Category Archives: Washington DC

Alamance County NC Sheriff Terry Johnson, US Justice Dept. lawsuit, Thomas E. Perez Assistant Attorney General, 2008 voter fraud concerns, Latino bias or USDOJ retribution?

Alamance County NC Sheriff Terry Johnson, US Justice Dept. lawsuit, Thomas E. Perez Assistant Attorney General, 2008 voter fraud concerns, Latino bias or USDOJ retribution?

“Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it,”…George Santayana 

“We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.”…Abraham Lincoln

“Our Constitution is in actual operation; everything appears to promise
that it will last; but nothing in this world is certain but death and
taxes.”…Benjamin Franklin

It is fitting and proper that I present this article to you on July 4, 2012, the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Many of you are aware of battles and patriotic activity leading up to and during the American Revolution in NC. The Tryon Resolves were signed in August 1775, just west of Charlotte, NC. A Mecklenburg Declaration was apparently signed around the same time but no copy survives.

Perhaps less well known is the Battle of Alamance. Alamance County is just a few miles east of Greensboro, where the Battle of Guilford Courthouse took place and the birthplace of Dolley Madison. The Battle of Alamance took place on May 16, 1771, 5 years before the official start of the American Revolution.

From the Alamance Battleground Historic site.

“On this site in 1771, an armed rebellion of backcountry farmers — called Regulators — battled against royal governor William Tryon’s militia. Visitors can tour the 18th-century Allen House and battlefield monuments. These features, together with the visitor center’s DVD orientation program, offer a vivid account of this colonial battle, as well as the oppressive British colonial policies that sparked the revolt.

“He gave the Regulators a choice — to return peacefully to their homes or be fired upon. They had one hour to decide. After the hour was up Tryon sent an officer to receive their reply. ‘Fire and be damned!’ was their answer. The governor then gave the order, but his men hesitated. Rising in his stirrups, he shouted, ‘Fire! Fire on them or on me!’ The militia obeyed, the Regulators responded in kind, and the battle of Alamance was on.””

“During the years leading up to the American Revolution many North Carolina people became strongly discontented with the way the provincial government was handling the colony’s affairs. However, their quarrel was not with the form of government or the colony’s laws but with abuses by government officials.

Grievances affecting the daily lives of the colonists included excessive taxes, dishonest sheriffs, and illegal fees. Scarcity of money contributed to the state of unrest. Those living in the western part of the province were isolated and unsympathetic with the easterners and it was in those frontier counties that the War of the Regulation began.”

http://www.nchistoricsites.org/Alamance/

History does repeat and today there is another controversy involving a sheriff in Alamance County NC and the US Justice Department.

From News 14 June 24, 2012.

“Alamance County, Sheriff, Sheriff’s Office sued by Justice Dept.”

“After months of attempting to work with the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office, the United States Department of Justice says it’s now filing suit.

In a complaint, the DOJ states it’s currently conducting an investigation into whether there’s a pattern of biased policing against the Latino community by the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office and that some employees fear retaliation against themselves or family members if they speak with federal investigators.

But on Friday afternoon Sheriff Terry Johnson said that’s not so.

“The allegations that the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office has denied access to personnel is not true. Neither myself or the command staff have forbidden any personnel from speaking with the United States Department of Justice,” Sheriff Johnson said.

At the heart of the lawsuit, whether the Sheriff’s attorney should be in the room while Justice Department investigators interview employees. The DOJ says the attorney should not be there. It’s a move Sheriff Johnson says violates his personal rights.

“The Department of Justice, has been made aware that the Sheriff’s attorney has a right to be present during questioning of deputies, since deputies through their acts of omission can bind the Sheriff,” Johnson added.

The Department of Justice says they’ve been trying since July of last year to get the Sheriff’s Office to voluntarily comply, and decided to sue when all other measure had failed.

But Johnson says he and his personnel have made repeated attempts to meet with the Department of Justice most recently on May 23, offers he says they declined.

“The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office has always welcomed constructive dialogue with the United States Department of Justice, and continues to seek ways to resolve this dispute,” Sheriff Johnson said.

According to the complaint, the Department of Justice initially opened a preliminary inquiry into allegations that the Sheriff’s office was engaged in discriminatory law enforcement activities back in November of 2009.

The defendants were notified of the formal investigation on June 2 of last year.”
http://triad.news14.com/content/top_stories/642887/alamance-county–sheriff–sheriff-s-office-sued-by-justice-dept

From the US Justice Dept.

“The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO), Alamance County and Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson seeking a judicial declaration that department attorneys may interview particular ACSO personnel outside the presence of ACSO’s counsel.”

““It is unfortunate that the department was forced to resort to litigation when the applicable ethical rules are so clear in this instance,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “A judicial decision will allow the department to move forward with the investigation.””

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/June/11-crt-830.html

I do not have all the facts in this case. I hope to find out more soon. However, this is what I do know.

From Citizen Wells November 2, 2011.

“The following controversy in NC received brief national attention in 2008.

From the Alamance County Sheriff’s Ofice, Alamance County Health Department Investigation, 2008.
(Alamance County is just east of Greensboro)

“On Monday June 23rd, 2008 the SBI initiated an
investigation into allegations that employees of the
Alamance County Health Department specifically Dr.
Kathleen Shapley-Quinn and Nurse Karen Saxer were
knowingly and willingly falsifying patient medical
records.”
“At the request of some patients, Alamance
County Health Department provided work
notes and prescriptions in alias names.

 Providing these services would assist illegal
aliens with maintaining assumed or stolen
identities, which may be a violation of state, or
federal law. (Identity Theft, Fraud, etc.)”
“The staff was divided with some believing the practice of writing
work notes (utilizing aliases) to suspected illegal aliens was wrong
and therefore they refused to do so. Subsequently they reported
feeling pressured or feared repercussions.

