Steve Lopez: Meg, let's get together for that lie-detector test

OK, Meg, I've got a polygraph expert lined up.

That's right. In response to gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman’s pledge that she would take a lie-detector test to prove that she and her husband didn’t know they had an illegal immigrant cleaning their house for nine years, I made a couple of calls and got it all set up.

Lisa Javoric, a Los Angeles private detective, suggested I call her associate, John Grogan. And it turns out that Grogan, who has been doing polygraph exams for 23 years, has been following campaign news.

Before I could complete a single sentence, Grogan said:

"Oh, sure. I'll test Meg Whitman for you."

Grogan said he has done thousands of polygraph exams and considers himself one of the most reliable lie-detector guys in the world. I was thinking maybe I could persuade our cousins at KTLA to broadcast the polygraph exam on live television, if Whitman goes for it, and Grogan said that would be no problem at all.

"I'll go anywhere at any time," he said.

So what do you say, Meg? There still seem to be a few discrepancies on what you and your husband knew about the housekeeper and when you knew it.

Out of the goodness of my heart and in the public interest, I'm offering you the chance to clear it all up, and you know where you can contact me. As for readers, here's your chance to participate.

As soon as possible, send us your questions for Meg regarding her maid, her campaign promises or her time at Goldman Sachs. I'll try my best to have some of your queries added to Meg's polygraph exam.

Talk about direct democracy.

Don't delay; just ask away.

Photo: Celebrity attorney Gloria Allred speaks to the media as she represents Whitman's former housekeeper, Nicky Diaz, at Allred's offices in Los Angeles. Credit: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images. Whitman. L.A. Times credit.

Comments

[All Hallows Eve]

Yes, thank you Darrin Davis!

I have no intention on voting for Whitman because I mistrust her intentions. Besides, neither her or Brown will be able to make a huge difference anyways, as the problems California faces will not be solved by state government alone.

But in spite of my views on her - why isn't everyone looking as this gold digging maid as the opportunist, thief and leech that she is? I don't get it!

And if Diaz thinks for ONE minute that Whitman will not use her money and power to fight back against her - she really IS a fool. MW is one woman I wouldn't want as an enemy. Oh, and lets not forget that other nasty force - KARMA.

[BO]

$23/hour? I'm legal, I'll housekeep for Meg Whitman.

[Vince]

1. Meg paid her 23 dollars an hour to work about 15 hours a week.....some real explotation huh.
2. The documentation they received from the government never said the woman did anything wrong.
3. When meg found out she was illegal she regretfully had to fire her.
4. Meg let her bring her children to work when she had no sitter.
5. When meg found out she was illegal, she didnt pursure it, allowing the woman to remain in the U.S.
6. Gloria Alread and Brown somehow find this woman and sacrifice her ability to work in the U.S and practically remain in the U.S for Brown's political career.....absolutely PATHETIC.

[Brad Edwards]

If Meg was telling the truth she would have let this go and stopped pointing fingers at everyone. It's everyone else's fault. She knew a long time ago or did not care. She had the deal she wanted at the time with the maid then the maid was no longer useful so threw her out. Simple. These folks liked the deal they had and her work so stuck with her until she became or could become a problem during the election. Meg knew she was going to run long before she threw herself into the race. This was not a spontaneous act. Meg herself asked for the lie detector test not anyone else. So lets see it. Shut up Meg and deliver.

[Nick]

To those who ask why doesn't Steve Lopez call out the maid as well as Meg Whitman:

I am very strongly against illegal immigration. Why do I not care about the maid? Because the maid isn't running to be the governor of the state! Who cares about her?

Is her sob story bogus? Absolutely. Does it matter? No. I am tired of not having a single politician who will stand up for what is good for the American people in regards to illegal immigration. The democrats want to increase their voter base. The republicans give lip service to the idea of stopping illegal immigration, but they continuously show that they really want to have their cake and eat it to. After having their house cleaned and lawn mowed by illegal aliens, they go to a wine tasting party with their business buddies who are treating illegal immigrants like garbage in a sweat shop in South Central.

