FRESNO (KMJ) – In a Thursday night tweet, former congressional candidate and current mayoral contender Andrew Janz lashed out at his old opponent, 22nd District Rep.
Devin Nunes, responding to a Nunes tweet about a Fresno city council issue, surrounding the use of taxpayer cash to pay “criminals to be nice.”
Nunes didn’t name anyone in particular in the tweet.
But Janz tweeted back, “If we stopped paying criminals, you and Trump wouldn’t get any more paychecks.”
And Janz would know a thing about what makes a criminal, he’s a Fresno County Prosecutor.
“First of all it’s kind of troubling that a deputy district attorney would throw out comments like that, especially since the public puts some credence in law enforcement and deputy district attorneys to accurately comment on the law,” Kapetan said.
KMJ Legal Analyst Peter Kapetan used to be a prosecutor. He says the tweet presents an interesting question when it comes to ethics and the law.
The rules of professional conduct of the California Bar Association require that an attorney “maintain the integrity of the profession,” and that includes staying away from conduct “that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.”
“The rule does not prohibit those activities that are protected by the first amendment, so I’m sure that would be the defense here, is that I’m making comments that are protected by the first amendment, but it really is skating on the edge, I think,” Kapetan said.
A call placed to Andrew Janz seeking comment hasn’t been returned as of this broadcast.
Clint Olivier, KMJ News.