 Others, particularly Shapely-Quinn and Saxer believed the
guidance they had sought and received was vague at best, but
believed their actions did not violate the law and they were
providing care for their patients. Furthermore, according to
them, an illegal alien can not be refused medical care.”
“On more than one occasion Nurse Karen Saxer at the
direction of Dr. Shapley-Quinn prepared or made
health related employer work notes for patients under
alias names, knowing that the names on the documents
were in fact not the birth name or legal name of the
patient.”
“Veronica Arias, of Texas, reported on May 2nd, 2008 to
the ACSO that someone in Swepsonville, NC had
stolen her identity and was using same to be employed.

 Maria Sanchez was arrested on May 6, 2008 by
investigators of the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office
for stealing and using the identity of Veronica Arias.

 Sanchez used the name, SSN, DOB, of Veronica Arias
who is a living resident of Texas.”

https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2010/11/02/nc-voter-fraud-update-voting-machine-errors-nc-gop-lawsuit-status-voter-registration-issues/

The 2008 Alamance Sheriff Department investigation.

http://www.alamance-nc.com/fileadmin/alamance/Commissioners/Packets/2008/SheriffPresentation81808sm.pdf

Thomas E. Perez, the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division who is taking the action against the Alamance County Sheriff. Where have you heard his name before?

From Judicial Watch September 20, 2010.

“Records Contradict Testimony by Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez”

“Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has forced disclosure of the existence of documents from the Department of Justice (DOJ) indicating Democratic election lawyer Sam Hirsch was involved in the DOJ decision to dismiss its voting rights case against the New Black Panther Party for Self Defense. The records, described in a Vaughn index produced pursuant to a Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, contradict sworn testimony by Thomas Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, who testified before the U.S. Civil Rights Commission that no political leadership was involved in the decision (Judicial Watch v. Department of Justice (No. 10-851)).”

http://www.judicialwatch.org/news/2010/sep/political-appointee-involved-obama-justice-department-decision-drop-black-panther-case
From Citizen Wells June 30, 2010.

“The New Black Panther case was the simplest and most obvious violation of federal law I saw in my Justice Department career. Because of the corrupt nature of the dismissal, statements falsely characterizing the case and, most of all, indefensible orders for the career attorneys not to comply with lawful subpoenas investigating the dismissal, this month I resigned my position as a Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney.”

“Based on my firsthand experiences, I believe the dismissal of the Black Panther case was motivated by a lawless hostility toward equal enforcement of the law. Others still within the department share my assessment. The department abetted wrongdoers and abandoned law-abiding citizens victimized by the New Black Panthers. The dismissal raises serious questions about the department’s enforcement neutrality in upcoming midterm elections and the subsequent 2012 presidential election.”

“The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has opened an investigation into the dismissal and the DOJ’s skewed enforcement priorities. Attorneys who brought the case are under subpoena to testify, but the department ordered us to ignore the subpoena, lawlessly placing us in an unacceptable legal limbo.
The assistant attorney general for civil rights, Tom Perez, has testified repeatedly that the “facts and law” did not support this case. That claim is false. If the actions in Philadelphia do not constitute voter intimidation, it is hard to imagine what would, short of an actual outbreak of violence at the polls. Let’s all hope this administration has not invited that outcome through the corrupt dismissal.

Most corrupt of all, the lawyers who ordered the dismissal – Loretta King, the Obama-appointed acting head of the Civil Rights Division, and Steve Rosenbaum – did not even read the internal Justice Department memorandums supporting the case and investigation.”
https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2010/06/30/obama-and-us-justice-dept-corruption-obama-agenda-racial-bias-new-black-panther-party-case-dismissed-usdoj-attorney-j-christian-adams-retires-eric-holder/

So, who is the problem here, Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson or Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez?

I hope to learn more about this case in the coming weeks.

Obama Obamacare taxes facts, Negative impact on jobs economy, Huge Obama lie about not taxing lower incomes, Unemployment labor force participation affected

Obama Obamacare taxes facts, Negative impact on jobs economy, Huge Obama lie about not taxing lower incomes, Unemployment labor force participation affected

“Nobody who makes under $200,000 a year will see their taxes go up as long as I’m president.”…Barack Obama

“I absolutely reject that notion [mandate is a tax].”…Barack Obama

“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. His heart sank as he thought of the enormous power arrayed against him, the ease with which any Party intellectual would overthrow him in debate, the subtle arguments which he would not be able to understand, much less answer. And yet he was in the right! They were wrong and he was right. The obvious, the silly, and the true had got to be defended. Truisms are true, hold on to that! The solid world exists, its laws do not change. Stones are hard, water is wet, objects unsupported fall towards the earth’s centre. With the feeling that he was speaking to O’Brien, and also that he was setting forth an important axiom, he wrote:

Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.”…George Orwell, “1984”

Much has been said about the recent Supreme Court ruling which stated that Obamacare is a tax, a very big tax. However, most commentary has focused on the individual mandate as being the primary taxation, much too simplistically.

Yesterday the Citizen Wells article indicated that future taxes to pay for Obamacare and out of control Obama deficit spending will be the spectre dreaded most. This will be explained below. Perhaps the biggest impact of Obamacare so far has been the influence on business decisions in regard to hiring and expansion. This is the hidden story, not being reported in the monthly unemployment and labor force participation numbers. Businesses have delayed making decisions and will continue to do so for some time. Even with the recent Supreme Court ruling it is anticipated that most or all of Obamacare will be repealed.

From Townhall June 29, 2012.

“The Coming ObamaTax Bomb”

“By now you know what the Supreme Court verdict is: ObamaCare is a tax. So what does that mean in terms of actual dollar amounts for Americans and businesses who will pay this new tax? The Heritage Foundation and Americans for Tax Reform have released a series of summaries, tables and charts to help families understand what this means for their wallet.

