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Sunday, September 13, 2009

 

"Sycophancy Has Its Rewards

Obama's Justice Department, absolute must read.  Quoted exactly.

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"Sycophancy Has Its Rewards
Source Powerlineblog.com
September 12, 2009 Posted by John at 6:22 PM

"No one has been a more uncritical cheerleader for the Obama administration than liberal blogger Andrew Sullivan. Now, Sullivan has gotten his reward, courtesy of Obama's Department of Justice.

Sullivan was caught smoking marijuana in a National Park and was prosecuted, consistent with the usual policy of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. But Sullivan's pull with the Obama administration got him a sweetheart deal: the U.S. Attorney decided to drop the charges, even though there evidently is no doubt about Sullivan's guilt. The issue here isn't whether marijuana possession should be illegal, or should be prosecuted. It is illegal, and the U.S. Attorney in Massachusetts does routinely prosecute such cases. But not Sullivan: Barack Obama and Eric Holder paid him off for his slavish devotion.

The U.S. Attorney's action in dismissing the case against Sullivan was so extraordinary that it prompted this stinging rebuke by United States Magistrate Judge Robert Collings, who presided over the case:

When the case was called, the Court expressed its concern that a dismissal would result in persons in similar situations being treated unequally before the law. The Court noted that persons charged with the same offense on the Cape Cod National Seashore were routinely given violation notices, and if they did not agree to forfeit collateral, were prosecuted by the United States Attorney. In short, the Court explained that there was no apparent reason for treating Mr. Sullivan differently from other persons charged with the same offense. In fact, there were other persons who were required to appear on the September 2nd docket who were charged with the same offense and were being prosecuted. ...

[T]he Court would not be concerned with any exercise of discretion by the United States Attorney not to prosecute the possession of small amounts of marijuana. The United States Attorney certainly has discretion to determine how best to allocate the resources of his office and could, if he deemed it appropriate, elect to focus those resources on more serious crimes while declining to prosecute the type of violation which Mr. Sullivan faces. However, from all that appears, the United States Attorney has not taken the position that persons who possess marijuana on federal property will not be prosecuted; rather, those persons are prosecuted routinely. ...

In the Court's view, in seeking leave to dismiss the charge against Mr.Sullivan, the United States Attorney is not being faithful to a cardinal principle of our legal system, i.e., that all persons stand equal before the law and are to be treated equally in a court of justice once judicial processes are invoked. It is quite apparent that Mr. Sullivan is being treated differently from others who have been charged with the same crime in similar circumstances. ...

In short, the Court sees no legitimate reason why Mr. Sullivan should be treated differently, or why the Violation Notice issued to him should be dismissed. The only reasons given for the dismissal flout the bedrock principle of our legal system that all persons stand equal before the law.

What is going on here is that Barack Obama's Justice Department is rewarding a faithful political supporter by quashing a criminal prosecution that could adversely affect Sullivan's application for U.S. citizenship. In less than eight months, President Obama has corrupted the Department of Justice to a degree that has not been seen in our lifetimes, if ever. In Obama's Justice Department, the type of justice you get depends on how valuable you are to the Democratic Party."

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2009/09/024506.php


Comments:
"The U.S. Attorney's action in dismissing the case against Sullivan was so extraordinary that it prompted this stinging rebuke by United States Magistrate Judge Robert Collings, who presided over the case ..."

     While I heartily agree with the honorable magistrate's comments, I don't believe this case can be deemed "extraordinary" by any stretch of the imagination. I also vehemently disagree with the implication that such blatant preferential treatment under the law is exclusive to the Democratic Party. In this country, whether a suspect is guilty of the crime he's committed depends largely upon whether or not he's politically connected with either party. The truth is, and always has been, who you know is far more important than what you've done when you find yourself on the business end of criminal charges in America.

     "In less than eight months, President Obama has corrupted the Department of Justice to a degree that has not been seen in our lifetimes, if ever."

