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Security Guard hired by KUSA Shoots, Kills Man During Protests


tyrannical bastard
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2 hours ago, tyrannical bastard said:

But the graphics maladies are the least of Tegna's problems right now, as they are dealing with the fallout of hiring an unlicensed security guard in Denver who shot and killed a protestor.

Absolutely. And there are people on Twitter that are calling for the FCC to pull KUSA's license over this.

 

All I'm going to say is buckle up it's going to be a long, bumpy ride ahead for the folks at Tegna's headquarters and in particular, KUSA

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5 hours ago, tyrannical bastard said:

But the graphics maladies are the least of Tegna's problems right now, as they are dealing with the fallout of hiring an unlicensed security guard in Denver who shot and killed a protestor.

 

Oy vey. It's like you people don't read the news, which is ironic and alarming.

 

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"The suspect, Matthew Dolloff, 30, was contracted through the company Pinkerton by 9NEWS. It has been the practice of 9NEWS for a number of months to contract private security to accompany staff at protests. Denver Police said in a tweet that Dolloff was "acting in a professional capacity as an armed security guard.

 

"Pinkerton, however, said it does not actually employ Dolloff – Pinkerton did not share the name of the company for which Dolloff worked."

 

Source: https://www.9news.com/article/news/crime/security-guard-held-denver-shooting-wasnt-licensed-officials-say/73-648ca0f2-cc71-4fa7-b145-cbd710b87f5f?fbclid=IwAR1qwtHvTmlZ0qXaZerTv9Q_JfwwqSbFKoitpACFAPAG5kbr4uI0IcSNHKo

 

This isn't TEGNA's fault. They contracted Pinkerton who was responsible for vetting their own subcontractors. Pinkerton didn't do it's due diligence. Don't blame TEGNA. 

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ABC 7 Denver, I totally with you on this, it's not their fault.     However i did see some stuff earlier today on twitter & facebook of folks calling on NBC & NBC NEWS to drop it's affiliation with KUSA, which is ridiculous.  Where would NBC go if that were to somehow happen?  (KDEN? Highly unlikely, they have a bad ota signal in Denver.)

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On 10/12/2020 at 5:33 PM, DENDude said:

ABC 7 Denver, I totally with you on this, it's not their fault.     However i did see some stuff earlier today on twitter & facebook of folks calling on NBC & NBC NEWS to drop it's affiliation with KUSA, which is ridiculous.  Where would NBC go if that were to somehow happen?  (KDEN? Highly unlikely, they have a bad ota signal in Denver.)

 

Exactly. Let's be clear, this was a way for 9News, who, like other outlets has had journalists being physically and verbally attacked, to protect their own. You can see the fear in the journalists eyes when you watch live coverage. I'm endlessly thankful for the risk they are putting themselves in and appreciate the hard work in a challenging time in Denver and our country. They know that they have my admiration.

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25 minutes ago, ABC 7 Denver said:

This isn't TEGNA's fault. They contracted Pinkerton who was responsible for vetting their own subcontractors. Pinkerton didn't do it's due diligence. Don't blame TEGNA. 

I believe Tegna is partly to blame for this because yes they contracted Pinkerton (who deserves more blame than Tegna) to do security but the bottom line is somebody should've done a background check and a thorough investigation into it and Pinkerton knew that and so did Tegna, yet neither one of them did their job and the end result is we have somebody dead because nobody wanted to do their due dilligence.

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The city of Denver does require a license to act in capacity of a security guard.   And KUSA failed to comply with that.

 

I think there's virtually no doubt that Pinkerton will be charged with murder...potentially first degree murder.   KUSA (and perhaps even Tegna) could face civil charges (at minimum), because even though Pinkerton supposedly was "contracting" with KUSA, it cannot be denied that KUSA was the de facto employer (or, perhaps more accurately, client) at the time of the murder.   And the fact Pinkerton should never have been hired in the first place makes a very compelling legal case against KUSA.

