This is an ongoing scandal that has been brewing just underneath the radar here in the great state of Rhode Island.
It revolves around one Frank J. Williams.
Frank Williams is the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island, a notable Abraham Lincoln scholar and author, and a Justice on the Military Commission Review Panel.
Republican Governor Almond appointed him to the state Supreme Court in 1995 and he was the elevated to Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court in 2001.
President Bush appointed Williams a Chief Judge of the United States Court of Military Commission Review in 2003.
Rulings from the Guantanamo military commissions are appealed to a Court of Military Commission Review, which sits in Washington, DC.
On October 20, 2009, Chief Justice Williams resigned from serving on the bench as a retired justice.
The cause of his resignation was a result of the media firestorm set off by his relationship with his sheriff and former driver.
His driver filed for divorce against her husband, who testified that Williams was the godfather of the couple's daughter.
Yet, he testified, Williams had watched the child bathe, glass of wine in hand, while he sat on the toilet.
Williams also had a key to the families' home and was known to visit at least five times a week, often staying overnight in a bedroom designated for him.
To the child he was known as "Chiefy."
The husband of Williams' former driver testified that the relationship was "weird" and that Williams made him feel "intimidated."
Chief Justice Williams scandal grows
by: forsanri
Sat Oct 24, 2009 at 10:39:58 AM EDT
The scandal (initially detailed here) concerning former Rhode Island Chief Justice Frank Williams grows this week, as the Providence Journal reports that:
* Williams formally stepped down from his role with the Rhode Island Supreme Court
* In addition to securing employment for the grandmother of his "goddaughter," Williams also hired the niece of his former driver (and mother of his "goddaughter") Pamela DosReis
Rather than admit responsibility for his actions, Williams chose to blame the media for his problems:
"The events surrounding the Family Court matter are personal in nature, but the media accounts are causing an unwarranted and unnecessary distraction for the court," Williams said in a statement. "The welfare of the judiciary has always been extremely important to me. I do not want it adversely affected by personal and collateral matters."
For Williams, the problem isn't his ethical lapses or his increasingly bizarre involvement with this family, but rather "the media accounts."
Is there any political leader in Rhode Island who has the courage to ask for a formal investigation of Frank Williams?
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