Politicians Aren’t Above the Law

* Re “Baugh Prosecution Was a Persecution,” Orange County Voices, July 26:

The increasing number of politicians seeking to interfere with law enforcement officers who are trying to conduct criminal investigations disturbs me.

I do not understand this current trend to browbeat and punish sworn officers of the law for doing their job. The district attorney is supposed to investigate allegations of a politician throwing a ringer into an election to unseat an opponent.

A police chief is supposed to investigate a media leak of a court-sealed affidavit in an ongoing criminal investigation. What apology is needed when a cop is literally doing his job? Unless, of course, politicians are above the law.

Maybe President Clinton’s media people started making it OK to bash law enforcement officers in an effort to strip credibility from Clinton’s accusers. But that doesn’t mean it has to be that way in Orange County.

In a country that is fast forgetting what it means to have ethics and morals, Orange County could be different. We could give our law enforcement officers the right to finish their criminal investigations before we shout accusations at them of being politically motivated.

We could insist that our criminal justice system be allowed to work without the undue influence and power of politicians who most assuredly do have political agendas.

Finally, we could be really different and ask that our elected politicians be held ethically and morally accountable for their action.

PAMELA PRATT

Orange