 

I don't see this immediately becoming an issue with the FCC per se.  However, I could see people petitioning the FCC to review the license when it's up for renewal or even before then.  Just take one look at Twitter or Facebook and countless people are absolutely livid with KUSA (and even Tegna) and it's spreading to other Tegna station pages as well.  It's not hard to imagine somebody petitioning the FCC to review the KUSA license.  I'm not saying they would have success with that, however I can see this getting very ugly for KUSA.

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A couple of observations I note regarding this (and this is from RBR)

 

Yes I still believe that Tegna is in deep trouble and I believe that @tyrannical bastard is correct that Tegna in a way is dealing with a fallout as a result of this however, I believe KUSA is dealing with the fallout more so than perhaps Tegna (it could be on both). In order of what I would rank as far as who's in the most severe trouble (even though I believe all 3 are in serious trouble) it would be Plinkerton being in the most severe trouble because they hired somebody who was unlicensed, KUSA being 2nd because they were the ones to sign a contract with Plinkerton and Tegna last because they knew what was happening but did nothing to stop it.

 

Here's the quotes from RBR's observations

Quote
TEGNA could have a hefty legal bill defending itself from any claims of negligence in the coming years. It provides a key learning lesson for media companies and local management to review all contracts — and insurance policies — in the event of a mishap.
Quote
Shortly after Fletcher Heald & Hildreth Partner Francisco Montero offered his comments to RBR+TVBR, it became known that any indemnification of TEGNA by Pinkerton is now likely lost, considering the nature of contracted security guard Matthew Dolloff’s status with Pinkerton and just who he worked for. However this matter concludes, TEGNA has a potential legal bill in the hundreds of thousands of dollars ahead. It sends a strong message to corporations and station managers to review any contract struck with a security detail hired to protect their field journalists at a most volatile time for local news media and for our nation. What are the explicit instructions a security guard is given by the station? What sort of insurance policies are in place in the event of a mishap?

Criminal charges against TEGNA and/or KUSA are unlikely. But, civil charges could arise given the fact that the contractor security guard was not licensed to act in his capacity in the city of Denver. That’s on Pinkerton — and perhaps attorneys will go after KUSA and/or TEGNA.

Was TEGNA 50% at fault? Was it 10% at fault?

Jurors and plaintiff’s attorneys will want to put blame on someone. TEGNA, and KUSA-9, aren’t out of the woods.

So its pretty clear just based on the observations that Tegna isn't completely in the clear by any means at all.

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This screenshot is from Kyle Clark's Twitter page.   KUSA alleges that they do "not contract directly with individual security personnel" but rather via a firm.   Something is not adding up with this, but hopefully we'll get a better picture on the exact relationship between KUSA and Pinkerton in the coming days.

Image

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It appears the company has been in good standing wherever it does business. KUSA-TV hires the company, and I assume it's not the first time, on good faith that the company is following the law. I suppose the reporter could have asked why the security guard wasn't wearing a uniform or any other clothing identifying him readily as security. This strikes me as a Pinkerton problem first and last.

 

Total sidebar, Pinkerton's corporate offices show up as being in the same general area as Sinclair Broadcast Group in Hunt Valley, Md.

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Here are my thoughts. This whole thing sucks.

 

I didn't know that Denver stations were hiring guards for their crews now – I thought it was something that mostly happened only in the Bay Area market and maybe LA. The Bay Area stations also contract out their guards to another security company. They're usually former cops, and they often work for different stations from one day to the next. They spend a lot on security – last I heard it was in the high six figures every year just for one station. Before the stations were hiring guards, crews were getting mugged left and right, and it wasn't just happening in Oakland. Even with a guard, situations can be dangerous. Last year, a guard with a KPIX crew was shot in the leg during a robbery.

 

This honestly could have happened to any station that hires guards, and apparently more stations do it than I realized. Maybe that's not a surprise given that crews are increasingly facing more and more threats from the public. Robbery, harassment, and more are real problems that appear to be happening more and more in every market, and it's becoming increasingly dangerous to be a reporter or photographer in the U.S.

