{"id":47233,"date":"2024-04-12T18:25:18","date_gmt":"2024-04-13T01:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/?p=47233"},"modified":"2024-04-13T21:01:59","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T04:01:59","slug":"anatomy-of-a-political-smear-john-lees-fight-against-ipad-allegations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/anatomy-of-a-political-smear-john-lees-fight-against-ipad-allegations\/","title":{"rendered":"Anatomy of a Political Smear: John Lee’s Fight Against iPad Allegations"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/em><\/p>\n

(Chuck Muth)<\/em>\u00a0– At the 2023 Clark County Republican Party convention last month, some ham-handed political knuckleheads placed flyers on the windshields of attendees\u2019 cars which were a reprint of a Las Vegas Review-Journal article from a\u00a0DECADE<\/u>\u00a0ago.<\/p>\n

The headline read, \u201cFBI to investigate report of child porn on North Las Vegas mayor\u2019s iPad,\u201d giving the false impression that the mayor had been caught viewing kiddie porn \u2013 which is not what happened at all.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not a stretch to assume the anonymously-dropped flyers were distributed by the GOP primary opponent to former Mayor John Lee, who is now running for Congress.<\/p>\n

Naturally, the flyer-droppers \u2013 who were not captured on surveillance videos \u2013 didn\u2019t include follow-up articles in which the investigation was dismissed –\u00a0TWICE<\/u>.\u00a0 Here\u2019s the rest of the story\u2026<\/p>\n

Back in October 2014, Lee received an unsolicited email which included pornographic images that raised concerns over possible sex trafficking of minors.<\/p>\n

The concerns were particularly sharp and personal because Lee has four daughters and 14 granddaughters. So he did the right thing: He reported it to law enforcement authorities.\u00a0 See something\/say something and all that.<\/p>\n

Now, anyone with an email address knows all about \u201cspam.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once spammers get your email address you never know what you\u2019ll receive \u2013 anything from requests to invest in a Nigerian diamond mine to solicitations to contribute money to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.<\/p>\n

After receiving such spam emails, most people just block them so they don\u2019t receive such garbage in the future.<\/p>\n

But because this particular email sent to Mayor Lee suggested something far worse than a mere \u201cscam,\u201d he hoped law enforcement might be able to track down the source and assure that no minor children were being sex trafficked.<\/p>\n

So the mayor gave his iPad to North Las Vegas Police officials who launched an investigation.\u00a0 A few weeks later, the detective in charge of the Division on Cyber Crimes returned the iPad and reported that they were unable to locate the email or identify the sender.<\/p>\n

The detective reported that while he did \u201clocate several possible photos that could be considered child pornography\u201d he \u201ccould not verify the age of the people pictured\u201d since they were in a different country.\u00a0 He also advised that the iPad had been taken to an Apple store and wiped clean of the offending material.<\/p>\n

Case closed.\u00a0 Or so you would think.<\/p>\n

Payback Time<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to Lee, when he was elected mayor in 2013, he \u201cinherited a police chief (Joseph Chronister) who had been passed over by the previous mayor and city council two times before he was finally promoted Chief of Police.\u201d<\/p>\n

Personalities clashed and swords crossed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was immediately challenged by this person,\u201d Lee told me.\u00a0 \u201cHe was belligerent and dictatorial and wanted to let me and the new council know that he was in charge of the police department and not agreeable to working with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee advised that Chronister \u201cabused his powers\u201d and had numerous complaints filed against him with the city council by police union members.\u00a0 \u201cAfter many attempts to control him,\u201d Lee said, \u201cthe City Manager took away his powers to discipline his officers and staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

After that 2014 decision, Chronister \u201cknew his future as chief was in doubt\u201d and a few months later \u201che could sense his termination was imminent.\u201d\u00a0 That was the spring of 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the final days of the police chief\u2019s employment with the city,\u201d Lee continued, \u201che ordered his lieutenant to get him a copy of the police file of my iPad investigation\u201d and then \u201ccalled a reporter at the Las Vegas Review-Journal and gave her a copy of the investigation file.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reporter, Bethany Barnes, published a story on the iPad investigation on May 7, 2015 \u2013 not coincidentally the same day Chief Chronister retired with full benefits.<\/p>\n

In his interview with Ms. Barnes, Chronister \u201csaid that while one of his detectives investigated\u201d the iPad incident, \u201che now wishes his department had done more and had sought help from an outside agency\u201d because the mayor \u201chas the ability to control certain aspects of our department.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there should have been a more thorough and in-depth investigation, then I guess that\u2019s my fault, maybe, for not telling the detective to go on,\u201d Chronister told Ms. Barnes.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not an expert in this arena at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nice Monday morning quarterbacking there, huh?\u00a0 How convenient.<\/p>\n

