IndyStar: Women Accuse Top Hogsett Aide Of Preying On Subordinates For Years

Tony Katz:

Locally, the biggest story. Holy moly, I read it. Ohh my gosh. This story about Thomas Carl Cook, the longtime deputy mayor of Joe Hogsett and the guy who has been in charge, who we for years on this show, I’ve been describing as a creepy guy, an odd guy. He won’t respond. He’ll retweet, but he won’t respond. He won’t come on the show, won’t put people on the show. We can’t get Hogsett on the show. That was the time where I started saying it’s not that Joe Hogsett’s afraid to come on. His staff won’t let him. He is surrounded by children. You heard me say this repeatedly. When the IndyStar wants to do local reporting. They do it. (below)

‘I kept saying no’: Women accuse top Hogsett aide of preying on subordinates for years (yahoo.com)

Tony Katz:

Hayleigh Colombo and James Briggs reporting that multiple women accused Thomas Carl Cook of abusing his power for nearly a decade while serving under the Hogsett administration where he was the number two. And we’re talking about unwanted sexual encounters, pressuring them towards intimacy. Cook admits in a statement dating back a decade, “I had consensual relationships that violated a trust placed in me.” I think the word you’re looking for guys is #MeToo. “At no time did I seek to use my professional position to further those personal relationships. That being said,” states Cook in a statement, “I understand these situations have raised legitimate concerns and I apologize to all those involved. “Oh well. Well, that’ll do it because it worked for Louis CK.

Tony Katz:

The story of Cook and this sexual impropriety, I don’t think would necessarily based on things that we have discussed here. I don’t think that really surprises. That a guy who gladly posted a photo of himself while Hogsett’s eating a slice of pizza. He’s giving the middle finger to all of Indianapolis. It doesn’t surprise.

Tony Katz:

But when you start reading, and I don’t want to give away too much, I’m going to act. It’s like the Larry Nasser story. When they do local reporting, they can do it. I’ll gladly eat my words I said. Everyone who works at the IndyStar’s a monster for how they handled the Trump assassination (story). I was disgusted by the lack of actual reporting.

Tony Katz:

And you saw this with CNN, the Denver Post and a host of people disgusted. They want to say it’s Gannett’s fault. They don’t control those things. I don’t know how you differentiate. Maybe their argument is more solid than I give it credit for. Because just like the Larry Nasser reporting is stunning. This is excellent. And the real story here, as I see it, is the conversation about Mayor Joe Hogsett. Who, according to the reporting, has heard about complaints about Thomas Carl Cook’s behavior as far back as 2017. And he kept Thomas Carl Cook in place and in power. He would not allow himself to be interviewed for the story. The Indy Star is naming names. These people allowed themselves to be named. Telling deep, detailed stories. The question here is about what did Joe Hogsett know and when did he know it?

Tony Katz:

According to the reporting, Hogsett had only accepted Cook’s resignation “for violating the 2017 reprimand and prohibition as a result of a romantic relationship.” How many years did you keep him on board? How many years did you keep him employed, whether through the mayor’s office or other places? … I would ask the question of a James Briggs and Hayleigh Colombo: Are you telling me that only? Umm. Months after an election. You had the story. Did this come to you before? Was there a story here that could have existed before the election?

Tony Katz:

I think that’s a natural question, and the answer could very well be “no”. You know it. It’s like the idea of “where was Joe Hogsett for two nights of riots?” Which, by the way, Thomas Carl Cook might know. We’ll see how he goes down. Are you telling me nobody can get an answer to this? Has anybody even asked Hogsett, has any news agency that makes the claim repeatedly asked him and demanded answers?

Tony Katz:

We can’t get that story. I mean, I could tell you I’ve been inundated, guys. Over the last couple of years, with people telling me, “I’ll tell you where he was, you know what happened, here’s what I heard.” No one with an ounce of proof. What do you want me to do? You want me to start saying things? No way. Where was Joe Hogsett during two nights of rioting? I need an answer to that question, but this story now brings that into even more of a focus because this has to do with the temperament and the decision making of the mayor of Indianapolis.

Tony Katz:

Maybe that temperament is why they decided to screw over the Indy Eleven, the Keystone Group, Ersal Ozdemir and move an entire tax district to provide a stadium for a team that we don’t know the ownership and we don’t even know if we’re getting a team, Major League Soccer I’m talking about. You accepted this… Why did you accept it? Why did you ignore it? Why did you not do anything about it? Why didn’t you stand up for it?

Tony Katz concludes:

If we are to go in the Wayback Machine, how many times will we find between 2017 and 2020? You were talking about standing up for women. You ran an entire election campaign against Jefferson Shreve about abortion and women’s rights and the importance of protecting women. But you weren’t protecting women, were you? I think you need to come on the show and answer the questions, Mayor Hogsett. Come to the studio, I will head downtown. I think you need to answer the questions. You claim to be a champion of women. You ran an entire election based on women’s reproductive rights or whatever it is you called it. And quietly, you weren’t caring about women when they were getting abused and you were like, “whatever, he’s my buddy.” I mean, that’s the way it sounds, Sir, so. When you tell us how it really went down. 5 microphones. You can call in. We’re ready.

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