Carter shows his ethics: hires lawyer from Obama firm, as clerk Oct. 1st

thepostnemail ^ | 10/17/09 | John Charlton

[blueyon]

In a stunning blow to the impartiality of the American Judicial system, Federal Judge David O. Carter, who is hearing the case Barnett vs. Obama, in the Central District, Southern Division Court at Santa Ana, California, has just hired a lawyer who works for a law firm where Robert F. Bauer, one of Obama’s top lawyers is a partner. And that, just days before the Oct. 5, 2009 hearing on the Motion to Dismiss, in which his demeanor radically changed, according to Dr. Orly Taitz, esq., lead counsel for the Plaintiffs.

Siddharth Velamoor is the lawyer chosen by Carter to serve as one of his two official clerks, from Oct. 1, 2009, till Sept. 30, 2010, according to Wikipedia. Velamoor is listed as an associate with Perkins Coie, LLP’s office in Seattle, Washington. It is not clear if he has broken his relations with the firm.

C, is a partner of Perkins Coie, LLP’s office in Washington, D.C.. His bio at the company identifies him as holding the Chair of the Political Law group at the firm; general counsel to Obama’s Campaign for America and general counsel to the Democratic National Committee.

Mr. Bauer’s wife is none other than Anita Dunn, the Whitehouse Communication’s Director.

[BP2]

Go back and look at posts 88, 90, 91. I did not confuse a Court clerk with a Law Clerk — I posted what was convenient at the moment. Google “law clerk tampering” and you’ll find plenty of examples if it so suits you.

Sorry to be "ATTACKING" the poor clerk — yeah, the talking points are out.

The only one confused is yourself in your loyalty in offering aid and comfort to the man who will throw campaigner & schill alike under the bus when it’s politically convenient for him.

Not that it matters anyway — a conflict of interest exists. Studies show that law clerks are very influential in the formation of case law through their influence on judges’ decisions.

Further, as I recall, the Seattle Perkins Coie office was working a high-profile Obama eligibility case about the same time Velamoor starting working there... and I suspect Velamoor — who specializes in "product liability" while also majoring in international relations — was working THAT case ...

[Freedom2specul8]

White collar crime? LoL no way!

[Freedom2specul8]

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=attorneys+convicted+of

[Arizona Carolyn]

THIS really caught my attention since IIRC it turned out a lawyer from Perkins Coie was involved in the one ethics complaint against Palin that wasn’t dismissed and also a link to the other bloggers who had been filing against her as well.. seems they have tentacles everywhere, this must be the DNC and Obama’s legal arm......

[rxsid]

No recent update on the "HOLLISTER v. SOETORO et al" case for months:

05/04/2009 USCA Case Number 09-5161 for 28 Notice of Appeal. (rdj) (Entered: 05/04/2009)

[BP2]

Yeah, be sure to cross-reference this IP on Wiki and elsewhere if it helps (Rat bastards!):

198.22.100.4 - Geo Information

IP Address	198.22.100.4 (Range: 198.22.100.0 - 198.22.100.255)
Host	seassgs-cluster.perkinscoie.com
Location	US, United States
City	Seattle, WA -
Organization	Perkins Coie, LLP
ISP	Perkins Coie, LLP
AS Number	AS33415
198.22.100.4 - Whois Information

[kukaniloko]

So a Marine and Federal Judge who has had the case for months and has conducted at least three hearings on the matter is going to be improperly influenced by a newly hired law clerk? That must be part of the analog-to-digital tinfoil upgrade.

[Freedom2specul8]

Don’t need tinfoil for this one. Maybe they have connections to the eastern missouri democrat prosecutors who started the missouri truth squad for OBAMA. That cat IS out of the bag.

[BP2]

Are you saying that law clerks do NOT influence their judges>

NOR do law clerks filter information to their judges?

Who the hell write the vast majority of the findings?

Who reviews and verifies the papers submitted by the attorneys?

GOOD STEWARDS: LAW CLERK INFLUENCE IN STATE HIGH COURTS
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4043/is_200801/ai_n25417790/

You are a troll of monumental stupidity and naivety, aren't you?

Please keep your tinfoil to yourself.

