Mass Dems Question Labor Secretary Over Boston Police Scandal

Two Massachusetts Democrats are calling on Labor Secretary Marty Walsh to answer questions about his involvement in the appointment of Boston police commissioner Dennis White, who faces allegations of domestic abuse, during the final weeks of his time as mayor, The Boston Globe reports.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., have both responded to a report from The Boston Globe that White and former police commissioner William Gross said in court affidavits earlier this week that Walsh knew of the allegations against White before appointing him in February, a claim that Walsh has denied. Former police commissioner William Evans, who served in the role before Gross, has supported Walsh’s version of events.

“There are a number of questions that everybody wants to know about this whole situation,” said Moulton. “We obviously need to know all the facts about his vetting. If it turns out Secretary Walsh is lying, he should resign as well.”

Warren said, “I believe in transparency and that means we need to hear everyone’s story, including that of the former mayor.”

When asked if she was worried by these events, the senator said, “I want to hear everybody’s story.”

She added, “Let’s get the information out there and find out exactly what happened.”

As of Friday afternoon, Warren and Moulton are the only members of Massachusetts’ congressional delegation, all of whom are Democrats, to speak out directly about the scandal. Reps. Richard Neal and Ayanna Pressley both declined to comment when asked by the Globe.

“I don’t actually know enough about it, to be frank,” Neal said outside the Capitol. “He was a very fine mayor, and I think that he’s going to be a terrific labor secretary.”

Walsh placed White on leave in February after the Globe investigated the circumstances behind an allegation of domestic violence made against White in 1999. White’s attorney said in Suffolk Superior Court on Thursday that Walsh knew about his client’s history when he appointed him, claiming that in 2014, the then-mayor would have received a full briefing on White’s background when he was first promoted to the police department’s command staff.

“As a legal matter, the city cannot hire him knowing something and then fire him for the things they knew about,” said White’s lawyer, Nicholas B. Carter.

Gross said in an affidavit on Wednesday that “There is no way anyone is brought onto the command staff without such a briefing to the mayor and approval by the mayor. The city, including Mayor Walsh, was aware no later than January 2014 of White’s IA [internal affairs] record.”

Walsh has denied any knowledge of the allegations against White prior to his appointment as commissioner.

“As I said on February 3, I was not aware of these serious allegations until after I appointed White as police commissioner. Neither the allegations nor the internal affairs files were shared with me in 2014, or during any other consideration of Dennis White,” the secretary said in a statement. “Had I known, I would not have chosen him for police commissioner or any other role.”