An accused serial groper who sued his victim for defamation. Somewhere Judge Roy Moore is saying "why didn't I think of that?" And blows off his mandatory deposition in said case because protecting the rights of someone he is accused of violating would be "playing politics" with his oh-so-important campaign. But of course, he "looks forward to clearing his name through the appropriate legal venues... at times agreed to by both sides." As if it's just not convenient for him right now. If you want to be a Republican governor in 2022, Chuck, you need to learn to schedule your groping a little better.https://omaha.com/news/state-and-region ... r-homepage
Gubernatorial candidate Charles W. Herbster does not plan to attend a deposition planned Friday in Johnson County District Court in his legal fight with State Sen. Julie Slama.
Herbster’s campaign spokesperson Emily Novotny said in a text message that scheduling the interview for Friday was “clearly intended to take Charles off the campaign trail just days before the May 10th primary election.” She confirmed that Herbster, who heads Conklin Co. and other businesses, will be campaigning in western Nebraska on Friday (Chadron, Alliance and McCook).
Herbster filed a defamation lawsuit against Slama last month, after the Nebraska Examiner reported allegations from eight women who said Herbster had groped them in recent years. Slama was the only named accuser at the time, but another accuser, Elizabeth Todsen, has come forward and used her name since.
As of Thursday morning, Slama’s attorney Dave Lopez said that Herbster was “under a current legal obligation to appear at the Johnson County courthouse to testify under oath at 9 a.m. tomorrow.” Lopez said that was still true Thursday afternoon and that Herbster has made it clear that he won’t attend.
In her statement, Novotny accused Lopez of “playing politics with a very serious matter” and pointed out that Lopez is listed on corporate documents for Jim Pillen for Governor. Slama has endorsed Pillen, a hog producer and University of Nebraska regent, and Herbster has framed the allegations — in public statements and a TV ad — as a political hit job devised by Pillen and his most prominent backer, Gov. Pete Ricketts.
Of course, this is the guy who's inundating my mailbox with junk about how Super Christian Values Conservative Businessman Farmer he is. He has the coveted Trump endorsement... which, interestingly, includes Trump throwing Nebraska senator Ben Sasse under the bus. And Ben Sasse is a useless stuffed shirt who does whatever he's told by the Republican powers that be, including performative criticism of Donald Trump. He's part of the act. In pro wrestling, I believe the term is "jobber."
The whole article is worth a read to see what a complete sociopath this guy is. It goes on to say that the victim's lawyer should recuse himself, because his firm (not even him) has "ties" with his primary opponent Jim Pillen. Which is relevant to a sexual harassment case because...?
Sad thing is, Nebraska is historically proud of its political reasonableness. The state has a non-partisan, unicameral legislative body that has an ethos of getting things done and keep "politics" at a minimum. Not in Trumpmerica! Though it was already moving in that direction well before 2018.
