Graham Spanier charged with perjury, endangering welfare of children, obstruction and conspiracy. Spanier now works for Obama (not a joke) in a ‘national security’ capacity
Spanier was hired by the Obama administration early in 2012 to work on a “special project for the U.S. government relating [to] national security.”
11/1/12, “Graham Spanier charged with Sandusky sex abuse cover up,” BBC
“Pennsylvania State University’s former president faces charges of covering up child abuse by a long-term football coach, says the attorney general. Graham Spanier is the third official accused of protecting Jerry Sandusky, who was jailed for molesting boys.
The charges against Mr Spanier, 64, include perjury, obstruction, endangering children’s welfare and failing to report abuse. Sandusky’s arrest in November 2011 prompted a crisis at the university.
At a court in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Attorney General Linda Kelly said: “This was not a mistake by these men. This was not an oversight. It was not misjudgement on their part.
“This was a conspiracy of silence by top officials to actively conceal the truth.”
On Thursday, additional charges of endangering the welfare of children, obstruction and conspiracy were brought against them.
Ms Kelly alleged that the three university officials “knowingly testified falsely and failed to provide important information and evidence” about Sandusky.
Mr Curley and Mr Schultz insist they are innocent, while Mr Spanier’s lawyers have said their client was not aware of anything suspicious about Sandusky’s relationship with children.
But the grand jury report, included with the charges, said: “The actual harm realised by this wanton failure is staggering.”
Sandusky was sentenced last month to between 30 and 60 years in prison.
He was convicted in June on 45 out of 48 counts of sexually abusing 10 boys over 15 years.
Sandusky molested boys he met through the Second Mile, a charity he founded for at-risk youth.
The trial heard that the boys were abused at Sandusky’s home, in hotels and at Penn State athletic facilities.
Mr. Spanier had been president of Penn State for 16 years when he was forced out after Sandusky’s arrest.
Penn State was renowned in the US for its college football programme.”
Spanier and Sandusky, file photo, Reuters
——————————————-
Spanier was hired by the Obama administration in early 2012:
7/27/12, “Graham Spanier’s gig as a federal worker is a mystery,” Washington Post, Emily Heil
“Graham Spanier might have been ousted from his post at the helm of Penn State over the sex-abuse scandal that engulfed the university, but it seems he’s found a backup employer: the American taxpayer.
Only a disgraced public figure would consider joining the much-maligned ranks of the federal workforce as a step up, reputation-wise. We can assume there were no openings for a used-car salesman.
Spanier was faulted in an internal Penn State report after the conviction on child-molestation charges of former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. The report said he, head coach Joe Paterno and others helped cover up Sandusky’s abuse.
His lawyer confirms to the Loop that Spanier is working on a part-time consulting basis for a “top-secret” agency on national security issues. But the gig is so hush-hush, he couldn’t even tell his attorneys the name of the agency. In April — months after his ouster as president but before the release of the internal report — he told the Patriot-News of central Pennsylvania that he was working on a “special project for the U.S. government relating [to] national security.”
But who’s he working for? The CIA? Homeland Security? Or maybe just a dull consulting firm with a government contract?
“I have no idea,”says his lawyer, Peter Vaira. “We know the work is in security and he’s prohibited from disclosing which agency or agencies he’s working for.”
After the internal report was released, Spanier complained in a statement from his attorneys that the document didn’t make mention of his government clearance — something he apparently thought was evidence of his trustworthiness. He noted that his security clearance (which he apparently had first obtained while at Penn State) “required a re-review when the Sandusky matter surfaced in November” and that federal investigators conducted their own probe of his role in the Sandusky scandal. The federal investigation ended with his security clearance being “reaffirmed,” the statement read.
The Office of Personnel Management, essentially the federal government’s human-resources department, didn’t shed any light on Spanier’s mysterious gig as a possible federal employee. They instructed us to call individual agencies, even though we pointed out that we didn’t know which agencies to contact.
Have you spotted Spanier, sporting a government ID on a lanyard and carrying a brown-bag lunch?”