[Arizona Carolyn]

Welcome to FR... I imagine over on KOS they consider this stuff tinfoil, but if you had been around to see all the tentacles Perkins Coie has in this administration you wouldn’t be mocking people over this “coincidence”

[rxsid]

OK, so there are updates to the Hollister v. Soetoro case. Check here.

[kukaniloko]

You think the clerk is making the decision for the Judge in the Motion to Dismiss?

[Freedom2specul8]

creative handle you chose. hahahaha

[Freedom2specul8]

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/09/missouris_obama_truth_squads_2.html#

September 27, 2008
Missouri’s Obama Truth Squads (updated Governor’s statement)
Lee Cary

Last Tuesday, CBS affiliate Channel 4 TV News in St. Louis reported that some Missouri sheriffs and prosecutors have formed a truth squad to target anyone who engages in misleading ad or statements about Senator Obama.

Here’s the transcript of the lede on the CBS story:

“Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign is asking Missouri law enforcement to target anyone who lies or runs a misleading television ad during the presidential campaign.”

The implied threat in the Channel 4 report is that prosecutors and sheriffs across Missouri will enforce “Missouri ethics laws” and conduct criminal investigations of “anyone who lies or runs a misleading television ad” against Barack Obama. Although the report did not directly state that intent, that implied message was clearly conveyed.

Two high-profile officers of the court spoke on camera: Jennifer Joyce, St. Louis Circuit Attorney, and Robert P. McCullouch, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney. No one was available at either of their offices on Friday to comment on the story.

Channel 4 mentions the expected support of Jefferson County Sheriff Glen Boyer in the truth squad efforts. Captain Ralph Brown, in charge of press relations for the Sheriff’s Department, could not be reached for comment on Friday.

Scott Holste, speaking Friday on behalf of the Missouri Attorney General’s office, was available for comment. He said he had already been contacted about the Channel 4 report, that the Attorney General’s office was not involved in any way with truth squads, and that he found the CBS news item to be “a mangled story.”

Also on Friday, Joe Carroll, Director of Campaign Financing, Missouri Ethics Commission, said that he is “not familiar with any campaign law that applies.”

John Mills, the Channel 4 reporter, was unavailable for comment Friday.

Was the St. Louis CBS affiliate complicit in the attempt, by some elected Democrat court officials in the St. Louis area, to stifle free political speech in Missouri on Senator Obama’s behalf?

Update: Steve Gilbert of Sweetness & Light has posted the response of Missouri’s Governor Matt Blunt:

JEFFERSON CITY - Gov. Matt Blunt today issued the following statement on news reports that have exposed plans by U.S. Senator Barack Obama to use Missouri law enforcement to threaten and intimidate his critics.

“St. Louis County Circuit Attorney Bob McCulloch, St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer, and Obama and the leader of his Missouri campaign Senator Claire McCaskill have attached the stench of police state tactics to the Obama-Biden campaign.

“What Senator Obama and his helpers are doing is scandalous beyond words, the party that claims to be the party of Thomas Jefferson is abusing the justice system and offices of public trust to silence political criticism with threats of prosecution and criminal punishment.

“This abuse of the law for intimidation insults the most sacred principles and ideals of Jefferson. I can think of nothing more offensive to Jefferson’s thinking than using the power of the state to deprive Americans of their civil rights. The only conceivable purpose of Messrs. McCulloch, Obama and the others is to frighten people away from expressing themselves, to chill free and open debate, to suppress support and donations to conservative organizations targeted by this anti-civil rights, to strangle criticism of Mr. Obama, to suppress ads about his support of higher taxes, and to choke out criticism on television, radio, the Internet, blogs, e-mail and daily conversation about the election.

“Barack Obama needs to grow up. Leftist blogs and others in the press constantly say false things about me and my family. Usually, we ignore false and scurrilous accusations because the purveyors have no credibility. When necessary, we refute them. Enlisting Missouri law enforcement to intimidate people and kill free debate is reminiscent of the Sedition Acts - not a free society.”

[Freedom2specul8]

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/attacking-obama.html

Republicans — led by the Governor of Missouri and the Republican National Committee — are alleging that there is something untoward about the “Truth Squad” the Obama campaign has set up in the “Show Me” State. The problem, these Republicans say, is that these “Truth Squad” members are prosecutors and sheriffs with law enforcement powers, thus creating an atmosphere where Missourians might be afraid of being prosecuted for criticizing Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

There is no evidence, however, that these prosecutors are threatening to use their prosecutorial powers in such a way.

