That didn’t take long. Del. Mark Keam, a Democrat from Virginia’s 35th House district, has called on his colleague Joe Morrissey to resign:
Late today, I learned that a member of the Virginia House of Delegates was indicted by a special grand jury on several crimes, including very serious felony counts of indecent liberties with a minor, possession of pornographic images of an underage female and distribution of child pornography.
As with all criminal allegations, the accused deserves to be treated as innocent until proven guilty by …a jury of his peers. But whether these charges ultimately prove to be true or not, one thing is absolutely clear — no person accused of such horrendous acts should hold a position of public trust.
It is a tremendous honor and privilege to represent our fellow Virginians in the state legislature. The job requires each of us to uphold the highest standard of ethics in order to earn and to retain our constituents’ trust in their government. Unfortunately, just in the past few years alone, we have seen too many members of the House and the Senate, and even a Governor, leave their positions under dark clouds of ethical lapses or criminal suspicions.
Virginians deserve better from their public servants. For the sake of the Commonwealth and its residents, I call on Delegate Joe Morrissey to resign immediately and to deal with his legal problems as a private citizen.?
Others may follow. And considering Morrissey’s tendency to play rough with some of his colleagues, we might expect a few of those resignation calls to be delivered with smiles.
Morrissey intends to fight these charges, saying he did nothing wrong. The case is complicated for prosecutors in that the woman involved also says nothing happened between her and Morrissey.
All that will have to be sorted out in court. But one thing that gets cleared-up well before that spectacle begins is the long-standing rumor that Morrissey would seek Sen. Henry Marsh’s Senate seat. Not gonna happen.
Recall that there is another rumor Marsh may resign before his current term expires.
Update
Del. Morrissey addressed the press after his first court appearance and it was quite a show…
Del. Joe Morrissey: "There's not a snowball's chance in hell that I will resign" seat. #rva
— Times-Dispatch (@RTDNEWS) July 1, 2014
Okay. But then there was also this:
Morrissey just dropped major F bomb on live TV. Reads allegedly hacked text saying "OMG I just F'd my boss"
— Graham Moomaw (@gmoomaw) July 1, 2014
Yes he did. Here’s the video:
And the RTD’s Graham Moomaw summarized Morrissey’s entire presentation this way:
Shorter Morrissey: This is all a plot by a lesbian hacker obsessed with the teen girl
— Graham Moomaw (@gmoomaw) July 1, 2014
Buckle-up, folks, This one is going to get weird, fast.
