It’s as if politicians never learn. The old Watergate adage, “It’s not the crime; it’s the cover-up” became a cliche precisely because of its political salience. And yet, even now, leading Republican presidential candidates seem oblivious to the lesson.
In Rudy Giuliani’s case, the Shag Fund scandal continues to dog the former mayor, not just because he used taxpayer money to subsidize his adultery, but also because he tried to hide the expenditures and continues to lie about what transpired. The “crime” is embarrassing, but the “cover-up” keeps the story alive.
In Mike Huckabee’s case, the Wayne Dumond controversy is part of the same phenomenon. Huckabee, for apparently political reasons, pushed for the release of a convicted rapist, who had become a right-wing cause celebre. Free, Dumond went on to rape and kill again.
Given what transpired, Huckabee had one viable option: acknowledge the truth, express regret, and promise voters that he learned from the mistake. Instead, Huckabee not only pushed to let a violent criminal out of jail for political reasons, he’s lying about it now. Huckabee’s “crime” was a tragedy, but it’s the “cover-up” that will likely undermine his presidential campaign.
First, Huckabee insisted that he had no way of knowing that Dumond was still dangerous when he pushed for his freedom. That wasn’t true. Second, Huckabee insisted that he did not pressure Arkansas’ parole board to release Dumond. That, too, is demonstrably false.
Indeed, it’s a lie that’s been unfolding slowly this week. Butch Reeves, formerly the criminal justice counsel to the Arkansas governor’s office, contradicted Huckabee’s story. Now, most of the members of the Arkansas parole board are conceding that Huckabee, his recent denials notwithstanding, pressured them to relase a convicted rapist who went on to kill at least one other woman, and probably more.
Trying to bury any doubts, Huckabee said this week that he had “considered” — but then rejected — the idea of using his powers as governor to commute DuMond’s sentence and release him for time served. The state parole board acted before he had to make a final call. It was the parole board, Huckabee said, that unlocked the cell door.
“It was a horrible situation, horrible. I feel awful about it in every way. I wish there was some way I could go back and reverse the clock and put him back in prison,” the candidate said at a news conference this week.
Though he acknowledged discussing the case with the state parole board, Huckabee said that conversation was “simply part of a broader discussion” initiated at the request of the board chairman. “I did not ask them to do anything,” he said.
Three board members recalled it differently. They said Huckabee raised the issue of DuMond’s release, asking to discuss the matter with them in a closed session. They said his religious beliefs, and the influence of the evangelical community from which he came, drove him.
“We felt pressured by him,” said board member Ermer Pondexter. “I felt compelled to do it. . . . It was a favor for the governor.”
Looking back, she added, “I regret it.”
Parole board member Deborah Springer Suttlar said Huckabee did not mince his feelings about DuMond: “He wanted him out.”
A committee of board members voted to parole DuMond. It took the action just before the deadline by which Huckabee would have had to decide what assistance, if any, he would grant to an inmate whom he had already said he wanted to help.
“He thought DuMond just grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, that he may have gotten a raw deal and a longer sentence than others under similar circumstances,” recalled board member Charles Chastain, who said he was the lone dissenter in a 4-1 committee vote to grant parole.
Huckabee had a chance to tell the truth and get this painful ordeal behind him. Unfortunately for him, Huckabee made the wrong call. The cover-up may not be worse than the crime, but the political impact is likely to be far more damaging.