And despite GOP complaints that the mere presence of prosecutors on the “Truth Squad” could intimidate Obama’s critics, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and his running mate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin have used prosecutors on their “Truth Squads” too, prompting no complaints from the GOP at the time.

**

The Missouri Truth Squad, an Obama campaign press release stated last week, would “respond quickly, forcefully, and aggressively when John McCain or his allies launch inaccurate claims or character attacks about Barack Obama, or when they distort Barack Obama’s record or plans.”

So what’s the problem?

Many of the Obama Missouri Truth Squad members have law enforcement powers, such as St. Louis County Circuit Attorney Bob McCulloch, St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, and Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer.

A local TV story took those facts and then stated that, “Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign is asking Missouri law enforcement to target anyone who lies or runs a misleading television ad during the presidential campaign,” which doesn’t seem a fair representation of the formation of the “Truth Squad.”

Republicans immediately began painting this as a situation where the Obama campaign is using its law enforcement friends to threaten to lock people up if they say something negative about Obama.

Gov. Matt Blunt, on official state stationery, said, “What Senator Obama and his helpers are doing is scandalous beyond words, the party that claims to be the party of Thomas Jefferson is abusing the justice system and offices of public trust to silence political criticism with threats of prosecution and criminal punishment.”

None of the prosecutors or sheriffs on the “Truth Squad” have said they’d use their law enforcement powers as part of their task as “Truth Squad” members.

But Blunt said that wasn’t the point.

“The only conceivable purpose of Messrs. McCulloch, Obama and the others is to frighten people away from expressing themselves, to chill free and open debate, to suppress support and donations to conservative organizations targeted by this anti-civil rights, to strangle criticism of Mr. Obama, to suppress ads about his support of higher taxes, and to choke out criticism on television, radio, the Internet, blogs, e-mail and daily conversation about the election,” Blunt said. “Enlisting Missouri law enforcement to intimidate people and kill free debate is reminiscent of the Sedition Acts - not a free society.”

St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch called the notion that he was going to use his official powers to prosecute people who lie about Obama “nonsense.”

“I don’t know what charge anybody could be talking about there is no such thing; libel is a civil matter entirely,” McCulloch said. “What I said was if it is a lie I’ll call somebody on it and say that’s a lie; tell us the truth. That gets morphed by those with these very sinister motives,” the prosecutor said. He added, “It’s morphed into ‘they are trying to intimidate people into not talking.’”

St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce added in a statement: “As a citizen, I believe that elections should be about issues. I also have enormous respect for our First Amendment and freedom of speech. My sole purpose in participating in this initiative is about getting truthful information to the voters. This has never been or never will be about prosecuting people. Clearly there are those who are attempting to twist the purpose of this initiative for their own benefit. This attack is a great example of how the truth is distorted in campaigns and what we’re trying to stand up against.”

But the deputy chairman of the Republican National Committee, Frank Donatelli, told the News-Leader, that even though the Democratic prosecutors “haven’t specifically said” they would use their powers to fight for Obama, but “I don’t think you have to use the power. I think if you just call out somebody and you have the power, you’ve made your point. It’s not that you have to prosecute a guy, but people think you might.”

That’s why prosecutors don’t typically become members of campaign truth squads, Donatelli said, because the prosecutor’s presence on the truth squad “has a chilling affect on people’s rights of free speech.”

This story broke last week and has been building since.

Largely unreported is the dial-back from reporter John Mills, whose story seemed to imply exactly what the GOP is charging — that Obama has enlisted a squad of prosecutors to go after anyone who criticizes the Democratic presidential candidate — but has since said that “in the retelling of the story, it got out of control.”

“If they think a group has put out a misleading ad, they’re basically going to call a press conference and say the ad is misleading,” Mills told the News-Leader yesterday. “I’m sure the Republicans would do the same thing.”

Of the concern that prosecutors should not be on truth squads — which may seem a legitimate criticism — it could be observed that McCain’s South Carolina primary “Truth Squad” included Attorney General Henry McMaster and Seventh Circuit Solicitor Trey Gowdy, a prosecutor.

The recently created “Palin Truth Squad” includes District Attorney of Dona Ana County (NM) Susana Martinez.

