D.C. councilman’s email hits on ‘presumption of innocence’ Embattled Ward 5 D.C. Councilman Harry Thomas is quietly running a public relations campaign that says he should presumed innocent rather than being attacked over accusations that he stole $300,000 in city funds meant for kids.
Thomas has agreed to pay the city back. But in his settlement of a lawsuit filed against him by D.C. Attorney General Irvin Nathan, Thomas wasn’t required to admit that he stole the cash meant for youth sports programs so he could buy a high-end Audi sport utility vehicle and take golfing trips, which the lawsuit alleged. That’s given Thomas some room to maneuver, even as three of his council colleagues have called for him to resign and some of his constituents have begun to clamor for a recall. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is investigating the accusations.
The maneuvering is now under way. On Friday morning, Thomas forwarded an email to his council colleagues and Mayor Vincent Gray. Thomas wrote that the email was from a Ward 5 resident named “Brian.”
The Washington Examiner obtained a copy of the Thomas email. The purported constituent email starts by addressing the Ward 5 residents who have questioned Thomas’ “moral compass” on email message boards.
“Don’t moral compasses point AWAY from … rushing to judgments? Away from spreading rumor, innuendo and hearsay?” the email says.
The writer adds, “Harry Thomas Jr. is a native son of Ward 5. … Like any family, Ward 5 is respecting its native son. They are respecting his rights to due process and presumption of innocence.”
The email concludes by noting if it’s found Thomas has “made a mistake, Ward 5 will deal with it.”
Thomas did not respond to a request for comment for this story. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Thomas might be following a model that helped Marion Barry repeatedly revive his political career after being convicted on a drug charge and being accused of tax violations, said political consultant Chuck Thies. Thomas can’t claim the ties to the civil rights movement that helped Barry to pitch himself as a black politician being attacked by a white establishment. Instead, Thomas is relying on his membership in a family long involved in the majority-black ward’s politics. Outcry from the Washington Post editorial board and the three white council members calling for Thomas’ ouster — perceived outsiders — might only add fodder to Thomas’ campaign, Thies said.
“If that’s the kind of politics he wants to use to stay in office, then he does so at the detriment to all of D.C.,” Thies said. “It’s a divide-and-conquer plan in a city that’s trying to bridge its racial divide.”
