{"id":1274,"date":"2016-06-30T16:54:54","date_gmt":"2016-06-30T20:54:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lawflog.com\/?p=1274"},"modified":"2016-06-30T17:22:15","modified_gmt":"2016-06-30T21:22:15","slug":"texas-commission-on-law-enforcement-investigating-tabc-chief-and-husband","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lawflog.com\/?p=1274","title":{"rendered":"Texas Commission on Law Enforcement investigating TABC chief and husband"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Kim<\/a>The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement opened a formal investigation yesterday of Sherry Cook, executive director of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, and her husband Maurice Cook, former chief of the Texas Rangers and Republican nominee for Bastrop County Sheriff, to determine whether Mrs. Cook’s training at a VIP police academy run by Mr. Cook was faked.<\/p>\n

In a phone conversation this afternoon, TCOLE executive director Kim Vickers told me he was making the investigation a priority and assigning two of his agents as well as an investigator from an outside agency. \u00a0TCOLE oversees training and licensing of all Texas peace officers, and it can file criminal charges or administratively suspend or revoke peace officer licenses.<\/p>\n

As I reported yesterday<\/a>, I sent a letter to Mr. Vickers<\/a> and the Travis and Brazoria County district attorneys outlining evidence that Mrs. Cook received credit for a training class at Alvin Community College that she may not have attended. \u00a0College and TABC officials have thus far refused to comment.<\/p>\n

The TCOLE investigation will be led by Sgt. Doug Skolaut, a former homicide detective with Austin PD. \u00a0If you have information relevant to the investigation of the Cooks and\/or the college, call TCOLE at\u00a0(512) 936-7700 and ask for Sgt. Skolaut.<\/a><\/p>\n

ANOTHER HOT MESS<\/p>\n

\"Bill_Flores,_Official_Portrait,_112th_Congress\"<\/a>The Waco Tribune-Herald<\/em> published my guest column<\/a> this morning about Congressman Bill Flores’s refusal to pursue the impeachment of U.S. District Judge Walter S. Smith, Jr. \u00a0Before his contested primary election, Congressman Flores publicly stated his intention to explore impeachment of the reprobate judge, but after<\/em> the primary he dropped the issue like a hot rock. \u00a0Apparently the Congressman decided there was no political advantage to be had in doing his job.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Judge Smith is not the only federal judge who needs to be investigated or impeached. \u00a0On DirtyRottenJudges.com<\/a>, I laid out the evidence against two other sleazy federal judges, one of whom is Senior U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle of D.C. \u00a0After launching the website, Judge Huvelle’s cronies in D.C. set out to disbar me<\/a> (that case is still pending). Incidentally, one of her chief protectors<\/a> is Chief Judge Merrick Garland of the D.C. Circuit, who also happens to be President Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

Unless and until Congress starts fulfilling its constitutional duty to oversee the judiciary — and impeach the judges who need to be impeached — then federal judges will keep protecting federal judges. If nothing else, Congress should create an independent entity to investigate judicial misconduct.<\/p>\n

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