[Freedom2specul8]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fax2lFzkRTQ

[Freedom2specul8]

http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/?q=node/14824

whiners

Dems deny Missouri “truth squad” amounts to intimidation
By SCOTT CANON

The Kansas City Star

It began as a St. Louis television story about Barack Obama standing tough against unfair attack ads. It became a Republican accusation that he was bullying critics.

When Obama included prosecutors and sheriffs on his “truth squad,” the intent was to add integrity to debunking ads. But Republicans said the presence of law officers chilled legitimate Obama opposition and support for Republican John McCain.

The story probably reached its apex when Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt, a Republican, last week issued a statement from his gubernatorial office accusing Obama of “threats of prosecution and criminal punishment.” That helped charge the story’s circulation on the Internet and conservative talk radio.

Obama’s camp noted that every campaign uses local politicians to knock down false statements and that labeling the tactic a dirty trick is disingenuous.

“It’s preposterous,” said Justin Hamilton, a spokesman for the Obama Missouri organization. “The reason why we have a truth squad is because the McCain campaign has a history of leveling false … attacks.”

Presidential political campaigns like to enlist local politicians because voters are more likely to believe a familiar face.

It all started with a KMOV-TV report by John Mills, who said “prosecutors and sheriffs from across Missouri … will be reminding voters that Barack Obama is a Christian who plans to lower taxes on anybody making less than $250,000.”

Then he quoted two members of the “truth squad” on camera saying they would challenge unfounded attacks. He added that they would “respond immediately to any ads and statements that might violate Missouri ethics laws.”

The prosecutors deny mentioning anything about the state ethics laws, and objected to the tone of the presentation, including an anchor’s statement that the Obama’s camp wanted “ Missouri law enforcement to target” people for campaign lies.

Republicans labeled it intimidation, claiming the state GOP office fielded calls from people fearful of posting yard signs for John McCain or speaking out against Obama in public.

“This isn’t about whether they could or couldn’t prosecute,” said Tina Hervey, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Republican Party. “The unfortunate consequence of it was that it did intimidate people.”

Jefferson County Sheriff Oliver “Glenn” Boyer, a Democrat on the Obama squad, objected strongly to the charge.

“It infuriates me,” he said, “that anybody would accuse me of intimidation.”

[Freedom2specul8]

http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/political-fix/political-fix/2008/09/mccain-obama-battle-over-missouri-truth-squad/

With the Missouri polls showing a dead heat between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, every campaign move is igniting scrutiny.

That’s the backdrop over a two-day dust-up that is attracting local TV coverage, and has even ignited a Web fight between the Drudge Report and the Daily Kos.

At issue is a new Obama “Truth Squad” formed in the state.

(As an aside, please note that both sides have “Truth Squads” in numerous states, under numerous titles. McCain’s campaign has an Honest and Open Election Committee, whose Missouri members include former Sen. John Danforth and U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, and another state McCain group monitoring any Democratic jabs at Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.)

Obama’s Missouri Truth Squad members include St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer and St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch, among others.

The inclusion of such officials has led to Gov. Matt Blunt, among other Republicans, to accuse the Obama camp of planning “to use Missouri law enforcement to threaten and intimidate his critics.”

That tack was repeated in a conference call Saturday, where Republican National Committee deputy chairman Frank Donatelli said that the issue was the inclusion of law-enforcement officials on Obama’s squad. He called for Joyce, McCulloch, et al to step down.

In a statement Saturday (issued from the governor’s office), Blunt went further and contended that the state Obama campaign and its allies, including U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill “have attached the stench of police state tactics…”

His assertion was that the squad might prosecute people deemed to have made inaccurate or inappropriate claims against Obama.

“Barack Obama needs to grow up. Leftist blogs and others in the press constantly say false things about me and my family. Usually, we ignore false and scurrilous accusations because the purveyors have no credibility. When necessary, we refute them,” Blunt said in the statement. “Enlisting Missouri law enforcement to intimidate people and kill free debate is reminiscent of the Sedition Acts - not a free society.”

Obama’s national campaign manager David Plouffe said Saturday that Truth Squads simply monitor attacks and refute them.

Later, state communications director Debbie Mesloh issued a statement that called it “the height of absurdity” for the GOP to contend that the Obama squad planned to go to court or jail critics.

