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Acting AG faced criticism for case against gay Iowa Democrat
The case against McCoy fell apart in court amid allegations of political bias and prosecutorial misconduct.
(File Photo: @mccoyforiowa/Twitter)
IOWA CITY, Iowa — In 2007, Matt McCoy was a rising star in the Democratic Party, Iowa’s first openly gay senator and a leading champion for the party’s causes.
But then, his allies say, McCoy’s promising career was stalled by a politically-motivated prosecution brought by a Republican U.S. attorney, Matthew G. Whitaker, who became nation’s top law enforcement official after President Donald Trump named him acting attorney general Wednesday.
The case against McCoy fell apart in court amid allegations of political bias and prosecutorial misconduct. A jury quickly acquitted McCoy of the charge, deciding that he had not attempted to extort money from a former business partner.
McCoy says he’s shocked by Whitaker’s elevation to lead the Justice Department. He says his case should serve as a warning that Whitaker will not hesitate to pursue Democrats and Trump’s desire to curtail special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
