Click on the title for the promised segment from last night.I'm so delighted to see the national media breaking the fact that BATFU and the "Vote Freedom First President's" US Attorney have been intentionally withholding evidence from the defense and the judge in order to destroy a man's life.
I've had access to the information that they begged off on introducing the document under the fraudulent tax excuse for some time now, but have not been able to share it with you prior to this. And tell me the judge shouldn't have insisted on seeing the document--even if it meant blacking out identifiable information. If sanctions aren't applied here it will be beyond me what excuse will be given.
Another thing that struck me--note the reporter's wording about the Berlin Conservation Club, and their "strict anti-automatic weapon policy." Fine and good, and well within the rights of a range to define what can safely be used at their facility--but what troubles me is the statement "the police were notified."
By whom? By the range proprietors? They couldn't tell a rifle had malfunctioned, and just order the shooter to cease using that particular weapon? Let me make clear it's not definitive who called in the authorities, but it seems relevant to ask.
Lou Dobbs' spirited outrage certainly is refreshing, and the most relevant question he asked:
Where in the world is the NRA?...Why in the world would anybody be waiting here?Indeed. I expect leaders to lead, meaning entering the fight when the odds are uncertain, even perilous. Waiting around until the outcome is more promising, and then riding in on a white horse to claim a share of the victory is, unfortunately, a pattern we've seen before.
I value the man who stood with me in the dark.
One other note worth mentioning: Following this clip, a spokesman for Law Enforcement Alliance was interviewed. He was strongly on the side of David Olofson.
13 comments:
I think Olafson's only hope is on appeal after sentencing. I do not believe Clevert will order a new trial.
My reasons are thus; He could have dismissed the charges when evidence was presented that the agency retested the rifle with "soft primered" ammo after first determining and documenting that the rifle was just a rifle. He did not.
He could have ordered the letter to Olympic be produced for his perusal in chambers to determine for himself if the evidence was inadmissable due to private tax information. He did not.
Had he been interested in presiding over a fair trial in the pursuit of justice, he could have done either of these things, he chose to do neither, which connotes to me that justice and a fair trial were the farthest things from his mind.
I hope I am wrong, but I think Clevert has already shown his predisposition to aid in railroading an innocent man. As he faces no penalty for his behavior, no matter how egregious, I think he most likely will continue in the same mode, hoping that Olafson will be financially ruined beyond the ability to mount a successful appeal.
I will gladly eat these words, if I am proven wrong by events. I hope I have to do so. But I doubt it will happen.
LEAA has traditionally been pro-second amendment. They do not actively support it, but unlike most organizations devoted to law enforcement personnel they do not actively work against it. And they do, at least, verbalize their pro-2nd opinion.
"I'm so delighted to see the national media breaking the fact that BATFU and the "Vote Freedom First President's" US Attorney have been intentionally withholding evidence from the defense and the judge in order to destroy a man's life."
I imagine our opponents will be conflicted. They harp on a corrupt-from-the-top-down autocratic Bush administration, but that administration is carrying out THEIR wishes in this case. They'll probably just ignore it. Until it's one of their own.
David, thanks for your linkage and commentary. As you suggested in your post on the first part of Dobbs' story, I posted this to his comment form:
"Thank you for your coverage of the David Olofson story, exposing the excesses of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Explosives. It is my belief that as it now operates, firearms agents at the BATFX cannot report for duty without violating their oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. Indeed, their whole mission is the evisceration of the Second Amendment.
"It's an excellent report. I commend you for covering the story, and I commend CNN for giving you the latitude to do so. Given the rabidly antigun stance of most of the press, this story counts as brave speaking-truth-to-power. I very much appreciate that you are using the First Amendment to defend the Second.
"As I say on my blog, 'Remember, folks: these are the Only Ones gun-grabbers say are fit to keep and bear arms. They, and the BATFX, want us to be docile, helpless sheep–and they themselves are not sheepdogs, but wolves.'"
