Epp on Sutton

Our blogosphere colleague Todd Epp doesn't buy Dan Sutton's argument:

But I’m also a father and I’ve also taught and coached young people.  I cannot for the life of me think that Dennis Wiese would put any of his kids up to charging a family friend—Dan Sutton—with these horrible accusations just to get a little pay back for the Flandreau Development Corporation (which Sutton is president of) suing or threatening to sue Ridgefield Farms for the money it invested.

Would you put your 18 year old kid through this?  And your other kids?  And their friends? 

I don’t think Dennis Wiese would do such a thing.  I think he has acted like a parent who beleives his kid has been harmed.

And do you honestly believe that Austin Wiese concocted this whole story just to help his dad out?

Don’t you think with all these moving parts, it would have fallen apart—particularly if you are depending upon a bunch of kids to pull off the knee-capping of a sitting state senator?

And don’t you think it would have fallen apart after two days of hearings in Pierre?  It hasn’t.

And what about Attorney General Larry Long and the DCI?  They obviously thought there was some fire with the smoke, that something indeed untoward happened to Austin Wiese by Dan Sutton?  They just don’t investigate to investigate because they have nothing better to do.  And when Democrats are involved?  Come on.  Give Larry and the cops some credit.  These are hard nosed people.

I’m sitting in Augusta, Kansas, six or seven hundred miles away from Pierre.  I have no inside information about what might happen.  But here’s my guess what the Senate will do.  Dan is at the least going to be censured. Cripes, don’t sleep in the same bed as a page! And I think, based on what has transpired, that Dan is in real danger of losing his seat.

After that, it will be up to the lawyers, the courts, Dan Sutton, and public opinion.  But I don’t think it looks too good for Dan Sutton right now.

You can catch the trial later today at:

Sutton Hearing

KELOLand will be streaming the proceedings live.  The Argus Leader blog has been extensively covering the hearing, and so has Denise Ross.