 

We will have to see what the investigation uncovers, and it appears as though KUSA is waiting for more information to come out too. Was the man who was killed posing a serious physical threat to anyone? Two guns were recovered at the scene according to DPD. In the meantime, it is sad that someone died, and it is also sad that there will likely be an erosion of trust and more threats surrounding any journalist in Denver for some time to come.

 

Also interesting to note that KUSA has brought in reporters from KARE and other sister stations to report on the story for a while.

 

 

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1 hour ago, TheRob said:

It appears the company has been in good standing wherever it does business. KUSA-TV hires the company, and I assume it's not the first time, on good faith that the company is following the law. I suppose the reporter could have asked why the security guard wasn't wearing a uniform or any other clothing identifying him readily as security. This strikes me as a Pinkerton problem first and last.

 

Total sidebar, Pinkerton's corporate offices show up as being in the same general area as Sinclair Broadcast Group in Hunt Valley, Md.

 

Being clearly marked as security would likely have brought more unwanted attention to them as often times security guards are off duty cops. That probably would have instigated confrontations with them if the situation was already chaotic (which it doesn't sound like it was). Being plain-clothes (despite obviously following around a camera crew) allows them to blend in more.

  

43 minutes ago, C Block said:

Here are my thoughts. This whole thing sucks.

 

I didn't know that Denver stations were hiring guards for their crews now – I thought it was something that mostly happened only in the Bay Area market and maybe LA. The Bay Area stations also contract out their guards to another security company. They're usually former cops, and they often work for different stations from one day to the next. They spend a lot on security – last I heard it was in the high six figures every year just for one station. Before the stations were hiring guards, crews were getting mugged left and right, and it wasn't just happening in Oakland. Even with a guard, situations can be dangerous. Last year, a guard with a KPIX crew was shot in the leg during a robbery.

 

This honestly could have happened to any station that hires guards, and apparently more stations do it than I realized. Maybe that's not a surprise given that crews are increasingly facing more and more threats from the public. Robbery, harassment, and more are real problems that appear to be happening more and more in every market, and it's becoming increasingly dangerous to be a reporter or photographer in the U.S.

 

We will have to see what the investigation uncovers, and it appears as though KUSA is waiting for more information to come out too. Was the man who was killed posing a serious physical threat to anyone? Two guns were recovered at the scene according to DPD. In the meantime, it is sad that someone died, and it is also sad that there will likely be an erosion of trust and more threats surrounding any journalist in Denver for some time to come.

 

Also interesting to note that KUSA has brought in reporters from KARE and other sister stations to report on the story for a while.

 

 

 

Any market that's had civil unrest recently - especially those where a controversial death has occurred - has been hiring security to protect their crews. Louisville is an example. Two of its stations are downtown near the heart of protests and easy targets (see: WHAS getting its windows smashed in back in early May).

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17 hours ago, dman748 said:

I believe Tegna is partly to blame for this because yes they contracted Pinkerton (who deserves more blame than Tegna) to do security but the bottom line is somebody should've done a background check and a thorough investigation into it and Pinkerton knew that and so did Tegna, yet neither one of them did their job and the end result is we have somebody dead because nobody wanted to do their due dilligence.

 

I guarantee that built in the Pinkerton contract with TEGNA is standard language that Pinkerton would do a background check on all security contractors. As that's such, Pinkerton didn't hold up it's end of the deal. I'm sure that makes the contract void and damages owed to KUSA.

 

16 hours ago, TheRyan said:

The city of Denver does require a license to act in capacity of a security guard.   And KUSA failed to comply with that.

 

I think there's virtually no doubt that Pinkerton will be charged with murder...potentially first degree murder.   KUSA (and perhaps even Tegna) could face civil charges (at minimum), because even though Pinkerton supposedly was "contracting" with KUSA, it cannot be denied that KUSA was the de facto employer (or, perhaps more accurately, client) at the time of the murder.   And the fact Pinkerton should never have been hired in the first place makes a very compelling legal case against KUSA.

