DA investigating incident involving Borris Miles

Lovely.

The Harris County District Attorney's Office is investigating a complaint that state Rep. Borris Miles, D-Houston, made threats and brandished a gun at a holiday party last month.

According to witnesses, Miles entered a St. Regis Hotel ballroom uninvited, confronting guests, displaying a pistol and forcibly kissing another man's wife.

David Harris, who threw the party for his property management company, said he believes Miles, an insurance agent, was angry at him for investing in a rival business.

"He was saying things such as, 'I told you to get out of the insurance business. There ain't room in this town for the two of us. I'm going to come after you and take you down,' " Harris said.

The District Attorney's Office received a written complaint about the incident and is investigating, but officials declined to comment further.

Messages left at Miles' government and insurance offices were not returned Friday.

Rumors about the incident have swirled for weeks in both Houston and Austin. Harris agreed to speak publicly about it last month only after being contacted by the Houston Chronicle. It was not until Friday, however, that the District Attorney's Office confirmed the investigation.

Well, whatever else you may say about this, the timing is certainly fortuitous for the District Attorney's office. Nothing distracts from a scandal like another scandal.

According to witnesses to the December incident, Miles walked into the ballroom carrying a wine bottle and a glass.

During their confrontation, Harris said Miles proclaimed himself a "gangster" and "thug," before kissing Harris on both cheeks and then the mouth. Miles then pulled out a gun and placed it in Harris' hand, witnesses said.

"He was acting as if there was some sort of symbolic power struggle, grabbing him by the face," said Nathaniel Rido, who attended the party.

Rido said Miles also kissed his wife, Krysynthia, before leaving, an act that still angers him.

"A public official, acting like that -- I was disturbed," he said.

Miles also said at the party that he would "take down" U.S. Congressman Al Green, former local NAACP leader Howard Jefferson and Ben Hall, the city attorney under Mayor Bob Lanier. Hall is representing Harris.

''He disrespected me, he disrespected my guests," Harris said. "This is totally unacceptable."

If the allegations are true, then it is unacceptable. I certainly hope they're not true, and I hope Rep. Miles can clear his name. I respect the work he's done as State Representative, and I don't regret for a minute supporting him over the useless Craddick-enabling embarrassment Al Edwards (here's a reminder of Edwards' greatest hit from his last term in office), but if he's found guilty of doing what he's been accused of doing, then he needs to step down. Politically speaking, if it comes to that, the least damage would be caused if it happened after he won the primary. As that would leave no major party candidate running for HD146, then both the Democrats and the Republicans (if they care) could field someone new for November. This is similar to what happened when former State Rep. Vilma Luna decided to retire after the 2006 primaries. The lack of a Republican opponent distinguishes this from the DeLay situation that year - had the Rs fielded a candidate, the best the Dems could do in the event of a Miles resignation would be a write-in. But since the slot can't be left blank (and no, a Libertarian doesn't count, at least according to state law), both sides would get a do-over.

The best outcome, of course, is for the DA to conclude that there's no merit to the charges, and Miles goes on to finish off Edwards' career once and for all. That's what I'm hoping for. We'll see what happens.

UPDATE: Greg has the official statement from Miles.

Rep. Borris L Miles disagrees with the reported accounts of this alleged event. We are unaware of any investigation by the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

At the request of counsel, there will be no further comments on this matter. In the meantime and in light of this being a new year, Rep Miles continues to handle the business of his district which remains his utmost priority.

Cornel A. Williams
Attorney for Representative Miles

We'll see what happens next.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on January 12, 2008 to Local politics