Richard Cebull Day Two: Time for the Cebullsh** Apology

Chief Judge Richard Cebull of Montana, the judge who sent around a racist and sexist email about Barack Obama and the president's dead mother, has started the "damage control" process that will never really end. What steps has he taken to address the situation?

Judge Cebull is now on the bullsh** offensive, trying to convince everybody that he’s sorry and eager to accept the judgment of his peers. I call BS because as Lat reported yesterday, Cebull was still telling people that it’s just an irrational hatred for the black president that made him do it.

Today, he’s rather tersely apologizing to President Obama:

Honorable Barack Obama
United States President
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I sincerely and profusely apologize to you and your family for the email I forwarded. I accept full responsibility; I have no one to blame but myself.

I can assure you that such action on my part will never happen again. I have requested that the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit review this matter.

Honestly, I don’t know what else I can do. Please forgive me and, again, my most sincere apology.

Sincerely,

Richard F. Cebull.

If Cebull really does hate the president as much as he said he did yesterday, there is some satisfaction from this letter. Not necessarily sincerity, but satisfaction.

In any event, a perfunctory apology was clearly in order, but if he really wants to still have a job, he’s going to have to sing before the Ninth Circuit. Today, Cebull requested that Chief Judge Alex Kozinski and the Ninth Circuit Judicial Council review his conduct:

Earlier today, the Ninth Circuit issued the following statement from Cathy A. Catterson, Circuit and Court of Appeals Executive of the Ninth Circuit, regarding this matter:

“Chief District Judge Cebull has publicly acknowledged that he has acted inappropriately. By letter to Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit, Judge Cebull has initiated the process by which a complaint of judicial misconduct will be brought against him. Chief Judge Kozinski has informed the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit of the complaint. The Judicial Council is expected to act expeditiously in investigating and resolving this matter.”

All day, our readers have been making snide remarks about Kozinski’s own past, suggesting that maybe Koz will feel the need to show Cebull leniency.

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Obviously, I have no idea if Kozinski is inclined to show Cebull any leniency. We’ll ask Lat if he’s heard anything by Monday. But I do think that comparing Kozinski’s past conduct to the behavior of Cebull is ridiculous. Kozinski was exposed as having some racy pictures; Cebull was exposed as racist toward the President of the United States.

I mean, racism aside for the moment, as many people pointed out last night, since when can a sitting federal judge say, “The only reason I can explain it to you is I am not a fan of our president, but this goes beyond not being a fan… I sent it out because it’s anti-Obama.” Sitting judges aren’t allowed to freaking plant a sign in their yard supporting a candidate. This one is sending out hateful emails about the president because he’s “not a fan”?

In fact, the only way I would question Kozinski here is if he felt in any way hamstrung from taking this guy behind the woodshed, painting him to look like a cow, and making him parade around just because some sexually uptight idiot made a comment about pictures.

Oh, and do you think unabashed hatred for the president would have had an impact on any of Cebull’s cases is the last four years? I hope the Democratic party of Wyoming Montana is firing up the retrial machine, you know, when they get off of work from Cheney’s ranch what the hell do they have in Montana that you can even make fun of? The freaking sky? I hope Montana Democrats start looking into Cebull’s past cases once they stop looking at the sky.

Earlier: Judge of the Day: Montana Chief Judge Forwards Racially Charged Joke About Obama

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