When the history books for this period in American history are written, there will be a special section for California Sen. Dianne Feinstein and her series of extraordinary blunders that have ruined the lives of countless Americans, and in some cases led directly to their deaths.
The focus of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation process has become the sexual assault allegation made against him by a former high school classmate. This includes scrutiny of his character, that of his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, and that of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who gave the Ford’s letter to the FBI and made it public.
Many believe Feinstein was involved in deception, pointing to her appearing to walk back her trust in the validity of Ford’s claim. The error-prone California senator said Tuesday she couldn’t “say that everything is truthful” about Ford’s allegation.
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But there are plenty of other serious Feinstein calamities from her past that bear scrutiny.
In 2014, her infamous release of the CIA “torture” report divulged information that put Americans’ lives at risk. But most spectacularly, in August 1985 she effectively tipped off a notorious Satanic serial killer, enraging San Francisco detectives who were hot on his trail, and allowing him to evade capture for a few more murderous months.
Those who were around back in the ’80s may remember the name Richard Ramirez. Even those who were not alive or old enough to know may have since heard of him by his notorious epithet – the Night Stalker.
Ramirez was a serial killer who terrorized the populations of Los Angeles and San Francisco from June of 1984 to August of 1985, claiming 14 victims. The crimes were huge news at the time. Few Americans had seen anything like it in their lifetimes.
Ramirez was so aggressive and cocky, scrawling pentagrams on walls in victims’ homes and even making his final known rape victim swear allegiance to Satan. The public was desperate to see him captured.
By July of 1985, Ramirez had already committed some 13 murders, 5 rapes including sodomy, and 3 attempted murders, yet it seemed police were still far from catching him. They did have a couple of critical pieces of evidence, though.
First, they knew that the killer or killers’ preferred weapon was a .25-caliber semi-automatic handgun, which ballistics determined had been used in several of the murders. And, perhaps more importantly, they had discovered prints at multiple crime scenes from a particular Avia aerobic sneaker with a unique tread pattern.
This information was known only to law enforcement and should have remained so. You can probably see where this is going.
Sometime after the murder of Peter and Barbara Pan on August 18, then-San Francisco mayor Dianne Feinstein caught wind of the firearm and shoe evidence and proceeded to announce as much on a televised press conference.
The Wikipedia entry (citation omitted) on Ramirez, among other sources, details the ramifications of Feinstein’s irresponsibility:
This leak infuriated the detectives in the case, as they knew that the killer would be following media coverage and have an opportunity to destroy crucial forensic evidence. Ramirez, who had indeed been watching the press, dropped his size 11 ½ Avia sneakers over the side of the Golden Gate Bridge that night. He remained in the area for a few more days before heading back to the L.A. area.
I had always heard that he also threw away the handgun that night but have not been able to confirm that.
After disposing of the evidence, Ramirez proceeded to drive 76 miles south of Los Angeles, to Mission Viejo, where he committed his final acts of violence. His victims that night were Bill Erickson, who survived being shot in the head twice, and his wife Inez, who suffered the aforementioned satanic rape. Inez ran to the neighbors’ house for help, discovering that their 13-year old son had written down part of the assailant’s license plate number. F
Fingerprint evidence from the stolen car, as well as evidence from a simple burglary of the home of prominent dentist Jack Saroyan, gave police what they needed. Police then released a mugshot of Ramirez at a televised press conference, announcing, “We know who you are now, and soon everyone else will. There will be no place you can hide”.
On August 31, 1985, Ramirez was captured in East Los Angeles after being beaten and subdued by area residents.
On November 7, 1989, after a lengthy trial during which one of the jurors was murdered (not by Ramirez, for once), the Night Stalker was sentenced to die in California’s electric chair.
It is unclear whether the evidence was leaked to Feinstein by someone in law enforcement or if she used the power of her office to demand it. Either way, a “reasonably well-educated” individual like her should know better. In fairness, there is no way to know whether or not additional murders would have taken place had Feinstein never blabbed. After all, Ramirez might have changed shoes and ditched the gun with or without coverage.
But no one can deny the incredible irresponsibility of letting a serial killer know what police have on him. Feinstein’s family was no doubt well-protected, unlike the people to whom she spoke so freely.
As for Feinstein’s release of the Kavanaugh accuser’s letter, some skepticism of her motives is warranted. The alleged sexual assault took place 36 years ago, yet this needed to come out right now…during the Kavanaugh hearings? Clearly, Feinstein is still engaged in the cynical accumulation of cheap political points, at the expense of innocent American citizens, even after all these years.
As a side note, Richard Ramirez died of cancer in June of 2013, probably unaware that the desensitized U.S. public of today would yawn at his threats and satanic rants. Thankfully, he also seemed unaware that his ethnicity alone could probably have elevated him to the highest honor progressives can bestow – that of race victim.
Nevertheless, natural causes are a not so fitting end to a man whose swagger and looks once garnered courtroom groupies, including one misguided female juror who fell in love with Richard yet voted to convict him. What is fitting is that he died waiting to be executed on California’s death row, which costs a fortune in taxpayer dollars yet rarely carries out an execution.
It is just another waste of money in a state that continues to place walking disaster zones like Dianne Feinstein in public office where they can do the most damage.