Heritage:

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)[1] imposes numerous tax hikes that transfer more than $500 billion over 10 years—and more in the future—from hardworking American families and businesses to Congress for spending on new entitlements and subsidies. In addition, higher tax rates on working and investing will discourage economic growth both now and in the future, further lowering the standard of living.”

1. Excise Tax on Charitable Hospitals (Min$/immediate): $50,000 per hospital if they fail to meet new “community health assessment needs,” “financial assistance,” and “billing and collection” rules set by HHS. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,961-1,971

2. Codification of the “economic substance doctrine” (Tax hike of $4.5 billion).  This provision allows the IRS to disallow completely-legal tax deductions and other legal tax-minimizing plans just because the IRS deems that the action lacks “substance” and is merely intended to reduce taxes owed. Bill: Reconciliation Act; Page: 108-113

3. “Black liquor” tax hike (Tax hike of $23.6 billion).  This is a tax increase on a type of bio-fuel. Bill: Reconciliation Act; Page: 105

4. Tax on Innovator Drug Companies ($22.2 bil/Jan 2010): $2.3 billion annual tax on the industry imposed relative to share of sales made that year. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,971-1,980

5. Blue Cross/Blue Shield Tax Hike ($0.4 bil/Jan 2010): The special tax deduction in current law for Blue Cross/Blue Shield companies would only be allowed if 85 percent or more of premium revenues are spent on clinical services. Bill: PPACA; Page: 2,004

6. Tax on Indoor Tanning Services ($2.7 billion/July 1, 2010): New 10 percent excise tax on Americans using indoor tanning salons. Bill: PPACA; Page: 2,397-2,399

Taxes that took effect in 2011

7. Medicine Cabinet Tax ($5 bil/Jan 2011): Americans no longer able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin). Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,957-1,959

8. HSA Withdrawal Tax Hike ($1.4 bil/Jan 2011): Increases additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,959

Tax that took effect in 2012

9. Employer Reporting of Insurance on W-2 (Min$/Jan 2012): Preamble to taxing health benefits on individual tax returns. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,957

Taxes that take effect in 2013

10. Surtax on Investment Income ($123 billion/Jan. 2013):  Creation of a new, 3.8 percent surtax on investment income earned in households making at least $250,000 ($200,000 single).  This would result in the following top tax rates on investment income: Bill: Reconciliation Act; Page: 87-93
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*Other unearned income includes (for surtax purposes) gross income from interest, annuities, royalties, net rents, and passive income in partnerships and Subchapter-S corporations.  It does not include municipal bond interest or life insurance proceeds, since those do not add to gross income.  It does not include active trade or business income, fair market value sales of ownership in pass-through entities, or distributions from retirement plans.  The 3.8% surtax does not apply to non-resident aliens.
11. Hike in Medicare Payroll Tax ($86.8 bil/Jan 2013): Current law and changes:
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12. Tax on Medical Device Manufacturers ($20 bil/Jan 2013): Medical device manufacturers employ 360,000 people in 6000 plants across the country. This law imposes a new 2.3% excise tax.  Exempts items retailing for <$100. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,980-1,986

13. Raise “Haircut” for Medical Itemized Deduction from 7.5% to 10% of AGI ($15.2 bil/Jan 2013): Currently, those facing high medical expenses are allowed a deduction for medical expenses to the extent that those expenses exceed 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI).  The new provision imposes a threshold of 10 percent of AGI. Waived for 65+ taxpayers in 2013-2016 only. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,994-1,995

14. Flexible Spending Account Cap – aka “Special Needs Kids Tax” ($13 bil/Jan 2013): Imposes cap on FSAs of $2500 (now unlimited).  Indexed to inflation after 2013. There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularly cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children.  There are thousands of families with special needs children in the United States, and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education.  Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special needs children in Washington, D.C. (National Child Research Center) can easily exceed $14,000 per year. Under tax rules, FSA dollars can be used to pay for this type of special needs education. Bill: PPACA; Page: 2,388-2,389

15. Elimination of tax deduction for employer-provided retirement Rx drug coverage in coordination with Medicare Part D ($4.5 bil/Jan 2013) Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,994

16. $500,000 Annual Executive Compensation Limit for Health Insurance Executives($0.6 bil/Jan 2013). Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,995-2,000

Taxes that take effect in 2014

17. Individual Mandate Excise Tax (Jan 2014): Starting in 2014, anyone not buying “qualifying” health insurance must pay an income surtax according to the higher of the following

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Exemptions for religious objectors, undocumented immigrants, prisoners, those earning less than the poverty line, members of Indian tribes, and hardship cases (determined by HHS). Bill: PPACA; Page: 317-337

18. Employer Mandate Tax (Jan 2014):  If an employer does not offer health coverage, and at least one employee qualifies for a health tax credit, the employer must pay an additional non-deductible tax of $2000 for all full-time employees.  Applies to all employers with 50 or more employees. If any employee actually receives coverage through the exchange, the penalty on the employer for that employee rises to $3000. If the employer requires a waiting period to enroll in coverage of 30-60 days, there is a $400 tax per employee ($600 if the period is 60 days or longer). Bill: PPACA; Page: 345-346

Combined score of individual and employer mandate tax penalty: $65 billion/10 years

19. Tax on Health Insurers ($60.1 bil/Jan 2014): Annual tax on the industry imposed relative to health insurance premiums collected that year.  Phases in gradually until 2018.  Fully-imposed on firms with $50 million in profits. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,986-1,993

Taxes that take effect in 2018

20. Excise Tax on Comprehensive Health Insurance Plans ($32 bil/Jan 2018): Starting in 2018, new 40 percent excise tax on “Cadillac” health insurance plans ($10,200 single/$27,500 family).  Higher threshold ($11,500 single/$29,450 family) for early retirees and high-risk professions.  CPI +1 percentage point indexed. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,941-1,956

Also, ATR is warning Americans of Taxmageddon, which will happen on January 1, 2013. This will be the largest tax hike in American history and will come in three waves.