To all readers who have firearms that may malfunction or may be questionable under the law: engrave your social security number on the firearm in several places. That way it can not be entered into evidence because it contains sensitive tax information.
"The web browser you are using to view this video is not supported. Please use one of the supported browsers:
Windows
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 and above
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Stupid webmasters. (I'm using Firefox 2.x)
First, he should fire his lawyers, and get good ones. They should have demanded that the gun be inspected by their own firearms experts, or an independent expert appointed by the Court, first thing. Any competent gunsmith should be able to tell if the weapon was either purchased as a fully-automatic rifle, or modified by the owner. An expert familiar with this model would also likely be aware of history of the malfunction and the recall. And if they DID demand that, and the Judge denied the motion, they should have appealed the denial right away.
From my understanding (though I'm not an expert), a semi-auto and a full-auto have easily seen internal differences, and any modifications to convert to full-auto should be obvious. The defense attorneys not insisting on someone other than the government inspecting the rifle is ridiculous.
Something stinks in this case, and it's not just the ATF, prosecutor, and judge.
I too sent CNN an e-mail thanking them for running this story. I suggested they try some investigative reporting on the way BaTfinks operate.
We shall see.
I posted a link to this post on my blog, too.
Riposte3: I'm not sure I agree with the critique of Olofson's lawyer--Remember--there's still stuff I'm not free to talk about and I don't wish to do anything to jeopardize any potential outcomes by blurting out stuff that people with better knowledge and insights haven't released before me. While I know some stuff, there are people who know a lot more, and it would be presumptuous of me to impose my judgment on this. Len was the firearms expert but I don't want to say any more about that without clearance.
Anon--feel free to give us that blog link.
Here's where I have a huge problem with all of this. We all know the firearm was defected and needed repair. The federal cops and lawyers know this as well. Yet they are willingly lying under oath to send a man to prison for having committed no crime. This is being ordered from the top down, this isn't a simple case of a few bad federal cops and lawyers going off the deep end. The ACLU, NRA and other groups that are not involved now better take notice and move on this case, now! The ACLU doesn't get involved in Second Amendment cases, OK fine. But this has gone far beyond a Second Amendment case.
Look at the case of the two Border Agents that are sitting in the slammer right now. These two agents didn't commit any criminal acts and its proved that the federal lawyer engaged in criminal acts to deprive these two men of their rights by not allowing them to have a fair and truthful trial. Yet they sit behind bars and one of the houses of congress voted on and sent Bush a letter demanding that he free these men. These men can't even get out on bond to appeal the case.
A government that lies to it's people is not a government for the people. Its just that simple.
Sent him an email... what an absolute disgrace the NRA is in this matter. I let my membership lapse, and will not renew.
Pointed him, again, to Red's Trading Post stories, and maybe we can get a segment on BATFE abuses going all the time. The worst thing for "them" is to have this go mainstream media and shed light on the terrorist-tactics they use.
Speaking of terrorist-tactics... I need to do some research on our terrorism laws... You think our Congress put in any "only ones" exceptions for prosecution of terrorist activities? I guarantee you that the BATFE's actions would fit a code definition of terrorism. Hmmmm.....
How can a recall letter from Olympic Arms, probably sent out en masse to many many dealers/owner contain sensitive tax information? Something really stinks about this entire case, as if someone has an agenda to bury this guy for some reason. I had an AK do the same thing on me when I held the trigger juuust right. Good thing I only fired it on a private club range among Class III boys and there toys.
Sent Mr. Dobbs a mostly congratulatory email on his expose' of this travesty of justice. But did question his level of knowledge about the ATF as he made statements in segments 1 and 2 about his respect for the agency, the job they do, and the personnel.
I urged him to do more research into the agency. I hope he does. If he does, I believe his integrity will lead him to a different opinion and he will recognize them for the equivalent of the "Brown Shirts" they are.
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