Former Louisiana State Police Chief of Staff Mike Noel, who was in charge of the Greene arrest from May 10, 2019 through his leaving LSP in June of 2020 (13 months) to become Gov. Edwards’ hand-picked Chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board.
This morning (Tuesday, February 8, 2022), our phone rang early. Retired Louisiana State Police (LSP) Lt. Leon “Bucky” Millet was on the other end of the line, and he got straight to the point in saying: “I’ve got the smoking gun on Gov. Edwards regarding the Greene arrest!”
Naturally, we were all ears. Millet first reiterated that nobody can question that Gov. Edwards has now stated publicly that he learned of the false narrative of the arrest upon reading our blog post of September 10, 2020. That fact was further reinforced once WBRZ (Channel 2 in Baton Rouge)’s investigative reporter Chris Nakamoto revealed that Edwards’ office released thousands of emails and texts entailing the Greene matter.
The very first text at the preceding link is a text from Louisiana State Sen. Jimmy Harris (D-New Orleans) to Gov. Edwards’ Executive Counsel, Matthew Block. The text was sent at 11:11 a.m. on September 11, 2020, only 13 hours after our first post on the Greene arrest was published. In that text, Harris informs Block (directly providing a link to our post in doing so) that, “this is spreading.” Harris also provides to Block a direct link to the civil lawsuit filed by Greene’s family. That civil suit was readily available for download from our feature.
Since Gov. Edwards was clearly paying attention to our blog (and we’ve been told by several sources that his office monitors our features with regularity), surely he had to have been aware of our feature of former LSP Chief of Staff Mike Noel’s phone being “sanitized,” which was published a mere 123 days after our initial Ronald Greene feature (on January 6, 2021). In that feature, then-LSP Legal Counsel, Faye Morrison, rather matter-of-factly stated in an email to us dated the previous day, Tuesday, January 5, 2021 that Noel’s phone had been “sanitized” as he departed to become Edwards’ hand-picked Chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Commission.
On June 10, 2021, we published this feature entailing Noel’s Senate confirmation literally blowing up in Edwards’ face late in the night two days prior to our publishing of the feature. From that feature:
2. Mike Noel, Gov. Edwards’ hand-picked Gaming Control Board Chairman and former Chief of Staff under former LSP Col. Kevin Reeves, abruptly resigned mere hours before facing a Louisiana Senate confirmation hearing.
We’re going to elaborate some on this one. The night before the confirmation hearing, which was scheduled for 9:00 a.m. yesterday (Wednesday, June 9, 2021), we received multiple requests for any evidence we had that former Lt. Col. Noel’s phone had been sanitized prior to his departure. We complied with the request shortly before 9 p.m. on Tuesday, June 8, 2021 by providing the requesting parties with this January 5, 2021 email from LSP Legal Counsel Faye Morrison in which she clearly states in writing that the phone was sanitized. From that email:
LTC Noel turned in his phone when he left LSP and at that time his phone was sanitized pursuant to policy.
Let’s just say the requesting parties were stunned beyond words that LSP (via its legal counsel) readily confirmed that Noel’s phone was “sanitized” as he departed for the Gaming Control Board. We were informed Gov. Edwards became actively involved late on the evening of Tuesday, June 8, 2021 immediately after we provided the above email to the requesting parties. The next thing we heard (via another media outlet) was that Gov. Edwards’ office indicated that Noel opted to resign rather than face what had been described as an intense grilling over the Ronald Greene incident and any role he may have played in the coverup of same.
Also, while we cannot substantiate this assertion made to us, we have been told that former LSP Col. Kevin Reeves’ LSP-issued phone was also allegedly sanitized around June of 2020 during the same timeframe that Noel’s phone was sanitized. That sanitizing was allegedly performed notwithstanding that, unlike Noel who departed at the time of the sanitizing, Reeves hung around for another three or four months.
LSP has now publicly acknowledged that Reeves’ phone was also in fact sanitized just as Noel’s was.
One person contacted us more than a little startled that the Nakamoto-released emails and texts contained none entailing Noel. Our response: “Well, duh! Once LSP sanitized that phone, those texts were no longer around to be part of a public records request response to Nakamoto the same way they weren’t around for us over a year ago!” To be sure, tons of texts should have been exchanged between Reeves and his Chief of Staff (Noel); however, since both phones were “sanitized,” poof, there goes evidence of any communication between the two of them! Sanitizing Reeves’ phone was absolutely paramount because sanitizing Noel’s phone would have accomplished nothing if those texts remained readily available to obtain from Reeves’ phone.
Millet contends that Edwards cannot claim that he was not complicit in the Greene cover-up given that:
- He, by his own admission, obtained knowledge of the true circumstances of Greene’s arrest on or about September 10, 2020;
- That he also knew (or certainly should have known) that former LTC Noel’s phone was sanitized with such knowledge being obtained by Edwards on or around January 6, 2021;
- The above two facts notwithstanding, Edwards had no qualms whatsoever permitting Noel to REMAIN AS HIS GAMING BOARD COMMISSION CHAIRMAN A FULL NINE MONTHS AFTER EDWARDS LEARNED OF THE OBVIOUS COVER-UP FOR WHICH NOEL WOULD HAVE HAD TO PLAY A MAJOR ROLE!!!;
- Instead of insisting on Noel’s immediate resignation on September 10, 2020 the SECOND Edwards learned of the false narrative (even though that would have been only three months after Noel’s appointment to the Gaming Commission), Edwards not only permitted Noel to remain as his Gaming Commission Chairman for a FULL 271 days after learning of the false narrative, but he FULLY INTENDED to permit Noel to be confirmed by the Louisiana Senate to continue serving indefinitely NOTWITHSTANDING Edwards’ knowledge of that false narrative (that was nothing short of an obvious cover-up by LSP and its upper brass — to MOST CERTAINLY include Noel — which should be recognized as such by ANYONE with seven functioning brain cells, and we can assure everyone that Edwards has far, far more functioning brain cells than seven and we’ll stipulate to him being pretty darn bright!);
- The confirmation was aborted ONLY because the whole Greene matter (particularly the sanitized phone aspect) literally blew up in Edwards’ face within 12 hours of the scheduled hearing to confirm Noel (which was 271 days AFTER Edwards KNEW of the false narrative and obvious cover-up by LSP), most especially as one key Louisiana State Senator obtained unquestionable proof that Noel’s phone was sanitized!
Millet contends that it was only then (at the 11th hour and 59th minute) that Edwards and Noel LITERALLY HAD NO CHOICE but to jointly state that Noel had suddenly opted to simply retire. Why? Because questions posed by senators about Noel’s knowledge of and any participation in any Greene cover-up would have killed Noel’s confirmation dead in its tracks. More importantly, those questions would have readily exposed before the whole world that Edwards had been complicit in the cover-up for a MINIMUM of 271 days (and that’s taking him at his word that he learned nothing of the false LSP narrative until September 10, 2020).
We also can’t help but wonder just what the content of any conversation between Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and Louisiana State Sen. Greg Tarver (D-Shreveport) at Tarver’s apartment near the State Capitol may have been on the evening of Tuesday, June 8, 2021 right around 9:30 p.m.
Who knows? Maybe one day we’ll all find out just what all was discussed in that late-night spontaneous meeting between the two of them. If so, Millet just may be able to reiterate, “I told you I had the smoking gun!”
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