 

I don't see this immediately becoming an issue with the FCC per se.  However, I could see people petitioning the FCC to review the license when it's up for renewal or even before then.  Just take one look at Twitter or Facebook and countless people are absolutely livid with KUSA (and even Tegna) and it's spreading to other Tegna station pages as well.  It's not hard to imagine somebody petitioning the FCC to review the KUSA license.  I'm not saying they would have success with that, however I can see this getting very ugly for KUSA.

 

KUSA isn't culpable if the language of the contract explicitly outlines Pinkerton's responsibility to vet security. That's not KUSA's responsibility. Also, Pinkerton is a subsidiary of Swedish Securitas AB, registered by the SEC as a Corporation. You cannot charge a Corporation with murder. 

 

16 hours ago, dman748 said:

A couple of observations I note regarding this (and this is from RBR)

 

Yes I still believe that Tegna is in deep trouble and I believe that @tyrannical bastard is correct that Tegna in a way is dealing with a fallout as a result of this however, I believe KUSA is dealing with the fallout more so than perhaps Tegna (it could be on both). In order of what I would rank as far as who's in the most severe trouble (even though I believe all 3 are in serious trouble) it would be Plinkerton being in the most severe trouble because they hired somebody who was unlicensed, KUSA being 2nd because they were the ones to sign a contract with Plinkerton and Tegna last because they knew what was happening but did nothing to stop it.

 

Here's the quotes from RBR's observations

So its pretty clear just based on the observations that Tegna isn't completely in the clear by any means at all.

 

That's specifically with regard to civil litigation, not criminal. KUSA is not criminally liable.

 

16 hours ago, TheRyan said:

This screenshot is from Kyle Clark's Twitter page.   KUSA alleges that they do "not contract directly with individual security personnel" but rather via a firm.   Something is not adding up with this, but hopefully we'll get a better picture on the exact relationship between KUSA and Pinkerton in the coming days.

Image

 

Pinkerton is a 150 year old security firm based in Chicago, IL. What isn't adding up? No business hires their own security personnel, unless they know what they are doing. 9News was in a pinch and instead of hiring a full time Security Director permanently, they signed a contract with a reputable security firm to hire the private security agent. However, depending how the language of the contract is argued, TEGNA could be on the hook for civil damages, not legal damages. They are different!

 

15 hours ago, C Block said:

Here are my thoughts. This whole thing sucks.

 

I didn't know that Denver stations were hiring guards for their crews now – I thought it was something that mostly happened only in the Bay Area market and maybe LA. The Bay Area stations also contract out their guards to another security company. They're usually former cops, and they often work for different stations from one day to the next. They spend a lot on security – last I heard it was in the high six figures every year just for one station. Before the stations were hiring guards, crews were getting mugged left and right, and it wasn't just happening in Oakland. Even with a guard, situations can be dangerous. Last year, a guard with a KPIX crew was shot in the leg during a robbery.

 

This honestly could have happened to any station that hires guards, and apparently more stations do it than I realized. Maybe that's not a surprise given that crews are increasingly facing more and more threats from the public. Robbery, harassment, and more are real problems that appear to be happening more and more in every market, and it's becoming increasingly dangerous to be a reporter or photographer in the U.S.

 

We will have to see what the investigation uncovers, and it appears as though KUSA is waiting for more information to come out too. Was the man who was killed posing a serious physical threat to anyone? Two guns were recovered at the scene according to DPD. In the meantime, it is sad that someone died, and it is also sad that there will likely be an erosion of trust and more threats surrounding any journalist in Denver for some time to come.

 

Also interesting to note that KUSA has brought in reporters from KARE and other sister stations to report on the story for a while.

 

We've seen a lot of damage to station equipment in Denver including cameras and vehicles. This has only been the cause since the rioting began. Protests have been nothing but civil.

 

That's not uncommon for station staff to fly in from another TEGNA market. They do it all the time. It was done in Houston when KHOU was destroyed and greater coverage was needed in the market. Some KUSA staff flew there.

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7 minutes ago, ABC 7 Denver said:

We've seen a lot of damage to station equipment in Denver including cameras and vehicles. This has only been the cause since the rioting began. Protests have been nothing but civil.