     This comment is simply untrue and, for those of us who know better, it shows that the PowerLine author failed to do some basic research in an attempt to bias his readers. In January, 1999, the Chicago Tribune published a five-part series entitled, "Trial and Error: How Prosecutors Sacrifice Justice to Win." Analyzing thousands of cases, the newspaper found that, since 1963, at least 381 defendants had their convictions overturned either because prosecutors suppressed exculpatory evidence or suborned perjury. Alarmingly, of those 381 cases, "not one of those prosecutors was charged with committing a crime (even though BOTH acts are serious violations of state and federal laws). Not one was barred from practicing law. Instead, many saw their careers advance, becoming judges or federal district attorneys; one became a congressman." This fact is frightening; if these prosecutors are so willing and eager to subvert the very laws they're charged with upholding, the Constitutional damage they can do as judges, district attorneys or congressmen all but guarantees convictions of the truly innocent and the complete corruption of our entire system of "justice."   

     Every year, the Department of Justice receives over ten thousand legitimate official complaints from citizens of every state who have been victimized by police or prosecutorial misconduct. And every year, they simply refuse to investigate all but a handful of those cases. The DOJ claims that "it would be impossible to investigate every complaint we receive," which is also untrue. Each state is divided into at least two federal districts. Doing some simple math reveals that each district receives around 800 cases per month, on average, from Americans all over the nation. If we average this out, we get a total of roughly eight cases per month per district. Further, the FBI maintains 55 field offices in the United States (and one in Puerto Rico), so the DOJ's workload concerning such complaints can hardly be termed, "overwhelming."

     Preferential treatment under the law is far from being a "new" concept. Whether our particular heroes are Democrats or Republicans matters little, and regardless of which party we choose to affiliate ourselves, we're still as insignificant as our neighbors in the eyes of the political machine which comprises our government. Over the past fifty years or so, BOTH parties have proven themselves to be entirely without scruples or morals. For some reason, though, most of us choose to believe one is "better" than the other, and so we root for our favorite political teams as though the future of America is nothing more vital than a $10 wager placed on the outcome of a sporting event.

     "Equal Justice Under the Law" has become nothing more than a catchy slogan adopted by a successive team of appointed marionettes we call our "Supreme Court," whose members serve solely at the behest, and guard the interests, of those who appointed them. The only people who believe in that slogan are those who have never been unfortunate enough to experience our "Justice System" in action. Just two years ago, in 2007, Department of Justice statistics stated that 1 out of every 34 Americans was incarcerated in state or federal prisons. Today, that figure is frighteningly higher. According to their latest report, 1 out of every 31 Americans is now serving time behind bars. If this exponential increase continues unabated, nearly half of us will have felony criminal records within the next ten years. The other half, presumably, will be comprised of those who are considered to be above the law - government officials of both parties and their staunch supporters with the deepest pockets, who simply don't deserve to face prosecution when they break the law. So, what do we do to make up for the loss of the nation's entire tax base? The obvious answer would be to charge rent on prison cells, but we'll also have to figure out what to do with those who fall behind or who outright refuse to pay; eviction, apparently, would not be a feasible option, but then the United States Government is not exactly famous for its foresighted wisdom.

     Personally, I refuse to endorse either party because the priorities of both reach no farther than self-protection, self-promotion and the consolidation of their collective power, and of the far-reaching, yet biased, authority they employ against us. Neither party has earned my endorsement, nor have they earned my loyalty. If one or the other has earned yours, well, let's just hope you're not locked up somewhere when the time comes to collect on your wager. If you're a common citizen like I am, however, without the means to write a healthy check every year to support your favorite team, my guess is you're going to lose your bet anyway.

     Jim
In paragraph 5 of my previous comment, I incorrectly stated, "Doing some simple math reveals that each district receives around 800 cases per month, on average, from Americans all over the nation."

     The correct figure for this average is 800 cases per year.

    Sorry for the error.

     Jim
Thanks Jim!!! Well stated as you always do. I remain a tad more optimistic for the nation provided people wake up in time .... at least that's my prayer they do.
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