Bob McCulloch: St. Louis County Prosecutor Admits He Knew Ferguson Witnesses Lied To Grand Jury
Bob McCulloch’s shocking admission has many questioning the integrity of the Michael Brown shooting case. Over the past couple days, several media outlets have reported that a number of key witnesses lied about their accounts of the altercation that took place between former Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson and 18-year-old Michael Brown. Apparently, things didn’t happen like the witnesses depicted. However, McCulloch recently admitted that he knew the witnesses lied.
On Friday, December 19, McCulloch stopped by St. Louis’ KTRS-AM, where he discussed the highly publicized case with host McGraw Milhaven. He actually discussed why he chose to let witnesses testify when he was knew their testimonies weren’t necessarily based on credible facts.
Here’s the dialogue from the conversation.
Milhaven: Why did you allow people to testify in front of the grand jury in which you knew their information was either flat-out wrong, or flat-out lying, or just weren’t telling the truth?
McCulloch: Well, early on, I decided that anyone who claimed to have witnessed anything was going to be presented to the grand jury.
And I knew that no matter how I handled it, there would be criticism of it. So if I didn’t put those witnesses on, then we’d be discussing now why I didn’t put those witnesses on. Even though their statements were not accurate.
So my determination was to put everybody on and let the grand jurors assess their credibility, which they did. This grand jury poured their hearts and souls into this. It was a very emotional few months for them. It took a lot of them.
I wanted to put everything on there.
I thought it was much more important to present everything and everybody, and some that, yes, clearly were not telling the truth. No question about it.
Another questionable witness who has made headlines is a woman named Sandra McElroy. For those who missed it, McElroy — who has been publicly identified as “Witness 40” — recently admitted she lied about her account of the fatal shooting and Brown’s interaction with Wilson. McCulloch also admitted that he was aware her account didn’t add up either. However, he also made it clear he would not be charging any of the lying witness with perjury.
Milhaven: Is there anybody you’re thinking about charging with perjury? For going in front of the grand jury, calling you up, giving you false information…
McCulloch: That issue has been raised, and it’s a legitimate issue. But, in the situation again, in the manner in which we did it, we’re not going to file perjury charges against anyone.
There were people who came in and, yes, absolutely lied under oath. Some lied to the FBI. Even though they’re not under oath, that’s another potential offense — a federal offense.
I thought it was much more important to present the entire picture…
There’s talk of one witness now, and some of the media is doing exactly what I said they would do, they pull out one witness and just latch on to that, and this lady clearly wasn’t present when this occurred. She recounted a statement that was right out of the newspaper about Wilson’s actions, and right down the line with Wilson’s actions. Even though I’m sure she was nowhere near the place.
He went on to explain why he opted to use those jurors, reports Raw Story.
“If I didn’t put those witnesses on, then we’d be discussing now why I didn’t put those witnesses on,” McCulloch explained. “Even though their statements were not accurate. So my determination was to put everybody on and let the grand jurors assess their credibility, which they did.”
So the burning question is: Why are witnesses who clearly lacked credibility allowed to lie under oath and walk free? The unanswered question now has many wondering if the witnesses who testified were purposely put in place to sway the grand jury’s decision. As a matter of fact, many have insisted McCulloch be investigated and face perjury charges because he knew the case was based off testimonies that weren’t factual.
#Ferguson prosecutor thought it was "important" to allow grand jury witnesses "lie under oath"; http://t.co/pqi8OWbfhq
— Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) December 20, 2014
Do you think Bob McCulloch should be charged with perjury or obstruction of justice? Share your thoughts.
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