 

Are they staffing guards only when there's something big like a protest, or is it more common than that? Bay Area stations have one (or several) guards on every shift going out with crews doing run of the mill day-turn stories in leafy suburbs. It has been this way for a few years now. (Not that this question has anything to do with what happened, I'm just curious.)

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20 minutes ago, ABC 7 Denver said:

 

I guarantee that built in the Pinkerton contract with TENGA is standard language that Pinkerton would do a background check on all security contractors. As that's such, Pinkerton didn't hold up it's end of the deal. I'm sure that makes the contract void and damages owed to KUSA.

 

 

That's specifically with regard to civil litigation, not criminal. KUSA is not criminally liable.

Personally I think it'd be a bit awkward to see KUSA/Tegna sue Pinkerton (and perhaps, vise versa) over the breach of contract all while both parties are probably going to face chaarges of some type I think that KUSA will probabaly face civil charges as a result of this (whether Tegna does face civil charges as well remains to be seen).

 

Pinkerton on the other hand, is probably going to get criminal charges as a result of this (in addition to the murderor himself).

 

Either way, no matter how we slice this up, it's going to take quite awhile to clean this mess up.

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38 minutes ago, C Block said:

 

Are they staffing guards only when there's something big like a protest, or is it more common than that? Bay Area stations have one (or several) guards on every shift going out with crews doing run of the mill day-turn stories in leafy suburbs. It has been this way for a few years now. (Not that this question has anything to do with what happened, I'm just curious.)

 

Only during protests, I believe. I'll confirm though with my contacts though.

 

25 minutes ago, dman748 said:

Personally I think it'd be a bit awkward to see KUSA/Tegna sue Pinkerton (and perhaps, vise versa) over the breach of contract all while both parties are probably going to face charges of some type I think that KUSA will probably face civil charges as a result of this (whether Tegna does face civil charges as well remains to be seen).

 

Pinkerton on the other hand, is probably going to get criminal charges as a result of this (in addition to the murderer himself).

 

Either way, no matter how we slice this up, it's going to take quite awhile to clean this mess up.

 

Pinkerton broke it's contract. TEGNA can sue for breach. This is a release from KUSA:

Capture-2.PNG

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1 hour ago, ABC 7 Denver said:

 

I guarantee that built in the Pinkerton contract with TEGNA is standard language that Pinkerton would do a background check on all security contractors. As that's such, Pinkerton didn't hold up it's end of the deal. I'm sure that makes the contract void and damages owed to KUSA.

 

 

KUSA isn't culpable if the language of the contract explicitly outlines Pinkerton's responsibility to vet security. That's not KUSA's responsibility. Also, Pinkerton is a subsidiary of Swedish Securitas AB, registered by the SEC as a Corporation. You cannot charge a Corporation with murder. 

 

 

That's specifically with regard to civil litigation, not criminal. KUSA is not criminally liable.


 

 

 

I might've conflated the words on my posts slightly, but what I meant to say was the "security guard" is most definitely going to be charged for murder.  On the other hand, separate to that, KUSA could be civilly liable for any negligence.   And the security company is likely to face countless legal (civil) issues as well.

 

Even if KUSA didn't directly hire the security detail, inevitably an attorney is going to find a way of holding the station accountable for not doing their own background checks or whatever other factor was there leading up to this.   

 

We'll see what happens.

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40 minutes ago, TheRyan said:

I might've conflated the words on my posts slightly, but what I meant to say was the "security guard" is most definitely going to be charged for murder.  On the other hand, separate to that, KUSA could be civilly liable for any negligence.   And the security company is likely to face countless legal (civil) issues as well.

 

Even if KUSA didn't directly hire the security detail, inevitably an attorney is going to find a way of holding the station accountable for not doing their own background checks or whatever other factor was there leading up to this.   

 

We'll see what happens.

 

It depends on how the language in the contract holds-up. I think it's likely to be thrown out. What's the point of hiring a security firm to vet it's own contractors, if you have to vet them to?

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14 minutes ago, ABC 7 Denver said:

 

It depends on how the language in the contract holds-up. I think it's likely to be thrown out. What's the point of hiring a security firm to do it's vet it's own contractors, if you have to vet them to?

