A day after an attorney for Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said there is evidence that New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno and District Attorney Jason Williams were misleading the public, the New Orleans City Attorney is lashing out.
“Former assistant district attorney, Laura Rodrigue, either does not know or does not care to follow the law and is intent on making up her own facts," City Attorney Charline Gipson said in a statement. "City officials have consistently stated that they did not initiate, direct or control any grand jury investigation. There is no contradiction here."
It comes after Laura Cannizzarro Rodrigue told WWL's Newell Normand. "We have constant communications every two or three days between the first assistant and the special prosecutor and an assistant district attorney and the special prosecutor."
She insisted Williams office remained involved in the process of the grand jury investigating and indicting Murrill after Williams announced his recusal.
Rodrigue says she has 57 pages of text messages between special prosecutor Laurie White and two Orleans Parish assistant district attorneys discussing the criminal case against Murrill, communications she says took place from the time the District Attorney's Office recused itself through Murrill's indictment.
She added that the mayor was aware of the investigation.
Rodrigue told Normand that public records seem to indicate that Moreno and other officials did testify before the grand jury.
"That's very problematic when you put that against the statement the mayor made... where she says, 'I had nothing to do with this grand jury. I didn't even know a grand jury could do this.' Very, very concerning."
Gipson reacted, "Tales of conspiracies and collusion - with no evidence - and dangerous assumptions concerning court ordered grand jury testimony is an unprecedented assault on the sanctity and protections of grand jury investigations. Ms. Rodrigue's useless effort is wasteful and counterproductive."
She calls Rodrigue's interview political drama and attention seeking behavior.
"Ms. Rodrigue attempts to intimidate and harass public officials who ultimately were responsible for the charges being quickly dropped against the attorney general. The city will not engage in any reckless game of political payback against imagined enemies."
A hearing into the matter is pending.
Northshore District Attorney Colin Sims has been appointed as a special prosecutor looking into the case.