[willem kraal]

Great article steve.ok lets do this, after meg takes test and doesnt make the grade put her up at auction on ebay. my opening bid is 99 cent, that is if she does windows.also steve i will need a statement that she never has been attracted to the same sex or i will be able to return merchandise! one more thing steve ,paypal only.

[Courtney]

Why do Californians and Americans in general continue to put people in office who HAVE housekeepers in the first place? Is that a common experience most of the American voters can relate to? I surely can't and in turn, does anyone think these people care about the same issues that Americans who clean up and take care their own houses do? People like Meg benefit from illegal immigration and the ever-increasing lower-middle class.

[TJ1]

While you're at it, maybe you can ask a few questions about the veracity of some of her negative advertising!

[gurbie]

>

Uh, cuz the maid's not running for governor?

[ReMark]

Whitmans question: Didn't the fact that her name was different then the one on the social security card trigger some level of suspicion.

Re: Goldman Sachs: When did you know they were deliberately selling securities that their own employees called "crap".

Re: Campaign debate: You said that you would give each chancelllor of the UCs a billion dollars and they would decide how to use it. Do you really think it is good government to give nine billion dollars before you know what it will buy.

Followup: In private industry did you ever give a budget to a unit without asking what they needed the money for?

With her sense of how government works she oughta be running for Mayor in Bell.

[mv]

if meg goes on the liedecor test lest have you steve lopez do the same , we all now politicians are crooks and liars so why steve is not goin after jerry brown too the only reason steve jerry are left wing democrat radicals they love to trow trash to other but they dont like when is trow at them , my first time to vote some repoblicans and a iam a latino meg you got my vote

[Art Your World]

I dislike Whitman for so many reasons and plan to vote for Brown, but I think this is a non-issue. I blame the housekeeper for her lies and the agency that brought her to Meg's attention. They should have cleared her status.

That said, all the Republicans who are upset that Steve did not call on Obama or our Mayor to also take a lie detector test are missing the point. It was Whitman's own idea. She offered to do it and now she should go through with it. Maybe not everyone remembers Gary Hart but if you say "follow me", or the like, then you set yourself up for people to poke around. This is the difference between a Meg at eBay and a Meg in Sacramento.

I'd also like to see Bush with a LD strapped to him but that will never happen. At least Meg offered so she should follow through.

And how the heck did Gloria Allred find herself in the middle of this? I thought she was busy finding all the women that Tiger slept with? Could it be that Nicky Diaz also slept with Tiger?

[TMann]

Hey, Steve how about giving the illegal felon maid the test first? She's the one who's in trouble. Get your facts straight about the IRS letter before you start slinging mud and have your gullible fans buy into the lies.

[Born in America]

RE: prosecuting Ms. Diaz. Absof'inglutely. Different circumstances, same crime, I got an i.d. illegally, confessed to doing so as part of an AA amends, and was CONVICTED OF A FELONY - and I was born in this country. Nobody gave me a break. This is what's called dealing with the consequences of your actions.

Why the hell are Mexicans like Nicky Diaz who don't just admit they're here illegally but do it on television, allowed special privileges?

At the very least, Ms. Diaz should be DEPORTED, and refused reentry. Wait in line - legally, for once - like every any other legal immigrant.

And yes, I believe Meg Whitman is scum and a liar, too.

[Sam]

Whitman hired this woman through an employment agency. Submitted paperwork for her to the IRS and Social Security Administration.

So this illegal falsifies documents and lies on a application under penalty of perjury. She get's paid $23 an hour for 9 years and is allowed to work flexible hours. And now she has the unmitigated gall to claim she was abused??

Who is the victim here? I think the employer that followed the rules and was lied to is the victim. The illegal should be put in jail for fraud and falsifying official documents!