 

This is the part that is still murky.  Did the "security guard" repute himself in public as being with KUSA?  Was he issued an ID or did he carry anything that would identify him as being with the station?

 

If it's a yes to any of that, then the station could be civilly liable for at least part of it.  Without knowing what the laws say on the matter, I would've assumed that anyone working for a station (regardless of who signs their paycheck) would be vetted at least on a basic level by the station.

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19 minutes ago, TheRyan said:

 

This is the part that is still murky.  Did the "security guard" repute himself in public as being with KUSA?  Was he issued an ID or did he carry anything that would identify him as being with the station?

 

If it's a yes to any of that, then the station could be civilly liable for at least part of it.  Without knowing what the laws say on the matter, I would've assumed that anyone working for a station (regardless of who signs their paycheck) would be vetted at least on a basic level by the station.

 

No. He was plain clothes and had an ID with Pinkerton.

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This quote from the Denver City Attorney — taken directly from the KUSA website — indicates that the station could indeed be criminally charged. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time a corporation has been criminally charged, but it is hard to prove. Look at the Arkema case in Houston. 
 

“Licensed security guard employers that hire unlicensed security guards could face disciplinary actions against their licenses ranging from a fine, to suspension, to revocation.  Businesses could also face criminal charges for permitting or directing an unlicensed person to perform security services.  Regarding Matthew Dolloff, there could be civil or criminal actions taken, or both, against Mr. Dolloff, Pinkerton, 9News, and/or any other entity that hired and deployed Dolloff in an unlicensed security guard capacity."

 

https://www.9news.com/article/news/crime/security-guard-held-denver-shooting-wasnt-licensed-officials-say/73-648ca0f2-cc71-4fa7-b145-cbd710b87f5f


It’s sketchy AF that Pinkerton won’t say who he allegedly really works for. 
 

The station says Jason Whitely from WFAA in Dallas is handling their coverage of the shooting, at least initially, to avoid the appearance of improprieties. 

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44 minutes ago, Greggo said:

This quote from the Denver City Attorney — taken directly from the KUSA website — indicates that the station could indeed be criminally charged. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time a corporation has been criminally charged, but it is hard to prove. Look at the Arkema case in Houston. 
 

“Licensed security guard employers that hire unlicensed security guards could face disciplinary actions against their licenses ranging from a fine, to suspension, to revocation.  Businesses could also face criminal charges for permitting or directing an unlicensed person to perform security services.  Regarding Matthew Dolloff, there could be civil or criminal actions taken, or both, against Mr. Dolloff, Pinkerton, 9News, and/or any other entity that hired and deployed Dolloff in an unlicensed security guard capacity."

 

https://www.9news.com/article/news/crime/security-guard-held-denver-shooting-wasnt-licensed-officials-say/73-648ca0f2-cc71-4fa7-b145-cbd710b87f5f


It’s sketchy AF that Pinkerton won’t say who he allegedly really works for. 
 

The station says Jason Whitely from WFAA in Dallas is handling their coverage of the shooting, at least initially, to avoid the appearance of improprieties. 

I also think that since were talking about a TV station here (in this case, KUSA) I would suspect that the FCC and perhaps the Administrative Law Judge could get involved here.

 

There is precedent to this as noted above in the post I'm quoting here but tbh I'm not entirely sure that KUSA and/or Tegna itself might be able to get away with charges of any kind (civil or criminal) and regardless of the charges that the DA, state or U.S. Attorneys presents against all the parties involved (including either KUSA or Tegna itself) it's going to be difficult I believe for Tegna and/or KUSA to have the ability to continue to serve its viewers (via its license) under the cloud of investigation and charges of any type. Therefore I believe the FCC at some point will probably have to get involved in this case, whether it's only KUSA or the entire Tegna chain gets involved in the investigation or the ALJ gets involved honestly its too early to say.

 

In any case I see a lot of problems heading towards definately KUSA and maybe even Tegna and this will have huge implications for either or both parties.

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