Chapter 367: Chapter 367 Dewey's Action Exposed In Front Of The Media
Regarding the case of the attempted murder of Arnold, Dewey naturally denied ordering anyone to kill the journalist. He only stated that he was being blackmailed and had assigned the matter to his assistant to handle. To avoid alerting the journalist, the assistant had enlisted people from the prosecutor's office to secretly investigate the matter.
As for the car chase incident in Los Angeles, Dewey claimed ignorance, stating that the situation at the time was purely an attempt to apprehend a suspect, not a murder.
Dewey's assistant was also brought in for questioning, and his statement matched Dewey's exactly.
"That journalist was a blackmailer. His actions were blackmail from start to finish. I admit it was against protocol to mobilize investigators from the prosecutor's office, but there was absolutely no intention to kill him, It was just to apprehend him."
The focus naturally shifted to the four investigators from the prosecutor's office, but they had already been briefed and consistently insisted they were there to arrest, not to kill.
As for the car chase on the streets of Los Angeles, they initially intended to follow the suspect. However, when they were detected midway, they had to switch tactics from following to interception, although their actions subsequently became somewhat aggressive.
The situation reached an impasse.
Although they couldn't convict Dewey, he remained a suspect. Dewey and his assistant were issued a restraining order, temporarily barring them from leaving the United States.
Meanwhile, Dewey's side began countering Arnold, accusing him of blackmail and extortion, arguing that he should be prosecuted.
However, Arnold had been recording everything from the beginning and insisted he was only investigating and not trying to extort money.
The FBI also imposed a temporary travel ban on Arnold. If further evidence of blackmail surfaced, they would prosecute him.
A few days later.
The FBI held a press conference to announce the investigation results.
The case had drawn so much attention that two to three hundred journalists attended. The spokesperson looked at the dense crowd of reporters and spoke into the microphone:
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"Now we will announce the results of the investigation into the 'Los Angeles Pursuit Case.' Of course, these are only preliminary results, and no conclusions have been drawn yet. The FBI will continue its investigation."
"First, regarding Governor Thomas Dewey's acceptance of foreign political donations, Thomas Dewey has personally admitted to the matter. On that day, a representative met with him, expressed support for his campaign, and both parties had a pleasant conversation. Finally, they agreed on a $5 million campaign contribution, which was deposited into Dewey's secret campaign account the next day.
"The Federal Election Campaign Act strictly prohibits accepting foreign donations for elections. In this regard, Dewey, as a presidential candidate, indeed violated the rules."
"We have already handed over the relevant evidence and documents to the federal court, and the $5 million fund has been frozen by the federal court."
After hearing the spokesperson's announcement, the reporters thought to themselves that this charge, if confirmed, would undoubtedly negatively impact Dewey's campaign.
Accepting funds from foreigners—was he planning to sell out national interests? Foreign interference in U.S. elections.
These are things voters cannot tolerate.
"Second, concerning the rumors that Dewey ordered the murder of a journalist, Dewey claimed that after being blackmailed, he chose a private investigation because he feared police leaks, using secret personnel from the prosecutor's office."
"When the prosecutor's investigators attempted to arrest journalist Arnold, they used excessive force. There is no conclusive evidence to classify this as murder."
The reporters thought.
Even if it couldn't be classified as a murder, Dewey indeed misused prosecutorial power to investigate. This constituted abuse of power.
Not trusting the police is not a legitimate reason.
A corrupt official is absolutely unacceptable to the public.
"Third, regarding Dewey's counter accusation against Arnold for blackmail and extortion, we conducted a thorough investigation. Arnold stated that upon discovering Dewey had accepted foreign political donations, he hesitated due to insufficient evidence. A part of his motive was personal interest, as he wanted to produce an investigative documentary, so he took private action."
"The entire process was recorded. The FBI has obtained all the tapes submitted by Arnold. There is currently no evidence to prove that Arnold committed extortion. It can only be said that Arnold used improper methods in his news investigation."
"This is the current status of the case. There are still some uncertainties, and the FBI will continue to investigate. That's all for today's press conference. No interviews will be accepted. Thank you, journalists, for attending. Goodbye."
The spokesperson finished and swiftly left, not giving the reporters any time to react.
Where there was solid evidence, it was confirmed.
Where there was no conclusive evidence, nothing was substantiated either.
Many people felt this was handled somewhat ambiguously.
But that's how things work in the world.
This case involves too many stakeholders.
Some people want to protect Dewey because there are many financial interests at stake. Considerable effort was previously made to promote him. With just two months left until the election, there's no time to push another candidate; they have no choice but to support Dewey to the very end.
This involves a power struggle between financial groups, so the FBI also acted cautiously, not using aggressive methods.
Or perhaps both sides did not want to completely break off relations.
Playing poker is a lot like business, everyone at the table knows that having the upper hand might win you this round, but the next hand could change everything. You can't risk everything on a single game. Investors and backers understand this, they're not that reckless.
Various newspapers quickly reported on the news, some even directly reprinting the FBI's announcement.
The New York Times: "Dewey Admits to Accepting Political Donations, Potential Impact on Election Support."
Los Angeles Times: "Who Gave Dewey the $5 Million? Interfering with the U.S elections! Let's Discuss the Chinese motives."
Global Times: "Accepting Foreign Political Donations, Abuse of Power, and Even Suspected Murder. Is Such a Person Fit to Be President?"
The political leanings were evident from the published content.