Did Ashley Todd act alone? Maybe not.

[ck4829]

College Republicans:
Mr. (Dan) Garcia took the widely published picture of Ms. Todd with her injuries. He said he took several photographs with a digital camera to document what had happened. He said he only gave copies of the photos to police and Ms. Todd's employer, the College Republicans.

Drudge Report:
As far as I know, no one had the Ashley Todd photos up before Matt Drudge, and no one would have had them if the College Republicans had been pushing them forward. I've seen no mention that Pittsburgh Police Department was releasing them, as we know that they hadn't released any of the information specific to the Obama and McCain aspects of the case.

Sean Hannity:
It was early afternoon. I cannot be sure of the exact time, but I think it was about 3:30. Sean Hannity was on and after playing a montage of Obama's speeches highlighting nothing but the word "change" over and over again in order to make him look vacuous, Hannity talked about "developments in campaign from the Pittsburgh area." There was something unsettling and gleeful about his tone of voice and I remembered thinking "uh-oh. What are they going to pull now?"

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/astral66/2008/10/smoking-gun-b-hoax-photographe.php

[notadmblnd]

1. I'm thinking not.

[ColoradoMagician]

2. She isn't strong enough to keep the secret

If she was working with someone, she would have told the police. She isn't strong enough, in character, to go to jail out of loyalty to the party.

She would sing like a canary to save herself.

[arcadian]

6. Investigation is still open.

Maybe she has caved in and they haven't released that info, in fact we would not find out until the case went to court. Several months from now when nobody will care.

[napi21]

28. McCain worker reaches deal in hoax assault

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27456042/

PITTSBURGH - A McCain campaign volunteer accused of making up a story about being robbed and assaulted in Pittsburgh by a man who disliked her McCain bumper sticker will enter a program for first-time offenders.

Under the deal announced in court Thursday, 20-year-old Ashley Todd will be released from jail and required to undergo mental health treatment. Her record eventually will be expunged as long as she goes to treatment, stays out of trouble and keeps authorities apprised of her whereabouts.

Todd, of College Station, Texas, has been jailed since Oct. 24, when police say she admitted making up a story about being robbed near a Pittsburgh bank and then assaulted by a man who scraped a backward letter "B" into her cheek.

Todd, who was charged with making a false police report, did not have to enter a plea. Police said Todd couldn't explain why she invented the story.

Sorry folks. It looks like nobody will ever know the truth for sure.

[lynnertic]

7. ..or whispered it to a cellmate she was trying to impress. n/t

[gatorboy]

8. The police kept her the entire weekend. And that couldn't have been fun.

I've been waiting for Monday just to see if something develops regarding accomplices.

[Fuzz]

3. Media's fault

[Dogmudgeon]

4. Bass-Ackward-B-Gate ... it ain't over yet.

People like Ashley Todd -- fanatical AND disturbed -- tend to talk, and talk, and talk.

I'm thinking that there are at least three or four young Republicans now huddling in silence and fear. Once Ashley realizes how much retribution she faces, she will panic and spill the beans. And that will be a lot of beans.

--p!
Beans, beans, the magical fruit ...

[question everything]

14. She could have scratched the B herself, but giving herself a black eye?

How does one get it?

[Leftist Agitator]

15. The black eye was clearly fake.

I'd say that it was nothing more than an application of mascara.

[TexasObserver]

5. She'll spill her guts once she realizes she's looking at prison time.

[LisaL]

9. It wasn't really well done.

WTF claims they are robbed in front of the ATM? ATMs got cameras.
And you thinking she had help to come up with that brilliant idea?

[Frank Cannon]

11. There could have been no discussion of this plan whatsoever

Even the stupidest person on Earth would have been able to point out at least a couple of grievous errors in their plan before they implemented it. This has all the earmarks of a crazy, mentally deficient person acting alone.

But it's another story whether she had help from someone else (equally moronic) to publicize the story afterward.

[endarkenment]

13. I'm thinking Mr Garcia is in deep shit

The (successful) attempt to propagate the hoax makes him appear to be a co-conspirator. At the least he has a lot of explaining to do, and it better be consistent. How stupid the two of them are is not relevant to their criminal acts and intentions. It is frequently the case that stupid criminals are the ones who get caught.

[KharmaTrain]

10. We Could Find Out More On Thursday

That's when she'll be going to court. Let's see how she pleas...and who shows up in court with her. Considering she was an employee of Camp Gramps at the time of the arrest (she was NOT a volunteer), they would have some interest or possible liability here. Or will they completely throw her under the bus? Let's see if she cops a bargain...and what information/evidence the Pittsburgh Police may want to release on the matter.

I'm firmly convinced this story was fabricated and astroturfed by others...and they chose the wrong person to pull this off. There's definitely more to Ms. Todd's "excelent adventure" with the college repugnicans that needs to be looked at.

Cheers...

[Bluenorthwest]

12. The ones who sent the pictures

Are the ones who did the real deed. The ones who put the spin on it, and told the world a lie, they are the guilty parties.

