TPMMuckraker
Musician: Rehberg Didn't Seem Drunk On Night Of Boat Crash
Justin Elliott | October 12, 2009, 12:20PM
The scene of the Aug. 27 accident, Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT) inset.
Share
Send to a friend!
Ever since the boat accident in late August in which Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT) and two staffers were seriously injured, the congressman has denied that he had been drinking heavily and has maintained that the driver, who was charged with felonies last week, was not impaired either.
Now, a musician who says he saw Rehberg in Lakeside, MT, shortly before the accident, has come forward to say that Rehberg was not drunk.
Terry Brick, a member of the Toby Stone Duo, playing the night of the crash, said in a letter to the Missoulian Friday that Rehberg was not exhibiting the signs of inebriation:
I have more than 23 years' experience working with drug-and-alcohol addicted people. Additionally, I worked for more than 10 years at a drug and alcohol treatment center. I am trained to observe and monitor levels of intoxication.Rehberg was not intoxicated. He did not smell of alcohol, his eyes clear and steady, his verbiage consistent. We spoke shortly before he boarded the boat. His speech was clear and articulate. As he walked down the dock, I observed him. His gait was steady, movements coordinated.
Of course, it's an open question whether Brick could accurately assess how drunk or sober the 54-year-old congressman was that night.
One of the passengers on the boat told authorities that driver Greg Barkus, a Montana state senator who has been charged with three felonies alleging he was drunk, had two scotches and red wine before going out on the boat.
Rehberg has said he had two beers with dinner, and that his blood alcohol level tested at .05 at the hospital after the crash. He has stood by Barkus, saying that his friend did not seem "impaired," despite his blood alcohol level of .16, two hours after the crash.
One of Rehberg's Democratic challengers, Dennis McDonald, has accused the congressman of being blotto the night of the crash, referring to Rehberg and Barkus as "these two drunks."
Other Stories Featured at TPMMuckraker
Join the Conversation!
Leave a comment
Follow us!
Most Popular
- Gibbs Mocks Palin And Writes Shopping List On Hand (VIDEO)
- Cheney, Ridge Pioneered Miranda Attack On Obama
- Allegations Against Leader Cause Turmoil In CA GOP
- MAY DAY
- Deconstructing Rush Limbaugh
- Super Bowl Commercials Throw Women to the Wolves
- Get It Done: Reid Threatens Weekend Session If GOP Filibusters Just-Completed Jobs Bill
- Bachmann: 'If We Reject Israel, Then There Is A Curse That Comes Into Play'
- Scholarly Blog about Narcissistic Personality Disorder
- Democrats: We're Excited To Debate GOP Shadow Budget...Why Aren't Republicans?
TPM Stories Now Surging on Digg.com
TPM Top News
© 2009 TPM Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
henk
October 12, 2009 1:19 PM
I have a friend who dated a drug and alcohol counselor for 4 years, at the end of their relationship she was Shocked to find that he had been a heavy cocaine and marijuana user all through their relationship. The only reliable measure is the blood test.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
EH
October 12, 2009 1:42 PM
"I don't feel tardy."
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
ohyeathatsright
October 12, 2009 4:41 PM
Why is this an issue? He wasn't driving the boat...
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Kropotkin
October 13, 2009 3:36 AM
"Why is this an issue?"
"He wasn't driving the boat."
However he was the employer of the two young people who joined him on Senator Toad's wild ride.
Rehberg had a 0.50 BAC three hours after he quit partying. He was drunk when he got on the boat.
He's well know for his problem. He fell off a horse while riding drunk in Asia.
His poor judgment caused his aides, Kristen Smith and Dustin Frost to be injured. Frost suffered substantial brain damage and will be permanently disabled. Rehberg was their employer and it was his duty to protect them.
They were young adults, but they would have found it difficult not to ride with their employer and his drunken friend. If Rehberg took his teenaged kids or grandkids along for such a ride, he could have lost custody of them for being negligent. That's clear.
What's not clear about his injured his aides being his responsiblity?
Barkus BAC an hour and 45 minutes after the crash was 0.16, twice the limit for driving. At the time of the crash, it would have been around 0.19. He pled down a drunk driving charge not long ago.
Kristen Smith said the boat was speeding at about 40 mph and that his passengers were crouched down in the boat because it was going so fast. She saw the tachometer at 4,000 rpm and said he was disoriented, driving wildly and swerving in the dark.
Both Rehberg and Barkus were drunk when they got into the boat. That's not the end of it, though. They lied about how much they each had to drink and had others covering for them.
The entry on Wikipedia had information about the crash removed, presumably more damage control from Rehberg.
Terry Brick, rather than just being a dispassionate observer, wrote a letter and sent it to newspapers all over the state, in an attempt to exonerate Rehburg and to trash his presumed Democratic opponent. Brick is a fundamentalist, an evangelist, who represents Rehberg's base. He runs a church in Kalispell and has worked for megachurches in the past.
Do fundamentalist Christians lie? Think Jimmy Swaggert, Jim and Tammy Bakker, Paul Crouch, Tony Alamo.
The Brick letter is simply a political hit job. Though he pretends otherwise, he is not qualified to give expert testimony about the state of Rehberg's sobriety or drunkenness in a court of law.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?