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LA Ethics Unit Disbandment: Congress Demands Answers
Senator Feinstein doesn't believe what she's hearing about the reasons for the Los Angeles ethics unit disbandment.
Here are some comments about her letter.
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Comments (6)
Feinstein is correct in documenting her questions, and her letter may help focus DOJ-WH level reasons for the unit's disbandment.
Indeed, things are not adding up: The subsequent comments from former US prosecutors are not addressing the key issues. Rather than discussing credible reasons for the disbandment, the subsequent emails to TPMM focused on an irrelevant issue: Whether the DoJ spin about that disbandment makes sense.
The best DoJ appears to be able to provide are non-sense reasons and diversions. Same story we had with the US Atty firing. Is Congress ready to move faster than it did with the contempt proceedings against Miers and Bolten?
March 27, 2008 1:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Possible, satirical answers from DoJ Staff if they were free to speak:
DoJ We used the same statistics used during the US Atty firings: Lies, misleading statements, and absurd extractions loosely connected with plausible explanations. The charts do not make sense; even we don't understand the linkage between the data and the decision. We hope Congress is confused as well, saying, "We trust your judgement." We trust the President's judgment. He gives us all the statistics, data, and justifications we need: "God told me." God is with him.
DoJ: The President is the decider. The person who started this decision and discussion was the DoJ Staff working with the GOP. We jointly feared accountability. We wanted to hide evidence from the prosecutors looking at money laundering. They were getting close to finding the truth between the war crimes contracts, money laundering to the GOP, and the kickbacks provided through various US government contractors to GOP loyalists in the security industry. We arrived just in time. The evidence is "safe" inside the White House email system. CREW will never find the information.
DoJ: The President got on his hands and kneews, heard voices, and we were told "God" spoke to him. As with the US Atty firings, the GOP political, WH legal, and WH public affairs officers were deeply involved. Also the same DoJ Staff procedures to gum to death the US Atty firings was in play. Yes, there were meetings between DoJ staff, the AG, and White House staff and counsel. The contractors didn't want the prosecutors getting too close to the FISA issues which were spilling into the war crimes issues. This was a way to thwart the investigations, but blame those who most knew the details, but were low enough on the totem pole to threaten them. What are they going to do: Sue the President? They're only prosecutors.
DoJ: The White house and Main Justice's roles were instrumental, key, and important. Without them, the unit might still be chasing the GOP into the Cayman Island accounts.
The White House approved the plan, listened to the lobby'sts concerns about prosecutions, and the DOJ and WH staff jointly agreed to block the US attorneys from getting to close. With enough money, we listened more to the legal counsel who knew details of the RNC email destruction policies and plans to thwart CREW from discovering the details.
DoJ: Yes, they had input and those inputs were ignored. The onese who felt strongly about the law were asked to submit their resignations. We only talk about law and order for Iraq, but not for America.
The public integrity section's concerns to DOJ OPR, as was done with the NSA litigation, were buried. DoJ OPR was told not to look at this. Far too scary. We called it a "Special program". Part of our effort to classify evidence of illegal activity. Congress will never look. They've been beaten into submission like a wet noodle in a monsoon.
DoJ: What public corruption cases? There are no problems. All the cases have been declined.
The ongoing cases will be put at the bottom of the stack. We're putting an empahsis on mail theft, not GOP money laundering, fraud, or Presidential obstruction of justice. The Grand Jury will never find this. You know what a threat those postal workers have to American security: One missing letter, and the nation's security is a risk. Scary, scary!
March 27, 2008 6:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
For reference, here is a comment thread outlining a course of inquiry into the LA Ethicss Unit Disbandment; and here are some problems with the two [2] emails TPMM received from former US prosecutors commenting on the LA US Atty disbandment of the Ethics Division.
March 28, 2008 2:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Detroit reminds us of what government is willing to do, ignore, and remain complicit out of false accusations by criminals. This might be of interest in re the US Atty firings and the LA Ethics unit disbandment:
Out of the blue, government takes unreasonable action. This puts other on the defensive, distracts attention from the misconduct, and puts the burden of proof-innocence-guilt-defense on someone else. Didn't Rove say the best offense is to attack someone's strengths? Those who most know the illegal activity appear subject to unreasonable government abuse, attention, attacks, and intrusions. Perhaps the events in Detroit may shed some light on the motivations behind the illegal FISA surveillance, NSLs, and warrantless interrogations.
Perhaps what's happened in the US Atty firings, LA Ethics unit disbandment, and NSA surveillance is something bordering on paranoia in the White House. The White House well knows whether it is or is not engaged in illegal activity. The question is whether the White House trusts others to keep their secrets.
- As with Detroit, what things did the Administration fear the US Attys were going to disclose with prosections about the Administration?
- What illegal activity did the Administration fear prosecutors would stumble upon?
