A Trump-boosting sheriff earned White House visits. Now she’s charged with theft. (msn.com)
As sheriff in Chester County, Pa., Carolyn “Bunny” Welsh was among President Trump’s earliest boosters in the key swing state. In 2016, Welsh attended the Republican National Convention as a delegate, spoke at rallies, and even helped her ailing mother cast an absentee ballot for Trump from her deathbed.
After Trump’s win, Welsh made multiple trips to the White House, where she often nabbed a spot at Trump’s side as he met with other law enforcement officers.
“They seated me right next to the president. It was wonderful,” Welsh told the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2017. “He was very open and very gracious.”
Now Welsh, a 76-year-old Republican who left office last year after two decades as sheriff, has been charged with theft for an alleged scheme to charge taxpayers for volunteer work benefiting a K-9 unit. Welsh’s boyfriend, Harry McKinney, a former officer in the department, is also charged with using donations to the K-9 unit to pay his personal expenses.
“Bunny Welsh used her position of power for her and her partner Harry McKinney’s own personal gain instead of serving her community as she was elected to do,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro (D) said in a statement to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Chester County court records show that Welsh and McKinney, 62, were each charged with theft and diversion of services on Tuesday. Attorneys for the pair didn’t immediately return messages from The Washington Post. Welsh’s attorney, Geoffrey Richard Johnson, declined to comment to the Inquirer, while McKinney’s attorney, Robert J. Donatoni, told the paper that the charges “speak for themselves.”....
As sheriff in Chester County, Pa., Carolyn “Bunny” Welsh was among President Trump’s earliest boosters in the key swing state. In 2016, Welsh attended the Republican National Convention as a delegate, spoke at rallies, and even helped her ailing mother cast an absentee ballot for Trump from her deathbed.
After Trump’s win, Welsh made multiple trips to the White House, where she often nabbed a spot at Trump’s side as he met with other law enforcement officers.
“They seated me right next to the president. It was wonderful,” Welsh told the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2017. “He was very open and very gracious.”
Now Welsh, a 76-year-old Republican who left office last year after two decades as sheriff, has been charged with theft for an alleged scheme to charge taxpayers for volunteer work benefiting a K-9 unit. Welsh’s boyfriend, Harry McKinney, a former officer in the department, is also charged with using donations to the K-9 unit to pay his personal expenses.
“Bunny Welsh used her position of power for her and her partner Harry McKinney’s own personal gain instead of serving her community as she was elected to do,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro (D) said in a statement to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Chester County court records show that Welsh and McKinney, 62, were each charged with theft and diversion of services on Tuesday. Attorneys for the pair didn’t immediately return messages from The Washington Post. Welsh’s attorney, Geoffrey Richard Johnson, declined to comment to the Inquirer, while McKinney’s attorney, Robert J. Donatoni, told the paper that the charges “speak for themselves.”....
