What The Media Neglects To Mention About The Politician Who Murdered A Journalist

Posted • August 31, 2024: This week, a jury found former Nevada politician Robert Telles guilty of assassinating investigative journalist Jeff German over articles he had written about him exposing the Clark County public administrator's alleged misconduct in office. German's investigation, which aired internal allegations accusing the local official of corruption, bullying his staff, and having an affair with a subordinate, led to Telles stabbing the dogged reporter to death in retaliation. The two-week Telles trial made national news, given the gruesomeness of the crime and the motive underlying German's premeditated murder. However, the media, for the most part, neglected to mention that the now-convicted murderer was a Democrat official. The New York Times, NBC News, ABC News, Rolling Stone, and The Hill all made no mention of the killer's party affiliation when covering his conviction.

German's series of stories critical of Telles, who was seeking a second term, ultimately cost the then-incumbent candidate the Democratic primary in June of 2022. Prior to German's slaying, Telles had publicly railed against the reporter on his official campaign website, calling the accusations "false" and "another" "manufacture[d] scandal." Under the site's subsection titled "The Truth," Telles claimed German was conspiring with his Democratic challenger, assistant public administrator Rita Reid, to publish the pieces probing his handling of the county office, which oversees the estates of those who have died. Reid, the top supervisor under Telles, was one of the whistleblowers, among a half-dozen current and former employees German interviewed, who sounded the alarm on Telles's toxic behavior in the workplace.

"Jeff German and John Cahill [who was Telles's predecessor] may not be done trying to drag me through the mud," Telles wrote of German's findings. "To ensure that Democrats rally around Rita, they would have to turn most Democratic voters against me even now when I should be irrelevant. Don't be surprised if the articles keep coming." After losing his re-election bid to Reid, on September 2, 2022, the deadly Democrat repeatedly stabbed The Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter outside his home, where Telles was "lying in waiting," and then left the 69-year-old victim to die. German, who suffered seven fatal stab wounds, including four to his neck and one that cut his carotid artery, according to the autopsy report, was working on a follow-up article at the time Telles murdered him, his own outlet revealed.

German had recently filed a new round of public records requests for emails and text messages exchanged between Telles and three other county officials, including a coroner, Reid, and estate coordinator Roberta Lee-Kennett, the subordinate staffer allegedly involved in an "inappropriate relationship" with Telles. Co-workers, who said the affair was used to "secure power and privileges above others in the office," videotaped the two in the backseat of Lee-Kennett's vehicle. Videos of the clandestine meetings, copies of which German obtained, showed Telles and Lee-Kennett secretly canoodling in her car parked across the street from the Clark County Government Center.

Scandalized, the Telles staffers said it was "unacceptable" and "disgusting" to see of a public servant in a public place. Both were married, though Telles said they were only hugging and talking strictly about important office-related issues while Lee-Kennett said she just wanted Telles to hear her concerns face-to-face. At trial, Telles admitted they had an affair. "He did it because Jeff wasn't done writing," the prosecution told jurors. When he was slain, German had an outstanding request for government records involving Telles. Within hours of his assassination, German was texting with a Telles staff member, who had informed him that several workers were resigning. "Thanks. I'll be back at work on Thursday. That may be a story," German, who was starting a week of vacation, said.

In court, the jury learned that Telles was alerted about the release of those records just before he slashed German. Telles was wearing a white hazmat suit when Review-Journal reporters attempted to question him at his house as law enforcement closed in. Robert Telles just arrived at his house. Reporters asked him if he had any comment. I asked why police towed his vehicle. He had no comment. (…)

• More at: Townhall - What the Media Neglect to Mention About the Politician Who Murdered a Journalist
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/miacathell/2024/08/31/robert-telles-sentenced-n2644087
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