in the O'Fallon Watchdog and The Turner Report.

On The Source, Roe wrote two items about Brazil in the week before the Republican primary. The first, on Aug. 1, said:

Then Senator Jon Dolan was phoned many times by Brazil's constituents as they complained about a “drunk and rowdy crowd” at the New Melle Festival. Imagine the shock when Dolan came to find out that Brazil was the ringleader of the drunken ruffians. But Party Boy Brazil's escapades don’t stop there. During one of his golf events, Brazil allowed women in attendance to discard their clothing and go topless.

Is this what Missouri needs in one of its Senators? The Source thinks not. Perhaps Joe Brazil should examine his own past before he attempts to disguise himself as a Republican. Brazil has no business even thinking about running a campaign against incumbent Scott Rupp. Rupp is what Missouri needs in the State Senate. He is a responsible, strong, family man who Brazil could learn a lot from.

Roe's Aug. 4 post led directly to the lawsuit:

According to www.darwinawards.com, in 1982, Brazil was attempting to pull off a senior class prank at McCluer North High School in Florissant, Missouri. Brazil plan was to deposit thousands of pounds of sand into the school's faculty parking lot. Brazil even owned a dump truck that could be used to aid in the prank.

After quite a few beers, Brazil and his buddies loaded up the dump truck with sand and drove to the school. One of Brazil's friends, Norval Pierce sat on top of the bed of the truck while Brazil dumped the sand. Brazil drove slowly while dumping attempting to adequately spread the sand in the parking lot. As Brazil was driving the truck jumped forward, throwing Pierce through the frame of the truck. Not realizing what had happened, Brazil continued to drive while drunk and dumping sand. Brazil proceeded to crush Pierce under the truck.

So now we have another instance of Brazil’s
irresponsibility and not owning up to his mistakes. What else do we need to know Joe?

Roe's lawsuit against First Capital News came because of a March 17 post, titled "Professional Character Assassins Brought in for Election," published four days before the Brazile lawsuit was filed. The post, written by Tony Brockmeyer, started with a subhead that read, "Out-of-Town Goon Squad Coming to St. Charles," then began:

Reminiscent of something out of the Sopranos, the City of St. Charles has been infiltrated by hired hit men. The difference is these hit men won’t be using automatic weapons and trying to kill their marks. They are hired to destroy lives and the credibility of those who dare challenge the established power in St. Charles.

Brockmeyer alleged that millionaire developers in St. Charles brought Roe and John Hancock, author of the Missouri Pulse blog, in to keep the status quo from changing in the city, including the removal of city council members "who stood up against the special interests in favor of the residents of St. Charles."

Brockmeyer quoted material from Kansas City Star profiles of Roe concerning Roe's campaign tactics. Close to the end of the post, Brockmeyer wrote about Joe Brazil's unsuccessful campaign for state senate:

St. Charles is not new territory for Roe. He was brought in by big money interests in the August 2006 primary when St. Charles Councilman Joe Brazil faced off against Scott Rupp in the Republican primary for a state senate seat.

Brazil told the First Capitol News he believed Roe to be the worst type of political operative. "He told lies, misrepresented facts and brought up an incident that happened when I was 18 years old and then lied about it," Brazil said.

The post ended with this information:

The First Capitol News contacted Roe and he denied any involvement with St. Charles politics. An individual like Roe usually does not want anyone to know he is involved until the campaign is over.

Roe is being represented by David Marcus of the law firm of Graves, Bartle, and Marcus, the law firm headed by former U. S. Attorney Todd Graves.

Defeated candidate sues top Republican consultant for libel

Jeff Roe, top political consultant and off-and-on assistant to Rep. Sam Graves, is the target of a lawsuit filed Thursday in St. Charles County Circuit Court by a political candidate who ran into Roe's particular brand of negative campaigning during the August 2006 Republican primary for the District 2 Missouri State Senate seat.
St. Charles County Commissioner Joe Brazil has filed a libel lawsuit against Roe, who used his blog, The Source, to launch two vicious attacks against Brazil in the week before the election.
In the March 17 edition of First Capitol News, a St. Charles County weekly, Brazil said, "He told lies, misrepresented facts and brought up an incident that happened when I was 18 years old and then lied about it," Brazil said.
Roe's first attack came in an Aug. 1 post when he wrote:

Then Senator Jon Dolan was phoned many times by Brazil’s constituents as they complained about a “drunk and rowdy crowd” at the New Melle Festival. Imagine the shock when Dolan came to find out that Brazil was the ringleader of the drunken ruffians. But Party Boy Brazil’s escapades don’t stop there. During one of his golf events, Brazil allowed women in attendance to discard their clothing and go topless.

Is this what Missouri needs in one of its Senators? The Source thinks not. Perhaps Joe Brazil should examine his own past before he attempts to disguise himself as a Republican. Brazil has no business even thinking about running a campaign against incumbent Scott Rupp. Rupp is what Missouri needs in the State Senate. He is a responsible, strong, family man who Brazil could learn a lot from.

The attack Brazil was referring to in the First Capitol News interview came in Roe's Aug. 4 post when he reached into Brazil's past for this disputed nugget, which ran under the headline "More Skeletons in the Closet:"

According to www.darwinawards.com, in 1982, Brazil was attempting to pull off a senior class prank at McCluer North High School in Florissant, Missouri. Brazil plan was to deposit thousands of pounds of sand into the school’s faculty parking lot. Brazil even owned a dump truck that could be used to aid in the prank.

After quite a few beers, Brazil and his buddies loaded up the dump truck with sand and drove to the school. One of Brazil’s friends, Norval Pierce sat on top of the bed of the truck while Brazil dumped the sand. Brazil drove slowly while dumping attempting to adequately spread the sand in the parking lot. As Brazil was driving the truck jumped forward, throwing Pierce through the frame of the truck. Not realizing what had happened, Brazil continued to drive while drunk and dumping sand. Brazil proceeded to crush Pierce under the truck.

So now we have another instance of Brazil’s irresponsibility and not owning up to his mistakes. What else do we need to know Joe?

Brazil lost the election to incumbent Scott Rupp, R-Wentzville.

Roe's critically-timed post was noted by the Kansas City Star in an article that ran in its Feb. 6 edition:

Last year, Roe trained the focus of his daily political blog, The Source, on a state Senate race in east Missouri. Roe talked about the death of a best friend of Joe Brazil, a candidate in the race whom Roe opposed.
Brazil and his friends were dumping sand in their high school parking lot for an unauthorized "beach party" during their senior year. Brazil was driving a dump truck and accidentally ran over his friend while backing up.
Roe wrote that alcohol was involved. Brazil denied it; authorities had filed no charges.
Still, the story zipped through cyberland, and Brazil lost.
Asked about the Brazil race, Roe said, "If they don’t like it, then they don’t like the truth."