First Wave: Expiration of 2001 and 2003 Tax Relief

In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for small business owners, families, and investors (later re-upped by President Obama and Democrat Congress in 2010).  The following tax hikes will occur on January 1, 2013:

Personal income tax rates will rise on January 1, 2013.  The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which the majority of small business profits are taxed).  The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15 percent.  All the rates in between will also rise.  Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates.  The full list of marginal rate hikes is below:

– The 10% bracket rises to a new and expanded 15%

– The 25% bracket rises to 28%

– The 28% bracket rises to 31%

– The 33% bracket rises to 36%

– The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%

Higher taxes on marriage and family coming on January 1, 2013.  The “marriage penalty” (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first dollar of taxable income.  The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child.  The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level.

Middle Class Death Tax returns on January 1, 2013.  The death tax is currently 35% with an exemption of $5 million ($10 million for married couples).  For those dying on or after January 1 2013, there is a 55 percent top death tax rate on estates over $1 million.  A person leaving behind two homes and a retirement account could easily pass along a death tax bill to their loved ones.

Higher tax rates on savers and investors on January 1, 2013.  The capital gains tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 23.8 percent in 2013.  The top dividends tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 43.4 percent in 2013.  This is because of scheduled rate hikes plus Obamacare’s investment surtax.

Second Wave: Obamacare Tax Hikes

There are twenty new or higher taxes in Obamacare.  Some have already gone into effect (the tanning tax, the medicine cabinet tax, the HSA withdrawal tax, W-2 health insurance reporting, and the “economic substance doctrine”).  Several more will go into effect on January 1, 2013.  They include:

Medicare Payroll Tax Hike takes effect on January 1, 2013.  The Medicare payroll tax is currently 2.9 percent on all wages and self-employment profits.  Starting in 2013, wages and profits exceeding $200,000 ($250,000 in the case of married couples) will face a 3.8 percent rate.

“Special Needs Kids Tax” comes online on January 1, 2013  Imposes a cap on FSAs of $2500 (now unlimited).  Indexed to inflation after 2013. There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularly cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children.  There are thousands of families with special needs children in the United States, and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education.  Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special needs children in Washington, D.C. (National Child Research Center) can easily exceed $14,000 per year. Under tax rules, FSA dollars can be used to pay for this type of special needs education.  This Obamacare cap harms these families.

Medical Device Tax begins to be assessed on January 1, 2013.  Medical device manufacturers employ 360,000 people in 6000 plants across the country. This law imposes a new 2.3% excise tax.  Exempts items retailing for <$100.

“Haircut” for Medical Itemized Deductions goes into force on January 1, 2013.  Currently, those facing high medical expenses are allowed a deduction for medical expenses to the extent that those expenses exceed 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI).  The new provision imposes a threshold of 10 percent of AGI. Waived for 65+ taxpayers in 2013-2016 only.

Third Wave: The Alternative Minimum Tax and Employer Tax Hikes

When Americans prepare to file their tax returns in January of 2013, they’ll be in for a nasty surprise—the AMT won’t be held harmless, and many tax relief provisions will have expired.  These tax increases will be in force for BOTH 2012 and 2013.  The major items include:

The AMT will ensnare over 31 million families, up from 4 million last year.  According to the left-leaning Tax Policy Center, Congress’ failure to index the AMT will lead to an explosion of AMT taxpaying families—rising from 4 million last year to 31 million.  These families will have to calculate their tax burdens twice, and pay taxes at the higher level.  The AMT was created in 1969 to ensnare a handful of taxpayers.

Full business expensing will disappear.  In 2011, businesses can expense half of their purchases of equipment.  Starting on 2013 tax returns, all of it will have to be “depreciated” (slowly deducted over many years).

Taxes will be raised on all types of businesses.  There are literally scores of tax hikes on business that will take place.  The biggest is the loss of the “research and experimentation tax credit,” but there are many, many others.  Combining high marginal tax rates with the loss of this tax relief will cost jobs.

Tax Benefits for Education and Teaching Reduced.  The deduction for tuition and fees will not be available.  Tax credits for education will be limited.  Teachers will no longer be able to deduct classroom expenses.  Coverdell Education Savings Accounts will be cut.  Employer-provided educational assistance is curtailed.  The student loan interest deduction will be disallowed for hundreds of thousands of families.

Charitable Contributions from IRAs no longer allowed.  Under current law, a retired person with an IRA can contribute up to $100,000 per year directly to a charity from their IRA.  This contribution also counts toward an annual “required minimum distribution.”  This ability will no longer be there.

Read more:
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2012/06/29/the_coming_obamatax_bomb

Remember, and this is important:

Businesses do not pay taxes.

Consumers do!

Make certain that those in your sphere of influence understand this. That includes your congressmen.

Obama lies, Glenn Beck reviews three plus years of Obama lies, Obamacare biggest lie? and tax, Taxes of Christmas future most frightening

Obama lies, Glenn Beck reviews three plus years of Obama lies, Obamacare biggest lie? and tax, Taxes of Christmas future most frightening

“Nobody who makes under $200,000 a year will see their taxes go up as long as I’m president.”…Barack Obama

“I absolutely reject that notion [mandate is a tax].”…Barack Obama

“But, the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth, and of more basic issues such as political and economic justice in society. To that extent, as radical as I think people try to characterize the Warren Court, it wasn’t that radical. It didn’t break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution, at least as it’s been interpreted, and the Warren Court interpreted in the same way, that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties. Says what the states can’t do to you. Says what the federal government can’t do to you, but doesn’t say what the federal government or state government must do on your behalf.”…2001 Obama interview on Chicago public radio .