[Chiyo-chichi]

18. Exactly.

If you are in a position to help a crime victim immediately after the fact - do you take photos to give to the police? Did Dan Garcia think the Pittsburgh police wouldn't have a camera?

[norepubsin08]

16. I think Drudge, Hannity and the college Repukes

need to be investigated for conspiracy!!!!

[appleannie1]

17. Who DID withdraw money at the ATM? Police only said she was not the person.

I have wondered about that since the story was in the news.

[Spike89]

20. Just another woman

It wasn't Ashley's card. From the reports I read, it isn't even clear that the asshat even was in the area of the ATM. The woman who was on tape was simply a regular customer. Ashley did not lose $60 because she didn't withdraw $60...it was ALL made up.

[dangrsmind]

27. one assumes...

it wasn't anyone directly related to the case, but just some random person. But they didn't specify in any report I read.

[byronius]

19. Our plan worked perfectly,

Some freepers are claiming she's a double agent.

All right -- which one of you was the deep contact?

[edbermac]

21. You mean someone on the grassy knoll carved the B?

:silly:

[dangrsmind]

22. Where was Dan Garcia when Ashely posted false messages to Twitter? Right there with her.

According to the video interview here: http://www.kbtx.com/news/headlines/33228749.html, Garcia "dressed the wound" on Ashley's face. Are we are to believe he didn't notice that it could not have been made with a sharp knife or that it was backwards? He apparently believed it might have been made with a "campaign pin" and not a knife Ashley initially stated she was attacked with a knife and yet believes her story anyway?

Garcia's lawyer says he was retained because Garcia was being accused of involvement in the Pittsburgh press, but I can't find any evidence of that online. The police have not said anything about accomplices. Why would his lawyer lie about this point?

The police say Ashley's eye injuries were real, but that she won't say how she got them. Now think about how hard it would be to punch yourself in the eye with any force. Did someone else hit her?

Finally, and most importantly Garcia's timeline doesn't add up if he is not involved. Garcia says he was with Ashley until 2AM at least. See http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08299/922849-53.stm

However this is exactly when Ashley posted her fake messages to Twitter from her Blackberry. See: http://wonkette.com/403766/racial-mugging-victim-helpfully-twittered-her-tale

By his own admission, Ashley Todd and Daniel Garcia were together in the diner while she wrote these false statements. Didn't he notice? Or instead did he help her write them?

Ashley is to appear in court on Thursday and maybe then we'll see just how much of a "bad ass" she really is.

[dangrsmind]

24. Ashley Todd Released in Deal

Here's the scoop...

She "waived her right to a preliminary hearing this morning and was released from jail."

"She must undergo psychiatric counseling as a condition of her release, ..."
"and is expected to enter a diversion program for first-time offenders"

So there won't be a hearing and she won't have to ever tell her story if she completes this program.

"Officials announced that the jail's behavior clinic had cleared her for release and found her competent to stand trial."

"But a trial won't be necessary if she successfully completes terms required for her today."

"She will be released to an uncle in New York State and must provide proof every two weeks that she is receiving counseling."

However, "Pittsburgh police say Todd couldn't explain why she invented the story."

The punchline: "Today, the B was no longer apparent on her face."

References:
www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburgh...
www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news...
www.post-gazette.com/pg/08304/92406...

[underpants]

23. This is very much like the "Sandy Berger puts documents in his sock"

I posted this that day
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/underpants/133

but I digress

The Sandy Berger story started on Rush's show as a joke-about 12:45 I heard it on my way to get lunch
by 3:30 Major Garrett was on Fox News saying "some people say.."
by the Two Minute on Britt Hume's show Fred Barnes and the rest were discussing it as fact
The next day it appeared in some form in several newspapers
The "ongoing story" (notice how quickly MSM dropped the B girl story) it was on the nightly news and became a standard part of the discussion throughout the next day on every news channel

The official report made no mention of it because it never happened

"Gore says he invented the internet" was funneled through local newspapers who wanted "five minutes with the Governor (Bush)" on the campaign trail. Rove said okay IF he saw the Gore story (or others) in their column/paper the next day.
and..so on

Their chain goes something like this
Drudge/talk radio
Politico (if it is on Drudge it is on Politico)
midday news channels
prime time news shows
Morning network shows/nightly news that night
established as fact

[Poll_Blind]

25. I was discussing this with my girlfriend last night...

Since the police didn't take any pictures the only pictures could have come from Ashley- but really, whomever took the picture. Following the information trail (in this case, the photo) isn't terribly difficult. Apparently Garcia took the pic, sent it off to the College Republicans who could barely hide their food boners as they e-mailed it off to Drudge.

I am absolutely amazed that the police did not document her "injuries", just as a matter of course, but anything more than the most cursory analysis of this story shows pretty clearly that this image was fed into a machine which has existed for years- at least since 2000 if not beofore- and which is ready to "fast track" anything and everything they want onto the airwaves.

PB

[Kazak]

26. Well, it's pretty evident that she at least carved the "B" herself...

:shrug: