Aug. 16--Last week, the Knox County Ethics Committee found that Mayor Mike Ragsdale and two top aides violated the ethics code by retaliating against county auditor Richard Walls for harsh audits.

Fair enough.

Only the naive would believe that Team Ragsdale wasn't gigging Walls when it complained to the auditor's professional organizations, got involved in the launch of a peer review, criticized him in a newsletter and shifted his funding in the mayor's budget.

Now the committee wants the district attorney to investigate whether that conduct was criminal "official oppression," a felony punishable by six years in prison.

Let's get real.

Sure, Ragsdale, at times, tries intimidation. I've even been on the receiving end.

A few years ago, during the height of our investigation into then-Community Services Director Cynthia Finch, the mayor asked if he could meet with me. He didn't tell me, however, that he also was inviting a dozen or more community members along. I found myself scrambling to accommodate them at my office when they showed up with him to share their concern about our coverage.

Political intimidation isn't a crime, though. Some might even call it an American art form.

In Robert Penn Warren's classic novel "All the King's Men," Gov. Willie Stark forces underlings to sign undated letters of resignation to use against them whenever he pleases.

In the real world of politics, Lyndon Johnson recommended grabbing opponents by a particular part of the anatomy so that "their hearts and minds will follow."

According to the statute, "official oppression" occurs when a public servant "subjects another to mistreatment or to arrest, detention, stop, frisk, halt, search, seizure, dispossession, assessment or lien," or "denies or impedes another in the exercise or enjoyment of any right, privilege, power or immunity."

That's pretty broad, but is it really meant for mayors who complain about county auditors or suggest that a review organization might have a conflict of interest?

The newsletter article was critical of Walls' work, saying, for example: "Knox County might have suffered losses due to inaction on Mr. Walls' part," But does that really mean go directly to jail?

"The cornerstone of the whole complaint" was the transfer of Walls' budget, said Julia Tucker of the Ethics Committee.

Ragsdale did, indeed, propose shifting Walls' operation to the Audit Committee. But the County Commission actually set the budget when it accepted the recommendation. Do the commissioners deserve time behind bars, too?

Politics is a contact sport, Working for a politicized commission, Walls has been in a bruising game for years. The best thing to do now is shake it off and get back in.

And the worst thing District Attorney General Randy Nichols could do would be to recuse himself and punt to an out-of-town prosecutor who then would waste the time of more TBI agents and leave Knox County waiting for months to hear the outcome of an unnecessary investigation.

DISCLOSURE: Richard Hollow, Ragsdale's attorney in this case, frequently represents the News Sentinel. I have not discussed this with him.

Jack McElroy is editor of the News Sentinel. He may be reached at 865-342-6300, at editor@knews.com or through his blog, The Upfront Page at http://blogs.knoxnews.com.

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