From The Blaze June 29, 2012.

“BECK REVIEWS OBAMA’S THREE-PLUS ‘YEARS OF LIES’”

“On his Friday morning radio broadcast, troubled by the recent Supreme Court ruling to uphold Obamacare, Glenn Beck reviewed the president’s three-and-half “years of lies,” beginning with his failed vow to close Guantanamo Bay detention center.

Obama promised the American people he would rid the halls of Washington of lobbyists, yet appointed several to high-ranking positions within his own administration, he also promised to half the deficit in his first term — another declaration that went unfulfilled.

“This is not about bashing Obama, but about presenting facts to the American people,” Beck stated plainly.

Of course the most egregious instance of a broken promise came when Obama promised he would not raise taxes on the middle class, yet his Obamacare “mandate,“ now ruled a ”tax” by the highest court in the land, results in the the most “massive tax increase in U.S. history” and directly affects the middle class.

“The IRS is now the most powerful arm of the federal government,” Beck said.”

Watch Glenn Beck here:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/beck-reviews-obamas-three-plus-years-of-lies/

Glenn Beck has presented the frightening spectre of Christmas past created by Obama. But as in Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”  it is the Ghost of Christmas Future that frightens me. The impact of Obamacare on our health care system and the combined impact of Obamacare and record deficit spending on our economy. The taxes of Christmas future to pay for Obama’s actions.

However, the weakening of the US Constitution by Obama, et al may be what frightens me most.

Joe The Plumber Wurzelbacher on Eric Holder Fast and Furious, Wurzelbacher opposes Marcy Kaptur US House District 9 Ohio, Kaptur protects Holder and Obama

Joe The Plumber Wurzelbacher on Eric Holder Fast and Furious, Wurzelbacher opposes Marcy Kaptur US House District 9 Ohio, Kaptur protects Holder and Obama

“I’m getting ready to buy a company that makes 250 to 280 thousand dollars a year. Your new tax plan’s going to tax me more, isn’t it?”…Joe The Plumber Wurzelbacher

“If he ends up being our GOP candidate, then I will get behind him. I do believe and want somebody in office other than Barack Obama. President Obama’s ideology is un-American, I say that every day, and I won’t shut up about it.”…Joe The Plumber Wurzelbacher

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it”…Joseph Goebbels

From Joe The Plumber Wurzelbacher.

Barack Obama is doing everything in his power to protect Attorney General Eric Holder right now. And so is my opponent for the U.S. House race in District 9 in Ohio – Marcy Kaptur.Democrat Kaptur has refused to tell Eric Holder to resign in spite of Holder’s obvious knowledge of Operation Fast and Furious.
A brave border patrol agent is dead because of that operation and now the Democrat Party has circled the wagons.Protecting a criminal is not much different than committing the crime itself.It’s time for real change in Washington, D.C., and that change involves getting rid of the obstructionists who are protecting Holder and Obama.Send a contribution to the Joe for Congress 2012 campaign today. It’s time to replace Marcy Kaptur with a common sense conservative. Image of Joe "The Plumber" for Congress 2012
My opponent is towing the Democrat Party line on this one. She accuses the Republicans of engaging in a partisan witch hunt, and says they have to save Eric Holder so he can protect the voting rights of minorities.I think we’ve heard that whole vast right-wing conspiracy accusation before somewhere.
Image of Joe the Plumber's new campaign video I don’t care which party is in power; corruption is corruption, and our federal officials need to be held accountable when they engage in illegal activities.Click here to watch my campaign video about Operation Fast and Furious, and how Marcy Kaptur is helping with the cover-up.
Unfortunately, I am having trouble getting the word out about my campaign because the leftist mainstream media has sided with Marcy Kaptur and the Democrats. I need the help of grassroots patriots such as yourself in order to unseat Kaptur – a lifelong elitist – in November.I realize that times are tough. We’re all hurting because Barack Obama is making good on that promise he made on my front lawn in 2008 – to give your money to people who do NOT deserve it.
He promised to spread the wealth around through his policies, and he’s sure been doing that – some $6 trillion of it.
But we have to draw a line in the sand this year.Every donation to my campaign is an investment in the future of this country. We can either continue down the path of unsustainable debt or chart a new course for America.Please send your donation to Joe for Congress 2012 today, and together we can start rebuilding this great nation.
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Marcy Kaptur represents more of the same-old, same-old in Washington, D.C. The national debt has gone up $14 trillion during her 30 years in office, and she’s been a reliable vote for the left that whole time.I think it’s time for a new direction, and I hope you’ll join me in this fight for the future of America.Please send your donation to Joe for Congress 2012 today!Thanks, I appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Signature Image of Samuel "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher
Joe “The Plumber” Wurzelbacher
355 Shrewsbury Street
Holland, OH 43528

Joe Wurzelbacher, like Sarah Palin and others has been attacked and maligned by the left. The Orwellian weasels of the left have taken Joe the Plumber’s quotes and misportrayed them.

For example:
“In 1939, Germany established gun control. From 1939 to 1945, six million Jews and seven million others unable to defend themselves were exterminated.”…Joe The Plumber Wurzelbacher

Some responses:

“According to Joe the Plumber, gun control is to blame for the Holocaust.”…MSNBC Blogs

“Samuel ‘Joe The Plumber’ Wurzelbacher, the 2008 campaign microcelebrity and Ohio congressional candidate, has an interesting theory about the Holocaust. Yesterday, Mr. Wurzelbacher released a campaign web video in which he blamed the Holocaust and the Armenian genocide on gun control laws.”…THE HUFFINGTON POST

Perhaps Joe should have phrased his statement differently, but his intent is clear to most rational reasonable folks. Gun control was not the cause of the Holocaust but was one of the major factors that allowed it to happen.

Semantics.

