Quid Pro Quo?

It's been pretty clear since shortly after the primary that his handling of the lacrosse case ensured D.A. Mike Nifong's renomination: he dramatically increased his support from African-Americans at the expense, perhaps, of losing conservative whites who, as registered Republicans, couldn't vote in the primary anyway.

Today brings even more interesting news. In the primary, the third candidate, African-American lawyer Keith Bishop, received the endorsement of the influential Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, which represents the city's black political establishment. Yet on March 31, the public face of that establishment, Durham mayor William Bell, sent a campaign contribution to Nifong (see p. 5 of this recently released campaign finance report). To my knowledge, Bell never mentioned this contribution in the many interviews he did in the height of media scrutiny of the case.

The money flowed only four days after Nifong gave his first in dozens of interviews denouncing the players--interviews that were certainly misleading and almost certainly violated the NC ethics code.

First Mark Simeon, Kim Roberts' attorney, and now Mayor Bell--endorsing Nifong immediately after he began his p.r. crusade. The apparent lesson? District attorneys who flout ethical requirements benefit from the act.

Update, Monday, 9.28pm: I (unintentionally) used an outdated name for the organization that endorsed Keith Bishop in the primary, the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People. My thanks to Cash Michaels for correcting the error, and I apologize for not double-checking in the original post.