Fact check: Mayor West making several assertions that aren’t true

In the past week, Spokane Mayor Jim West conducted two television interviews, answered questions from the Inlander, and submitted a guest column for The Spokesman-Review’s Opinion pages. In the process, West made several assertions about the newspaper’s reporting that are not true.

West claim: The Spokesman-Review hired an “imposter with the explicit purpose of trying to lure me into committing an illegal act.”

Fact: The newspaper hired a forensic computer expert to verify the story of a real Spokane teenager who came forward in September 2004 to say that he met West online at Gay.com, had dinner with him at a north Spokane restaurant and then engaged in consensual sex.

Although the newspaper had been investigating allegations of sexual abuse against West dating back to the 1970s, it did not know West was online until the teenager told his story.

The young man, who is now 19 and lives and works in Spokane, told the newspaper that West was online at Gay.com using the screen names “Cobra82nd” and “RightBi-Guy.” The only way to verify the true identity of those names was to capture conversations on the Web site, which required computer technology that newspaper reporters did not – and still do not – have.

The computer expert, a former federal agent, was not told to lure West – only to engage in conversation. Initially, the expert was not even told of the suspected identity of Cobra82nd and RightBi-Guy. He was asked to determine the identity on his own, which he did through ensuing online chats.

The expert also was instructed to contact law enforcement authorities immediately if he found illegal activity on the Web site.

West claim: The computer expert, using the name “Moto-Brock,” raised the subject of sex first.

Fact: Every online conversation between West and Moto-Brock was captured by the computer expert and provided to The Spokesman-Review. All of that material is posted on the newspaper’s Web site at www.spokesmanreview.com. The only information that has been withheld are the names of people who asked the newspaper for anonymity.

According to the transcripts of those online conversations, West was the first to raise the issue of sex. He also offered Moto-Brock autographed sports memorabilia, sports tickets, help getting into college, and an internship in the mayor’s office.

During their first chat on Feb. 19, West used the screen name RightBi-Guy.

Moto-Brock: “I just got an account a couple weeks ago, not much happens.”

RightBi-Guy: “Nope.”

RightBi-Guy: “Not much.”

Moto-Brock: “What kind of stuff u do?”

RightBi-Guy: “For fun or you talking sex here?”

Moto-Brock: “lol (laugh out loud)”

Moto-Brock: “For fun mostly.”

RightBi-Guy: “Good.”

Moto-Brock: “I have to tell you I’m a virgin so I can’t talk much sex.”

Later in the same chat, RightBi-Guy asked Moto-Brock a question:

RightBi-Guy: “So can I ask a question?”

Moto-Brock: “Sure.”

RightBi-Guy: “What do you think of when you showered at school?”

Moto-Brock: “I try like hell not to get hard.”

RightBi-Guy: “OK then. I remember that from my school days.”

RightBi-Guy: “Haha.”

West claim: The newspaper edited the online chats “to make it sound as if I had offered an internship to the young man – instead of simply encouraging him to go through the application process. I wrote – although the newspaper did not report it – that I offered no guarantees.”

Fact: The transcripts of the online conversations were altered only to protect the identity of people who requested anonymity. The chats that were recorded in their entirety by the computer expert were posted on the newspaper’s Web site. The ending portion of the March 8 chat was lost because of technical problems, but the expert provided the newspaper a summary of the conversation, which included West for the first time raising the possibility of an internship in his office.

On March 9, Moto-Brock asked West if he decided “what to do about the internship with your company?”

Using the screen name Jmselton, West replied: “I’m still thinking.”

Moto-Brock: “R u worried cause I’m gay?”

Jmselton: “I may ask a friend to get you an internship with his organization. You may like it better. Not because you are gay, but because you will know that I like guys. I like you a lot. But I’m also quite a bit older than you.”

Moto-Brock: “I understand.”

In subsequent online chats, West encouraged Moto-Brock to apply for an internship at City Hall.

West and Moto-Brock had the following conversation on March 29:

Jmselton: “But then if you get that intern thing you’ll be busy all day.”

Moto-Brock: “That is true.”

