Demanding Accountability

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Exposing Mainstream “Lap-Dog” Reporting
Bend Bulletin’s Cindy Powers
Swipes at US~Observer on Driscoll Case

By Edward Snook
Chief of Investigations
US~Observer

Driscoll Case ~ Hung Jury

Deschutes County, Oregon – On January 23, 2009, 30-year-old Kevin Dennis Driscoll was charged with three counts of false and stacked charges of rape, one false charge of unlawful sexual penetration, one false charge of sodomy and one false charge of assault; false because there is no proof of these crimes, no evidence, just the accusation of their occurrence from an individual who has allegedly, falsely and spitefully claimed this before of another man. For one reporter, Cindy Powers of the Bend Bulletin, perhaps accusation alone is implied guilt, as the tone of an article written during Driscoll’s trial did more to support guilt than enlighten the Bulletin’s readership with any sort of relevant fact. Could this have been a tactic to influence a wavering jury just prior to their deliberation?

On November 19, 2009, Driscoll’s jury gave their verdict – Hung. They were all unable to agree on Driscoll’s fate. Deschutes County Assistant District Attorney Jody Vaughan appears to have stated to her lap-dog reporter Cindy Powers of the Bend Bulletin newspaper that, “she plans to take Driscoll to trial a second time.” This is the exact attitude that any prudent person would expect from a corrupted prosecutor, bent on convicting an innocent person, without any consideration for the facts of the case or the hard-earned tax dollars she just wasted in taking this two-week trial to its conclusion.

While the finding might seem vindicating for Driscoll, who was falsely accused of raping Melissa Leahy-Rossow, his life has been forever altered. Neighbor's, friends, colleagues, not to mention his career, have all been lost simply because of the initial charges. Driscoll still wears his electronic ankle bracelet even though the jury would not convict him. Judge Stephen Tiktin has reportedly stated that he will address the ankle bracelet on December 23, 2009; the same time the prosecution will decide the issue of re-trying Driscoll.

Cindy Powers / The Bulletin –
A Devoted System Reporter and Prosecution Lap-Dog

On November 18, 2009, Cindy Powers, a reporter with “The Bulletin” and better known as the Bend Bulletin, published an article titled, “Deschutes rape trial has online following.” On November 20, 2009, Powers published a second article titled, “Rape trial that sparked an online campaign ends without a verdict.” By publishing the two articles without any investigation whatsoever, Powers has provided this investigative journalist and America at large with one more example of how main-stream “reporters” twist the truth, never get to the truth, ignore the truth, refuse to accept the truth and in so doing, support the dangerous and abusive thieves that permeate the American criminal justice system. In all reality, they actually become one of them.

Powers called this reporter on November 17, 2009, for an interview. Powers started out by asking me how I obtained certain information that I published. I informed her that my obtaining information wasn’t the issue, just as Edward Snook or the US~Observer isn’t the issue: Kevin Driscoll’s alleged rape, trial and false prosecution is the story. I told this liberal-university-indoctrinated reporter that much of the evidence that we published was testified about in trial. She responded, “I haven’t been attending the trial, I’ve had another case I’ve been working on, but I will be attending the closing arguments.” She stated that she had a deadline on the Driscoll article and I told her that there was no way she could legitimately cover the case by simply attending closing arguments and not wanting to waste any more time with this ignorant twit, I hung-up the phone. Powers immediately called back, stated that we had been disconnected and I informed her that I had actually hung-up on her. I told her to stop wasting my time and I once again hit the disconnect on my phone.

Cindy Powers - Lying to the Public –
Dissection of her Deceptive Articles

In her November 18, 2009, article Powers states, “Snook’s stories do not mention that two separate abuse prevention restraining orders have been issued against Driscoll in favor of two different women, according to Oregon court records.” Our readership should be appraised that at our initial interview with Kevin Driscoll, he told us of both instances and the results. He wasn’t indicted on any charges and I am well aware that “restraining orders” are a dime a dozen in Oregon - One of the women that Powers references in her article has reportedly stated that Driscoll is incapable of raping anyone. At this point there was no need to contact anyone, given the overwhelming evidence of Driscoll’s innocence.

