Four articles are excerpted below: Wired News on government's motion to seal public court records Sierra Times: "IRS Prosecutes Outspoken Dissident" About.com: "Jim Bell's show trial" Cluebot.com on how government surveillance killed the cypherpunks list -Declan *********** http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,43064,00.html The U.S. government wants to seal public court records in a trial of an Internet essayist for privacy reasons. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robb London this week asked a federal judge to seal all documents -- including exhibits and transcripts -- that might include personal information and home addresses about people who testified in the trial of Jim Bell. A jury found Bell guilty of two counts of interstate stalking. London said: "We are concerned that information in these exhibits not be published... (We) don't need to have that information posted on the Internet." While the charges are crucial to understanding the case against Bell, the government feels uneasy about the home addresses of federal agents being easily accessible to the public. London cited the addresses of agents dozens of times in open court, and displayed digital photographs of the homes Bell visited. U.S. District Judge Jack Tanner thought about London's request for a moment, then denied it. "I don't think I have the authority to do that," Tanner said. [The meaning was changed slightly in editing. The fourth paragraph should be "addresses of people Bell *believed* to be federal agents but were not. One was, for instance, a real estate agent. --DBM] *********** http://www.sierratimes.com/archive/files/apr/13/arst041301.htm IRS Prosecutes Outspoken Dissident SierraTimes 04.13.00 James Dalton Bell may remind you of somebody you know. He's very bright, dresses and looks like a nerd and, most importantly, he dislikes the IRS. In that last respect, he is not in a minority. Where Jim Bell does fall into a minority is that instead of merely grumbling quietly, he decided to do something about it. And that's why he was just convicted in the Washington Federal District Court in Tacoma on Tuesday [4/10/2001]. Jim Bell has been a lifelong libertarian, ever since he was a teenager. Bell's view of government was that it was unnecessary. Is he an anarchist? Only, as he puts it, in the sense of "I believe in order; I do not believe in orders." He disparaged the huge hierarchies that have evolved in current bureaucracies, and believed that such hierarchies were unresponsive and dehumanizing. And, as Bell would personally learn, such a hierarchy creates two classes as outlined in George Orwell's Animal Farm: those who are part of the government hierarchy, and those who are not. [...] Bell, in his defense, stated that he had signed the LP oath that he would not initiate violence. And there was absolutely no direct evidence that he had ever initiated violence against anyone. People that he had come in contact with in his 2000 investigation characterized him as polite, and did not see him as threat. And Bell had obviously taken no discernible steps that would equip him to initiate violence. So what the government was left with was prosecuting a thought crime: intent. Because Bell had used his freedom of political speech to write such items as "Assassination Politics" and disclose IRS agents' home addresses, he obviously had to have the intent to harass federal agents. And the harassment was loosely construed. Any attempt to find or disclose any personal information about an agent can be made to fit federal law against "intention to harass or injure" an agent. Several times during the trial, the prosecutor made it clear that such an investigation was inappropriate and illegal merely on the basis that the subjects of such investigation were federal agents. Numerous times he cited the special privilege that agents hold that ordinary citizens don't possess. Federal agents are, indeed, a breed apart and must be specially protected, he insisted. While they could surveil and investigate ordinary citizens, it was illegal for ordinary citizens to do the same to them. [...] *********** http://civilliberty.about.com/newsissues/civilliberty/library/weekly/aa041101a.htm Jim Bell's show trial Cypherpunk Jim Bell was found guilty of making the feds nervous Dateline: 4/11/01 Jim Bell has been probed, raided and arrested. He spent time in prison for "obstructing" Internal Revenue Service agents and using a false Social Security number. Now Bell has been convicted for get this stalking government arm-twisters. Stalking? Well ... that's what they call it. Bell gathered the sort of information on them that they compiled on him and many, many other people for years. For that offense, the feds decided to send Bell away again, and they did everything in their power to fix the trial. A cypherpunk and libertarian, Bell originally got official skirts in a bind when he penned Assassination Politics, a provocative think piece that postulated an Internet-based system for anonymously rewarding people who knock off abusive government officials. All hot and bothered by the article, the feds made Bell a target of an intense investigation. Soon, he was an unwilling guest of the government, and the powers that be thought they were done with yet one more thorn in their sides. [...] Whatever the paper charges, Jim Bell was clearly arrested and prosecuted for loudly criticizing the government and for being abrasive and unrelenting in the process. Bell may be something of an eccentric, but he had enough moxie to make federal agents nervous. That's the worst crime as far as any government official is concerned. [...] *********** http://www.cluebot.com/article.pl?sid=01/04/11/238254 [...] Government prosecutors now appear to qualify as technical experts on the cypherpunk phenom, having scrutinized listmember behavior as ants under lenses. London told the jury yesterday that "the one unifying theme that defines someone as a cypherpunk on the Internet is the ability to encrypt mail." One could say the same thing about a NAI marketing flack, but that wouldn't be as quotable. It's all so sad and predictable and sad again. The cypherpunks list had its glory days: Wired magazine cover stories, blossoming technology, and, yes, even those damnable tentacles. Now it's become a convenient way for the Feds to land convictions. *********** Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2001 14:14:32 -0400 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: John Young <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Breeding Rats Galore Anonymous writes: [Quote] Over the past few days, I found the story about James Bell in Tacoma who is being hung out to dry it seems. I thought that the group I am associated with would enjoy reading all the info you have on James Bell, so I pieced together some of the posts about him and the link