Trutanich Oath Of Office Picture Removed From Website - ContractGate Scandal Develops

"When LA City Attorney Carmen Trutanich took office, his staff removed a handy search tool from the city attorney’s website that allowed the public to search through various city contracts,"according to  FishBowl LA.

However, it seems that Trutanich's removal of the of the search tool is not the only victim of what some might say is selective website editing.

The City Attorney's website also features countless photos of Trutanich "doing the right thing" and the main page displays a rotating photo montage about the office of City Attorney, which of course has a photo of Trutanich. The current Trutanich photo (below) shows Carmen the CLown doing a "meet and greet."

Vital information about a Trutanich Meet & Greet with Korea Daily Leadership Prep Program
informs visitors to the City Attorney website of one of CLown's core functions. 

"City Attorney Carmen Trutanich met with students from the Korea Daily Leadership Prep Program, a training course for 4th to 8th graders focused on developing leadership skills in public service. The City Attorney shared with them his insight on leadership, government, and politics," the caption reads.

What is interesting is the photo (below) that was recently deleted to make room for that vital "meet and greet" photo op.

Previously, a photo of Trutanich taking his Oath of Office reminded visitors
to the City Attorney website of the CLown's promises to Los Angelenos. 

Just as with the ContractGate removal, no reason was given for why any reference to Trutanich's promises to Los Angelenos was removed. However, followers of Carmen the CLown's antics will recall that Trutanich recently announced that he did not consider himself bound by his campaign pledge not to use the office of City Attorney as a political springboard to high office, to serve a full first term, and to seek a second term.

In the absence of any explanation from the CLown as to why any reminder of promises made should be forgotten, perhaps the only rational explanation it that Trutanich is running from an inconvenient TRUth about his sincerity when it comes to making pledges, promises or undertakings.

This picture of City Attorney Carmen "The CLown" Trutanich taking the Oath of Office
was removed from the City Attorney website, perhaps in anticipation of embarrassing
questions over the CLown's seriousness when it comes to making oaths, promises or pledges. 

In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, Trutanich had no qualms about reneging on his campaign pledge when he was questioned about rumors that he will run for District Attorney in 2012, one year before his first term as City Attorney expires. Perhaps the removal of the Oath of Office photo was in preparation for the hailstorm of criticism that will greet Trutanich should he officially announce his intentions.

Interestingly, the removal of reference to promises made is not limited to the removal of Trutanich's oath of office photo. It seems that if you want to check on the other promises and pledges made by the CLown by visiting his old campaign website, www.tru09.com, you won't even find a Korean "meet and greet."

Despite the byline, "Find the TRUth," the old campaign website now hawks foreign made electronic goods like the giant flat screen tv that Trutanich had installed in his executive office.

Nice cover up, you might say. Doubtless the five candidates who have officially announced their candidacy to replace Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley in 2012, will provide Los Angelenos with some reminders of the CLown's pledges, promises and oaths.

Tru Secret Weapons - Puppet Judges

Carmen "The Clown" Trutanich's attempts to plant a "friendly" judge in office number 117 of the Los Angeles Superior Court failed dismally when Tom Griego failed to gain enough votes to win a judicial appointment in the November mid-term elections. Trutanich had endorsed Griego, and had even enabled Griego to obtain a misleading ballot designation of "Criminal Prosecutor," through the use of a controversial internal transfer, as previously reported.

But it seems Trutanich's plans to control the administration of justice went beyond trying to sick an "Unqualified" judge on voters. Thanks to an anonymous tip, TRU is False can reveal that Trutanich had planned to set up his own Kangaroo Courts where Deputy City Attorneys - "Criminal Prosecutors" according to Trutanich's Griego standard, would sit as Judge and Jury in cases involving "Administrative Penalties."

Better yet, there would be no right to a public defender to represent those forced to appear before Trutanich's version of the Star Chamber, thereby ensuring that Trutanich's Supreme Court would not have to bother with pesky details like Constitutional rights including those established in the Fourth, Fifth or Sixth Amendments.

Trutanich's secret weapon was designed to generate vast sums of revenue from the Administrative Penalties which would be shared with the City of Los Angeles and the City Attorney's Office, and was believed to be one of several money generating weapons that the Trutanich regime were designing in order to fight the budget cuts by imposing Administrative Penalties on homeowners and businesses who dared to violate the Los Angeles Municipal Code by, for example, not obtaining permits for new water heaters, or allowing the grass to grow too high in their front yard.

Although many within the Trutanich regime were said to be "horrified" and "appalled" at Trutanich's apparent ignorance of basic notions of Fairness, Due Process and Conflict of Interest, the nighttime law school graduate could not be convinced that the idea was basically unconstitutional, if not downright insane.

