NEWS

Hinds DA's secretly recorded tapes revealed

Anna Wolfe
The Clarion-Ledger

In transcripts of secretly recorded conversations, Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith uses profanity and says "we going to get him free" about a criminal defendant. But he doesn't implicate himself, Smith's attorney said.

At some point, an assistant in the district attorney's office began working as a confidential informant for the agencies pursuing criminal charges against Smith, who was indicted on felony charges of conspiracy in September.

In May and again in June, former Assistant District Attorney Ivon Johnson secretly recorded his conversations with Smith, the transcripts of which were revealed in court filings Tuesday. In July, Johnson pleaded guilty to conspiracy in an alleged bribery scheme involving lowering the bonds of criminal defendants in exchange for money.

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Smith is accused of aiding criminal defendant Christopher Butler, who's facing several charges including possession of marijuana and embezzlement.

"So basically our goal with the grand jury is to get them, and ultimately, this should result in (Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Jeff Weill) having the pressure to do what he needs to do with Butler's case and him getting free?" Johnson asked Smith on June 18, according to the transcripts.

"Uh-huh," Smith said. "Well, no — yeah, that and the fact that they really are — I mean, they're committing all these crimes."

"They're bending and breaking the law," Johnson said, referring to the law enforcement agencies involved.

Smith's connection to Butler stems from Smith's belief that the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics planted drugs during a 2011 raid of Butler's girlfriend's home. Smith got this idea after Butler's former attorney, Kevin Rundlett, visited him in his office early on in the case. Rundlett later removed himself from the case.

"He was like, man, I'm just tired," Smith told Johnson in May. "I'm just, it seems like, you know, it's just unfair. I see what it is. I said you're the one brought it to me. And so he was to the point where I had to assure him that I wasn't going to prosecute this guy, because, I mean, it was just wrong."

Smith has repeated the drug-planting allegation for years, especially after difficulties with the surveillance footage taken from cameras in the home caused him to question whether officials had tampered with the tape.

The attorney general's office alleges Smith visited Butler in jail, improperly aided his defense and ultimately hindered his prosecution. A Hinds County grand jury indicted Smith alongside Assistant District Attorney Jamie McBride, alleging the two conspired together with Johnson.

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When Johnson asked Smith to explain his "goal" and the "overall big picture" in terms of Butler's cases, Smith responded with what appeared a breathless tangent.

"I'm going to get Weill next. See, I — let me show you what I'm talking about. But, see, this whole system, like I said, they've been just f****** over and make — you know, like — like we just f****** weak and this and that. F*** that, no, no, no, no, no, huh-huh, huh-huh. I just had the wrong idea when I got in office. I thought everybody was going to work together and this and that," he said.

(Smith has a dog named Otis he appears to tell "no" throughout the transcript).

"No, I'm not a criminal," Smith says shortly after.

Waide told The Clarion-Ledger that the Johnson transcripts are not relevant to the criminal charges against Smith.

"Nor do they contain any evidence that incriminates Smith or McBride on any criminal offense," the filing states.

The tapes only show, Waide said, that Smith had contacted him to see if there was "standing to file a civil suit to have Butler released."

"Chris Butler is Chris Butler. I mean, he's a political prisoner, and so what I'm saying is there has to be some kind of relief for him (inaudible)," Smith said in May. "I mean, I know he can file his own indigent action and all that, but I'm thinking that there must be some kind of — come here, Otis. There must be some kind of action, injunctive relief in federal court. The only issue that I have is the standing issue," Smith said in May.

Smith also alluded to Johnson that he was having Waide look into Butler's case.

"Waide is taking this case by the way — on the civil side," Smith said. "Boy, Lord, I can't wait."

The state attorney general's office used those tapes as justification for asking that Smith's attorney, Jim Waide, be disqualified. Waide could be a witness in the case, the state's attorneys argue.

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Waide, on the other hand, wants the transcripts excluded from the case evidence.

"In any event, the Court should exclude all the profanity and use of the influential term n***** used on the tapes. Such profanity and use of the influential term n***** is irrelevant. The prejudicial effect of such language far outweighs the probative value," Waide writes.

Waide also attached to his filing an Oct. 18 letter from attorney Tom Fortner. Fortner said Smith hired him in April 2014 to represent Smith in a federal investigation into the district attorney's office, which was later withdrawn. Fortner said he had an agreement with U.S. Assistant Attorney Mike Hurst, who was in charge of the investigation, that his office would not initiate any further investigation without contacting Fortner.

Fortner said he was not informed of any investigation into Smith's office after that.

"These tapes were unlawfully obtained, since they were obtained after an agreement between Smith’s then-attorney and the Assistant United States Attorney that Smith’s Attorney would be notified of any further investigation of Smith," Waide writes.

As recently as Oct. 14, Waide claimed the attorney general refused to provide these transcripts to his client and suggested the office had acted partially in the case against Smith.

Contact Anna Wolfe at (601) 961-7326 or awolfe@gannett.com. Follow @ayewolfe on Twitter.