Yakima County Prosecutor Offers $49k Bribe for the Office of County Clerk

Yakima County Officials have Offered Yakima County Clerk Janelle Riddle $49,068.36 in exchange for her elected office.

 

See the Full Document here-

6-14-15

The Document Names the following Yakima officials-

Mike Leita – Yakima County Commissioner

Kevin Bouchey – Yakima County Commissioner

Joe Brusic – Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney

Don Anderson – Deputy Chief Civil Unit

 

This document is part of a “Mediation” meeting which was arraigned by Yakima Lawyer Bill Pickett and David Thorner. Picket serves on the WSBA Board of Governors and assisted David Thorner in his appointment to the WSBA Ethics department.

 

The problem with this proposal is that is a thinly veiled solicitation of a bribe. These elected officials want the office which the voters proclaimed to Janelle Riddle. This is a crime.

Very few crimes were mentioned in the Washington State Constitution- Treason for one and Bribe and Solicitation of a public official- Article II Section 30

SECTION 30 BRIBERY OR CORRUPT SOLICITATION. The offense of corrupt solicitation of members of the legislature, or of public officers of the state or any municipal division thereof, and any occupation or practice of solicitation of such members or officers to influence their official action, shall be defined by law, and shall be punished by fine and imprisonment. Any person may be compelled to testify in any lawful investigation or judicial proceeding against any person who may be charged with having committed the offense of bribery or corrupt solicitation, or practice of solicitation, and shall not be permitted to withhold his testimony on the ground that it may criminate himself or subject him to public infamy, but such testimony shall not afterwards be used against him in any judicial proceeding – except for perjury in giving such testimony – and any person convicted of either of the offenses aforesaid, shall as part of the punishment therefor, be disqualified from ever holding any position of honor, trust or profit in this state. A member who has a private interest in any bill or measure proposed or pending before the legislature, shall disclose the fact to the house of which he is a member, and shall not vote thereon.

Washington Legislature further identified the Criminal Acts in RCW 9a.28.030

The Washington State Supreme Court Pattern Jury Instructions state as follows-

WPIC 105.02 Criminal Solicitation—Elements
To convict the defendant of the crime of criminal solicitation, each of the following elements of the crime must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt:

(1) That on or about (date), the defendant [gave][or][offered to give] money [or other thing of value] to another to engage in specific conduct;

(2) That such [giving][or][offering] was done with the intent to promote or facilitate the commission of the crime of (fill in crime);

(3) That the specific conduct of the other person [would constitute the crime of (fill in crime)] [or] [would establish complicity of the other person in the commission or attempted commission of the crime of (fill in crime), if such crime had been attempted or committed]; and

(4) That any of these acts occurred in the State of Washington.

If you find from the evidence that each of these elements has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt, then it will be your duty to return a verdict of guilty.

On the other hand, if, after weighing all the evidence, you have a reasonable doubt as to any one of these elements, then it will be your duty to return a verdict of not guilty.

Yakima County has no right to claim any of these materials are exempt from disclosure as RCW 7.07.040(3) states any attempt to use Mediation to attempt to commit a crime is a waiver of privilege.

RCW 7.07.040

Waiver and preclusion of privilege.

(1) A privilege under RCW 7.07.030 may be waived in a record or orally during a proceeding if it is expressly waived by all parties to the mediation and:
(a) In the case of the privilege of a mediator, it is expressly waived by the mediator; and
(b) In the case of the privilege of a nonparty participant, it is expressly waived by the nonparty participant.
(2) A person that discloses or makes a representation about a mediation communication which prejudices another person in a proceeding is precluded from asserting a privilege under RCW 7.07.030, but only to the extent necessary for the person prejudiced to respond to the representation or disclosure.
(3) A person that intentionally uses a mediation to plan, attempt to commit, or commit a crime, or to conceal an ongoing crime or ongoing criminal activity is precluded from asserting a privilege under RCW 7.07.030.

What is clear from the Yakima Commissioners/Riddle document is that the money was in exchange for her office, a violation of the law and the Constitution.

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