The O'Fallon Watchdog blog says the Florissant police support Brazil's version of events:

Mr. Brazil has vehemently denied the allegation that he was drunk or that he had any alcoholic beverages the night of the accident. Mr. Brazil's denial is supported by the Florissant police officer who was called to the scene and indicated in his report that Mr. Brazil was not drinking. No charges were ever filed. In addition, classmates of Mr. Brazil who were with him the day of the accident have also indicated Mr. Brazil was not drinking. A story discussing Mr. Roe’s August 4, 2006 web posting appeared in the St. Charles Suburban Journals which quoted Mr. Pierce's mother as saying she never blamed Mr. Brazil for the accident and that to her knowledge alcohol was not involved. Mrs. Pierce went on to state
"believe me if it had not been an accident I would have prosecuted...but he (Joe Brazil) was as tore up as I was."

Brazil provided this quote concerning his reasons for filing the lawsuit:

I cannot put into words my contempt for anyone who would even bring up this event to pursue a political agenda much less lie about it. We have asked Mr. Roe to remove the posting and he has refused. At this point we felt we had no alternative but to file this lawsuit. We hope that by doing this we can remove the posting and send a message to Mr. Roe that politics does not give him the license to lie and distort the truth. At some point someone has to tell Mr. Roe that his influential friends and money do not exempt him from following the law and we look forward to allowing a jury to make this decision based on the truth."

Blogger/political operative Roe served with lawsuit papers

Jeff Roe, head of the political consulting firm Axiom Strategies and former chief of staff for Sixth District Congressman Sam Graves, was served with court documents Monday officially informing him he is being sued for libel by St. Charles County Commissioner Joe Brazil.

As first revealed in the March 30 Turner Report, Brazil sued Roe for two attacks launched against him during the final week of his Republican primary campaign for the District 2 Missouri State Senate seat.

Roe's first attack came in an Aug. 1 post when he wrote:

Then Senator Jon Dolan was phoned many times by Brazil’s constituents as they complained about a “drunk and rowdy crowd” at the New Melle Festival. Imagine the shock when Dolan came to find out that Brazil was the ringleader of the drunken ruffians. But Party Boy Brazil’s escapades don’t stop there. During one of his golf events, Brazil allowed women in attendance to discard their clothing and go topless.

Is this what Missouri needs in one of its Senators? The Source thinks not. Perhaps Joe Brazil should examine his own past before he attempts to disguise himself as a Republican. Brazil has no business even thinking about running a campaign against incumbent Scott Rupp. Rupp is what Missouri needs in the State Senate. He is a responsible, strong, family man who Brazil could learn a lot from.

The Source post that triggered the lawsuit came on Aug. 4 under the headline "More Skeletons in the Closet:"

According to www.darwinawards.com, in 1982, Brazil was attempting to pull off a senior class prank at McCluer North High School in Florissant, Missouri. Brazil plan was to deposit thousands of pounds of sand into the school’s faculty parking lot. Brazil even owned a dump truck that could be used to aid in the prank.

After quite a few beers, Brazil and his buddies loaded up the dump truck with sand and drove to the school. One of Brazil’s friends, Norval Pierce sat on top of the bed of the truck while Brazil dumped the sand. Brazil drove slowly while dumping attempting to adequately spread the sand in the parking lot. As Brazil was driving the truck jumped forward, throwing Pierce through the frame of the truck. Not realizing what had happened, Brazil continued to drive while drunk and dumping sand. Brazil proceeded to crush Pierce under the truck.

So now we have another instance of Brazil’s irresponsibility and not owning up to his mistakes. What else do we need to know Joe?

Scott Rupp defeated Brazil in the primary and Roe's tactics were discussed in a Feb. 6 Kansas City Star article:

Last year, Roe trained the focus of his daily political blog, The Source, on a state Senate race in east Missouri. Roe talked about the death of a best friend of Joe Brazil, a candidate in the race whom Roe opposed.
Brazil and his friends were dumping sand in their high school parking lot for an unauthorized "beach party" during their senior year. Brazil was driving a dump truck and accidentally ran over his friend while backing up.
Roe wrote that alcohol was involved. Brazil denied it; authorities had filed no charges.
Still, the story zipped through cyberland, and Brazil lost.
Asked about the Brazil race, Roe said, "If they don’t like it, then they don’t like the truth."

The O'Fallon Watchdog backed up Brazil's version of events:

The O'Fallon Watchdog blog says the Florissant police support Brazil's version of events:

Mr. Brazil has vehemently denied the allegation that he was drunk or that he had any alcoholic beverages the night of the accident. Mr. Brazil's denial is supported by the Florissant police officer who was called to the scene and indicated in his report that Mr. Brazil was not drinking. No charges were ever filed. In addition, classmates of Mr. Brazil who were with him the day of the accident have also indicated Mr. Brazil was not drinking. A story discussing Mr. Roe’s August 4, 2006 web posting appeared in the St. Charles Suburban Journals which quoted Mr. Pierce's mother as saying she never blamed Mr. Brazil for the accident and that to her knowledge alcohol was not involved. Mrs. Pierce went on to state
"believe me if it had not been an accident I would have prosecuted...but he (Joe Brazil) was as tore up as I was."

Brazil provided this reason for filing the lawsuit:

Brazil provided this quote concerning his reasons for filing the lawsuit:

I cannot put into words my contempt for anyone who would even bring up this event to pursue a political agenda much less lie about it. We have asked Mr. Roe to remove the posting and he has refused. At this point we felt we had no alternative but to file this lawsuit. We hope that by doing this we can remove the posting and send a message to Mr. Roe that politics does not give him the license to lie and distort the truth. At some point someone has to tell Mr. Roe that his influential friends and money do not exempt him from following the law and we look forward to allowing a jury to make this decision based on the truth."

Hearing set in lawsuit against Republican political operative/blogger

A 9 a.m. June 13 hearing has been scheduled in the lawsuit filed by St. Charles County Commissioner Joe Brazil against Republican operative and blogger Jeff Roe.

Roe, a former chief of staff for Sixth District Congressman Sam Graves, and the manager for numerous Republican political campaigns, is also the blogger behind The Source.

Brazil sued Roe for comments printed in The Source just before Brazil's unsuccessful attempt to defeat Scott Rupp for State Senate in August 2006 GOP primary. Those comments remained on the website until January 2008.

Roe's first attack, in the August 1, 2006, Source, read like this:

Then Senator Jon Dolan was phoned many times by Brazil’s constituents as they complained about a “drunk and rowdy crowd” at the New Melle Festival. Imagine the shock when Dolan came to find out that Brazil was the ringleader of the drunken ruffians. But Party Boy Brazil’s escapades don’t stop there. During one of his golf events, Brazil allowed women in attendance to discard their clothing and go topless.