Powers continues, “The US~Observer has posted a video of the victim, which is not admissible at a criminal trial under Oregon’s rape shield law, showing her (Melissa Leahy-Rossow) sexually touching another man on the night of the alleged rape.” We have posted this video, we have told the public that she had sex with another man (a friend of her husband) just hours before the alleged rape and we do not recognize Oregon’s rape shield laws in any way whatsoever, due to the fact that they were created by attorneys, for attorneys pocket-books, they deprive innocent defendants of a fair and impartial trial by taking away the ability to present all of their evidence and last but not least, these corrupted laws deprive jurors of valuable information they need when deliberating a case. In Oregon and many other states a woman can falsely accuse ten men of rape at ten different times and this evidence is inadmissible – how absurd, prejudice and down-right evil is this?

Powers states, “The US~Observer Web site indicates that it writes articles for hire.” This is yet another prime example of Powers deception – something we still call a Lie at the US~Observer. The US~Observer investigates cases, something that Powers wouldn’t know anything about, and then we publish our factual findings. We are paid for this, just as Cindy Powers is paid for her lame, lap-dog reporting. Our practice of obtaining the facts about a case ourselves, through a hands-on investigation is exactly the opposite of what local, main-stream media do. They take police reports, press releases from district attorneys, etc., and they publish them verbatim, almost always without any investigation.

The source of our revenue comes from hard work, as opposed to the main source of revenue for Powers and the Bend Bulletin, which is advertising dollars. The main difference between Powers and myself and between the US~Observer and the Bend Bulletin is that we publish the entire case in a factual manner and they simply publish what the system (government) gives them. An example of this would be the information about Driscoll’s two prior restraining orders (ruled inadmissible by the judge in this case) that I can safely say were provided by the very system that is currently prosecuting him, directly to ace reporter Cindy Powers. Powers reported this information before the jury had reached their verdict. Obviously the Bend Bulletin, represented by Cindy Powers, wasn’t at all concerned with Judge Tiktin’s orders. Oh, and by the way, the Bend Bulletin charged us eitht dollars to read Cindy Powers articles - I wonder what Kyu Ho Youm (below) would have to say about this?

One example of Powers twisted, prejudiced, and deceptive journalism is that she states in one of her articles, “Kyu Ho Youm teaches media law at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and is on the adjunct faculty of its school of law. He said the online attention that the Driscoll case has attracted is ‘extraordinary.’ And regardless of the facts, Youm said accepting money to write a story without disclosing that fact up front is absolutely unacceptable.” Wow, in a brief interview with Youm, he forms the same opinion as Powers – that accepting money to write an article is bad. I would agree and I would also assert that Youm is every bit as ignorant as Powers. Neither one of them take the time to investigate a matter before they begin yakking. This is indicative of the practice of journalism and law today, as taught by our totally destructive “Universities.” It isn’t about right or wrong, truth, or fact anymore with the main-stream – it’s all about twisting a story a certain way, without ever reaching any conclusion.

Youm knows nothing about the practices of the US~Observer yet he asserts his expertise on the matter. This is a common practice among Powers, Youm and their ilk. The fact of this matter is, people who are wrongfully accused of a crime hire the US~Observer to vindicate themselves. We “disclose that fact up-front,” to each and every one of our clients. Our handling of a case entails a thorough investigation, something that Powers and most attorneys never complete. Next, we provide the information to the public, who readily realize how duped they were by accepting the garbage published in their local newspaper by reporters like Powers. This is exactly what happened in the Kevin Driscoll case. He was found guilty by the local media (see our prior articles on this case at www.usobserver.com) and they published their twisted, non-factual information, obtained from the local police to the entire public. If Driscoll and other innocents didn’t have the public voice that we provide, they would be spending many years in prison for crimes they did not commit. So, why would Cindy Powers, Kyu Ho Youm and their cohorts attempt to deceive the public into believing that people pay the US~Observer for just publishing articles. And why would Deschutes County District Attorney Michael Dugan call Edward Snook a “tabloid reporter?” The answer is all too simple – These people are spineless and worthless human beings who routinely prey on the innocent and the less-fortunate ones in our society and they fully realize that Edward Snook and the US~Observer are the only enemies they have that are capable of exposing their BS and ruining their destructive and pathetic lives… Have a better day Cindy Powers, et al.

Editors Note: It really isn’t any wonder that Powers would attack the US~Observer. In defending Ms. Powers, it is clear that she actually doesn’t know any better, because she is an ex-prosecuting attorney turned journalist – go figure!

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