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11/1/12, “Graham Spanier charged with Sandusky sex abuse cover up,” BBC
“Pennsylvania State University’s former president faces charges of covering up child abuse by a long-term football coach, says the attorney general. Graham Spanier is the third official accused of protecting Jerry Sandusky, who was jailed for molesting boys.
The charges against Mr Spanier, 64, include perjury, obstruction, endangering children’s welfare and failing to report abuse. Sandusky’s arrest in November 2011 prompted a crisis at the university.
At a court in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Attorney General Linda Kelly said: “This was not a mistake by these men. This was not an oversight. It was not misjudgement on their part.
“This was a conspiracy of silence by top officials to actively conceal the truth.”
University administrators Timothy Curley and
Gary Schultz were already accused of lying to the grand jury
investigating the claims against Sandusky.
On Thursday, additional charges of endangering the welfare of children, obstruction and conspiracy were brought against them.
Ms Kelly alleged that the three university officials “knowingly testified falsely and failed to provide important information and evidence” about Sandusky.
Mr Curley and Mr Schultz insist they are innocent, while Mr Spanier’s lawyers have said their client was not aware of anything suspicious about Sandusky’s relationship with children.
But the grand jury report, included with the charges, said: “The actual harm realised by this wanton failure is staggering.”
Sandusky was sentenced last month to between 30 and 60 years in prison.
He was convicted in June on 45 out of 48 counts of sexually abusing 10 boys over 15 years.
Sandusky molested boys he met through the Second Mile, a charity he founded for at-risk youth.
The trial heard that the boys were abused at Sandusky’s home, in hotels and at Penn State athletic facilities.
Mr. Spanier had been president of Penn State for 16 years when he was forced out after Sandusky’s arrest.
Penn State was renowned in the US for its college football programme.”
Spanier and Sandusky, file photo, Reuters
——————————————-
Spanier was hired by the Obama administration in early 2012:
7/27/12, “Graham Spanier’s gig as a federal worker is a mystery,” Washington Post, Emily Heil
“Graham Spanier might have been ousted from his post at the helm of Penn State over the sex-abuse scandal that engulfed the university, but it seems he’s found a backup employer: the American taxpayer.
Only a disgraced public figure would consider joining the much-maligned ranks of the federal workforce as a step up, reputation-wise. We can assume there were no openings for a used-car salesman.
Spanier was faulted in an internal Penn State report after the conviction on child-molestation charges of former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. The report said he, head coach Joe Paterno and others helped cover up Sandusky’s abuse.
His lawyer confirms to the Loop that Spanier is working on a part-time consulting basis for a “top-secret” agency on national security issues. But the gig is so hush-hush, he couldn’t even tell his attorneys the name of the agency. In April — months after his ouster as president but before the release of the internal report — he told the Patriot-News of central Pennsylvania that he was working on a “special project for the U.S. government relating [to] national security.”
But who’s he working for? The CIA? Homeland Security? Or maybe just a dull consulting firm with a government contract?
“I have no idea,”says his lawyer, Peter Vaira. “We know the work is in security and he’s prohibited from disclosing which agency or agencies he’s working for.”
After the internal report was released, Spanier complained in a statement from his attorneys that the document didn’t make mention of his government clearance — something he apparently thought was evidence of his trustworthiness. He noted that his security clearance (which he apparently had first obtained while at Penn State) “required a re-review when the Sandusky matter surfaced in November” and that federal investigators conducted their own probe of his role in the Sandusky scandal. The federal investigation ended with his security clearance being “reaffirmed,” the statement read.
The Office of Personnel Management, essentially the federal government’s human-resources department, didn’t shed any light on Spanier’s mysterious gig as a possible federal employee. They instructed us to call individual agencies, even though we pointed out that we didn’t know which agencies to contact.
Have you spotted Spanier, sporting a government ID on a lanyard and carrying a brown-bag lunch?”
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posted by susan at
11/01/2012 07:27:00 PM
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