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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

West says S-R created ‘mob mentality’


Former Spokane Mayor Jim West said on Thursday that he plans to sue The Spokesman-Review after the FBI closed its investigation into his conduct in office. 
 (Photos by BRIAN PLONKA / The Spokesman-Review)

Recalled Spokane Mayor Jim West lashed out at The Spokesman-Review on Thursday, hours after the FBI announced that a criminal investigation into his conduct in office did not produce enough evidence to warrant federal public corruption charges.

“There was a mob mentality created by the local newspaper,” West said.

Since his first public statements last May, West said, he has admitted doing things in his private life that embarrassed him and that he wished he had not done.

“Today’s action by the FBI confirms what I said at that time, that I had committed no crimes and I had offered nothing in exchange for volunteer service with the city, internships, or anything of the nature or employment with the city,” West said in an afternoon press conference at the Ridpath Hotel.

“I cooperated with them (the FBI) completely from the very beginning and I am very pleased with the outcome of their investigation,” he said.

He described the FBI probe as the “only independent investigation, the only investigation without an ax to grind and the only investigation without political motivation.”

West dismissed a separate investigation conducted by a Seattle attorney hired by the City Council, which found that West violated state law and the city’s Internet policy prohibiting access to pornographic material.

Attorney Mark R. Busto said in his 18-page report that West broke state law by offering a position on the city’s Human Rights Commission to a young man he pursued for a sexual relationship and used his city computer extensively to browse pictures of men posted at Gay.com.

The FBI said it would need to show “specific intent” by West to bring a federal corruption prosecution.

“Now, I understand why people voted to recall me from office,” West said. “Certainly with the barrage that was created by the media, particularly The Spokesman-Review, (staff writers) Bill Morlin, Karen Dorn Steele, and (editor) Steven Smith, this has been a difficult year for Spokane. Now that the dust has settled, is settling, I would like to set the record straight.”

He repeated earlier denials of allegations of sexual misconduct with teenage boys in the 1970s. “That was a lie, a flat misrepresentation,” he said. “I did not commit those crimes, commit those acts, do those things.”

West said, “It cut me to the quick. It destroyed my reputation.”

West repeated threats to sue the newspaper and said the newspaper and its three staffers owe him personal apologies.

The former mayor also reported that chemotherapy for cancerous lesions on his liver has reduced their size by 30 percent or more and that “I am feeling fine. I actually have hair back.”

He said he plans to continue being involved in public affairs and hasn’t ruled out running for mayor next year. He acknowledged sending at least one electronic message to Councilman Brad Stark during a recent City Council meeting. He said he is seeking work and wants to stay in Spokane.

“As Nixon said, ‘I am tanned, ready and rested,’ ” West said.

He said he harbors no ill will toward recall petition sponsor Shannon Sullivan, who was at West’s Thursday press conference. “She did what she felt was necessary. She was strictly relying on newspaper reports. I don’t blame her for coming to the conclusion she did. It was the wrong conclusion,” West said.

He also said he does not blame voters because if he had done the things reported by The Spokesman-Review, “I would have voted against myself.”

When Dorn Steele attempted to ask a question, West cut her off. “You are not a credible journalist in my sense,” he said.

After answering a number of questions, he abruptly ended the press conference after Morlin asked, “Mr. West, what did the FBI find on those three computers they took from your home?”

“I have no idea, Bill,” West responded.

Morlin continued, “They are your computers. You don’t know what’s on your computers?”

Editor Smith said in an interview with Northwest Cable News following the press conference that he didn’t believe West would make good on his lawsuit threat.

West won’t be getting an apology from the newspaper, Smith said.

“Our stories were accurate. They were complete, fair and balanced,” he said. “There’s no reason for us to apologize for anything.”

Smith also said in a prepared statement, “We set out to illuminate the behavior on the part of this city’s mayor that was inappropriate, unethical and potentially illegal. We did that, accurately, fairly and aggressively.”

Mayor Dennis Hession, who replaced West in January, said the completion of the FBI investigation is “what we needed. It’s all part of getting this behind us. The recall election was very much about the need to move on.”

Newly seated Councilwoman Nancy McLaughlin said she wonders what the FBI’s threshold is for criminal conduct. “That is my question,” she said.

Council President Joe Shogan said, “The people spoke and made their decision apparently on different criteria than the FBI had.”

Former Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers, one of West’s harshest critics last year, said, “Why are the federal standards so hard to meet? I would have taken my chances with a jury.”

Following West’s press conference, Sullivan said about the FBI announcement, “I am not satisfied at all.”

Staff writer Ken Paulman contributed to this report.