I know that most American businesses honestly try to comply with laws and regulations, despite Hollywood portrayals.
I know that when a regulatory regime is new or newly expanded, compliance is difficult because getting the correct information is often difficult to obtain or non existent, often because businesses are required to comply before the regulatory agency has decided what that means or how it will look (or they change their minds five times).
I know that when a prosecutor dicks around for more than a year without filing charges that they don’t have squat.
I know that when you request return of evidence or seized materials and the government responds with a bull shit raid that odds are high that theft/corruption has occurred and they are in panic CYA mode.
I know that Leviathan is out of control and the burden is on the government to prove it’s case, not on Gibson to prove it’s innocence.
Although I’m willing to consider the possibility that this whole mess was caused by an ignorant and inexperienced gov’t functionary assuming that “grey market” was a euphemism for “black market” instead of a legitimate business term.
I’m curious though as to why you are shilling so hard for the DOJ. Do you work there (and are you wasting my tax dollar)?
I'm the owner of twelve Gibson products. This - Gibson, Gibson's CEO, the first raid, the status of the litigation, the emails, the woods involved, the political situation in Madagascar, the fact that goods can be seized as "contraband" and the government doesn't have to bring suit (think of a state trooper catching you with out-of-state liquor, where that's illegal, and simply confiscating it) - were all things that I knew something about. Am I an expert? Heck, no. Is it apparent from posts that I knew more about the back story that most people. Well, yes. Which is why I say it's not black-and-white certain to me that Gibson legally imported its Madagascar Ebony.
Out of all the things you 'know,' I noticed you didn't answer my question about how you 'know' that Gibson's import of Madagascar Ebony was legal.
As for your statement:
Although I’m willing to consider the possibility that this whole mess was caused by an ignorant and inexperienced gov’t functionary assuming that “grey market” was a euphemism for “black market” instead of a legitimate business term.
My guess is that the government didn't have a single email from Gibson until after it raided Gibson the first time and took computers.