Nifong's Mess Continues

DA Mike Nifong was sworn in as district attorney under a thick ethical cloud. It was so think that reporters weren't let in to see the swearing in ceremony of a public official:

Reporters weren't allowed to view the ceremony for District Attorney Mike Nifong and were barred from the building until 8:30 a.m., when it officially opened. Durham County Sheriff Worth Hill confirmed the ceremony had taken place.

"The whole point of this was this was not a media event," Nifong said later. He said he wants to be part of the "healing process."

"If we get to the point where it appears that my presence in an investigation or anything like that is a hindrance, then we can deal with that at that time," he said. "But I've been elected to do a job and I intend to do that job."

Nifong, who had been appointed to the office in 2005, won election in November, but his handling of the case against the three lacrosse players accused of assaulting a stripper at a team party has generated intense criticism.

Last week, the North Carolina State Bar filed ethics charges against Nifong. He was accused of violating professional rules by making misleading and inflammatory comments about the three lacrosse players.

Nifong thinks that he wants to be part of the healing process? Start with dropping the remaining charges and resigning from office for gross violations of his duty to Durham county to dispense justice. By withholding exculpatory evidence from the defendants, he prejudiced potential jurors by leading the media to continue the coverage as though he had a case against the three defendants.

KC Johnson notes that the local paper is calling for Nifong to recuse himself. That's the least Nifong can do at this point.

It's official - Nifong has been "verbed" - Nifonged:

To be unjustly prosecuted by a politically motivated District Attorney.

The Johnsville News has a huge roundup of reaction.

Technorati: duke rape case, duke, nifong, lacrosse.