Is Amy Klobuchar canceled? Possible VP pick gets tangled up in George Floyd case

We’d learned recently that one-time Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar was being vetted for the gig of Joe Biden’s vice president, but word is going around on Twitter that Klobuchar once failed to prosecute Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer caught on video with his knee on George Floyd’s neck. Floyd later died in custody, sparking days of protests and looting in the city.

So what’s the story here? Alan MacLeod of Mint Press News says that Klobuchar failed to prosecute Chauvin when he shot someone.

As Minnesota's Chief Prosecutor, Amy Klobuchar pushed a "tough on crime" message. But she didn't prosecute George Floyd's killer Derek Chauvin when he shot someone.

My latest article for @MintPressNews https://t.co/6Nv1ycBkxW

— Alan MacLeod (@AlanRMacLeod) May 27, 2020

The police officer who killed George Floyd was also part of 3 other police shootings of civilians, incl. one while Klobuchar was county prosecutor.

Klobuchar did not press charges against him, & so many others: https://t.co/iiKPK4UUZ8
also: https://t.co/T2t1ssHFG7 pic.twitter.com/VW0AkfzJM9

— Taniel (@Taniel) May 28, 2020

This was Minneapolis Police's description of what happened:

"Man Dies After Medical Incident During Police Interaction" pic.twitter.com/0MwzsabXKr

— Alan MacLeod (@AlanRMacLeod) May 27, 2020

Chauvin has killed multiple people while on duty, and has had 7 public complaints directed against him.

— Alan MacLeod (@AlanRMacLeod) May 27, 2020

In 2008 he killed a man in what can only be described as a "that totally happened" self-defense incidenthttps://t.co/hEkCGKUvcJ pic.twitter.com/qGu6ua8qzX

— Alan MacLeod (@AlanRMacLeod) May 27, 2020

You have to read a bit into the story to find this bit: “To be fair to Klobuchar, the [Wayne] Reyes shooting happened in October 2006, as her time as state prosecutor was coming to an end and she was campaigning for the senate. By the time Chauvin’s case finally made it to a grand jury, she had relinquished her role.”

Klobuchar’s communications director stepped in to remind everyone that Klobuchar wasn’t a prosecutor when the case involving Chauvin went before a grand jury.

Amy Klobuchar was not the prosecutor when this case was presented to the grand jury in 2007. She was in the U.S. Senate. https://t.co/M8zKLYF2JM

— Carlie Waibel (@carliewaibel) May 28, 2020

Lucky for Klobuchar now the case moved slowly. "On October 27, 2006, Chauvin was on the scene during the shooting death of Wayne Reyes, a Latino man." Klobuchar was county attorney until January 3, 2007. https://t.co/UKWxpSDi1y

— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) May 28, 2020

Some people are blaming Klobuchar for “punting” and sending the case to a grand jury, who heard the case after she’d been elected to the Senate. The New York Times reported back in May after a Democratic debate:

At the same time she was ramping up sentences, Ms. Klobuchar was also building a tight relationship with law enforcement, which is common for prosecutors. Some civil rights leaders say that skewed her other priorities, and explains why Ms. Klobuchar did not file charges in more than two-dozen police-involved deaths on her watch. She referred those cases to a grand jury instead, angering relatives of some victims who saw it as a way of avoiding responsibility while keeping the process hidden.

So Chauvin did cross Klobuchar’s radar, but a grand jury had taken over by the time she’d been sworn in as senator.

Thank you. There is a lot of misinformation going out in this regard. The far right is afraid Amy might be Joe's VP pick and view this as a chance to bring her down. We can not let them.

— Rich Hernandez (@RHinSarata) May 28, 2020

Damn right they’re afraid – this election would be over right now if Joe named her VP..

— RobertS55 (@s55_robert) May 28, 2020

Yeah, we’d need to see a fact-check on that.

She is the one who decided to send it to a grand jury instead of bringing direct charges. That’s the point.

— We’re Still Not Going Back ⚖️ (@BrettScr1) May 28, 2020

The mintpressnews story isn't accurate. I'd personally like Chauvin in prison now too, but shooting you reference, which involved stabbing suspect who allegedly pointed a gun at 6 cops, happened week before Amy was elected to Senate & grand jury convened while she was in Senate

— Janice Hough (@leftcoastbabe) May 28, 2020