[nomad]

hey people, get a clue. i don't care if the housekeeper is an lying, illegal immigrant or not. she's not running for the governor of the state of california. whitman admitted to hiring her. the question now is if whitman, a public figure wanting to become the governor, knew about her immigration status and if so, why she continued to employ her.

[M]

I'd like to know if Meg never had any doubts about whether the maid was illegal. If Meg had any type of personal relationship that may have hinted toward the maids personal life or if she just kept her distance with her and treated her like a servant so she wouldn't have to be involved with her. I've known people who have had illegals working for them who have developed a relationship with them and helped them obtain legal status. Meg both broke the law as an employer and than discarded her after nine years of loyal service as if she was some stranger. Does Meg feel that someone who performs a service for you, in your own home, for nine years deserves any type of compasion or compensation? If she throws someone out from her own house after working for nine years, imagine what she would do for you?

[Mike]

"Have you studied methods of beating a polygraph test in the last week?"

[Carmen Sepulveda]

Gloria’s Allred’s client, Nicky Diaz, a criminal illegal alien who stole an American citizen’s identity, committed multiple offenses including, but not limited to, perjury, identity theft, stealing a federal document – a Social Security Card – a punishable Federal offense, and attempted extortion by claiming that Whitman still owes her back pay. Whitman did nothing wrong. Meg Whitman got the employee from an employment agency and was assured by the agency that their employee was legal. Nicky Diaz showed the Whitman’s, who are no document experts, a number of forged documents, which included a copy of the Social Security Card she stole, a driver’s license which no one seems to know how she got, and a copy of Federal form I9, which she perjured. The Whitman’s paid Nicky Diaz $23.00 bucks an hour and paid all her state, federal, social security, and other taxes. I’m sure more than half my fellow legal citizens of California would be very happy to have a job where they received even half that, considering the sad economic conditions the Democrats have created in this state. The Whitmans fired Nicky Diaz only after they found out their employee was committing Social Security fraud.
What Allred, Jerry Brown, Steve Lopez, the LA Times, the SEIU and other unions are doing is fraud, by knowingly making false allegations against Whitman, while failing to mention the close political alliance between Allred, Jerry Brown, your paper, and the unions, which fortunately, Fox News has been showing over and over all day, and which Brown’s campaign confirmed to Fox News today. Further, why is Allred harboring an illegal alien criminal? In the end it will backfire on Allred, Brown, your paper, and the criminal herself, who hopefully, will be put behind bars where she belongs, then deported.
Instead of my fellow Hispanic citizens focusing on this bogus story, we should be asking ourselves what kind of people are Jerry Brown, Gloria Allred, the unions, Steve Lopez, and those who run the LA Times, to exploit an illegal Hispanic alien to advance Jerry Brown’s political career? That’s the real story here.

[kuruc]

let's find out if lopez has an illegal maid!

[mld]

Why isn't the housekeeper receiving the same scrutiny as Whitman? Who cares. Whitman is running for Governor. Hello. What do you expect. Who cares if she did or didn't know the housekeeper was not her legally. Too bad so sad for Whitman...she is responsible as an employer just like any other employer or company. They are still liable. Take it like a man and accept responsiblitiy

[Norm Silver]

Nut Meg isn't going near any Polygraph machine soon. Do you really expect a politician to be held accountable for their actions? My experience with them is that I can tell when they are lying. I just watch their mouth. Anytime the lips are moving what is coming out is seriously in question. Why would this be any different?

[Katie]

The most damning thing for me was the way she tried to suggest that the housekeeper had somehow "intercepted" the Social Security letter before she or her husband saw it. Then we see the letter with her husband's note on it. That's the character flaw--when in doubt, pivot and attempt to character assassinate with a lie.

[Carmen Segovia]

I agree, I think Whitman should submit herself for a Polygraph test!

[keith]

Surely she'll not bother taking you up on such a generous offer + don't see why its such a big deal either. Er well, perhaps more importantly than the employment issue - she's just another politician who's making stuff up as the going gets tough(er). In the end, hopefully she'll get a long pointy nose for telling lies.