LaWall Threatens Lawsuit, Challenges RICO Coverage
Recently obtained documents show that the Pima County Attorney’s Office exerted pressure on KGUN News to shut down coverage of the RICO scandal. Andy Flagg, Chief Civil Deputy County Attorney reached out to Leon Clark, Vice President and General Manager of the E.W. Scripps Company, which operates KGUN in November in an effort to kill the coverage by investigative reporter Valerie Cavasos.
According to emails between Clark and Flagg, on November 8, 2017, the two men arranged to meet to discuss Cavasos’ coverage on November 14. The email exchange followed a story by Cavasos filed on November 7, 2017, in which she reported on a meeting in which the “Pima County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to remove Pima County Attorney Barbara Lawall as legal counsel for RICO expenditures.”
On the same day Flagg and Clark met, KGUN9 News staff was notified of a letter threatening legal action by the County Attorney Office against Scripps for Cavasos’ reporting.
That letter made its way around the organization, and according to sources, the message to KGUN9 News was that “a legal shot” was “fired by LaWall as we now have gotten much too close for comfort.”
It appears that Cavasos’ reporting on the matter shortly came to an end. Cavasos could not be reached for comment. Sources report that it is unknown if Cavasos was ever made aware of the planned visit by Flagg.
In the threatening letter, Flagg complains among other things that Cavasos used the term “posh” to describe a hotel LaWall stayed at using RICO funds…..
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