Here are the videos that accompany my DN column today about critics of Nassau County DA Kathleen Rice accusing her of flip-flopping on a touchstone issue for liberals – Rockefeller Drug Law reform.

The first is from a May 6 AG candidates forum sponsored by Brown Memorial Baptist Church, Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, District Leader Olanike Alabi, and the 57th Assembly District Democratic Organization.

The clip depicts Assemblyman Richard Brodsky accusing Rice of opposing drug law reform – a claim she calls a “complete falsehood.” Brodsky shoots back that he has the letter on which her name appears in opposition to the 2009 reform in his briefcase – in case anyone was interested in perusing it. (No word on if there were takers.

What Brodsky was referring to was actually a series of press releases from the state DAs Association, which vehemently opposed, and lobbied to block, drug law reform both in 2004 when the first changes were signed into law by then-Gov. George Pataki and 2009, when the latest round was included as part of Gov. David Paterson’s budget proposal.

Ironically, Republican Staten Island DA Dan Donovan, who announced his AG candidacy yesterday, headed the association at the time. Rice was on the Board of Directors.

Rice spokesman Eric Phillips told me Rice disagreed with the association’s “overall opposition to the reforms” – but he admitted she didn’t “publicly rebuke” its anti-reform efforts. A source involved with the association at the time told me this morning the releases were circulated to all members prior to their release and Rice never objected to any of them.

In addition, Rice agreed to serve on a committee formed by Franklin County DA Derek Champagne to monitor the impact of the changes to the law on the criminal justice system. This was announced the day Donovan was at the Capitol to denounce the ’09 reforms and play a jailhouse tape of a drug offender calling them “the drug dealers protection act.”

The second video is of Sen. Chuck Fuschillo reading aloud a letter from Rice on the floor of the Senate during the drug law reform debate last year. He calls her “my own district attorney.”

Fuschillo, a Republican, cites Rice’s concerns about the changes and the potential loss of power by DAs they would cause, as an argument against them.


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