Is State Trying to Whitewash an Agent-Involved Traffic Accident?

On Wednesday night, the Daily Caller's Sean Medlock was struck in a crosswalk in D.C. by a State Department SUV. Developments in the case since have led Tucker Carlson's new blog to accuse State of falsifying events and trying to whitewash the incident.

Sean Medlock, who writes for Tucker Carlson's new Daily Caller blog under the moniker of Jim Treacher, was struck in a pedestrian crosswalk in downtown Washington, D.C. on Wednesday night by a State Department Suburban SUV. Mr. Medlock, who suffered minor injuries and a damaged knee that will require reconstructive surgery, described the incident as follows:

Sometime between 7 and 7:30, not long after I got home from work, I walked to the CVS on 22nd and M to get some bread, milk, and a SmartTrip card. I was right across the street from the CVS, and I waited for the crosswalk light to tell me to go before I crossed. I had plenty of time left, according to the countdown clock. I was more than halfway there when a black SUV made an illegal left turn and hit me head-on.

I absolutely had the right of way. I yelled something like, "Are you really doing this?" as it hit me before I could move. I landed on my face on the street and smashed my glasses and scraped my hand and immediately I knew something was wrong with my left knee. I lay there screaming and cursing for I don't know how long, and a crowd of people gathered and told me to hold still.

Witnesses at the scene believed it was a Secret Service vehicle at first, but it has since been identified as belonging to the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service. The driver, now identified as Agent Mike McGuinn, an employee of State, reportedly did not identify himself at the scene. According to Mr. Medlock, many witnesses at the scene of the accident concur with his recollection of events: that he was in fact in the crosswalk and had the right of way when he was struck down. Mr. Medlock was attended onscene by paramedics from a nearby firehouse, then brought by ambulance to Georgetown Hospital where he was treated for his injuries. Carlson and three fellow Daily Caller employees later visited him in his hospital room. Events began to take a bizarre turn for Medlock not long after, events which have since led Tucker Carlson and his Daily Caller blog to accuse State of falsifying accounts and using undue influence to lay the blame on Medlock. Shortly after Carlson left, Medlock was resting in his hospital bed when a Metropolitan Police Department officer, now identified as John Muniz, showed up in Medlock's room to issue him a citation for jaywalking. According to Medlock, Muniz was accompanied by a man who, only identifying himself as a "special agent," observed, took notes and said nothing while Muniz issued the citation. Even stranger, Mr. Medlock claims the citation was written for a location four blocks away from where the accident occurred. Earlier today, the State Department sent a terse response by email to Tucker Carlson and the Daily Caller over questions they had submitted to State regarding the incident, issuing an account of the accident which varies wildly from Medlock's own and those of eyewitnesses at the scene:

At approximately 7:10 PM last night, a jogger collided with one of the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service’s official vehicles.

The jogger was transported by ambulance to Georgetown University Hospital.

Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) responded to the scene and conducted an investigation. Diplomatic Security has since learned that the jogger was cited for Jaywalking. For further details regarding the investigation, we would refer you to MPD.

At all times, Diplomatic Security acted responsibly and appropriately and displayed due diligence in caring for the injured.

Carson and the Daily Caller responded with a heated and accusatory posting on their website titled, "Struck Down: Feds Refuse to Explain How Agent Injured Daily Caller Writer." In that article, the Daily Caller staff reprinted for public consumption the same troubling questions they had submitted to State, to wit: "Was Mr. McGuinn protecting any member of the diplomatic corps when his SUV struck our Mr. Medlock? If so, who was he protecting? If he was not protecting or escorting anyone, was he on duty or off duty? Was Mr. McGuinn driving a state department vehicle? Did Mr. McGuinn at any time identify himself to Mr. Medlock or to Metropolitan Police? Did he accompany Mr. Medlock to the hospital? Did Mr. McGuinn contact MPD to have them write Mr. Medlock a jaywalking ticket that was delivered to Mr. Medlock while he was in the hospital being treated for a broken knee (which will require surgery), lacerations and bruises? "If so, do you consider that ethical or proper behavior? Did a diplomatic security service special agent accompany the MPD officer into the hospital room while Mr. Medlock was being questioned, observe and take notes? Was that officer Mr. McGuinn? Does Mr. McGuinn contend that Mr. Medlock was jaywalking? Did Mr. McGuinn apologize to Mr. Medlock after the incident? Does the State Department plan on issuing an apology to Mr. Medlock? Will any disciplinary action be taken against Mr. McGuinn? Is this the first time he has been involved in a vehicular accident?" You can read the entire story and a lot more details in the linked articles, but what it comes down to is this. If Medlock's and Carlson's statements are accurate on the accident and the troubling turn of events since, including what appears to be the possible application of undue influence by State on MPD to issue the jaywalking citation to Medlock (thereby laying the blame on the victim), it doesn't look good for State at all. Think about it. What police department in America would dispatch an officer to a hospital bed to issue a jaywalking citation to a pedestrian accident victim the same night? Who was the Man in Black in the room with Muniz? And why was he there overseeing the issuance of a jaywalking citation? A jogger "collided" with a State Department vehicle? When have any of you ever heard of a struck-down pedestrian referred to as having "collided" with any moving motor vehicle that struck him? And where did State come up with the "jogger" reference? And why was the citation written for a location four blocks away from the actual scene? According to the Daily Caller, State is being tight-lipped on the incident and is now redirecting all callers to MPD. In turn, the MPD Public Affairs Office has stated that no report will be available to the public until early next week at the soonest. A Daily Caller reporter who visited the Second District station where Officer Muniz is assigned was told that there will be no report filed on the incident at all. At this point, it seems the Daily Caller and the public will have to wait and see what kind of report or press release MPD will issue next week, if any. Regardless, it is doubtful this incident will disappear from the news anytime soon. State is up against Tucker Carlson and a Daily Caller blog staff with bees under their bonnets and barrels of ink to spill.