Is this what Missouri needs in one of its Senators? The Source thinks not. Perhaps Joe Brazil should examine his own past before he attempts to disguise himself as a Republican. Brazil has no business even thinking about running a campaign against incumbent Scott Rupp. Rupp is what Missouri needs in the StateSenate. He is a responsible, strong, family man who Brazil could learn a lot from.

The second attack, three days later, was the one which caused Brazil to tell First Capital News "He (Roe) told lies, misrepresented facts and brought up an incident that happened when I was 18 years old and then lied about it,"

In his Aug. 4 post, Roe wrote:

According to www.darwinawards.com, in 1982, Brazil was attempting to pull off a senior class prank at McCluer North High School in Florissant, Missouri. Brazil plan was to deposit thousands of pounds of sand into the school’s faculty parking lot. Brazil even owned a dump truck that could be used to aid in the prank.

After quite a few beers, Brazil and his buddies loaded up the dump truck with sand and drove to the school. One of Brazil’s friends, Norval Pierce sat on top of the bed of the truck while Brazil dumped the sand. Brazil drove slowly while dumping attempting to adequately spread the sand in the parking lot. As Brazil was driving the truck jumped forward, throwing Pierce through the frame of the truck. Not realizing what had happened, Brazil continued to drive while drunk and dumping sand. Brazil proceeded to crush Pierce under the truck.

So now we have another instance of Brazil’s irresponsibility and not owning up to his mistakes. What else do we need to know Joe?

Roe's allegations were not supported by the facts. In its Feb. 6, 2007, edition, the Kansas City Star examined Roe's role in the senate race:

Last year, Roe trained the focus of his daily political blog, The Source, on a state Senate race in east Missouri. Roe talked about the death of a best friend of Joe Brazil, a candidate in the race whom Roe opposed.
Brazil and his friends were dumping sand in their high school parking lot for an unauthorized "beach party" during their senior year. Brazil was driving a dump truck and accidentally ran over his friend while backing up.
Roe wrote that alcohol was involved. Brazil denied it; authorities had filed no charges.
Still, the story zipped through cyberland, and Brazil lost.
Asked about the Brazil race, Roe said, "If they don’t like it, then they don’t like the truth."

Times article explores Missouri background of Ted Cruz campaign manager

Longtime Turner Report readers are familiar with the name of Ted Cruz' campaign manager, Jeff Roe.

With the Cruz campaign under attack for alleged dirty tricks, the New York Times examined the background of Jeff Roe in an article posted earlier today.

Included was his role in the events that led to the suicide of Missouri State Auditor Thomas Schweich:

But as Mr. Roe prepared to manage his first presidential bid for Mr. Cruz last February, he faced new scrutiny at home. Days after he ran a radio ad mocking the physical appearance of Tom Schweich, a candidate in Missouri’s Republican primary for governor, by comparing him to Barney Fife, Mr. Schweich committed suicide.

Peers said Mr. Schweich had faced many demons; he also thought the chairman of the state’s Republican Party had falsely spread word that he was Jewish. But some Missouri leaders viewed the ad as a last straw, casting Mr. Roe as the avatar of a toxic campaign culture.

“Politics has gone so hideously wrong,” John C. Danforth, the state’s former three-term United States senator, said as he eulogized Mr. Schweich.

Mr. Roe has expressed condolences to Mr. Schweich’s family and horror at the death, but he betrayed little regret for the ad itself.

“I live in the windshield,” he told The New Republic. “I don’t live in the rearview mirror.”

Roe was one of the many Missouri political bloggers who have come and gone in the 13 years since the Turner Report started and one of the many controversies noted in the Times article was an attack he wrote when he was running his blog The Source in 2006.

The post resulted in a lawsuit against Roe, which was covered by the Turner Report, including the following post on January 23, 2010, when the case was dismissed:

Judge Nancy L. Schneider granted summary judgment in favor of Republican political operative Jeff Roe Thursday ending a libel suit filed against Roe three years ago by St. Charles County Commissioner Joe Brazil.

According to St. Charles County online court documents, Judge Schneider ruled that Brazil, as a public figure "has submitted no substantial evidence or no genuine issue of material fact concerning actual malice."

On the second count of Brazil's lawsuit, which alleged he had been injured by what Roe wrote in August 2006 on his blog, The Source, the judge ruled that Brazil had not provided evidence showing he had lost anything other than attorney fees.

Brazil filed the initial libel suit against Roe in March 2007, as detailed in the March 30, 2007 Turner Report. Brazil took the action after Roe attacked him in two posts on "The Source" blog just before the August 2006 State Senate primary, which was won by Brazil's opponent, Scott Rupp.

The first attack, printed Aug. 1, 2006, accused Brazil of being drunk and partying loudly. On Aug. 4, Roe printed the post Brazil found the most egregious, which Roe removed from his blog months after the lawsuit was filed:

According to www.darwinawards.com, in 1982, Brazil was attempting to pull off a senior class prank at McCluer North High School in Florissant, Missouri. Brazil plan was to deposit thousands of pounds of sand into the school’s faculty parking lot. Brazil even owned a dump truck that could be used to aid in the prank.
After quite a few beers, Brazil and his buddies loaded up the dump truck with sand and drove to the school. One of Brazil’s friends, Norval Pierce sat on top of the bed of the truck while Brazil dumped the sand. Brazil drove slowly while dumping, attempting to adequately spread the sand in the parking lot. As Brazil was driving, the truck jumped forward, throwing Pierce through the frame of the truck. Not realizing what had happened, Brazil continued to drive while drunk and dumping sand. Brazil proceeded to crush Pierce under the truck.
So now we have another instance of Brazil’s irresponsibility and not owning up to his mistakes. What else do we need to know Joe?

Roe's version of the story was disputed, not only by Brazil, but by others, including the Florissant police officer who made the stop and said no alcohol was involved, that it was just an accident, according to the O'Fallon Watchdog website.

Graves' law firm jumps into Roe lawsuit, files suit against St. Charles publication

It appears top Republican operative and blogger Jeff Roe plans to play hardball in his defense against the libel suit filed against him March 29 by St. Charles County Commissioner Joe Brazil.

According to St. Charles County Circuit Court records on case.net, Roe, formerly the chief of staff to Sixth District Congressman Sam Graves, is represented by David Marcus (pictured) of the law firm Graves, Bartle and Marcus. The partners in that firm are Sam Graves' brother, former U. S. Attorney Todd Graves, State Senator Matt Bartle, and Marcus, who has been a successful litigator for some of the top firms in Kansas City.

Roe's answer to Brazil's charges, filed Thursday, includes a countersuit against First Capital Publications and Photography, LLC, St. Charles, and First Capital News, LLC.

