That’s the only possible conclusion after what state Rep. Pete Cunningham (D-Meck.) said today on the occasion of Jim Black pleading guilty to taking a secret $25,000 payout from chiropractors.

“I don’t know Jim Black that way. I don’t think he’s a thief,” Cunningham said outside the courthouse.

Uh, Pete. Jim Black just said he was thief. And a liar. And damn lucky.

Prosecutors said that Black tried to convince one of the chiropractors to tell a grand jury that the funds were for Black’s “expenses.” That’s witness tampering. The fact that Black was not charged with that crime tells you how much prosecutors expect from Black in the way of information before his May 14th sentencing.

You can bet there are some very nervous people right now among the Down East kleptocracy.

And let’s be clear about what Black did, as several of the news accounts are not exactly connecting the dots. In the summer of 2005, without debate or public input, Black slipped a provision into the 2005-07 state budget that forced health insurers to charge the same co-pay for chiropractic services as they do for primary care. This made chiropractic services cheaper to consumers while forcing health plans to pay more. Chiropractors obviously thought they could sell more services that way.

Moreover, the change was made retroactive, meaning insurers had to basically refund money back to the chiropractors and their customers. As John Hood explained in August 2005:

Previously, chiropractors were usually treated by insurers as specialty providers, thus bearing a co-pay in the $40 to $50 range. Now, it will be more like $10 to $20 per visit.

That seemingly modest change could make a big difference for chiropractors, who often request that patients set up schedules of frequent visits over weeks or months. The Business Journal’s Mark Tosczak used the example of a dozen visits during an initial month of treatment. Under the old rule, the series might bear an out-of-pocket cost of $600. Under the new one, it could be only $240.

Only now, in February 2007, do the people of North Carolina find out this major change in health care regulation was made because someone was handing a sack of cash to Jim Black in a restaurant bathroom. This happened on multiple occasions between February 2002 and December 2005. Black did not just make a single slip-up in the high-pressure world of Raleigh politics, as Parks Helms laughably suggested.

Jim Black went to the toilet to steal from the people of North Carolina. And evidently flushed Pete Cunningham’s brain in the process.

Finally, note that Black is going to plead guilty to state charges next week. No doubt there is some local Democrat crony, flunky, enabler of Jim Black who is going to be shocked by that as well.

Update: Here’s a fuller quote from Cunningham that, if it is possible, makes him seem even more of loon:

I don’t like to kick anybody when he’s down. I would need to know more about what — I’m not — that’s an accusation, as far as I’m concerned. And I’m not going to change my feelings toward a person until I hear all the facts. It’s hard to believe.

I don’t know why he did what they say he did, if he did it.

You tell me what you want me to say and what language you want me to say it in. It’s very surprising. I don’t know how to respond to that.

I don’t know what made him respond that he took some money. I’ve never seen that side of Jim Black. I don’t know him that way. I don’t know that he would take money.

Free Jim Black! He’s been framed! Jeesh.