-Caveat Lector-
From
http://www.truthout.com/01.06B.Klausutis.2.htm
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PART II | t r u t h o u t Series on the Death of Lori Klausutis, Aide
to U.S. Rep. Joe Scarborough (R-FL)
By Jennifer Van Bergen
"Regular Joe"
t r u t h o u t | January 4, 2001 - Republican U.S. Representative
Joe Scarborough is called a "Regular Joe" by his constituents. He is
young, handsome, smart and personable. Young people -- even those who
disagree with him politically -- like him because he takes time for
them and "doesn't talk down" to them. Young women in particular like
him because "he's so good-looking." He's well-spoken and was an
articulate spokesman for the Bush presidential campaign, rallying
behind Bush during the election controversy and appearing on numerous
television talk-shows. His recent big re-election win was to his
fourth term in Congress.
But, after seven long years in Washington, Scarborough was beginning
to feel he was not getting anywhere, not contributing anything,
perhaps not being valued for his contributions. In November 1999, he
wrote a column in t
he Northwest Florida Daily News, complaining that "Washington is filled with very
average, very uninspired people who are just glad to be off the farm and in a uniform
for the big game." He didn't feel he was making enoug
h difference to be away from his children and speculated that his attitude might
change if Bush were elected. But after Bush's election, his vote didn't really seem to
be needed anymore with a Republican majority in the H
ouse.
In May of this year, amid at-the-time unconfirmed rumors of his intention to resign,
Representative Joe said he had "talked with President Bush and his top staff about a
presidential appointment, possibly unpaid, to some
sort of position that would allow him to work out of Pensacola." He added that he
would not leave Congress "unless the president asked me to."
It doesn't appear that Bush asked Joe to resign. Indeed, it appears that the Bush
Administration didn't ask Joe to do anything. Perhaps feeling neglected by the
Administration he had helped put into office, Joe toyed with
offers of doing a political talk show or a taking a broadcast job. Finally, Joe
decided to take his talents elsewhere. By the end of May, Joe had announced his
decision to resign, only six months after his re-election. H
e left office in September and took a position with the Pensacola law firm headed by
Fred Levin. Although there was a run-off election for Scarborough's seat, the website
for District 1 states that the congressional seat
remains vacant. Although Joe had envisioned holding a presidential appointment at the
same time as his law job, it seems that the law job would have to do. Joe had
practiced for only four years before entering Congress an
d the job with the Levin firm would allow him to be closer to home and his two sons
from his former marriage.
Joe's marriage ended in 1999. The divorce papers list Joe as the petitioner, meaning
he was the one who filed for the divorce, which was nonetheless uncontested by his
wife, Melanie. Although Joe's county of residence is
Escambia County, he filed in Walton County. He may have done this to avoid unwanted
local publicity. According to the final judgment, the Marital Settlement Agreement was
"executed voluntarily and after full disclosure."
The judgment states that "the bonds of marriage ... are dissolved because the marriage
is irretrievably broken." The divorce was finalized on April 5, 1999, only four days
before Joe's thirty-sixth birthday.
Whatever the reasons for the divorce, according to a May 26, 2001 editorial in the
Pensacola News Journal, Joe was "pursued by rumors over the cause of the divorce [and]
a growing body of criticism that Scarborough's pers
onal life didn't match the moralistic conservative stance he campaigned on."
"Little Miss Mary Sunshine"
It is not known what sort of relationship Joe had with his aides, Lori Klausutis or
her direct superior, Lois Hoyt, who was the Office Manager and Constituent Services
Coordinator. Scarborough's press secretary, Miguel Se
rrano, said that Scarborough "knew all of his employees and would keep in touch" with
them.
According to one of Lori's friends, Mary Potthast, Lori was "a very diligent person
who cared a lot about her job, her schooling, but most of all, about her family." Her
friends called her "Little Miss Mary Sunshine." Her
husband, Timothy J. Klausutis wrote on his homepage that one of the honors he enjoyed
was 'being married to Lori."
Everyone seems to have loved her. A former neighbor, Barbara Cromer, said, "I loved
Lori so much. She was wonderful. She was a kind, generous person, so sweet." Paul Lux,
the director of public relations for Emerald Coast
Young Republicans, said she was "a joy to work with." He added, "She was always very
upbeat and positive about everything. Even when things got argumentative, she always
stayed on the upside of the argument and would nev
er resort to getting dirty or cruel."
Lori seems to have been a paragon of good nature and kindness. Although there are no
indications that Lori was anything other than a hard-working congressional aide to Joe
Scarborough and a loyal wife to her husband, she
seems to have possessed an abundance of attractive and enviable traits. She was young,
pretty, energetic and fit. She ran several miles every day and participated in local
marathons. She sang in the church choir and was s
aid to have "the voice of an angel." She was active in the Republican party in a
largely Republican community. She had helped out during the presidential election
controversey and had just resigned as president of the Eme
rald Coast Young Republicans in order to devote more time to her education.
There were lots of reasons for someone to be jealous of Lori. On top of her personal
qualities were the facts that she was an aide to a locally prominent, recently
divorced congressman and was married to a man who did hig
hly sensitive weapon design for the Air Force. She had been involved in the 2000
election controversy in Escambia County, one of the counties where voting fraud was
alleged. Even without political reasons for jealousy, Lo
ri obviously enjoyed access to personal information few people did. If the rumors of
Joe's dalliances with staffers (not to mention the rumor that he had gotten one of
them pregnant) are true -- of which I have found no c
onfirmation -- Lori would likely have been, if nothing more, at least the keeper of
some secrets.
At the least, these circumstances seem to warrant further police
investigation into the case.
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