DA vs. Times, again

The Orange County District Attorney's office is attacking the Times again, this time focusing on an investigative reporter working on a story about the office's chief spokeswoman, Susan Kang Schroeder, and her husband, local Republican bigwig Michael J. Schroeder. R. Scott Moxley at the OC Weekly got hold of an email that Schroeder sent around in an effort to get staffers not to cooperate with reporter Christine Hanley. Moxley posted it at The Blotter, the Weekly's blog:

Dear colleagues:

We are lucky in Orange County because the Orange County press corps, for the most part, sets the gold standard. They are ethical, hardworking people who have an important job to do. The media often helps us find witnesses, solve crimes, and help inform the public that justice is done.

Unfortunately, in every profession there are bad apples. Christine Hanley is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. She was recently assigned to cover our office. She used to cover our office four years ago. She has engaged in repeated unethical behavior including the manufacturing of facts. She is reckless and does not care about the truth. She has been repeatedly confronted about her false stories. She refuses to change.

You should exercise extreme caution in all contacts with her. Because of her past unethical practices, some attorneys in our office refuse to talk with her. I have listed a few of her “greatest hits.” I have plenty more examples in greater detail. If you would like to learn more, please feel free to contact me...

Lot of history in this one. Controversial DA Tony Rackauckas has tried before to shut down the Times reporters covering his office (and reporters from the OC Weekly). Here's some of the past coverage of that at LA Observed.