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Shadow Sen. Paul Strauss was arrested for drunk driving on Oct. 1, according to court records.
The arrest took place on the 2000 block of Calvert Street NW, on or near the Duke Ellington Bridge between Woodley Park and Adams Morgan. Records contain few further details regarding the circumstances of the arrest.
Strauss, an attorney by trade, was charged with driving under the influence, driving while intoxicated, and operating while impaired—-three offenses with different definitions under District law, yet routinely charged together after drunk-driving arrests. According to the court documents, this is the first time Strauss has been charged with DWI. He is due to be arraigned on Thursday, Nov. 6.
It’s not his first arrest, though. In July 2005, he was detained on a disorderly conduct charge after “confronting officers as they arrested another man,” according to a contemporary account. Regarding that arrest, Strauss told a previous LL, “I was just trying to be helpful,” Strauss says. “I was asking basic questions like ‘Where are you taking him?'”
Strauss, a Democrat, is seeking, and is likely to win, a third six-year term in next Tuesday’s election. LL left a phone message for him last night; Strauss sent a text message in response asking about the nature of the inquiry. LL sent a text message back telling Strauss he was asking about the Oct. 1 arrest. No response came.
Readers may wonder: Why is LL breaking this story a month after the incident in question and days before the election? That’s because LL was informed of the court proceeding by an anonymous tipster on Wednesday. Strauss’ name had been entered into the Superior Court docket system as “STRAVSS,” which would have foiled any earlier attempts at due diligence.