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http://www.americanfreepress.net/07_29_02/No-Nonsense_Ohio_Populist_/no-nonsense_ohio_populist_.html No-Nonsense Ohio Populist Vows to Clear Name; Calls on Congress to Take Back America Yes, Jim Traficant was framed by the FBI and the Justice Department and Traficant has the evidence to prove it. Yet the House of Representatives would rather not hear about it. That’s why they voted to expel Traficant on July 24. Exclusive To American Free Press By Michael Collins Piper Unless they tuned in to C-SPAN to hear the House debate over the vote to expel outspoken Ohio populist Jim Traficant—featuring a spirited and emotional presentation by Traficant —the average American has heard only the charges against Traficant and none of his defense. The vote, 420-1 for expulsion, proves only that the House preferred to try to bury the burgeoning controversy surrounding the Traficant case. “He’s out and that’s it. We’re done with Traficant,” is the attitude. However, emerging evidence suggests Traficant was right all along and the government was out to “get” him. >From the beginning it was an “open secret” that an important reason Traficant was targeted was because he openly and repeatedly challenged the power of the Israeli lobby over congress. In particular, his courageous and successful rescue of falsely-accused “Nazi war criminal” John Demjanjuk from the hangman brought savage retribution from the media. With a steady drumbeat, from the beginning the media hyped terms such as “bribery” and “kickbacks” and “racketeering” and “tax evasion”—essentially echoing the Justice Department’s indictment of the congressman—but never once provided any of Traficant’s quite substantive defenses against the charges. Due to time limitations, of course, Traficant was only able to address—in the most brief words—the allegations that were made against him. To a viewer unfamiliar with the names of the players and the details in the case, his words were undoubtedly out of context. But despite claims by the Justice Department and by members of the House Ethics Committee who postured for the television cameras and proclaimed their devotion to the Constitution while working to push Traficant out of Congress, the 6,000-page transcript of Traficant’s trial does contain solid testimony refuting most—if not all—of the charges against Traficant. In addition, according to Traficant, the trial judge, Lesley Wells, repeatedly prevented him from introducing numerous witnesses and testimony that would have buttressed Traficant’s defense. There is good reason to believe that may be no coincidence. The judge’s husband is with a law firm that has represented the interests of a multi-millionaire businessman who cut a plea bargain with the government in return for giving what Traficant said was false testimony against him. Mark Colucci, one of Traficant’s attorneys, says that the judge’s connection to the government witness was “of such magnitude to a fair trial that it guarantees a reversal [of Traficant’s conviction] and a new trial.” Whether the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals will grant Traficant a new trial remains to be seen. But the revelation regarding Wells’s secret link to the prosecution comes as no surprise to those who watched the media-promoted Justice Department campaign against Traficant as it unfolded. The Traficant case has only gotten more interesting since he was actually convicted. And the story continues to develop. For example, as a result of watching recent televised testimony by Traficant and several defense witnesses Traficant called before the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct—commonly referred to as the ethics committee—at least one of the jurors who voted to convict Traficant says that not only does he believe that Traficant is innocent but he also believes Traficant was correct in charging that he (Traficant) was the victim of a Justice Department vendetta. “I know it’s after the fact,” Leo Glaser told The Cleve land Plain Dealer on July 20, “but now I believe that there’s no doubt that the government was out to get him, and if they want you, they’ll find enough evidence to make you believe that the Earth is flat.” Glaser’s views turned after he watched and heard a Virginia business executive, Richard Detore, tell the House ethics committee that Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Morford had urged Detore to lie and say that he overheard Traficant seeking favors from another businessman, John J. Cafaro, in exchange for political influence on Cafaro’s behalf. Detore likewise denied that he personally had tried to bribe Traficant. According to Detore, because he told the Justice Department that he would not lie about Traficant, he, too, was indicted. In fact, all of the government’s key witnesses against Traficant were either under indictment or had entered into plea bargains with the government at the time they gave testimony against Traficant. Unfortunately, Detore’s compelling version of events, described to the House committee, was not heard by Glaser and the jury during Traficant’s trial. Wells had rejected motions by Traficant relating to Detore’s possible testimony in regard to this matter. Glaser now says that if he had heard Detore testify in court to the same things he said before the House panel he would have voted to acquit Traficant. “It would have given me reasonable doubt,” said Glaser. Glaser’s one vote could have derailed the long-term Justice Department campaign to railroad Traficant into federal prison. Despite hearing Detore’s testimony, members of the House ethics committee voted to recommend to the full House that they vote to expel Traficant from Congress. Then—as evidenced by the lop-sided vote against Traficant—the members of the full House refused to listen to Traficant’s charges. It was much easier to throw him out of office than take on the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service. Traficant is appealing his conviction, but is still likely to be sentenced to jail on July 30. In the meantime, the now ex-congressman is still running for re-election (as an independent) and says he will continue to do so, even from a jail cell. The Traficant story is far from over. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. 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