 

US Supreme Court declares Obama a liar, Obamacare is a tax, Obama lied about tax increases, Obama fraud and taxes have devastated economy and job market

US Supreme Court declares Obama a liar, Obamacare is a tax, Obama lied about tax increases, Obama fraud and taxes have devastated economy and job market

“But, the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth, and of more basic issues such as political and economic justice in society. To that extent, as radical as I think people try to characterize the Warren Court, it wasn’t that radical. It didn’t break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution, at least as it’s been interpreted, and the Warren Court interpreted in the same way, that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties. Says what the states can’t do to you. Says what the federal government can’t do to you, but doesn’t say what the federal government or state government must do on your behalf.”…2001 Obama interview on Chicago public radio .

“I absolutely reject that notion [mandate is a tax].”…Barack Obama

“And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed
–if all records told the same tale–then the lie passed into
history and became truth. “Who controls the past,” ran the
Party slogan, “controls the future: who controls the present
controls the past.”…George Orwell, “1984″

All you need to know about Obama to understand what makes him tick is the following. Obama is a :

Narcissist.

Socialist.

Liar.

When Obama first began trying to force his socialist healthcare agenda upon us, it was clear that he was imposing another tax.

From The Blaze June 28, 2012.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/flashback-video-absolutely-reject-that-notion-obama-hhs-sec-budget-director-all-say-mandate-not-a-tax/

The US Supreme Court today, June 28, 2012, in their ruling today effectively called Obama a liar.

From Rush Limbaugh June 28, 2012.

“RUSH: Hey, folks, have you seen the economic news today? Have you heard about the unemployment numbers today? (laughing) Gross domestic product, have you heard about any of that? Because I have it here, and it sucks. It’s a disaster. The economy of this country remains a disaster. And we, the American people, have just been deceived in ways that nobody contemplated. And what we now have is the biggest tax increase in the history of the world. What we have been told by the chief justice of the Supreme Court and four liberals on the court: Obamacare is just a massive tax increase. That’s all it is. Obama lied to us about that. The Democrats lied. “It wasn’t a tax. There was no way it was a tax.”

The chief justice was hell-bent to find a way to make this law applicable, so he just decided, you know what, as a tax increase, it works, because there’s no limit on the federal government’s ability to tax. And it’s right there in the preamble of the Constitution, right there, Article 1, Section 8, the general welfare clause, it’s been established Congress can tax whatever, whoever, whenever, how much they want. Even when they don’t ask for it, the Supreme Court is gonna find a way to make what they want to do legal because John Roberts said it’s not our job here to forbid this. It’s not our job to protect people from outcomes. It’s not our job to determine whether it is right or wrong or any of that. We just get to look at it. We can’t forbid this. This is what the elected representatives of the people want.

No, the elected representatives of the people were deceived. Remember yesterday I asked you, if this decision went this way, what was your initial reaction going to be. And how many of you were deflated as you can be because of the way this was reported? The first thing that came down, the mandate, unconstitutional, that was the first thing everybody reported. Mandate unconstitutional, big sigh of relief. And then within moments, wait a minute, wait a minute, we’re reading further. Hold it just a second. The mandate’s unconstitutional, but the court has decided it’s a tax, and therefore it’s okay.

So Obamacare is nothing more than the largest tax increase in the history of the world. And the people who were characterizing it as such were right and were telling the truth. We have the biggest tax increase in the history of the world right in the middle of one of this country’s worst recessions. In fact, as the vice president said yesterday, a depression for millions of Americans. The chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, John Roberts, said, “It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices.” Not our job.

Well, what about when we are deceived? The court upheld a law that was not what we were told it would be. What has been upheld here is fraud, and the Internal Revenue Service has just become Barack Obama’s domestic army. That is what we face now. We were deceived. Obamacare was a lie. It was a stealth tax on all Americans, and nobody knew it until today. Not officially. Obama told George Stephanopoulos it wasn’t a tax. And Stephanopoulos was trouble-making for trying to suggest otherwise.

Let’s go to the audio sound bites. September 20th, 2009, on This Week with George Stephanopoulos, interviewing President Obama, discussion about the health care reform bill, Stephanopoulos said, “Under this mandate, the government is forcing people to spend money and fining them if they don’t. How is that not a tax increase?”

OBAMA: No, tha-tha-that’s not true, George. Eh, for us to say that you’ve gotta take a responsibility to get health insurance is absolutely not a tax increase. What it’s saying is is that we’re not gonna have other people carrying your burdens for you, any more than the fact that right now everybody in America, just about, has to get auto insurance. Nobody considers that a tax increase. People say to themselves, “That is a fair way to make sure that if you hit my car, that I’m not covering all the costs.”

RUSH: Stephanopoulos then said, “Well, it may be fair, and it may be good public policy, but for you to say that this isn’t a tax. This just…”

OBAMA: No, no. B-b-but George y-y-y-you can’t just make up that language and decide that that’s called a tax increase.

STEPHANOPOULOS: I don’t think I’m making it up. Merriam-Webster Dictionary: “Tax: A charge, usually of money, imposed by authority —

OBAMA: (snickering)

STEPHANOPOULOS: — on persons or property for public purposes.”

OBAMA: George, the fact that you looked up Miriam’s dictionary (sic), the definition of tax increase indicates to me that you’re stretching a little bit right now. Otherwise you wouldn’ta gone to the dictionary to check on the definition! I mean —

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, no.

OBAMA: If — if what you’re saying is —

STEPHANOPOULOS: I wanted to check for myself, but your critics say it is a tax increase.

OBAMA: My critics say everything’s a tax increase! My critics say that I’m taking over, uhh, every sector of the economy. You know that! Uh, eh, eh… Look, we can have a legitimate debate about whether or not we’re gonna have an individual mandate or not but —

STEPHANOPOULOS: But you reject that it’s a tax increase?