- What things does the Administration fear others have evidence, know about, observed, or stumbled across?
- Who may have engaged in innocent, lawful conduct, stumbled upon evidence of war crimes, but been the subject of abusive litigation, government intrusions, or absurd accusations?
- How many absurd, inconsistent, and false accusations has the Administration made about others on the basis of paranoia that the public would connect the dots and support removal of the President?
- How many absurd accusations depend on inconsistent arguments, dubious assertions, and timelines which are not consistent with evidence, required timelines, known procedures, and mandatory reporting actions?
- Which asserted "concerns about others" are not consistent with inaction in other areas?
- To what extent are the "concerns about others" (who have stumbleed upon evidence of corruption, illegal activity, malfeasance) based on selective retelling of procedures, timelines, policies, guidance?
- To what extent have "concerns about others" not been matched by adequate action, responses, reviews, or other actions by those pointing fingers?
March 30, 2008 1:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
This notion of "when you fear detection of a problem, go on the offensive" appears a fundamental US government approach under the GOP and NeoCons. The subsequent crime is when the US government attacks the media on the false charge that they have obtained evidence using illegal methods; or have disclosed evidence of illegal activity. It is not lawful to hide evidence of unlawful activity, public corruption, malfeasance, or war crimes. It is arguably reckless for any legal counsel to, as a diversion from their alleged complicity with war crimes, to assert that the evidence of their complicity was only obtained through, and disclosed using unlawful methods.
Congress alone has the power to regulate Commerce, declare war, and make rules. Congress has no power to delegate these powers to the President. The danger has been the delegation of this abuse to the information, domestic security, and national security contractors without sufficient Congressional interest in ensuring either the Executive or the contractors respect the US Constitution, human rights, or the rule of law. Legal counsel should well know that the President has no Constitutional power to declare war nor make rules putting his conduct above the scrutiny of Congress, the courts, or the public.
Reckless COngressional oversight has enabled lawlessness by this President, his legal counsel, Executive Branch personnel, US government agents, intermediaries, and contractors. Those who do not face legal consequences for their unlawful activity feel emboldened to attack those who know of the illegal activity, have evidence, or could deprive legal counsel of their licenses to practice law.
Arguably, the GOP fears detection of:
A. War crimes, so they destroyed torture tapes, WH emails, and evidence of NSA illegal activity; then attempted to use coercive litigation against reporters who reported the illegal activity;
B. A flawed Iraq strategy and non-existent post-invasion planning, so they said, "Trust us," then attacked the loyalty and patriotism of those who remain unconvinced the President's plans were lawful or prudent;
C. Unlawful kidnapping under the rendition abuse, so they hid the evidence behind dubious shields, and used coercive litigation to identify those disclosing evidence of war crimes;
D. Retaliation against US Attorneys who declined to prosecute cases with sufficient evidence, so they refused to cooperate with Congressional investigators, and retaliated by disbanding ethics units in Los Angeles;
E. Unlawful NSA violations, so they blocked investigations, and blamed Congress for not approving immunity for that illegal activity;
F. Unlawful NSLs, domestic warrantless interrogations, and abuse of watch lists, so they claimed these programs were needed, and attacked Congress for tying the President's hands;
G. Unlawful abuse of power and authority by US government contractors, so using dubious charges, the contractors work to deprive others of clearly established rights and privileges as punishment against those who are aware of the illegal activity.
March 30, 2008 3:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Truth behind the Disbanding of the Public Corruption unit was to halt an investigation into the US Attorney in Delaware direct connection to $300 million in perjury and Fraud.
We gave Tom O'Brien's office an Official Complaint on December 7 2007 and they have 8 to 12 weeks to respond. http://www.milberglies.com/CitizensComplaintClocket_at_US_Attorney_Dec_7_2007.pdf
When no response occurred we began to contact and pursue the matter heavily.
Then, the next thing we hear, is the US Attorney O'Brien is disbanding the very Public Corruption Unit and threatening his subordinates.
Now there is a huge push to force a Senate vote to complete the nomination of Colm F Connolly to the post of Delaware Federal Judge.
once a Judge, he cannot be removed unless he is impeached.
All this is testified to Under Penalty of Perjury, the Administration has been helping ocver up Racketeering in Delaware Federal Courts for several years,
We can prove over $300 million in fraud in eToys, another $100 million fraud in KB with another $150 million in Fraud in Stage Stores S TX Bankr.
All directly connected to Bain!
All involving Traub, Barry Gold or MNAT,
Who were also involved in Finova, Kmart and Levitz, among other items of note.
EToys went public in 1999 for $8 billion and bankrupt only a year plus later in March 2001 and the US Trustee with the Delaware Federal Courts permitted the Destruction of Books n Records.
http://fraud-corruption-mnat.townhall.com/default.aspx
Stand up and Fight for your American Way of Life
OR
LET IT GO!
April 24, 2008 1:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
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