For decades I have blogged, tweeted and pontificated that a major part of a practical solution to government and insider misconduct is a practical way for private criminal federal- and state-level prosecutions (e.g., fair access to government prosecution funds).
On Mon, Jan 15, 2018, 3:49 PM Zenaan Harkness <[email protected]> wrote: > Well here's a rare breath of fresh air for Murricans in a Supreme > Court of the US (SCOTUS ) decision exonerating the Bundys - one for > the history books, and well done folks, well firetrucking done!‼! > > Perhaps the Ruby Ridge $3 million payout will give precedent for the > Bundy's (not that that can ever compensate for what the govt did on > Ruby Ridge), but what's really needed is for you folk across the pond > to get some proper grand juries going against the FBI and DOJ - the > govt shills will shout "you citizens can't do that!!!" from the > rooftops and every forum, but that won't stop a small committed and > determined group from achieving their careful and well-planned > approach to this "problem". > > Good luck, > > > > > Government's Misconduct In Cliven Bundy Case Stems From Ruby Ridge > > https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-01-15/governments-misconduct-cliven-bundy-case-stems-ruby-ridge > (Quite a few links in the linked article) > > Federal judge Gloria Navarro slammed the FBI and Justice Department > on Monday, Jan. 8, for “outrageous” abuses and “flagrant > misconduct” in the prosecution of Cliven Bundy and sons, the Nevada > ranchers who spurred a high-profile standoff with the FBI and > Bureau of Land Management in 2014. > > Navarro condemned the "grossly shocking” withholding of evidence > from defense counsel in a case that could have landed the Bundys in > prison for the rest of their lives. Navarro, who had declared a > mistrial last month, dismissed all charges against the Bundys. > > Navarro was especially riled because the FBI spent three years > covering up or lying about the role of their snipers in the 2014 > standoff. The Bundys faced conspiracy charges because they summoned > militia to defend them after claiming FBI snipers had surrounded > their ranch. Justice Department lawyers scoffed at this claim but > newly-released documents vindicate the Bundys. In an interview > Saturday, Ammon Bundy reviled the feds: > > “They basically came to kill our family, they surrounded us > with snipers. And then they wanted to lie about it all like > none of it happened." > > Many of the heavily-armed activists who flocked to the scene feared > that the FBI snipers had a license to kill the Bundys. > > Their reaction cannot be understood without considering a landmark > 1990s case that continues to shape millions of Americans’ attitude > towards Washington: the federal killings and coverups at Ruby > Ridge. > > Randy Weaver and his family lived in an isolated cabin in the > mountains of northern Idaho. Weaver was a white separatist who > believed races should live apart; he had no record of violence > against other races — or anyone else. An undercover federal agent > entrapped him into selling a sawed-off shotgun. The feds then > sought to pressure Weaver to become an informant but he refused. > > After Weaver was sent the wrong court date and failed to show up, > the feds launched a vendetta. Idaho lawyer David Nevin noted that > U.S.: > > “Marshals called in military aerial reconnaissance and had > photos studied by the Defense Mapping Agency. They prowled the > woods around Weaver’s cabin with night-vision equipment. They > had psychological profiles performed and installed $130,000 > worth of long-range solar-powered spy cameras. … They even knew > the menstrual cycle of Weaver’s teenage daughter, and planned > an arrest scenario around it.” > > On August 21, 1992, six camouflaged U.S. Marshals carrying machine > guns trespassed onto the Weavers’ property. Three marshals circled > close to the Weaver cabin and killed one of their dogs. A firefight > ensued and 14-year old Sammy Weaver was shot in the back and killed > as he was leaving the scene. Kevin Harris, a family friend, > responded by fatally shooting a federal marshal who had fired seven > shots in the melee. > > The next day, the FBI sent in its Hostage Rescue Team snipers with > orders to shoot to kill any adult male outside the Weaver cabin. A > federal appeals court ruling later noted that: > > “FBI agents formulated rules of engagement that permitted their > colleagues to hide in the bushes and gun down men who posed no > immediate threat. Such wartime rules are patently > unconstitutional for a police action.” > > FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi shot Randy Weaver in the back after he > stepped out of his cabin, wounding him. Horiuchi then shot and > killed Vicki Weaver standing in the cabin door holding their > 10-month old baby. A confidential 1994 Justice Department task > force report concluded: > > “The absence of a (surrender demand) subjected the Government > to charges that it was setting Weaver up for attack.” > > Weaver and Harris surrendered after an 11-day siege. At their 1993 > trial, federal prosecutors asserted that Weaver long conspired to > have an armed confrontation with the government. The feds bizarrely > asserted that moving from Iowa to a spot near the Canadian border > in 1985 was part of Weaver’s plot. After an Idaho jury largely > exonerated the defendants, federal judge Edward Lodge slammed DOJ > and FBI misconduct and fabrication of evidence in the case. > > Regardless of the judge’s condemnation, FBI chief Louis Freeh in > 1995 exonerated the FBI for its actions at Ruby Ridge. That year, > after I slammed Freeh’s whitewash in the Wall Street Journal and > elsewhere, Freeh denounced my “inflammatory and unfounded > allegations.” Five months later, I snared a confidential 542-page > Justice Department report on Ruby Ridge, excerpting its damning > findings in a Wall Street Journal piece. The coverup unraveled and > the feds paid the Weaver family $3.1 million to settle their > wrongful-death lawsuit. A top FBI official was sent to prison for > destroying key evidence. > > But the FBI sniper who killed Vicki Weaver never faced > justice. When Boundary County, Idaho, sought to prosecute > Horiuchi in 1998, the Clinton administration invoked the > Supremacy Clause of the Constitution (which blocks local and > state governments from challenging federal power) to torpedo > their lawsuit. Solicitor General Seth Waxman absolved the > sniper because “federal law-enforcement officials are > privileged to do what would otherwise be unlawful if done by a > private citizen.” > > While that claim may sway federal judges, it often fails to > charm jurors. A Justice Department brief in the Bundy case > revealed that prosecutors dreaded jury nullification — “not > guilty” verdicts due to government abuses. That specter > spurred prosecutors to withhold key evidence from both the > court and the defense counsel, resulting in a mistrial and > dismissal of charges. > > Judge Navarro rightly declared that “a universal sense of > justice has been violated” by federal misconduct in the Bundy > trial. Americans’ trust in the FBI and Justice Department will > not be restored until those agencies are compelled to obey the > law and the Constitution. Until that happens, federal > prosecutors should continue fearing verdicts from Americans > who refuse to convict those whom the feds wrongfully vilify. > > * * * > > James Bovard is a USA Today columnist and the author of 10 > books, including “Lost Rights: The Destruction of American > Liberty” (St. Martin’s Press, 1994). >
