The lawsuit argues that the involvement of the GAB — a civil enforcement agency — in the criminal John Doe probe has created a "Frankenstein monster" that has deprived O'Keefe of some of his legal rights.
"The result is terrible to behold: a creature that covertly collects sensitive information on political activities that do not — and cannot — constitute a crime, all the while maintaining a nearly impenetrable shield of secrecy," the lawsuit reads....
May 30, 2014
Club for Growth sues in Wisconsin state court to force the Government Accountability Board out of the John Doe investigation.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
20 comments:
Frankensteins and Guillotines and Gulags. Oh my!
It will be entertaining to see the people who brought this fishing expedition put on the hot seat.
garage is so excited!
The game's not over until we win.
Nice try, Club for Growth--you're living in the past.
I am hard pressed to think of a state statute anywhere in the country that is more richly deserving of a court challenge, than Wisconsin's mystifying (if not terrifying) "John Doe" investigatory statute.
What were they thinking when they enacted this monstrosity?
Finally, someone is standing up and fighting back against the lawfare war that has been waged against the right for decades, from every conceivable direction from the thousands of leftling organizations, both inside and outside of government, with nary a secret router discovered.
Bravo.
Now to take it their level.
Jacobson (Legal Insurrection) has more here: http://legalinsurrection.com/2014/05/victims-of-wisconsin-john-doe-probe-remain-on-offense/
Can the legal profession heal itself? Seems there should be a code of conduct where, save for what arguably might be pre-meditated murder or something under a national security order the guild should proscribe this type of behavior, especially given a growing, perhaps Snowden amplified interest in Government transparency by the left and right.
Given this and the Gibson Guitar abuse (knowing where there are a few public instances, there are likely hundreds, if not thousands of similar cases), there should be a guild ombudsman that digs out the facts and makes a habit of public shaming lawyers, judges, prosecutors, regulators and related that engage in such behavior, and the lawmakers and lobbyists that created the moral hazard (of abusing the law for political, business/union and/or personal gain).
This type of rot undermines a free and civil society by destroying the presumption of trust. And imagine what will happen if this becomes accepted practice and the opposition returns to power - or a third party controls the balance of power in a government. Talk about an attractive nuisance.
Maybe we need to return to a day where everything written (today's bits) is simply hearsay and not to be admitted in court (i.e. return to a time when you could "say" anything and not be convicted by it, aka "free speech" - which, besides death, is about the only thing incumbents, the rich and powerful, and dictators really fear) - the only thing admissible in court where observed-by-human actions, done with intent to cause harm.
Especially since we are already a decade into our aggregate bits knowing us better than our spouse, our rabbi, our therapist, our lawyer - and even ourselves. If there's a spousal exclusion from testimony, the same should apply to our bits (another "right" that Congress grants to itself that they deny the citizen - items like text messages and voice mail that they exempt from the Records Act).
The opposite of growth is shrinkage, is that the future?
aritai
What? Just make it simple. Throw all politicians in prison.
"Also Friday, Gov. Scott Walker responded to critics by vowing that he won't sell out key allies through any potential settlement of the probe."
garage mahal washing out his tube sock and awaiting John Doe III...maybe the third time will be the charm.
The left used to at least pretend they were for civil rights. That shit ended decades ago.
Curious George said...
"The left used to at least pretend they were for civil rights."
Before they gained power the commitment to freedom on the left was genuine. Everyone wants freedom for themselves including Hitler, Stalin, and Kim Jong Un all value their personal freedom highly. The test is when they gain power, whether their love of freedom is a commitment to freedom for everyone or just for themselves. The American left is now confident that power is theirs for perpetuity so freedom is no longer of any interest to them.
The left used to at least pretend they were for civil rights. That shit ended decades ago.
The lead prosecutor is a Walker voting Republican.
M.C. ButtCrack is also a self-proclaimed Republican. So what? Republicans have often proved themselves willing to prosecute wrongdoing on their own side. This particular prosecutor (assuming gm isn't simply lying about his political party) is doing what Republicans do. Does he even have any say in whom he investigates, or was he assigned the job by a judge? gm doesn't say.
We'd be more impressed if we could find a Democrat willing to prosecute even the most blatant crimes committed by his fellow Democrats.
"garage mahal said...
The lead prosecutor is a Walker voting Republican."
Sure he did.
Yes, garage, when your boss tells you to take on a responsibility, if you don't like doing it, you just tell him to eff off, right?
Curious George thinks no true Republican would ever investigate Scott Walker or other conservative groups.
And garage mahal thinks we don't know Wisconsin has the secret ballot. Otherwise how would he know who voted how? And garage mahal believes no politically motivated person would lie about their vote.
Or something.
I read O'Keefe's lawsuit and it paints the picture of a conspiracy between Chisholm, GAB, and the other DA's to violate GAB's enabling statute. There may be enough information here for anyone to request a judge to open a John Doe investigation of this alleged conspiracy.
Post a Comment