Shortly after announcing his run for U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd’s seat, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said if any reporters wanted to ask him a question related to the campaign he’d be happy to go outside on the sidewalk and talk about it.
He made it clear no campaign questions would be taken in his seventh floor office. However, some believe he may have broken that rule Tuesday when asked by Fox 61 Reporter Shelly Sindland about the possibility of the 9/11 terror trial being held in New Haven federal court.
Instead of refusing to answer the question Blumenthal talked about how he felt a military tribunal would be a more appropriate venue for the trial.
Republican Party Chairman Chris Healy who attended the press conference Tuesday said Blumenthal has “zero role in the administration of the federal courts.”
“He’s using his office, again, to promote his candidacy,” Healy said.
As a civilian lawyer in this state with no jurisdiction over the federal court system, Blumenthal has nothing to do with the “KSM trial,” Healy said. However, with cameras on and a dozen or more reporters present “he just can’t help himself.”
Blumenthal said he had every right to answer the question because he’d been asked his opinion by a number of state officials. And his assistant attorney generals are involved in the federal courts day in and day out.
He said when he answered Sindland’s question Tuesday he was speaking as the attorney general. He said his campaign would send out a statement later and it did. But click here to read Paul’s report on that issue as it relates to the U.S. Senate campaign.