I haven't seen the lawsuit documents, but a check of First Capitol News' archives shows a March 17 post, titled "Professional Character Assassins Brought in for Election," published four days before the Brazile lawsuit was filed. The post, written by Tony Brockmeyer, started with a subhead that read, "Out-of-Town Goon Squad Coming to St. Charles," then began:

Reminiscent of something out of the Sopranos, the City of St. Charles has been infiltrated by hired hit men. The difference is these hit men won’t be using automatic weapons and trying to kill their marks. They are hired to destroy lives and the credibility of those who dare challenge the established power in St. Charles.

Brockmeyer alleged that millionaire developers in St. Charles brought Roe, who blogs for The Source, and John Hancock, author of the Missouri Pulse blog, in to keep the status quo from changing in the city, including the removal of city council members "who stood up against the special interests in favor of the residents of St. Charles."

Brockmeyer quoted material from Kansas City Star profiles of Roe concerning Roe's campaign tactics. Close to the end of the post, Brockmeyer wrote about Joe Brazil's unsuccessful campaign for state senate:

St. Charles is not new territory for Roe. He was brought in by big money interests in the August 2006 primary when St. Charles Councilman Joe Brazil faced off against Scott Rupp in the Republican primary for a state senate seat.

Brazil told the First Capitol News he believed Roe to be the worst type of political operative. "He told lies, misrepresented facts and brought up an incident that happened when I was 18 years old and then lied about it," Brazil said.

The post ended with these paragraphs:

The First Capitol News contacted Roe and he denied any involvement with St. Charles politics. An individual like Roe usually does not want anyone to know he is involved until the campaign is over.

Brazile's lawsuit against Roe was first revealed in the O'Fallon Watchdog and The Turner Report.

On his blog, The Source, Roe wrote two items about Brazile in the week before the Republican primary. The first, on Aug. 1, said:

Then Senator Jon Dolan was phoned many times by Brazil's constituents as they complained about a “drunk and rowdy crowd” at the New Melle Festival. Imagine the shock when Dolan came to find out that Brazil was the ringleader of the drunken ruffians. But Party Boy Brazil's escapades don’t stop there. During one of his golf events, Brazil allowed women in attendance to discard their clothing and go topless.

Is this what Missouri needs in one of its Senators? The Source thinks not. Perhaps Joe Brazil should examine his own past before he attempts to disguise himself as a Republican. Brazil has no business even thinking about running a campaign against incumbent Scott Rupp. Rupp is what Missouri needs in the State Senate. He is a responsible, strong, family man who Brazil could learn a lot from.

Roe's Aug. 4 post led directly to the lawsuit:

According to www.darwinawards.com, in 1982, Brazil was attempting to pull off a senior class prank at McCluer North High School in Florissant, Missouri. Brazil plan was to deposit thousands of pounds of sand into the school's faculty parking lot. Brazil even owned a dump truck that could be used to aid in the prank.

After quite a few beers, Brazil and his buddies loaded up the dump truck with sand and drove to the school. One of Brazil's friends, Norval Pierce sat on top of the bed of the truck while Brazil dumped the sand. Brazil drove slowly while dumping attempting to adequately spread the sand in the parking lot. As Brazil was driving the truck jumped forward, throwing Pierce through the frame of the truck. Not realizing what had happened, Brazil continued to drive while drunk and dumping sand. Brazil proceeded to crush Pierce under the truck.

So now we have another instance of Brazil’s irresponsibility and not owning up to his mistakes. What else do we need to know Joe?

Hardin deposition set in libel suit against Roe

Lawyers for St. Charles County Councilman Joe Brazil will take a deposition from William "Buddy" Hardin, a St. Charles Republican operative, as Brazil and his lawyer continue gathering evidence in their libel suit against blogger Jeff Roe, the former chief of staff for Sixth District Congressman Sam Graves and the architect of numerous political campaigns.

Hardin admitted to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that it was he who provided Roe with information about a fatality accident in Brazil's past just prior to the 2006 Republican primary in which Brazil was running against Roe's favored candidate Scott Rupp for state senate. Rupp won the election easily.

Hardin told the Post-Dispatch that Brazil's lawsuit was "a joke."

The lawsuit was first revealed by The Turner Report and the O'Fallon Watchdog on March 30, 2007.

Roe's first attack, in the August 1, 2006, Source, read like this:

Then Senator Jon Dolan was phoned many times by Brazil’s constituents as they complained about a “drunk and rowdy crowd” at the New Melle Festival. Imagine the shock when Dolan came to find out that Brazil was the ringleader of the drunken ruffians. But Party Boy Brazil’s escapades don’t stop there. During one of his golf events, Brazil allowed women in attendance to discard their clothing and go topless.

Is this what Missouri needs in one of its Senators? The Source thinks not. Perhaps Joe Brazil should examine his own past before he attempts to disguise himself as a Republican. Brazil has no business even thinking about running a campaign against incumbent Scott Rupp. Rupp is what Missouri needs in the State Senate. He is a responsible, strong, family man who Brazil could learn a lot from.

The second attack, three days later, was the one which caused Brazil to tell First Capital News "He (Roe) told lies, misrepresented facts and brought up an incident that happened when I was 18 years old and then lied about it,"

In his Aug. 4 post, Roe wrote:

According to www.darwinawards.com, in 1982, Brazil was attempting to pull off a senior class prank at McCluer North High School in Florissant, Missouri. Brazil plan was to deposit thousands of pounds of sand into the school’s faculty parking lot. Brazil even owned a dump truck that could be used to aid in the prank.

After quite a few beers, Brazil and his buddies loaded up the dump truck with sand and drove to the school. One of Brazil’s friends, Norval Pierce sat on top of the bed of the truck while Brazil dumped the sand. Brazil drove slowly while dumping attempting to adequately spread the sand in the parking lot. As Brazil was driving the truck jumped forward, throwing Pierce through the frame of the truck. Not realizing what had happened, Brazil continued to drive while drunk and dumping sand. Brazil proceeded to crush Pierce under the truck.

So now we have another instance of Brazil’s irresponsibility and not owning up to his mistakes. What else do we need to know Joe?

Nowhere did Roe mention that the official police reports called it an accident and did not lay any of the blame on Brazil.

The posts remained on The Source until January 2008, when The Turner Report noted:

All of Roe's archives, with the exception of the past three months, have been removed from the website. Fired Up Missouri notes that both Roe's blog, and the GOP blog, The Pulse, written by John Hancock, either changed (in the case of the Pulse) or removed (in the case of The Source) potentially libelous materials concerning Scott Eckersley, Gov. Matt Blunt's attorney, who was fired during the recent controversy over destruction of e-mail messages.
But the attacks on Roe are among the wealth of other material that no longer is accessible to the public, at least at this time.

No date has been set for a trial.

Brazil asks court to dismiss Roe counterclaim

St Charles County Commissioner Joe Brazil filed documents Monday in St. Charles County Circuit Court asking for the dismissal of political operative Jeff Roe's counterclaim against him, and for Roe's third-party countersuit against First Capital Publications and Photography, LLC, St. Charles, and First Capital News.
Roe's countersuits were filed in response to a libel suit filed by Brazil, who sued Roe after last-minute attacks were launched against Brazil in Roe's blog, The Source, just before Brazil's state senate primary loss in August 2006.
Capital Publications and Photography, LLC, St. Charles, and First Capital News, LLC.