The next day, Ms. Barnes wrote a follow-up article in which the usual left-wing goofball suspects decided to take political advantage of the controversy.\u00a0 Laura Martin of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN) and Annette Magnus of Battle Born Progress slammed Lee and called for a new investigation.<\/p>\n

A few days later \u2013 May 12, 2015 \u2013 the Review-Journal published the article that was left on GOP convention delegates\u2019 windshields last month.\u00a0 In it, reporter Colton Lochhead reported that the FBI would conduct \u201can independent review\u201d of the iPad incident.<\/p>\n

The next day, Mr. Lochhead detailed the original investigating detective\u2019s report, which was released in response to Ms. Barnes\u2019 articles.\u00a0 It included a statement from Mayor Lee\u2026<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u201cNot only are the allegations currently being made against me completely and absolutely false, I strongly resent any implication that I have engaged in any improper conduct or behavior.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u201cIt is unfortunate that some individuals who might not have agreed with the political and leadership decisions that I have made in order to benefit the City of North Las Vegas have decided to make irresponsible, harmful and egregious allegations against me with impacts far beyond my political career.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u201cAs evidenced by the North Las Vegas Police report released today, there was nothing illegal on my iPad and all standard procedures were followed. I am disheartened that, by proactively contacting the police department to address something I found very concerning, the situation has been grossly misrepresented by some in the public, calling into question my character.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In an editorial published the same day, the RJ noted how convenient it was for Chronister to second-guess himself on \u201cthe day he retired\u201d and noted the North Las Vegas Police Department \u201cshouldn\u2019t have pursued the case at all.\u00a0 Another police force should have been given the case from the start.\u201d<\/p>\n

Case Closed – Again<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fast-forward to September 10, 2025.<\/p>\n

In a new article, Ms. Barnes reminded readers that a copy of the iPad\u2019s contents had been given to the FBI for review but announced that \u201cThe FBI notified the North Las Vegas Police Department that it doesn\u2019t have enough information from the department to take action.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two days later, RJ columnist John L. Smith wrote about an interview he did with Mayor Lee the day after the FBI again closed the closed case.<\/p>\n

Smith noted that Chronister\u2019s born-again regrets at not turning the initial investigation over to someone else \u201csmacked of hand-wringing for political purposes,\u201d adding that \u201cif Chronister had a genuine concern, professional ethics would compel him to pick up the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the interview, Lee reasserted his motivation in voluntarily turning his iPad over to law enforcement authorities for investigation.\u00a0 \u201cI was turning it in to report a crime,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI tried to do what was right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere sems to be dissatisfied employees who are very unhappy with some of the decisions I\u2019ve made,\u201d Lee continued.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s their personal issue. \u2026 I\u2019m very satisfied that what I did was 100 percent right.\u00a0 I would do it again.\u00a0 My heart knew exactly what I was doing.\u00a0 I would stand up and do the same thing again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alas, especially in politics, no good deed goes unpunished.<\/p>\n

That includes the bush-league campaign tactic by the political opponent, consultant, and\/or activists who surreptitiously placed copies of only part of the iPad story on the windshields of delegates attending the Clark County Republican Party convention.<\/p>\n

If Mr. Lee\u2019s GOP primary challenger, David Flippo, was behind the leafletting, he owes Mayor Lee an apology and assurance it won\u2019t happen again.\u00a0 If he didn\u2019t know about it \u2013 and it was done by someone on his campaign team \u2013 heads should roll.<\/p>\n

Even in contact sports, there are rules against cheap shots.<\/p>\n

FAMOUS LAST WORDS<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhich office do I go to to get my reputation back?\u201d \u2013\u00a0Former Reagan Labor Secretary Ray Donovan after being cleared of false fraud charges<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, publisher of Nevada News & Views, and founder of CampaignDoctor.com.\u00a0 You can sign up for his conservative, Nevada-focused e-newsletter at MuthsTruths.com.\u00a0 His views are his own.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Chuck Muth)\u00a0– At the 2023 Clark County Republican Party convention last month, some ham-handed political knuckleheads placed flyers on the windshields of attendees\u2019 cars which were a reprint of a Las Vegas Review-Journal article from a\u00a0DECADE\u00a0ago. The headline read, \u201cFBI to investigate report of child porn on North Las Vegas mayor\u2019s iPad,\u201d giving the false […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42053,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[748],"tags":[3466],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47233"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47233"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47235,"href":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47233\/revisions\/47235"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}