No 911 Call, No Toxicology Report, No ID Of Witness – The Obama’s Appear To Be Hiding Something In The Death Of Chef At Their Martha’s Vineyard Estate

(Daily Mail) Police in Massachusetts are continuing to cover up information about the death of Obama personal chef Tafari Campbell even after declaring the case closed this week, DailyMail.com can reveal.

The response has prompted an outcry from First Amendment advocates who have been left asking: ‘What do they have to hide?’

 

And it has also sparked a plethora of conspiracy theories including the role of the former president’s family in the cover-up and Campbell’s relationship with the  unidentified woman who witnessed his death.

Earlier this month state police had withheld information under the guise of an ‘ongoing investigation’, citing a Public Records Law exemption that allows authorities to keep details on grounds that it could jeopardize an active investigation.

But after the 45-year-old’s death was officially ruled an accidental drowning earlier this week, authorities are yet to address how an apparently capable swimmer, paddle boarding near the ex-president’s summer home in Martha’s Vineyard, could have drowned in shallow water.

Details have trickled out from unofficial sources since then, with DailyMail.com exclusively revealing last week that Campbell’s paddle boarding companion was a woman who worked in the Obama household.

Now we can reveal that she is 26 years old. Her identity, however, is still unknown.

Releasing the summary conclusion of a report from the chief medical examiner, officials refused to reveal even basic findings, such as whether Campbell suffered a medical episode or was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

State police have also warned other law enforcement agencies to not to release information.

With the case now closed, Edgartown police released an incident report Wednesday confirming that it was a Secret Service officer who made the 911 call – as DailyMail.com first reported, but redacted their name, and left out information on the other paddle boarder, who was the sole witness to the drowning.

‘Per the request of the Ma State Police, the names of the witness and reporting USSS agent have been redacted,’ Edgartown police chief Bruce McNamee replied to DailyMail.com when asked for the additional details.

DailyMail.com also put in a renewed request for the 911 call on Tuesday morning with the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office, which fielded the call.

Susan Schofield, the sheriff’s supervisor of communications, has yet to provide it.

‘I am waiting for a response from the trooper who is in charge of the investigation,’ Schofield replied to DailyMail.com on Wednesday morning.

‘Nothing yet,’ she replied Thursday morning to a follow-up inquiry. ‘As soon as I hear, I will get it right out to you.’

Campbell drowned the night of July 23 and was found by a rescue boat with side sonar and pulled from the water the next morning.

Police declared early on that they believed that this was an accidental drowning, but cited pending toxicology results as a reason for withholding additional information. When the tests were completed they said toxicology report findings are only released to the family.

After 11 days of silence, the head of the region’s First Amendment coalition told DailyMail.com that the state appeared to be violating the Public Records Law.

‘The burden is on law enforcement to show how their investigation may be jeopardized by releasing certain information,’ Justin Silverman, executor director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, said at the time.

Robert Bertsche, general counsel of the New England Newspaper and Press Association (NENPA), sounded a new alarm on Thursday.

‘The 911 call absolutely should be released,’ Bertsche told DailyMail.com.

‘So should the other details about the now-completed investigation by state or local authorities. That’s not merely the law – it’s a sound public practice.

‘When the government keeps secrets, the void inevitably gets filled with conspiracy theories, and that leads to suspicion and distrust of government,’ Bertsche added.

‘That doesn’t serve the legitimate interests of law enforcement – and it certainly doesn’t serve the public, which has a right to know how the police reached their conclusion.

‘By refusing to disclose the investigation details, the police have spawned a cottage industry of rumor-making and malign speculation,’ he said.

‘It’s natural for members of the public to ask: “What do they have to hide?” ‘

Conspiracy theorists have questioned whether Obama himself has played a role in the alleged coverup.

Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, a conservative activist group that has also filed for information on the case, was quick to pounce on a DailyMail.com report that Campbell was out on the pond with a female Obama staffer.

‘Who was that witness who was paddle boarding with him?’ Fitton asked DailyMail.com Thursday.

‘Obviously, it wasn’t his wife. So who was it? As of today, we still don’t have a sufficient reason for the withholding of any of this information.

‘We’ll be very interested to learn about communications between the Secret Service and the state and local police,’ Fitton continued.

‘It’s simple information. What’s the state secret about this other than to protect Obama, to protect him from embarrassment or having to answer questions on this.

‘This is why people don’t trust what they’re told about cases such as these,’ he said.

‘What otherwise looks to be a simple tragic accident becomes something else because the government withholds information improperly to protect a politician.’

Bersche, however, noted that the Massachusetts state police are notoriously secretive when it comes to the media.

He cited a 2015 survey conducted by the Center for Public Integrity giving the state an ‘F’ for public access to information.

Read More