Sutton Hearing - What About the Couch?

I didn't listen to the entire netcast of the Sutton hearing yesterday. But I did go back and read through the great coverage on the Argus Leader's Voices Blog.

There was something that jumped out at me that didn't seem to get much attention. Sutton's lawyer mentioned something about a couch in that hotel room.

Butler goes on, pointing out there was a couch in the hotel room that rolled out into a bed - and Austin never used it.

I talked with someone who has stayed in Holiday Inn Expresses many times. He told me that he's stayed in rooms with king-size beds and those rooms do have couches in them. The couches are long enough for a fairly tall person to lay down on. And the kicker is that the couches pull out into a second bed.

So why did'nt Austin Wiese just sleep on the couch? Even if he didn't realize it was a pull-out bed, he could have still slept on the couch. It might not have been as comfy as a bed, but if you're uncomfortable sleeping in the same bed as someone, then why not choose the couch?

Or why not just take an extra pillow and blanket and sleep on the floor? Wiese had plenty of options. It's not like Sutton was holding a gun to his head and making him sleep in the same bed both nights.

I'm still on the fence about what I think truly happened, but there are many things about Wiese's testimony that just don't make sense.

Update: Greg Belfrage has a little more info about the couch that wasn't in the Argus Blog.

Sutton's attorneys asked Wiese why he didn't sleep on the couch in the room. It was too small, Wiese said. Why didn't he sleep on the roll out bed in the couch? Didn't know it was there, Wiese said.

So Wiese made the decision not to use the couch because it was too small? I don't know. If I'm in a very uncomfortable situation, I make do with what's available.

Sutton Hearing - Beating the Tar Out of Dennis Wiese

Sutton's hearing got a little more interesting. The lawyer for Dan Sutton (didn't catch his name) revealed some interesting information about the order of events.

• Austin Wiese tells his father, Dennis, about his accusation that Sutton did something to him.
• Dennis Wiese reports the accusation to Attorney General Larry Long.
• A couple days later, the Suttons and Wieses get together for a dinner.
• During the summer, Dennis Wiese announces his support for Sen. Sutton's re-election campaign. He called Sutton "A good man."
• News breaks in Washington, D.C. about Mark Foley's inappropriate behavior towards a U.S. Congressional page.
• A week or so goes by and PP over at SD War College runs across an angry letter(s) detailing the accusation and the reactions from state legislators from both parties.

My reaction to this info is that maybe Dennis Wiese saw the huge reaction from the Foley mess and jumped in with his own personal Foleygate. We'll see if that turns out to be right. I wonder why Dennis Wiese didn't get a subpoena?

Sutton Hearing Live Netcast

Keloland.com has a live netcast of the state Senate hearing for Dan Sutton. (Just click play)

I watched the first half hour of it and nothing was happening. It was so boring I thought cutting off my leg would've been a better use of my time. But now, as of 3:45 PM Central Time, it looks like everyone has arrived and they've started.

I've been keeping silent on the Sutton deal (along with many other things since I haven't posted in awhile), but I'll soon share my feelings about this whole mess. So stay tuned!