She contended that Blunt, Donatelli, et al are out “to deceive voters about the role of respected Missourians across the state who want to see this election be about the truth, not false attacks like the ones we’ve seen today.

“Barack Obama’s Truth Squad is comprised of members of the community who – on their own time – are dedicated to raising the level of discourse in this campaign…,” she added.

By the way, a quick surf of the Internet found a McCain Truth Squad in New Hampshire, formed last January, that included several public officials with prosecutorial powers, including the state attorney general.

However, state Republicans have sent out a list of dozens of officeholders — who are lawmakers, not law enforcers — who they said make up the bulk of McCain’s Truth Squads around the country.

[vikk]

Damn, does that mean everyone has to buy a new antenna to get a signal?

[Freedom2specul8]

BACKED OFF............BUT THOSE DARN BLOGGERS STILL OUT THERE, THANK YOU DOJ.

USING OFFICIAL POSITION TO INTIMIDATE, SQUASH DEBATE

---

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=76560

Missouri law officials, including public prosecutors, who were reportedly planning to “respond immediately” to any misleading advertisements against Barack Obama if they “might violate Missouri ethics laws,” have now backed off the intimidating implications of that report, promising they have no intention of prosecuting anyone.

As WND reported, prosecuting attorneys Bob McCulloch and Jennifer Joyce originally announced on KMOV-TV in St. Louis their participation in Obama’s “Truth Squad,” pledging to defend the candidate from untruthful ads with an undefined “immediate” response.

“Whether it is directly attributable to the (McCain) campaign or to one of the soft money operations,” McCulloch told the station, “if they’re not going to tell the truth, somebody’s got to step up and say, ‘That’s not the truth. This is the truth.’”

The move prompted Missouri’s governor to object that the prosecutors were using “police state tactics” to squelch information hurtful to the Obama campaign.

“What Senator Obama and his helpers are doing is scandalous beyond words,” wrote Gov. Matt Blunt in a statement. “The party that claims to be the party of Thomas Jefferson is abusing the justice system and offices of public trust to silence political criticism with threats of prosecution and criminal punishment.”

A spokeswoman for St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, however, told WND that the televised “Truth Squad” announcement was misunderstood.

“The only action they would take would be to provide truthful information to the public so they can make up their minds,” said Susan Ryan. “Neither (Joyce) nor anybody involved in this has any intention of prosecuting anybody.”

When asked if the initial announcement suggested legal ramifications for “crossing ethics laws in Missouri,” Ryan confirmed, “Unfortunately it did suggest that, but the ‘Truth Squad’ has no intention of prosecuting anyone for this.”

Further, Ryan insisted, attorneys McCulloch and Joyce are participating in the “Truth Squad” as part of their private citizenship, on their own time, and in no way in their capacity as prosecutors.

“That’s not how they announced it,” objected Gov. Blunt in an interview on the Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom” show. “They rolled it out as prosecutors willing to take actions as prosecutors.”

Blunt conceded that government officials could serve on “Truth Squads” in their private time but defended his sharp criticism of the way the announcement was made.

“What I found troubling,” said Blunt, “is that a campaign enlisted prosecutors, and those prosecutors specifically talked about targeting their opponents; they talked about responding to ‘alleged violations of the law.’ Generally when a prosecutor talks about responding to an alleged violation of the law, that means you’re going to prosecute.”

When Blunt was asked if he would take action against the attorneys, he said, “They have really stepped back from how they announced this. When they announced this I think it was intimidating. … In a lot of ways they have reversed course, and I’m glad to see that.”

While some of Missouri’s reported “Truth Squad” have backed down, one named in the KMOV-TV report claims he was never on course to begin with.

Jefferson County Sheriff Oliver “Glenn” Boyer, who also was named in Gov. Blunt’s statement, told WND that not only had he never agreed to join the “Truth Squad,” it “infuriated” him that anyone would think he would use his office to quash others’ freedom of speech.

“I’m a small, Democratic sheriff in rural Missouri,” Boyer told WND. “I haven’t even seen the original interview with Jennifer Joyce and Bob McCulloch. … All I know is, I came into my office on Monday morning unaware of any of this. I had a fundraiser Saturday, when all this started, of my own. I came into my office Monday morning, and I’ve got 500 emails and 19 nasty phone calls calling me a communist pig! I think, ‘Man, I thought it was a pretty good fundraiser.’”