Brazil's lawsuit against Roe was first revealed in the O'Fallon Watchdog and The Turner Report.

On his blog, The Source, Roe wrote two items about Brazil in the week before the Republican primary. The first, on Aug. 1, said:

Then Senator Jon Dolan was phoned many times by Brazil's constituents as they complained about a “drunk and rowdy crowd” at the New Melle Festival. Imagine the shock when Dolan came to find out that Brazil was the ringleader of the drunken ruffians. But Party Boy Brazil's escapades don’t stop there. During one of his golf events, Brazil allowed women in attendance to discard their clothing and go topless.

Is this what Missouri needs in one of its Senators? The Source thinks not. Perhaps Joe Brazil should examine his own past before he attempts to disguise himself as a Republican. Brazil has no business even thinking about running a campaign against incumbent Scott Rupp. Rupp is what Missouri needs in the State Senate. He is a responsible, strong, family man who Brazil could learn a lot from.

Roe's Aug. 4 post led directly to the lawsuit:

According to www.darwinawards.com, in 1982, Brazil was attempting to pull off a senior class prank at McCluer North High School in Florissant, Missouri. Brazil plan was to deposit thousands of pounds of sand into the school's faculty parking lot. Brazil even owned a dump truck that could be used to aid in the prank.

After quite a few beers, Brazil and his buddies loaded up the dump truck with sand and drove to the school. One of Brazil's friends, Norval Pierce sat on top of the bed of the truck while Brazil dumped the sand. Brazil drove slowly while dumping attempting to adequately spread the sand in the parking lot. As Brazil was driving the truck jumped forward, throwing Pierce through the frame of the truck. Not realizing what had happened, Brazil continued to drive while drunk and dumping sand. Brazil proceeded to crush Pierce under the truck.

So now we have another instance of Brazil’s

irresponsibility and not owning up to his mistakes. What else do we need to know Joe?

Roe is being represented by David Marcus of the law firm of Graves, Bartle, and Marcus, the law firm headed by former U. S. Attorney Todd Graves.
More information about Roe's counterclaim can be found in the June 25 Turner Report.

Judge decides in favor of Jeff Roe in libel lawsuit

Judge Nancy L. Schneider granted summary judgment in favor of Republican political operative Jeff Roe Thursday ending a libel suit filed against Roe three years ago by St. Charles County Commissioner Joe Brazil.

According to St. Charles County online court documents, Judge Schneider ruled that Brazil, as a public figure "has submitted no substantial evidence or no genuine issue of material fact concerning actual malice."

On the second count of Brazil's lawsuit, which alleged he had been injured by what Roe wrote in August 2006 on his blog, The Source, the judge ruled that Brazil had not provided evidence showing he had lost anything other than attorney fees.

Brazil filed the initial libel suit against Roe in March 2007, as detailed in the March 30, 2007 Turner Report. Brazil took the action after Roe attacked him in two posts on "The Source" blog just before the August 2006 State Senate primary, which was won by Brazil's opponent, Scott Rupp.

The first attack, printed Aug. 1, 2006, accused Brazil of being drunk and partying loudly. On Aug. 4, Roe printed the post Brazil found the most egregious, which Roe removed from his blog months after the lawsuit was filed:

According to www.darwinawards.com, in 1982, Brazil was attempting to pull off a senior class prank at McCluer North High School in Florissant, Missouri. Brazil plan was to deposit thousands of pounds of sand into the school’s faculty parking lot. Brazil even owned a dump truck that could be used to aid in the prank.

After quite a few beers, Brazil and his buddies loaded up the dump truck with sand and drove to the school. One of Brazil’s friends, Norval Pierce sat on top of the bed of the truck while Brazil dumped the sand. Brazil drove slowly while dumping, attempting to adequately spread the sand in the parking lot. As Brazil was driving, the truck jumped forward, throwing Pierce through the frame of the truck. Not realizing what had happened, Brazil continued to drive while drunk and dumping sand. Brazil proceeded to crush Pierce under the truck.

So now we have another instance of Brazil’s irresponsibility and not owning up to his mistakes. What else do we need to know Joe?

Roe's version of the story was disputed, not only by Brazil, but by others, including the Florissant police officer who made the stop and said no alcohol was involved, that it was just an accident, according to the O'Fallon Watchdog website.

Roe filed a countersuit at one point, but later dismissed the action.

Roe drops countersuit against Brazil, St. Charles publications

Political operative and blogger Jeff Roe has dropped his countersuit against St. Charles County Commissioner Joe Brazil and his third party suit against First Capital Publications and Photography and First Capital News, according to documents filed Dec. 4 in St. Charles County Circuit Court.

The case.net entry indicates the countersuit and third party actions were dismissed without prejudice, meaning Roe could refile them.

Roe, the former chief of staff to Sixth District Congressman Sam Graves and architect of numerous GOP campaigns, including the unsuccessful gubernatorial run of State Treasurer Sarah Steelman, took the actions just a few weeks after lawyers for Brazil deposed him.

Brazil filed the initial libel suit against Roe in March 2007, as detailed in the March 30, 2007 Turner Report>. Brazil took the action after Roe attacked him in two posts on "The Source" blog just before the August 2006 State Senate primary, which was won by Brazil's opponent, Scott Rupp.

The first attack, printed Aug. 1, 2006, accused Brazil of being drunk and partying loudly. On Aug. 4, Roe printed the post Brazil found the most egregious, which Roe removed from his blog months after the lawsuit was filed:

According to www.darwinawards.com, in 1982, Brazil was attempting to pull off a senior class prank at McCluer North High School in Florissant, Missouri. Brazil plan was to deposit thousands of pounds of sand into the school’s faculty parking lot. Brazil even owned a dump truck that could be used to aid in the prank.

After quite a few beers, Brazil and his buddies loaded up the dump truck with sand and drove to the school. One of Brazil’s friends, Norval Pierce sat on top of the bed of the truck while Brazil dumped the sand. Brazil drove slowly while dumping attempting to adequately spread the sand in the parking lot. As Brazil was driving the truck jumped forward, throwing Pierce through the frame of the truck. Not realizing what had happened, Brazil continued to drive while drunk and dumping sand. Brazil proceeded to crush Pierce under the truck.

So now we have another instance of Brazil’s irresponsibility and not owning up to his mistakes. What else do we need to know Joe?

According to www.darwinawards.com, in 1982, Brazil was attempting to pull off a senior class prank at McCluer North High School in Florissant, Missouri. Brazil plan was to deposit thousands of pounds of sand into the school’s faculty parking lot. Brazil even owned a dump truck that could be used to aid in the prank.

