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Can the Feds Prosecute Foreigners if Their Actions Are Legal Where They Are?
Townhall.com ^ | October 26, 2017 | Judge Andrew Napolitano

Posted on 10/26/2017 8:28:18 AM PDT by Kaslin

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1 posted on 10/26/2017 8:28:18 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

When people who hate you want to be IN YOUR COUNTRY...it’s called INVASION


2 posted on 10/26/2017 8:30:20 AM PDT by SMARTY ("Nearly all men can stand adversity...to test a man's character, give him power." A. Lincoln)
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To: SMARTY

We should be smart enough to not let them in.
The people in charge, many elected, are not stupid. So, one might wonder what reasons they have to allow people in who hate this country.
Could it be treason?


3 posted on 10/26/2017 8:34:58 AM PDT by Dalberg-Acton
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To: Kaslin

Very interesting.

bookmarking


4 posted on 10/26/2017 8:42:55 AM PDT by RedStateRocker (Nuke Mecca, deport all illegal aliens, abolish the IRS, DEA and ATF.)
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To: Kaslin

Not sure I understand this. It seems simple.

Swiss bankers broke none of their laws but broke ours.

Do we have a legal or economic treaty that specifies in writing that their country must follow our laws or face economic sanctions or legal action/extradition?

If no, then nothing can be done.

If yes, then execute economic sanctions or begin extradition processes.

Did I miss some nuance here?


5 posted on 10/26/2017 8:47:08 AM PDT by rlmorel (Liberals: American Liberty is the egg that requires breaking to make their Utopian omelette.)
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To: Kaslin

I’m still trying to figure out how any lawyer can keep a straight face while claiming that Manuel Noriega had any business being imprisoned in the U.S.


6 posted on 10/26/2017 8:49:15 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("Tell them to stand!" -- President Trump, 9/23/2017)
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To: rlmorel

No, you didn’t miss a nuance

Nap is omitting facts so he can make rhetorical points. I’m pretty sure the US government hasn’t actually kidnapped Swiss bankers.


7 posted on 10/26/2017 8:50:07 AM PDT by jjotto ("Ya could look it up!")
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To: rlmorel
This was written by Judge Andrew Napolitano. I like the guy but I'm also the first to admit that he often misrepresents the facts of a case in order to make a point.

I don't think this case involves a clear distinction between Swiss and U.S. laws. I believe it involves one or more Swiss banks that operate in the U.S. and are therefore subject to U.S. bank regulations.

8 posted on 10/26/2017 8:52:48 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("Tell them to stand!" -- President Trump, 9/23/2017)
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To: Kaslin
Gosh, Judge Napolitano, in your first example, the colonies were under Crown rule, so transporting them from the colonies to England to stand trial would be no different than the United States transporting someone from American Samoa to stand trial in Hawaii.

In your second example, if a Swiss banker conducted a transaction with a U.S. bank and did not adhere to U.S. banking law, then they did violate U.S. law and can be tried in absentia. They are not being tried for something that is legal in their own country, they are being tried for not following U.S. law.

If Switzerland does not wish to extradite, then the penalty is that the individual can never set foot on U.S. soil under threat of arrest.

The U.S. Justice Department is not "transporting beyond the seas" the individual, and the individual did not 'do something that is legal in his home country.'

9 posted on 10/26/2017 8:54:44 AM PDT by Yo-Yo (Is the /sarc tag really necessary?)
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To: Kaslin

I’ve long wondered about this.


10 posted on 10/26/2017 8:56:41 AM PDT by posterchild ("Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts." - R. Feynman)
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To: Kaslin
"...This understanding subsisted until the Reagan administration when the government began seizing foreigners abroad and bringing them to the U.S. for trial. Though these seizures were repellent, the crimes -- violence against individuals or large-scale distribution of dangerous drugs -- were crimes everywhere, and the harm caused by them was palpable..."

Hm. I don't think I appreciate the way Judge Napolitano frames this. Who specifically did we seize overseas and bring to this country for trial?

11 posted on 10/26/2017 9:00:11 AM PDT by rlmorel (Liberals: American Liberty is the egg that requires breaking to make their Utopian omelette.)
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To: Alberta's Child

I think I got that, but shouldn’t we be taking sanctions against one or more Swiss Banks in this country?

