Never Let Them See You Sweat!

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

New Mexico Attorney General Gary King stepped before the bright lights and more than a dozen members of the media in his Albuquerque office, Friday June 24, to comment on what many have been saying about him.

In a Santa Fe New Mexican editorial, "Odoriferous doings at the AG's office," Saturday June 18 the paper wrote:

…Gary King lately has been dragging his public trust to political depths previously unplumbed — and certainly beneath his once-praiseworthy self.

“I wanted to hold a little press conference today, partly because there have been, it seems like, a significant amount of comments and discussions from a lot of different people, from lawyers, from prognosticators, from bloggers, all those other kinds of things, about what it is the Attorney General office is doing in regard to a number of cases,” King said.

King’s position was to educate the public through the news media on what he promised to be a boring and dry press conference.

The meeting lasted an hour and 25 minutes.

King mentioned cases involving lawyers representing clients who have been indicted, who were criticizing the Attorney General, especially with claims of conflict of interest.

Robert Gorence has claimed there is a lack of a speedy trial for his client, former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron. New Mexico Second judicial District Court Judge Albert S. "Pat" Murdoch barred King's office from prosecuting the case based in "perceptions of a conflict of interest", though the judge found no actual conflict.

Attorney Victor Marshall, left, who is representing former Education Retirement Board Executive Frank Foy,right, as complaining about the AG's office getting involved in their case. Foy also contends King has a conflict of interest because Bruce Malott, below, had been King's campaign treasurer during a 2004 run for Congress. King denies the conflict because Malott is not under indictment, but is named by Foy as a defendant in his case.

So what’s wrong with this picture?

As with every story, there are two sides; how the media reports it and how the AG's office perceives it. The citizen is left not knowing the complete story.

If you don't read the newspaper, you are uninformed. If you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed. Author unknown, commonly attributed to Mark Twain or Thomas Jefferson.

There is no way the media could provide citizens with the AG's educational attempt; they just don't have the time, or space, or inclination to present it.

The Albuquerque Journal's front page headline read:

Attorney General Lashes Back at Critics

For the soft-spoken King, this is about as harsh as he looked, if that was even "lashing back."


Since the media event former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron's case has become more active as a Federal grand jury indicted her three codefendants in the State case, but not her.

King brought to a conclusion charges in an indictment against Public Regulation Commissioner Jerome Block Jr.


Defending oneself seems to be hard work, as King worked up a bead of sweat that collected at the end of his nose.

I guess you just can't use an antiperspirant on your forehead,