OBAMA: I absolutely reject that notion.”

Read more:

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2012/06/28/the_court_rules_obamacare_is_the_largest_tax_increase_in_the_history_of_the_world

Some are fretting about this decision and the role Chief Justice Roberts played. I am not. Obama, et al have shot themselves in the foot and it is a near certainty that Obamacare will be repealed.

It is Obama’s tax and spend policies that have destroyed the economy and job market.

Now we have the US Supreme Court calling Obamacare what it is.

A big tax increase.

Thanks to commenter Starla, et al.

Obama and attorneys unholy alliance, Obama makes Daniel Frawley attorney federal judge, Robert Bauer heads up 2012 election attorney legion, Rulers Of Darkness

Obama and attorneys unholy alliance, Obama makes Daniel Frawley attorney federal judge, Robert Bauer heads up 2012 election attorney legion, Rulers Of Darkness

“Why has Obama, since taking the White House, used Justice Department Attorneys, at taxpayer expense,  to avoid presenting a legitimate birth certificate and college records?”…Citizen Wells

“Why did Patrick Fitzgerald and the US Justice Department wait until December 2008 to arrest Rod Blagojevich?”…Citizen Wells

“Best case scenario: A high percentage of law school graduates, new attorneys, have already sold their soul to the devil or are in the process of doing so. Any auguments?”…Citizen Wells

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly realms”…Ephesians 6:12

Recall some of the biggest controversies in national politics over the past 15 to 20 years. At the highest level in US government. Especially focus on the 2008 election cycle moving forward. Who comes to mind? What are their backgrounds?

Of course Bill Clinton was impeached and lost his law license. His wife, Hillary, another attorney, has now been tied to the fast and furious scandal.

John Edwards, one of the 2008 presidential contenders, cheated on his wife, who was fighting cancer, and was recently prosecuted.

And of course, the latest duo of scumbag attorneys, Barack and Michelle Obama both surrendered their law licenses. Barack lied on his IL bar application.

Obama and attorneys unholy alliance

Obama’s support from the legions of darkness was revealed in 2008.

Robert Bauer, who in 2008 as an attorney for Perkins Coie, helped Obama keep his records hidden in court challenges, who assisted Obama as general counsel beginning in 2009, has now been chosen to head up a legion of attorneys for the 2012 election.

From the AP June 26, 2012.

“Obama prepping thousands of lawyers for election”
“President Barack Obama’s campaign has recruited a legion of lawyers to be on standby for this year’s election as legal disputes surrounding the voting process escalate.

Thousands of attorneys and support staffers have agreed to aid in the effort, providing a mass of legal support that appears to be unrivaled by Republicans or precedent. Obama’s campaign says it is particularly concerned about the implementation of new voter ID laws across the country, the possibility of anti-fraud activists challenging legitimate voters and the handling of voter registrations in the most competitive states.”

“Former White House counsel Robert Bauer, who is organizing the Obama campaign’s legal deployment, said there is great concern this year because he believes GOP leaders around the county have pursued new laws to impede the right to vote.

“The Republican Party and their allies have mapped out their vote suppression campaign as a response to our success in 2008 with grass-roots organization and successful turnout,” Bauer said. “This is their response to defeat: changing the rules of participation so that fewer participate.””

Read more:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBAMA_LAWYERING_UP?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-06-26-12-58-13

Patrick Fitzgerald, who delayed the prosecution of Rod Blagojevich until after the 2008 election, was given an assignment by Obama in 2009.

“US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who brought criminal fraud charges against former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, will stay on with the Obama administration”…Pete Williams, NBC

On July 30, 2009 Patrick Fitzgerald was named interim chairman of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys (AGAC).

Obama recently nominated Thomas Durkin for a federal judge position. You remember Durkin, one of Daniel Frawley’s attorneys. The Daniel Frawley who mentioned money that Tony Rezko gave to Obama in a sworn deposition.

From the Chicago Tribune May 21, 2012.

“Obama nominates Chicago lawyer for federal bench”

“On Monday, Obama nominated Thomas M. Durkin, who was a federal prosecutor here from 1980 until 1993, to fill one of three remaining vacant judicial seats on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.  A Downers Grove resident, Durkin, 58, has the support of both Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin and Republican Sen. Mark Kirk.”

Read more:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-obama-nominates-chicago-lawyer-for-federal-bench-20120521,0,3549643.story

Of course you noted that the Tribune did not mention Daniel Frawley. As stated at Citizen Wells before, the Chicago Tribune has made a habit out of that.

However, the Chicago SunTimes did tie Durkin to Frawley and ultimately to Rezko and Obama.

From the Chicago SunTimes July 11, 2011.
“Frawley says in the deposition that on March 13, 2006, he was in the Dirksen Federal Building at 219 S. Dearborn, making a phone call to Rezko’s cell phone and secretly recording him when attorney Weaver walked in and interrupted him.

Also in the room at the time, according to Frawley, were: Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Stern; James “Sam” Dorger Jr., of the Illinois attorney general’s office’s public-integrity unit; an “FBI agent whose name I do not recall”; and Thomas Durkin, a criminal attorney also representing Frawley.

“I was on the phone, making a phone call to Tony Rezko,” Frawley says, according to the transcript. “I had a luncheon engagement with him. George was outside of the room where I was making the telephone call, and the purpose of the call was for me to keep my luncheon engagement with Tony Rezko and to go over and to record Tony Rezko.

“George saw and heard me on the phone, came running in and went like this [demonstrating]: Cut it,” drawing his hand across his throat.

Later in the deposition, Weaver’s lawyer, Daniel F. Konicek, asks Frawley about what specific information Weaver is supposed to have told Frawley to withhold from federal authorities.