I kind of like Judge Napolitano too, but there is something about the stance he takes on this that makes me unsettled.

I admit there is likely some aspect of it that I don’t see, but on its face it doesn’t seem right.


12 posted on 10/26/2017 9:03:40 AM PDT by rlmorel (Liberals: American Liberty is the egg that requires breaking to make their Utopian omelette.)
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To: jjotto

It seems straightforward to me...if their laws state that money laundering for terrorists who kill Americans is okay, then it seems that America would say “Okay. Your banks and personnel are persona non grata in this country and cannot operate here. (I just use “laundering money as an example...since one person’s laundering is another person’s business in some places)

But if America says “Okay, we know that your bank laws allow you to launder money, and we don’t have a problem allowing branches of your banks here as long as money laundering doesn’t take place, that’s okay with us.

If they were laundering money here and we let them operate here under our laws, then we revoke their license and give them the boot.

If we knew they were laundering and we let them have banks here, and no laundering takes place in these branches, what leg do we have to stand on if we are upset they are laundering money over there?


13 posted on 10/26/2017 9:11:55 AM PDT by rlmorel (Liberals: American Liberty is the egg that requires breaking to make their Utopian omelette.)
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To: Yo-Yo

“In your second example, if a Swiss banker conducted a transaction with a U.S. bank and did not adhere to U.S. banking law, then they did violate U.S. law and can be tried in absentia. They are not being tried for something that is legal in their own country, they are being tried for not following U.S. law.”

Then what happens someday when you’re on a trip to Germany (for instance) and when you land at the airport you get arrested and sent to the UK to face trial for writing things on Free Republic that violate UK hate speech laws?

Will you stand on principle and passively accept your punishment?


14 posted on 10/26/2017 9:12:15 AM PDT by MeganC (Democrat by birth, Republican by default, Conservative by principle.)
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To: Kaslin

This is specifically an Obama thing. He brow beat the swiss banks to break anonymity. The banks agreed to hand over safe guarded info return for prosecutorial immunity for helping Americans evade taxes.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-swiss-banks-secrecy/obama-win-raises-pressure-on-swiss-banking-secrecy-idUSTRE4A931B20081110

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/01/22/swiss-banking-secrecy/4390231/

What’s the difference if I put my money in a swiss bank account or a safe deposit box or a PO Box ? how do the owners become liable for my stuff?


15 posted on 10/26/2017 9:32:40 AM PDT by stylin19a (Best.Election.Ever)
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To: MeganC

Maybe I am missing an emanation of a penumbra, but this concept seems very straightforward, and yes, Neapolitano does indeed muddy the issue by not being straightforward.

My expert legal opinion is that foreigners suck, including their backwards, liberty-trampling laws.


16 posted on 10/26/2017 9:40:20 AM PDT by T-Bone Texan
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To: T-Bone Texan

My concern is that if the US prosecutes people for doing things that are legal in their countries where they did them then what’s to stop those countries from prosecuting Americans?

Can I be prosecuted in Canada for violating their gun control laws because my AR-15 isn’t legal in Canada?

Should I be fined because my truck won’t pass French emissions regulations?

Should I face penalty in China because I didn’t ask for their permission before I had seven children?

Where does it stop?


17 posted on 10/26/2017 9:47:13 AM PDT by MeganC (Democrat by birth, Republican by default, Conservative by principle.)
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To: stylin19a

These cases are that the US has decided foreign banks must report any accounts held by US citizens.
Most countries caved. The Swiss even caved. Pretty much only the Chinese and Russians told them to pound sand.

This was an Obama propaganda show after Romney was revealed to have offshore accounts.


18 posted on 10/26/2017 10:06:43 AM PDT by DesertRhino (Dog is man's best friend, and moslems hate dogs. Add that up. ...)
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To: MeganC

You raise the very valid point, and it is what I consider a deal breaker for this concept.

I am reminded of the US law that says you can’t go to Thailand and have sex with underage people.


19 posted on 10/26/2017 10:07:51 AM PDT by T-Bone Texan
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To: DesertRhino

thanks. The first link I gave pre-dates Romney - goes back to 11/2008.

I wonder if Pres. Trump will have the DOJ drop this ?


20 posted on 10/26/2017 11:20:23 AM PDT by stylin19a (Best.Election.Ever)
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