Trutanich assigned a Special Assistant to oversee the task force of attorneys who would develop this, the first of several similar, stunning secret weapons.  Unfortunately, early tests were not successful. Those commanded to sell the thinly disguised assault on the rights of homeowners and businesses as a simple "Regulatory Ordinance," reported that they were quite unable to keep a straight face when explaining Trutanich's vision to others.

When news of the test failures were reported to Trutanich in one of his routine secret briefings, raised voices were heard outside the closed doors of the Eighth Floor "TruBunker,"apparently similar to the ravings of a dictator who accuses those who "do not obey orders" to be "traitors."

Trutanich recently confirmed the existence of his "Secret Weapons" program when he told LA Times Reporter Jim Newton that "... suggestions from the city attorney's office on how to raise revenue — by, say, giving the office the power to collect city debts and oversee fines for violating administrative codes — are routinely allowed to "age nicely," as Trutanich put it."

Perhaps the City Council has more sense than we often credit them with - putting the brakes on a power crazed egomaniac seems like one of their better moves.

Trutanich Is The New McCarthy

Joseph McCarthy and Carmen "The Clown" Trutanich
Can you tell the difference?

Both the Los Angeles Times and the LA Weekly yesterday published articles about Trutanich. The Los Angeles City Attorney is running for District Attorney and has secured the services of John Shallman as campaign manager. This was previously reported on Political Pantloads, as was the LA Weekly's observation that the relationship between former supporter Steve Cooley and the Clown of City Hall is over; "Cooley was livid"said the LA Weekly, when he found out that Trutanich was running for District Attorney - the Clown didn't even have the guts to tell Cooley, he had to hear about it second hand.

Comments to the LA Times Op-Ed piece were interesting, especially this one from anonymous blogger "Truth and Justice for All," we repeat it here because it has some highly insightful comments on the real Trutanich and probably explains why Jim Newton's Op-Ed piece was not as complete an excoriation of Trutanich as it should have been - Newton got swayed by Trutanich's double-speak rambling and teary-eyed false sincerity:

"The truth about Trutanich is really disturbing. I believe he's a con man of the first order. Just look at how he tried to play you Jim - first he bambozzles you with rambling responses to questions, then, when you see through the "BS," he plays the emotion card and does the teary eyed "I'm just trying to do the right thing" act. What you may not realize is that every moment of his affable bumbling emotional fool routine, is just that; an act. It's designed to fool you, designed to disarm your criticism and he is a master at doing it. 


After lunch I bet he gave you a bear hug and a slap on the back after luch, and promised you would be "friends for life." Sorry, but it's the line he uses all the time and he delivers it beautifully, but while you're all overcome with this extragavent expression of emotion, he's looking at you with eyes colder than an aligator's, hoping he can turn you and use you. 


It's not really surprising; 20 years as a successful defense attorney, Trutanich learnt how to use distraction and deception to be an effective advocate for his client. That's no disrespect to defense attorneys, it's what they have to do to give their often guilty clients the zealous representation that the law demands. But it's not duty of a prosecutor to win at all costs - we don't want another McCarthy in power."


"Truth and Justice for All" writes with a passion an insight that can only come from someone close enough to Trutanich to know his modus operandi, his "schtick" - distraction, disarmament and utter insincerity.

Both the LA Times and the LA Weekly mentioned Trutanich's failed bid to get his own Grand Jury, but it was "Truth and Justice for All" who made the darkest connection of all; "We don't want another McCarthy in power."

The comparison to Joseph McCarthy is not without merit. Trutanich wanted his own Grand Jury to be a veritable Star Chamber, where Trutanich could grill and grind his enemies on the flimsiest of evidence, much like McCarthy did with his inquisition. It's not hard to imagine the long line of Trutanich's enemies outside his secret Grand Jury room, and it's not hard to imagine just how abusive Trutanich's use of that power might be. We got a glimpse of that over the billboard issue when Trutanich jailed a businessman on a $1M arrest warrant that a court later reduced to $150k - still well above the schedule bail for a misdemeanor violation of the City Code.

Interesting, if you look at the timing of Trutanich's bid to get his Star Chamber, it was around the time that he began to realize that his "criminal aspects" investigation into the Michael Jackson memorial was going nowhere. There was no evidence to back-up Trutanich's bombshell statement to the City Council that there were "criminal aspects" to anything.

But if Trutanich had Grand Jury powers he could haul AEG's Tim Leiweke in to his secret court and subpoena every shred of paper that might prove a connection to some "criminal aspect" to what most people believe was an appropriate, if expensive, memorial to one of America's greatest musical talents.

This is the TRUe threat of Trutanich gaining Grand Jury powers, and while the City Council put an end to that nightmare violation of civil rights, it's only a temporary fix. If Trutanich succeeds in his bid to become District Attorney he gets instant access to not one but two secret Grand Juries, and you can bet they will be in session 24/7.