to Wired's articles. That post was not incredibly controversial, nor were any threats made against any person or group by myself or the respondents, yet I have evidence that starting today, I am being watched, and trailed as I drive. Is there something magic about the James Bell case that causes alphabet agencies to investigate those that openly discuss it? This is a real question to which I hope you will reply: Considering the type of data you post on your sites, do you find that you're being watched, or has that period come and gone? Have you ever requested your FBI file through the FOIA? I don't know that I have one, but I may send off a request just to see. I would love to hear your suggestions on how to react to "being watched" if you've been frustrated by similar experiences. Also, on the FOIA. [Unquote] Would the DoD, CIA and FBI use Jeff Gordon's pissant operation to conceal a burgeoning homeland defense Stasi octupussy? Yes, and here's why: Federal Register: April 13, 2001 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Defense Science Board SUMMARY: The Defense Science Board Task Force on Intelligence Needs for Homeland Defense--Follow-On Initiative will meet in closed session on April 11, 2001, at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Albuquerque, NM, April 12-13, 2001, at Sandia National Laboratory, Albuquerque, NM. This Task Force will explore the intelligence ramifications posed by a changing spectrum of threat regimes, including biological, chemical, information, nuclear, and radiological weapons. [Snip. Complete document at http://cryptome.org/dod041301.txt --DBM] ********** Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2001 02:23:09 -0600 From: Jim Burnes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: Day #2: U.S. v. Jim Bell report from federal court in Tacoma On Thu, Apr 05, 2001 at 12:33:54PM -0400, Declan McCullagh wrote: > ----- Forwarded message from Declan McCullagh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ----- > > "It's still on the Internet today," London said during the second day > of the trial in federal district court. "He has not retracted it." Maybe London would prefer China, where thought crime is punished by life in slave labor camps. During your communist "rebirth" process you are made to renounce your opinions on a daily basis. > London said that while Bell may not have directly threatened IRS agent > Jeff Gordon, "he has done it indirectly through 'Assassination > Politics.'" Why don't they charge him with conspiracy to murder in the first degree then? Presumably because they don't have a case. Wait, conspiracy needs others involved, right? How about attempted murder? > > Bell has pleaded not guilty to five counts of interstate stalking that > allegedly took place last year, saying he was legally assembling > information about government agents he thought were participating in a > conspiracy involving illegal surveillance. He is not accused of making > direct threats or seeking physical confrontations. Now stalking has been expanded to passive activities like finding information about people. Many private detectives would be out of business if that were the case. Maybe Bell was simply going to complain to his congressman about them. Must be sure you have the exact Jeff Gordon. > > As evidence of Bell's malicious intent, London showed the jury a > photograph of four guns that Bell legally owned up until the IRS > raided him in April 1997 during a prior prosecution. The weapons: Two > SKS rifles, a Smith & Wesson 629 pistol, and a Ruger mini-14 rifle. And this was allowd into evidence? The court system is apparently nosediving quicker than I had previously thought. > > London characterized this as a collection of assault weapons that > amounted to "serious firepower" and said, "That's what the agents were > afraid of." They are afraid of guns they had already probably confiscated? Were they agaid Bell was going to break into BATF's evidence locker? > > That prompted an objection from Bell's attorney, Robert Leen. > "(You're) asking the jury to draw an adverse infrerence from what was, > at the time, an exercise of a constitutional right," Leen said. Woops. Thought crimes and ownership crimes. Maybe we are slowly being prepared for integration into a system like communist china. (maybe were half-way there) > > The government has not alleged that Bell owned firearms more recently > than 1997. Bell pleaded guilty in July 1997 to interfering with IRS > agents and using false Social Security numbers. Evil, evil, bad, nasty Jim Bell. I say he should be drawn and quartered. Wait, thats not good enough for him. > > U.S. District Judge Jack Tanner allowed the government to show to the > jury photos of the weapons Bell once owned -- one rifle had a bayonet > mounted on it -- and warned Bell that if he made any additional > outbursts, he would be muzzled or hauled out of the room. > His outburst probably had something to do with said "evidence" that had no bearing on the case. And bayonets? Holy shit, next thing you know Bell might have a hankering to put a sling on his rifle. Maybe a cleaning kit or two. Lord knows with all that equipment he wasn't just hunting rabbits. > Bell had interrupted Leen a few times and pounded on the table two or > three times to get Leen's attention. Bell also wrote "SHAM" on a white > pad of paper and held it so spectators could see. Normal response to kangaroo trial proceedings. But it does piss of Judges. Mr Bell, you must learn how to handle those rigged trials with aplomb. > > London complained that some people were downloading public documents > through the Pacer service provided by the federal court system, > translating the graphical TIFF images into text, and posting the > documents on a website. He warned that soon everything will be > "splashed all over the Internet for all to see." Oh my f'ing god. On the Internet? Next we'll be asked to believe in evolution and a round earth. > > The prosecutor likened it to an illicit activity: "Transferring court > documents from our computer onto the Internet." Just the next horseman of the infocalypse I say. Internet users, immanentizing the Eschaton! > > That got the attention of Tanner, an 82-year-old jurist with little > patience for lawyers and even less patience for online open-records > activists. He sealed the entire court file, including public documents > like the charges against Bell, saying that "anything that's filed" > will remain in his chambers. > Hmmm. More like star chambers. Were it not for a jury, Tanner could simply pronounce him summarily guilty and be done with it. Not to worry though, its unlikely the jury has any concept of their rights. jim ************ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if it remains intact. To subscribe, visit http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- End forwarded message -----
