Deputy House Speaker Jeffery Berger(D) has been reprimanded by leadership for throwing a stuffed rat at CT News Junkie managing editor Christine Stuart in the closing hours of this year’s legislative session. Berger missed. Stuart was uninjured. Berger has acknowledged his bad judgement through the news media, but he has not personally apologized to Stuart, The Laurel has learned.
Berger was upset with Stuart because she posted a picture of Berger watching the HBO program Veep on his laptop during a House debate. It is believed Berger felt the photo made it appear he was not doing his job. Berger became further upset when Stuart refused to take the picture down from her Twitter feed prompting the rat toss.
The Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists issued a statement criticizing Berger for his unprofessional behavior and offering a defense of Stuart’s right to cover the news as she sees it.
As for the stuffed rat, like Hemingway’s leopard, no one knows how it came to be in the House chamber, or what it was doing at that altitude.
