Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) has been around longer than COVID-19, but those afflicted never fail to shock at least half the nation with the lengths they will go to somehow tie all things bad in the world to former President Donald Trump — even the stabbing murder of a local Las Vegas journalist, allegedly at the hands of a Democrat politician.
One week ago, Las Vegas Review-J0urnal reporter Jeff German, 69, was found dead outside his Vegas home. Police determined he’d been fatally stabbed the previous morning.
On Wednesday evening, Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles, who lost his primary election in June in part due to an investigation by German, was arrested. According to the Journal, “The investigative reporter was pursuing a potential follow-up story about Telles in the weeks before he was killed.”
At a Friday press conference, Sheriff Joseph Lombardo gave an update on the disturbing case, and that’s when TDS struck yet again.
(Video: YouTube)
It began with the afflicted reporter acknowledging that this was probably not an “appropriate” time to talk “politics” before her battle with TDS demanded she start talking politics.
“Do you condemn former President Trump’s normalization of violence against journalists?” she blurted out.
It is unclear exactly how the reporter believed Trump normalized violence against members of the media, but presumably, she took the oft-repeated phrase, “that’s fake news,” to mean “go stab a reporter” — something Trump obviously never said.
To the Sheriff’s credit, he was quick to shut the absurd notion down.
“I think this is probably an inappropriate venue to speculate on that, or opine on that,” Lombardo replied. “I think it needs to be stated and noted that it is troublesome because it is a journalist, and we expect journalism to be open and transparent and a watchdog for government.”
“And when people take it upon themselves to create harm associated with that profession,” he added, “I think it’s very important that we put all eyes on and address the case appropriately, such as we did in this case.”
The facts surrounding the case are far less cryptic.
According to the Review-Journal, police released a photo of a red or maroon GMC Yukon Denali tied to the suspected murderer. That evening, “Review-Journal reporters observed Telles in the driveway of his home, standing next to a vehicle matching that description.”
Telles’s home, located just six miles from the victim’s home, was searched and later surrounded, and Telles was taken into custody.
He appeared in court on Thursday.
(Video: YouTube)
The alleged motive for the murder seems clear.
“German spent months reporting on the turmoil surrounding Telles’ oversight of the public administrator’s office,” the Review-Journal reports.
“The 45-year-old Democrat lost his re-election bid in the primary after German’s findings were published,” the paper continued. “German also had recently filed public records requests for emails and text messages between Telles and three other county officials: Assistant Public Administrator Rita Reid, estate coordinator Roberta Lee-Kennett and consultant Michael Murphy. Lee-Kennett was identified in previous stories as a subordinate staffer allegedly involved in an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with Telles.”
Las Vegas Review-Journal Executive Editor Glenn Cook expressed his relief following the arrest of Telles.
“The arrest of Robert Telles is at once an enormous relief and an outrage for the Review-Journal newsroom,” he said. “We are relieved Telles is in custody and outraged that a colleague appears to have been killed for reporting on an elected official.”
“Journalists can’t do the important work our communities require if they are afraid a presentation of facts could lead to violent retribution,” he continued. “We thank Las Vegas police for their urgency and hard work and for immediately recognizing the terrible significance of Jeff’s killing. Now, hopefully, the Review-Journal, the German family and Jeff’s many friends can begin the process of mourning and honoring a great man and a brave reporter.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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