U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren dodged questions about whether U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh should resign from his Washington post if it turns out he knew about domestic assault allegations against his pick for Boston Police commissioner, installed in his final days as mayor.
Instead, Warren took aim at the cops, calling on officers to “drop this blue wall of silence” during a Sunday appearance on WCVB’s “On the Record.”
An independent report into abuse allegations from the 1990s against top cop Dennis White revealed two-thirds of 21 active duty and retired officers contacted by the investigator refused to cooperate in the probe.
Acting Mayor Kim Janey attempted to fire the suspended White more than a week ago after releasing the report, but White blocked her move — at least temporarily — by filing suit.
Walsh landed at the center of the controversy last week when White and former Police Commissioner William Gross both submitted sworn statements to the judge asserting the former mayor would have known about Internal Affairs allegations when he promoted him as commissioner in February.
Walsh has denied any knowledge of the alleged wrongdoing by White.
A judge has promised swift action but had not reached a verdict as of Friday.
U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, a Salem Democrat, last week told The Boston Globe that Walsh should resign if he knew of the abuse prior to appointing White.
When reporters pressed Warren for an answer on whether Walsh should resign if it turns out he’s lying, Warren said “we’re not anyplace close to that.”
“There’s an ongoing investigation, and let’s see everybody who was involved and then we can see what the appropriate response would be,” Warren said.
Longtime ally U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch on Friday defended Walsh, insisting to reporters that there’s no way the former mayor would have appointed White if he’d known of the allegations.
But Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins, also speaking Friday in an interview on GBH Greater Boston Radio, said the police affidavits hold more weight in her mind than Walsh’s statement.
“Somebody signed something under the pains and penalties of perjury,” Rollins told the radio station. “For me, that has to trump — I love using that word — that has to trump somebody just saying, ‘yeah, that never happened.'”
Janey has signaled she’s ready to move forward with replacing White, Her fellow Boston mayoral candidates are calling for the responsibility of making a permanent appointment to be left to the next mayor.