Jmselton: “Maybe I’ll see you there sometime when I go up there for business.”

Moto-Brock: “Well hopefully I will know what u look like by then so I know it’s u!”

Jmselton: “When are you starting?”

Moto-Brock: “I’d start as soon as they want me.”

Jmselton: “I’ll ask the Mayor if you are good looking?”

Moto-Brock: “U better not! … He’ll think somethings up with u.”

Jmselton: “I’m guessing a nice guy like you will be invited to start as soon as you get your interview. Like maybe yesterday.”

On April 9, West e-mailed Moto-Brock his picture and a link to his City Hall Web site.

Moto-Brock: “That is u?”

Moto-Brock: “U r screwing with me aren’t u?”

Jmselton: “Shhhhh”

Jmselton: “No I’m not.”

Moto-Brock: “You are who I’m applying with?”

Jmselton: “See this is what I was afraid of. Now you won’t apply.

Moto-Brock: “The heck I won’t!”

Jmselton: “Well please be careful. OK?”

Moto-Brock: “Of course I will. I wasn’t sure I should because I didn’t think I’d get it and I didn’t wanna disappoint u.”

Jmselton: “Oh you were going to get it. Don’t worry about that.”

Moto-Brock: “I guess I didn’t need to worry about that. Lol.”

Jmselton: “Yeah.”

Moto-Brock: “Wow.”

According to the online conversations, West asked Moto-Brock to meet him for golf at Indian Canyon at 10 a.m. on April 10. Three people affiliated with The Spokesman-Review reported seeing West arrive at the course in his blue Lexus at 9:45 a.m. on April 10. But the rendezvous never occurred.

Shortly after, the consultant was asked by the newspaper to stop communicating online with West. But West sent Moto-Brock two more e-mails, including a final message sent April 28 from the mayor’s office. The e-mail had “internship” as its subject line and asked Moto-Brock if he was “still interested?”

West claim: The newspaper has relentlessly reported accusations “with over 92 articles, hundreds of column inches, thousands of words, several editorials and screaming headlines.”

Fact: The newspaper’s coverage includes a range of stories – from accusations of sexual molestation to reaction from citizen and business groups. The paper has reported on court proceedings, City Council meetings, public protests, the mayor’s press conferences and his accomplishments in office.

West claim: Spokesman-Review reporter Bill Morlin said he didn’t believe the allegations.

Fact: A complete transcript of the interview Morlin and Karen Dorn Steele conducted with West on May 4 is posted online. Morlin was specifically referring to claims by the Spokane teenager who said he met West online at Gay.com and had sex with him after a dinner date.

Morlin: “I just got to give you a chance to respond. Just like when Robert Galliher said you had come to the prison, you said you didn’t. Now if this other young man says you picked…”

West: “I did not.”

Morlin: “That you did not. This guy says you picked him up in your blue Lexus. If that didn’t happen, I want to give you a chance to say it didn’t happen. I don’t know if this guy’s lying to me, Jim. I’m here to ask … He says that that evening concluded and you kissed him. That’s what he says, that the evening ended with consensual sex. And your response to that is … Is he lying to us or is that true?”

West: “Let’s move on to the question. What’s this got to do with gay men?”

Morlin: “I don’t go around believing 18-year-old kids. They could make stuff up. You’re an important figure in our community, you’ve been here, you’re now the mayor, the most powerful Republican in the state Legislature. This is a pretty serious charge to be labeling someone with your portfolio. And we didn’t, and it’s an important point I want to make with you, we didn’t rush that story into print. We haven’t even printed anything about the kid. We didn’t believe him. I’m still not sure if I believe him. That’s why I’m sort of painstakingly going through this to determine if he’s lying to us.”

West: “NAME REDACTED is a nice kid and I’m not going to do anything to potentially hurt him.”

West claim: The Spokesman-Review has not kept its promise to provide a taped copy of the interview with Morlin and Dorn Steele.

Fact: The newspaper has not purposefully withheld the tape. A complete transcript of the West interview was posted on the newspaper’s Web site the following day. West attorney Bill Etter made a formal request for a copy on Thursday, and the newspaper will comply as quickly as possible.