After quite a few beers, Brazil and his buddies loaded up the dump truck with sand and drove to the school. One of Brazil’s friends, Norval Pierce sat on top of the bed of the truck while Brazil dumped the sand. Brazil drove slowly while dumping attempting to adequately spread the sand in the parking lot. As Brazil was driving the truck jumped forward, throwing Pierce through the frame of the truck. Not realizing what had happened, Brazil continued to drive while drunk and dumping sand. Brazil proceeded to crush Pierce under the truck.

So now we have another instance of Brazil’s irresponsibility and not owning up to his mistakes. What else do we need to know Joe?

Roe's version of the story was disputed, not only by Brazil, but by others, including the Florissant police officer who made the stop and said no alcohol was involved, that it was just an accident, according to the O'Fallon Watchdog website.

All Turner Report posts on the lawsuit, including links to other sources can be found at this link.

Decision awaited on libel suit against Billy Long advisor

A decision is expected sometime within the next few weeks on an appeal of a libel suit filed against one of Seventh District Republican congressional candidate Billy Long's top advisors.

Online documents indicate the Eastern District Court of Appeals reviewed briefs filed by St. Charles County Commissioner Joe Brazil and political operative Jeff Roe, whose company Axiom Strategies has been responsible for guiding much of Billy Long's campaign.

Judge Nancy L. Schneider granted a summary judgment in favor of Roe in January, ending the first phase of the lawsuit Brazil filed against him in 2007.


According to St. Charles County online court documents, Judge Schneider ruled that Brazil, as a public figure "has submitted no substantial evidence or no genuine issue of material fact concerning actual malice."
On the second count of Brazil's lawsuit, which alleged he had been injured by what Roe wrote in August 2006 on his blog, The Source, the judge ruled that Brazil had not provided evidence showing he had lost anything other than attorney fees.

Brazil filed the initial libel suit against Roe in March 2007, as detailed in the March 30, 2007 Turner Report. Brazil took the action after Roe attacked him in two posts on "The Source" blog just before the August 2006 State Senate primary, which was won by Brazil's opponent, Scott Rupp, another client of Roe's.

The first attack, printed Aug. 1, 2006, accused Brazil of being drunk and partying loudly. On Aug. 4, Roe printed the post Brazil found the most egregious, which Roe removed from his blog months after the lawsuit was filed:

According to www.darwinawards.com, in 1982, Brazil was attempting to pull off a senior class prank at McCluer North High School in Florissant, Missouri. Brazil plan was to deposit thousands of pounds of sand into the school’s faculty parking lot. Brazil even owned a dump truck that could be used to aid in the prank.

After quite a few beers, Brazil and his buddies loaded up the dump truck with sand and drove to the school. One of Brazil’s friends, Norval Pierce sat on top of the bed of the truck while Brazil dumped the sand. Brazil drove slowly while dumping, attempting to adequately spread the sand in the parking lot. As Brazil was driving, the truck jumped forward, throwing Pierce through the frame of the truck. Not realizing what had happened, Brazil continued to drive while drunk and dumping sand. Brazil proceeded to crush Pierce under the truck.

So now we have another instance of Brazil’s irresponsibility and not owning up to his mistakes. What else do we need to know Joe?

Roe's version of the story was disputed, not only by Brazil, but by others, including the Florissant police officer who made the stop and said no alcohol was involved, that it was just an accident, according to the O'Fallon Watchdog website.

Roe filed a countersuit at one point, but later dismissed the action.

***

Billy Long's October disclosure report, filed Friday with the Federal Election Commission indicates he spent $418,000 during the past three months, with the biggest amount, $158,247.62 going to Roe's Axiom Strategies.

That amount included the following expenditures:

-One thousand, five hundred yard signs, $3,107.72

-Direct mail, "Goodman contrast" $2,193.57

-Direct mail, "Goodman and Nodler contrast" $22,976.70

-"Pro-life" direct mail, $10,491.;49

-August and September strategy consulting retainers, $5,000

-Advertising legal review, $1,616.50

-One thousand bumper stickers, $234.72

- Listed as "see details" , $90,000+

The attacks and the robocalls against Long's general election opponent, Scott Eckersley appear to be on the horizon. The FEC documents indicate Long paid Roe's consulting firm $5,500 for an "opposition research package," $7,906 for VOIP phone rental and $7,896 for "188,000 VOIP phone minutes."

Dec. 18 hearing set in Jeff Roe libel suit

After a long wait, a 9 a.m. Friday, Dec. 18 hearing date has been set in the libel suit by St. Charles County commissioner Joe Brazil against Republican operative Jeff Roe.

Brazil filed the initial libel suit against Roe in March 2007, as detailed in the March 30, 2007 Turner Report. Brazil took the action after Roe attacked him in two posts on "The Source" blog just before the August 2006 State Senate primary, which was won by Brazil's opponent, Scott Rupp.

The first attack, printed Aug. 1, 2006, accused Brazil of being drunk and partying loudly. On Aug. 4, Roe printed the post Brazil found the most egregious, which Roe removed from his blog months after the lawsuit was filed:

According to www.darwinawards.com, in 1982, Brazil was attempting to pull off a senior class prank at McCluer North High School in Florissant, Missouri. Brazil plan was to deposit thousands of pounds of sand into the school’s faculty parking lot. Brazil even owned a dump truck that could be used to aid in the prank.

After quite a few beers, Brazil and his buddies loaded up the dump truck with sand and drove to the school. One of Brazil’s friends, Norval Pierce sat on top of the bed of the truck while Brazil dumped the sand. Brazil drove slowly while dumping, attempting to adequately spread the sand in the parking lot. As Brazil was driving, the truck jumped forward, throwing Pierce through the frame of the truck. Not realizing what had happened, Brazil continued to drive while drunk and dumping sand. Brazil proceeded to crush Pierce under the truck.

So now we have another instance of Brazil’s irresponsibility and not owning up to his mistakes. What else do we need to know Joe?

Roe's version of the story was disputed, not only by Brazil, but by others, including the Florissant police officer who made the stop and said no alcohol was involved, that it was just an accident, according to the O'Fallon Watchdog website.

Roe filed a countersuit at one point, but later dismissed the action.

Appeals Court rejects bid to reinstate libel suit against Billy Long advisor

The Missouri Eastern District Court of Appeals has rejected St. Charles County Commissioner Joe Brazil's attempt to reinstate a libel suit against political operative Jeff Roe, whose Axiom Strategies has been a key advisor to Republican Seventh District Congressional candidate Billy Long.

Online court documents indicate the court issued its ruling Tuesday.

Brazil's appeal came after Judge Nancy L. Schneider granted a summary judgment in favor of Roe in January.

According to St. Charles County online court documents, Judge Schneider ruled that Brazil, as a public figure "has submitted no substantial evidence or no genuine issue of material fact concerning actual malice."

