WH took 6 days to report Marvin Bush's maid crushed to death in driveway

[StefanX]

Anyone remember this story?

Bertha Champagne, a 62-year-old woman who worked as a maid/babysitter for W's brother Marvin Bush, was found mysteriously dead in Marvin's driveway. She had been crushed against a wall by her own vehicle. The story was that somehow the brakes became disengaged, crushing her against the wall.

Marvin, you may recall, had been appointed head of security at the World Trade Center towers in NYC just before 9/11.

The story wasn't reported in the media for six whole days. Then, only one story was published (in the Washington Post).

Here's a google search that will bring up references to this nearly unknown story:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=bertha+marvin+bush+driveway&meta=

This is interesting because it's another example of the White House sitting on this kind of incident and not informing the public. Only in this case, they sat on it for six days -- and the victim died.

Remember that the White House didn't actually release a statement on the Cheney shooting -- they were forced to after a local reporter in Corpus Christi (Jaime Powell) got a tip from the owner of the ranch (Katharine Armstrong) where the shooting occurred.

What is going on here? Why did everyone involved go to bed Saturday night while Whittington was sent to the ICU in Corpus Christi with multiple shotgun pellets embedded in his face and neck? Were they hoping the guy would die and they could cover the whole thing up like they covered up the death of Bertha Champagne?

Did Champagne overhear something in Marvin Bush's household about 9/11 and have to be gotten rid of? How does a car brake disengage when you're standing in front of it? (I would think there'd have to be someone IN the car to disengage the brake, right?)

And let's not forget the weird "Funeralgate" angle: Whittington, the guy Cheney shot, was involved in the Funeralgate mess back in 1999. He was appointed by Bush to replace Eliza May, the head of the Texas Funeral Service Commission, who had been investigating the largest funeral company in America (CSI) for desecrating graves at Jewish cemeteries they owned around Palm Beach, Florida -- dumping cadavers in the woods and doubling up cadavers in the same grave. Ms. May filed a wrongful-termination lawsuit against Bush claiming his aides (including Bush campaign manager and chief of staff Joe Allbaugh, later appointed by Bush to head up FEMA) pressured her to drop her investigation. Bush denied this under oath, but four witnesses (also under oath) contradicted his testimony. Later on, an SCI funeral-home director in Boca Raton, Florida named Peter Hartmann was found dead in his garage of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Nothing fishy going on here, right? Just another person close to the Bush administration who got mowed down and then they try to cover it up.

More info on Funeralgate here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x403640

[Beelzebud]

1. Wow, very interesting. I had never heard that story.

These corrupt bastards know no bounds...

[WI_DEM]

2. Good Gawd, what dirt did she have on the Bush's?

[cap]

3. and Laura never got investigated for her car accident

what is it with these people?

[Der Blaue Engel]

4. Nothing fishy going on here, right?

Oh, no, of course not. We should stop paying attention to this shiny object. :sarcasm:

I, for one, think every last one of these stories, from Plame, to the Downing Street Memo, to the Marvin Bush story you mention, to 9/11, to Abramoff, to Cheney shooting an 80-yr-old lawyer on "accident" are related.

None of it should be allowed to be whitewashed or brushed aside by this egregious administration. They are guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors, guilty of treason, guilty as sin.

EVERY time they commit one of these crimes, or behave suspiciously and deem themselves above the law, we should hang onto the story like a pitbull on a jugular and shake until we see what drops out.

[soup]

5. DU thread on the incident.

Bush Family Babysitter Killed in Fairfax
frank frankly Mon Oct-06-03 07:42 PM
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=152675

Very strange, indeed.

[lonestarnot]

6. None of these fuckers ever get investigated for nuttn!

[Miz Milquetoast]

7. I don't blame either side.

I'd rather have it take longer to report an incident--than to be lied to about it when it is found out. This is a time of enormous political scrutiny--I don't blame BOTH sides for wanting to get ALL their ducks in a row before opening their mouths to the press. Also, much of the delay could have been while they were waiting to notify the victim's family, and to see his condition stabilize. I've worked with the elderly all my life--an injured man that old can have problems whip up in a hurry. I don't begrudge the other side the wait. I know how I would've felt if it were my dad...

[varkam]

8. It takes six days to "get their ducks in a row"?

That's a helluvalotta ducks.

[Miz Milquetoast]

9. Possibly...

However, I can think of several past incidents (Ted, Bill, Michael Skakel etc.) where the truth took a whole lot longer than that--even 20 some years--to come out.

Many times--even with private citizens--it could easily take a week for a comprehensive report to be brought forth. (And, if one of our guys had an accident, you can bet we'd be hollering "rush to judgement!" if it happened much sooner than that--and probably rightly so.)

[WinkyDink]

14. Look, MM, this was about one thing, and one thing only: NOBODY was

supposed to FIND OUT ANYTHING.
Dead or alive, this guy wasn't going to talk; Miss Swiss Miss has kept mum; Cheney thumbs his nose at the cops; etc.

It was a FLUKE, not "getting ducks in order" (except, maybe, to slaughter them).

But too bad you used the Skakel case as a SIMILAR DEAL, HAHA! I'll agree that Cheney ALSO committed a CRIME! (You Republicans do NOT know how to argue well!)

[AspenRose]

10. Trail of dead people in their wake

And they have the NERVE to accuse CLINTON of murder.....(Vince Foster, Ron Brown, etc. ad nauseam)

That's pretty damn scary, to be honest :scared: :scared:

[Stephanie]

11. You're wrong about "got a tip" - that's what they'd like you to think

Review McClellan's PC today - he slips up. Reporters say, is it appropriate to release information thru a private citizen to a smalltown paper? McClellan says, well the VP's office worked with her on it, then he catches himself and says, the VP talked to her.

[Stephanie]

12. And I HIGHLY DOUBT Cheney was trying to murder anyone with birdshot.

Doesn't he have people for that?

[BringEmOn]

13. Christine did it....