Tags
Related Posts
Share This
A Couple of Points Concerning the Drunken Intern Story
If I may, in addition to chuckling over the fact that the “Andy Harris and the Drunken Intern” story is “all the buzz” at the Maryland Association of Counties (MACO) meeting in Cambridge, I’d like to take this opportunity to give thanks where thanks is due, as well as set a few things straight concerning my article of a few days back, “Have a Drink on Me.”
To begin with, in response to the piece in which I reported/accused Kevin Reigrut, Chief of Staff for Maryland’s 1st District Rookie Congressman, Andy Harris of feeding an underage intern alcohol, Harris mouthpiece Ryan Nawrocki, after explaining that Reigrut had been ”disciplined,” fully exonerated me by admitting that (A) The drinking party took place, and (B) – Oh, yeah! The intern in question was, indeed, a minor when guzzling wine on the veranda: Wine that the aforementioned Mr. Reigurt had purchased.
So, thanks to Andy Harris’ office in general and Mr. Nawrocki, specifically, for backing up my claims… (Even though neither he nor Mr. Reigurt or Peter Schmuck responded to my request for a statement that I sent them a week prior to publishing my last column. Spoilsports! ; )
However…
I do have one complaint about the coverage of this issue and my role in it – that being, as reported by almost every media outlet that covered the story, where I supposedly said that Laurel Schmuck was fired as a result of her role in this matter.
While I did say that Reigrut tried to shift blame her way, making her something of a scapegoat and I did point out that it was interesting that while Laurel Schmuck was gone from Harris’ office, Kevin Reigrut was still here, nowhere did I ever write that she was fired. Hell, I know she wasn’t fired, what with her having attended the Harris office Christmas party and all. She is apparently still on good terms with all those Frat guys and gals in Harris’ office.
And my other point concerns the Underage Drinker.
(Nowhere else will you get this one of a kind experience…!)
Missionaries for Life ( http://studentsforlife.org/missionaryforlife/ ), in whose internship program this young pro-lifer was partaking and was thrown out of as a result of her getting blitzed in Congressman Harris’ office, says this on its online home page:
“Nowhere else will you get the one-of-a-kind experience of meeting pro-life and conservative leaders, learning how the pro-life grassroots movement works, and seeing Congress in action!”
Well, I will agree that there isn’t anywhere else she was going to get THAT one-of-a-kind experience. Not to mention seeing Congress “in action!”
So why do I put up that “Missionary for Life” bit? Well, where I earlier gave Harris’ office credit for admitting the two main points of my story, I must now take issue with Ryan Nawrocki’s statement that no one in Andy Harris office knew the young woman was underage at the time she got trashed and bounced from her internship program.
She is – uh, excuse me, - was a Congressional Intern…and as such, forms must be filled out, identification proffered, etc., before alcohol can be drunk –and on and on and on- yadda, yadda, yadda.
To be sure, however, I again checked with my in-office contact – and I was again told that, yes, it was known the intern was under 21 when they started feeding her alcohol.
So…nice try guys, but why lie now? You can’t really protect Kevin Reigrut’s repuation at this point. And, as concerns Andy Harris, he should cut bait with Reigrut immediately (and, for those who’ve asked, insinuated or whatever the Hell else – no, I don’t dislike Reigrut or Harris. Reigrut, I hardly know for that matter…)
The sad thing is, though, that I don’t see Andy Harris cutting Kevin Reigrut loose where he can, I don’t know, be a doorman checking ID’s at a bar somewhere, while Harris works on moving on from this entire mess, and -
Ah, Hell, here I go again and I didn’t want to get into any pontificating tonight…just setting the record straight!
Or as straight as I can anyway… ; )
