Now that the Louisiana Supreme Court has appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the indictment of state Attorney General Liz Murrill, what comes next? More questions for New Orleans city leaders.
The mayor, district attorney, and several New Orleans City Council almost definitely appeared before the grand jury that indicted Liz Murrill over the summer, says New Orleans Metro Crime Commission President and former prosecutor Rafael Goyeneche.
"I'm not going to indict the attorney general without calling the alleged victims before the grand jury and ask them on the record, before the grand jury, if they felt intimidated," said Goyeneche.
But after an Orleans Parish grand jury determined there was enough evidence to charge Murrill with a crime, those public figures then said they did not feel "victimized" by the attorney general's comments about removing them from office.
Could that about face open them up to perjury charges? Goyeneche says it wouldn't be the first time a potential witness changed their story.
"As a prosecutor, you'll often find victims of offenses that, initially, say that they want to go forward with a prosecution, and then they change their minds," he said. "That happens all the time, and you don't charge those individuals with crime."