On the second count of Brazil's lawsuit, which alleged he had been injured by what Roe wrote in August 2006 on his blog, The Source, the judge ruled that Brazil had not provided evidence showing he had lost anything other than attorney fees.


Brazil filed the initial libel suit against Roe in March 2007, as detailed in the March 30, 2007 Turner Report. Brazil took the action after Roe attacked him in two posts on "The Source" blog just before the August 2006 State Senate primary, which was won by Brazil's opponent, Scott Rupp, another client of Roe's.

The first attack, printed Aug. 1, 2006, accused Brazil of being drunk and partying loudly. On Aug. 4, Roe printed the post Brazil found the most egregious, which Roe removed from his blog months after the lawsuit was filed:

According to www.darwinawards.com, in 1982, Brazil was attempting to pull off a senior class prank at McCluer North High School in Florissant, Missouri. Brazil's plan was to deposit thousands of pounds of sand into the school’s faculty parking lot. Brazil even owned a dump truck that could be used to aid in the prank.

After quite a few beers, Brazil and his buddies loaded up the dump truck with sand and drove to the school. One of Brazil’s friends, Norval Pierce sat on top of the bed of the truck while Brazil dumped the sand. Brazil drove slowly while dumping, attempting to adequately spread the sand in the parking lot. As Brazil was driving, the truck jumped forward, throwing Pierce through the frame of the truck. Not realizing what had happened, Brazil continued to drive while drunk and dumping sand. Brazil proceeded to crush Pierce under the truck.

So now we have another instance of Brazil’s irresponsibility and not owning up to his mistakes. What else do we need to know Joe?

Roe's version of the story was disputed, not only by Brazil, but by others, including the Florissant police officer who made the stop and said no alcohol was involved, that it was just an accident, according to the O'Fallon Watchdog website.

Roe filed a countersuit at one point, but later dismissed the action.

Roe files motion for summary judgment

The attorney for Republican political operative Jeff Roe, the former chief of staff for Sixth District Congressman Sam Graves, filed a motion Aug. 6 in St. Charles County Circuit Court, asking that s summary judgement be granted for his client in the libel suit filed against Roe by St. Charles

Joe Brazil filed the initial libel suit against Roe in March 2007, as detailed in the March 30, 2007 Turner Report. Brazil took the action after Roe attacked him in two posts on "The Source" blog just before the August 2006 State Senate primary, which was won by Brazil's opponent, Scott Rupp.

The first attack, printed Aug. 1, 2006, accused Brazil of being drunk and partying loudly. On Aug. 4, Roe printed the post Brazil found the most egregious, which Roe removed from his blog months after the lawsuit was filed:

According to www.darwinawards.com, in 1982, Brazil was attempting to pull off a senior class prank at McCluer North High School in Florissant, Missouri. Brazil plan was to deposit thousands of pounds of sand into the school’s faculty parking lot. Brazil even owned a dump truck that could be used to aid in the prank.

After quite a few beers, Brazil and his buddies loaded up the dump truck with sand and drove to the school. One of Brazil’s friends, Norval Pierce sat on top of the bed of the truck while Brazil dumped the sand. Brazil drove slowly while dumping, attempting to adequately spread the sand in the parking lot. As Brazil was driving, the truck jumped forward, throwing Pierce through the frame of the truck. Not realizing what had happened, Brazil continued to drive while drunk and dumping sand. Brazil proceeded to crush Pierce under the truck.

So now we have another instance of Brazil’s irresponsibility and not owning up to his mistakes. What else do we need to know Joe?

Roe's version of the story was disputed, not only by Brazil, but by others, including the Florissant police officer who made the stop and said no alcohol was involved, that it was just an accident, according to the O'Fallon Watchdog website.

Roe filed a countersuit at one point, but later dismissed the action.

Online court records show no hearings have been scheduled.

Comments left on Jeff Roe, GateHouse Media stories

Since both stories were posted a few days ago, I thought I would post some interesting comments that were left to last week's posts on the Jeff Roe lawsuit and on bonuses for GateHouse Media officials:

The Jeff Roe comment appears to be from William "Buddy" Hardin, who has acknowledged being the one who provided the information on Joe Brazil that was used by Roe on his blog, The Source, and eventually led to Brazil's ongoing libel suit against Roe:

Neither Brazil nor his attorney requested that Roe take the story off his site until some time after the election. Why wait if it was wrong? All information for the story was a direct quote from a publicly available site that I simply googled. That post and Brazil's identity were verified by the author of the Darwin Awards Interestingly, a Brazil associate did contact the Darwin Awards before the election, resulting in the story being deleted. No reference to official reports were noted because the Florissant PD refused to release the police report, a public record that they later provided to the Journal. This tragic story was never used in any campaign piece. The "Source" posting was barely seen by anyone, this story keeps getting printed in local papers due to Brazil's pursuit of the suit. This has created 100 times the awareness of these events. Shouldn't he sue himself? Pols are public figures who are supposed to have thick skins, not eggshells.

On the GateHouse Media bonus story, a "Former GateHouse employee" wrote:

Absolutely ridiculous. At the Gatehouse paper I used to work at, hourly workers have been cut from 40 hours to 35 and the 401K match has been dropped all because of "cost-cutting measures". Meaning that 80 percent of the employees there have actually received a pay CUT.

There have been layoffs of employees who worked there for over 20 years, and those layoffs mean that it's harder for the others to get their work done in a regular 40-hour week, never mind the new 35.

A starting reporter made $23,000 - $25,000 - so Polly gets her BONUS that is three times what the people actually writing the news get in a whole year. Gatehouse Media is a disgusting example of how corporate greed is ruining this economy. It makes me sick that a company that is so pitiful can continue to operate on a corporate level as if it is going strong while chopping off the bottom or making their working even harder.

Jeff Roe and the politics of personal destruction

The release of information concerning nude photos of Governor Matt Blunt's spokeswoman Jessica Robinson has, quite rightly, brought on a loud chorus of criticism for those who contacted the media about them.
People on both sides of the political spectrum have denounced the release of these photos, apparently taken by hacking into a personal computer owned by Mrs. Robinson and her husband.
Among those most forcefully sounding the criticism against those who have publicized these photos is Republican consultant and blogger Jeff Roe in The Source.
In a post on March 30, Roe launched into an attack of St. Louis Post-Dispatch political columnist Jo Mannies, who wrote about the photos:

First, she can't get an interview with Jay Nixon to ask him about the money he took from Ameren while the company was the target of his criminal probe. (Nixon must have been laughing at her as he fled the scene). Then she forgets to mention the Democrat who provided her with stolen information used for the malicious sexual exploitation of one of Governor Blunt's female staffers. So where did Nude Photos Jo get this information? Well duh: Democrats in the state Capitol.

