Posted on 04/21/2015 11:49:26 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
They have been testing the limits of their powers.
Expect to see some time soon this sort of “John Doe” activity related to your privately held firearms.
This is their next short term goal.
Once they have disarmed the citizenry, then they can finish the job of taking you out and shooting you.
The have already created the circumstances where it’s illegal to talk about what they have done...not even to a lawyer you are paying.
What’s to stop them from just arresting you, taking you away and you are never seen, or heard from again?
When did the FBI begin enforcing state laws?
5.56mm
Anyone taking bets that it was Daniel Bice?
Thanks for the ping to this atrocity.
I don’t disagree with what you say.
But this was state government misbehaving, not the feds.
Something for freepers who think our only issues are federal to think about. State (and counties and cities) can be every bit as oppressive as the federal government.
The people involved in these abuses should be prosecuted at the federal level for conspiracy to violate the civil rights of those they went after. Or possibly for RICO gangsterism.
WI needs a special prosecutor.
“......The investigation not only damaged families, it also shut down their free speech. In many cases, the investigations halted conservative groups in their tracks. O’Keefe and the Wisconsin Club for Growth described the effect in court filings:
>>>O’Keefe’s associates began cancelling meetings with him and declining to take his calls, reasonably fearful that merely associating with him could make them targets of the investigation. O’Keefe was forced to abandon fundraising for the Club because he could no longer guarantee to donors that their identities would remain confidential, could not (due to the Secrecy Order) explain to potential donors the nature of the investigation, could not assuage donors’ fears that they might become targets themselves, and could not assure donors that their money would go to fund advocacy rather than legal expenses. The Club was also paralyzed. Its officials could not associate with its key supporters, and its funds were depleted. It could not engage in issue advocacy for fear of criminal sanction.<<<
These raids and subpoenas were often based not on traditional notions of probable cause but on mere suspicion, untethered to the law or evidence, and potentially violating the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against “unreasonable searches and seizures.” The very existence of First Amendment–protected expression was deemed to be evidence of illegality. The prosecution simply assumed that the conservatives were incapable of operating within the bounds of the law.
Even worse, many of the investigators’ legal theories, even if proven by the evidence, would not have supported criminal prosecutions. In other words, they were investigating “crimes” that weren’t crimes at all.
If the prosecutors had applied the same legal standards to the Democrats in their own offices, they would have been forced to turn the raids on themselves. If the prosecutors and investigators had been raided, how many of their computers and smartphones would have contained incriminating information indicating use of government resources for partisan purposes?
With the investigations now bursting out into the open, some conservatives began to fight back. O’Keefe and the Wisconsin Club for Growth moved to quash the John Doe subpoenas aimed at them. In a surprise move, Judge Kluka, who had presided over the Doe investigations for more than a year, recused herself from the case. (A political journal, the Wisconsin Reporter, attempted to speak to Judge Kluka about her recusal, but she refused to offer comment.)
The new judge in the case, Gregory Peterson, promptly sided with O’Keefe and blocked multiple subpoenas, holding (in a sealed opinion obtained by the Wall Street Journal, which has done invaluable work covering the John Doe investigations) that they “do not show probable cause that the moving parties committed any violations of the campaign finance laws.” The judge noted that “the State is not claiming that any of the independent organizations expressly advocated” Walker’s election.
O’Keefe and the Wisconsin Club for Growth followed up Judge Peterson’s ruling by filing a federal lawsuit against Chisholm and a number of additional defendants, alleging multiple constitutional violations, including a claim that the investigation constituted unlawful retaliation against the plaintiffs for the exercise of their First Amendment rights. United States District Court judge Rudolph Randa promptly granted the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction, declaring that “the Defendants must cease all activities related to the investigation, return all property seized in the investigation from any individual or organization, and permanently destroy all copies of information and other materials obtained through the investigation.”
From that point forward, the case proceeded on parallel state and federal tracks. At the federal level, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Judge Randa’s order. Declining to consider the case on the merits, the appeals court found the lawsuit barred by the federal Anti-Injunction Act, which prohibits federal courts from issuing injunctions against some state-court proceedings. O’Keefe and the Wisconsin Club for Growth have petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari and expect a ruling in a matter of weeks.
At the same time, the John Doe prosecutors took their case to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals to attempt to restart the Doe proceedings. The case was ultimately consolidated before the state supreme court, with a ruling also expected in a matter of weeks. “.... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3281035/posts
968.26 John Doe proceeding.
But this was state government misbehaving, not the feds.
a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article published on the day of the raid, Sept. 14, 2011, indicates that a Journal Sentinel reporter arrived in time to see “about a dozen law enforcement officers, including FBI agents” raid Archer’s home. Yes, the investigation was run by the state, but the FBI was part and parcel of the abuse.
Conservative Homes Raided In Wisconsin - 29 Conservative Groups Targeted
Plus no one is taking the credit for appointing the special prosecuter, Mr. Schmitz. 29 conservative groups have been targeted and the people of at least 3 of these groups have had their homes raided. In these early dawn raids, computers and files were seized. As for the subpoenas? They don't have any specific allegations spelled out.
A big issue is the timing over this, "investigation". Mr walker is up for re-election in 2014. And this marks the second time he has been investigated in less than 4 years. The last investigation only served to damage Governor Walker since nothing amounted from it.
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread983361/pg1
Advertisers in this newspaper should be made aware...
Intimidation.
You’re doing God’s work, shining the light on these barbarians, Keep up the good work. Walker may not be perfect, but he’s a sight better than most and immeasurably better than any progressive.
I've often seen people use the word "reign" when the proper word was "rein". But this is the first time I've ever seen anyone use the word "reign" in place of "rain."
The ‘reporter’ was that jack@ss Daniel Bice. No doubt in my mind.
The urinal sentinel is not a financially well off left wing propaganda outlet. We can hurt them with just a little effort.
I know that’s the real reason, but what was their claimed reason?
A very good question!
Seems people here should also be asking, not just you and me.
Also seems to me that the whole thing was not fulfilling state law at all, but just a way to oppress political enemies. The whole thing stinks, and needs to be vigorously fought!
Those charged with enforcing the law and did not do so but rather used it to their own ends need to be made examples of what happens when that duty is violated. Failing to do so means this will happen again and again...
Public safety, most likely.
Hitler said the same thing.
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