Who knew what and when did they know it? Those are just some of the questions swirling around the investigation into suspended Boston police commissioner Dennis White, now that former Mayor Marty Walsh is denying claims that he was aware of domestic violence allegations against White when he appointed him.
Now, the scandal has reached Washington, as some in the Massachusetts congressional delegation are calling for more information about Walsh’s involvement. The Scrum podcast co-hosts Peter Kadzis, GBH news politics editor, and Adam Reilly, GBH news politics reporter, joined Joe Mathieu today on Morning Edition to break it all down.
“I’ve been following Boston City Hall for 45 years,” Kadzis said. “This is as big a mess as any I’ve seen.” Kadzis said getting to the bottom of the scandal is complicated by the “shades of truth” from all the players involved, as they present conflicting accounts of who knew what and when. Both he and Reilly said the important detail to uncover is not just what information was presented to Walsh, but how it was presented to Walsh.
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“I think the big question going to be, did Mayor Walsh have the raw intelligence about Commissioner White?” Kadzis said. “Or did he just have on a sheet of paper, ‘charged with domestic abuse, issue resolved?’”
Now that Walsh is Labor Secretary in Washington, the scandal will only grow, said Reilly. “Given Marty Walsh’s perch in the federal government and how high the stakes are when it comes to Boston city politics, there’s no way we’re not going to get more details,” he said.
Some members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation are speaking out on the scandal. Reports said Rep. Seth Moulton was calling for Walsh to resign if it is proved he knew, although, Mathieu noted, Walsh later said that Moulton had denied making that declaration.
Coming after Walsh may be good politics for Moulton, Kadzis said, given that he is worried about attacks from the left. However, “I would keep an eye on [Senator] Warren more than Moulton,” Kadzis said, noting that Warren has historically had a friendly relationship with Walsh.
Notably, mostly silent on the issue is Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, who has so far avoided wading in and taking a stance. Reilly pointed out the fact that Pressley’s husband is a former top aide in the Walsh administration, further complicating the “entanglement” that is Boston politics, according to Reilly, which often feels like a “big small town.”
WATCH: Adam Reilly on how race could impact the scandal
Will White take a cash settlement? Will the Boston police break its pattern of elevating someone from inside its ranks rather than a nationwide search? How will the scandal impact the Boston mayoral race? Those are the questions to keep an eye on in the coming weeks, according to Kadzis and Reilly.