The Source has learned that a Democrat provided the sexually exploitative material to Mannies and Democrat Senator Maida Coleman. Ms. Nude Photos Mannies was apparently too busy trying to embarrass the governor to remember details like how she acquired manipulated photos from a pornographic Website.

Roe concluded his post by noting:

However, if true, it is worth noting that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch just printed a story about stolen sexually exploitative material intended to hurt a female Republican staffer that a partisan Democrat Website claims they would not touch. The story that ran today is truly a new low for Jo Mannies and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. They should be ashamed of themselves.

Ironically, Roe's post ran one day after a libel lawsuit was filed against Roe in St. Charles County Circuit Court. As noted in the March 30 Turner Report, the lawsuit alleges that Roe lied about an incident from St. Charles County Commissioner Joe Brazil's past during an Aug. 4, 2006, post. The post alleged Brazil was drunk during a high school incident in which one of Brazil's friends was killed. Brazil offered the following explanation for filing the lawsuit:

"I cannot put into words my contempt for anyone who would even bring up this event to pursue a political agenda much less lie about it. We have asked Mr. Roe to remove the posting and he has refused. At this point we felt we had no alternative but to file this lawsuit. We hope that by doing this we can remove the posting and send a message to Mr. Roe that politics does not give him the license to lie and distort the truth. At some point someone has to tell Mr. Roe that his influential friends and money do not exempt him from following the law and we look forward to allowing a jury to make this decision based on the truth."

Roe's blog has also been a site in which Democratic candidates and their campaign workers have been attacked time after time with smears and innuendo. The attacks included this note by State Representative candidate Lucas Kunce in a July 12, 2006, post:

Quite the character, Kunce was also a cheerleader during his days in college. Kunce was quoted in a news story saying, “people will assume they’re gay,” because they cheerlead. Apparently Kunce has never been concerned about people assuming he is gay. Check this picture out. But Kunce’s fun in college did not end there.

The Source has uncovered some more photos of Kunce during his college days (only 2 years ago.) The photos are quite interesting and provide insight into the type of public official Kunce will become if elected. The Source has to wonder if Mr. Kunce will be a co-sponsor of the bill that will prohibit alcohol from the Capitol. In the first picture Kunce is seen with one of his campaign staffers as he “flips the bird,” most likely at Missouri voters. Seemingly always intoxicated, Kunce is seen in the next two pictures in an obviously inebriated state. In what was supposed to be their best political year in a decade, the Democrat recruitment team has fielded quite a talented cast of candidates.

He leveled his poison pen at State Senate candidate Barbie Kreider in a July 10, 2006, post:

In the first picture (row 1, picture 3), Barbie is seen hanging with her girls at one of Lost Highway’s concerts. Strangely in the second picture, Barbie is seen wearing a different outfit than in the first. Barbie must be a big fan. Barbie is seen (row 3, picture 4) holding her beverage as she beams at the camera. Ever the photogenic one, Barbie is seen glowing in the last picture. Could it be because she is huddled close with Lost Highway’s lead singer? Is it possible that if Barbie is elected that Jeff City will become the new home for Lost Highway?

On Aug. 28, Roe attacked Cass County's Democratic prosecuting attorney Theresa Hensley by going after her son:

Hensley’s son, known as X-Dash, is a rapper from Raymore. X-Dash, who attended high school at the Barstow Academy, the most expensive private high school in Kansas City, obviously grew up the hard way. His lyrics express his anger and attitudes. After reviewing X-Dash’s lyrics it is apparent that his mother raised him the right way.

In his song, "Boy Toy," X-Dash raps, "I don’t want to be your family man. Oh girl, I just want to be your Pokeman, Or your Power Ranger, Hours later, we still saving the world from each other. Let me lay the pipe like a Mario Brother. We don’t need no condoms 'cause I’m made outta rubber."

Roe questioned whether how Ms. Hensley would prosecute her son if he ran afoul of the law.
***
An ironic note about Roe's attack on Jo Mannies for publicizing Mrs. Robinson's nude internet photos- the headline for the post was "All News Unfit to Run." Obviously, that was the voice of experience speaking.

Hearing canceled in Jeff Roe libel suit

A hearing in St. Charles County Commissioner Joe Brazil's libel suit against political consultant Jeff Roe, originally scheduled for Monday, Dec. 21, has been canceled, according to online court records.

Brazil filed the initial libel suit against Roe in March 2007, as detailed in the March 30, 2007 Turner Report. Brazil took the action after Roe attacked him in two posts on "The Source" blog just before the August 2006 State Senate primary, which was won by Brazil's opponent, Scott Rupp.

The first attack, printed Aug. 1, 2006, accused Brazil of being drunk and partying loudly. On Aug. 4, Roe printed the post Brazil found the most egregious, which Roe removed from his blog months after the lawsuit was filed:

The details of the lawsuit are featured in the March 30, 2007, Turner Report.

Blogger examines Roe's alleged libelous post

In a post today, blogger Rick Fischer of Wake Up Call traces the source of Jeff Roe's allegedly libelous post in the Aug. 4, 2006, Source.
That post talked about St. Charles County Commissioner Joe Brazil's involvement in the accidental death of a high school friend, alleging alcohol was involved, though the police and all of the others who were present, including Fischer, says Brazil did not have anything to drink.
The post has been removed from The Source, but information from it can be found in the Jan. 15 Turner Report.
Fischer connects the attacks on Brazil to confederates of Gov. Matt Blunt and the alleged libel to a source surprisingly close to Sixth District Congressman Sam Graves:

One thing that I was curious about was how Roe had come across the Darwin story since it did not mention Joe by name. As I read about Roe on the Internet I learned of his (lack of) character and ethics and I found the connection. One of our classmates and friends in 1982 was Leslie Hickock. While I had not seen Leslie in years, I remembered seeing her at a class reunion (I think our 20th in 2002) when she proudly introduced me to her husband, United States Congressman Sam Graves. Of course, I now know of the connection between Graves and Roe and I am sure Roe talked to Leslie about the accident. (In fact, he refers to a conversation he had with a close friend about the incident in one of the stories written about his post.)

While I am not sure if Leslie was there the night of the accident I am sure she was not with us prior to the accident or when it occurred. . Therefore, I am left with this question, did Leslie simply tell Roe about the incident and he took it from there or did Leslie lead Roe to believe Joe was drinking? Either way Leslie has an obligation to set the record straight, a chance I am sure she will get in the libel case.

Hearing on motion for summary judgment scheduled in Jeff Roe libel suit

Political operative Jeff Roe's motion for summary judgment in the libel suit against him will be held during a 9 a.m. Friday, Jan. 8, hearing in St. Charles County Circuit Court.

Roe is being sued by County Commissioner Joe Brazil concerning material Roe posted on his blog, The Source during the final days of Roe's unsuccessful 2006 campaign for state senate.

Information about the libel suit can be found at this link.