“I’m assuming the information is about the payments made by Rezko to Obama, so we know we’re talking about the right conversation, right?” Konicek asks Frawley.

Frawley doesn’t answer. So Konicek presses him: “Am I correct it was about Obama being paid by Rezko?”

Frawley replies: “I’m not answering that question, based upon my attorney’s instructions.”

Nobody directly involved with the deposition — including Frawley and his lawyers, Weaver and his lawyers, and the FBI and U.S. attorney’s office — would comment.”

Read more:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/watchdogs/6394342-452/ex-rezko-partner-being-sentenced-tuesday.html

And folks, let’s not forget the legion of US Justice Attorneys who have assisted Obama since January 2009 in keeping his records hidden at taxpayer expense.

Thanks to commenters Philo-Publius and bessie.

Jesse Jackson Jr. takes medical leave for exhaustion, Raghuveer Nayak indictment, Obama pay to play buddies getting worried, Obama and Holder soon gone

Jesse Jackson Jr. takes medical leave for exhaustion, Raghuveer Nayak indictment, Obama pay to play buddies getting worried, Obama and Holder soon gone

“Why did the Illinois Senate Health & Human Services Committee, with Obama as chairman, create and push Bill 1332, “Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act,” early in 2003, which reduced the number of members on the Board from 15 to 9, just prior to rigging by Tony Rezko and Rod Blagojevich?”…Citizen Wells

“Why did Patrick Fitzgerald, instead of protecting the citizens of Illinois as he has touted, prosecute Tony Rezko first, a businessman, instead of Rod Blagojevich, the governor of Illinois.”…Citizen Wells

“Why did Patrick Fitzgerald and the US Justice Department wait until December 2008 to arrest Rod Blagojevich?”…Citizen Wells

Are the Chicago pay to play buddies of Barack Obama beginning to squirm?

Were they all expecting Obama to get reelected?

Are they concerned that a real Attorney General will replace Holder?

Are they concerned that some of the rats will squeal?

From the Chicago Tribune June 26, 2012.

“Jesse Jackson Jr. takes medical leave for exhaustion”

“U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s office disclosed Monday that the veteran Democratic congressman has been on medical leave from Congress for the last two weeks and is being treated for exhaustion.

The 17-year congressman’s office declined to say where he was being treated or when he is expected to return.

A statement issued Monday was the first public disclosure that Jackson has been on medical leave since June 10. During that time, Jackson’s office has issued at least 10 news releases, including a statement two days after he took medical leave in which he was quoted commending officials in south suburban Crete for withdrawing support for an immigration detention center.

Asked why Jackson’s office waited two weeks to tell his constituents about his absence, spokesman Frank Watkins told the Tribune that the lack of disclosure was a “family request.”

Just last week, a longtime friend of Jackson’s, Raghuveer Nayak, was arrested on federal fraud charges involving Nayak’s surgical centers. Nayak was at the center of the U.S. Senateseat scandal that sent former Gov. Rod Blagojevich to prison.

Jackson, 47, who has distanced himself from Nayak, remains under a House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations that Nayak offered Blagojevich up to $6 million in campaign cash to make the congressman President Barack Obama’s successor in the U.S. Senate.

Nayak had told federal investigators that Jackson asked him to raise campaign money for Blagojevich in hopes the then-governor would appoint Jackson to the seat, sources familiar with the investigation have told the Tribune. Jackson has denied any knowledge of fundraising in exchange for the appointment and has said he expects to be vindicated by the ethics panel.

In a statement he issued in 2010, Jackson did not deny Nayak’s allegation that he paid to fly a female “social acquaintance” of Jackson from Washington to Chicago at Jackson’s request. The lawmaker said then that the reference to a “social acquaintance” was a “private and personal matter between me and my wife that was handled some time ago.””

Read more:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-jesse-jackson-jr-medical-leave-20120626,0,966914.story

Holder and Obama guilt in project Gunrunner Fast and Furious, US Justice Department protects Obama, Brian Terry death impact on family

Holder and Obama guilt in project Gunrunner Fast and Furious, US Justice Department protects Obama, Brian Terry death impact on family

“Now, I don’t get upset when foreign and national journalists fail to mention Tony Rezko, or the Daley boys, or how the Chicago machine plans to staff the Department of Justice, and the new Department of Homeland Casinos.”…John Kass, Chicago Tribune July 30, 2008

“Why did Justice Department and White House staff yell and curse at CBS reporter Sharyl Attkisson over questions about Fast and Furious?”…Citizen Wells

“As soon as all the corrections which happened to be necessary in any partiucular number of the Times had been assembled and collated, that number would be reprinted, the original copy destroyed, and the corrected copy placed on the files in it’s stead. This process of continuation alteration was applied not only to newspapers, but to books, periodicals, pamphlets, posters, leaflets, films, sound tracks, cartoons, photographs–to every kind of literature or documentation which might conceivably hold any political or ideological significance. Day by day and almost minute by minute the past was brought up to date. In this way every prediction made by the Party could be shown by documentary evidence to be correct; nor was any item of news, or expression of opinion, which conflicted with the needs of the moment, ever allowed to be on record.”…George Orwell, “1984″

From Citizen Wells  July 8, 2011.

“Here is the allocation of 10 million dollars to the ATF for the sourthern border of the US to “combat criminal narcotics activity.”

“H. R. 1—16

OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS

STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE”

“For an additional amount for ‘‘State and Local Law Enforcement
Assistance’’, $40,000,000, for competitive grants to provide
assistance and equipment to local law enforcement along the
Southern border and in High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas to
combat criminal narcotics activity stemming from the Southern
border, of which $10,000,000 shall be transferred to ‘‘Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Salaries and Expenses’’
for the ATF Project Gunrunner.”

This is found on page 16:”

https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2011/07/08/fast-and-furious-funded-by-stimulus-atf-project-gunrunner-10-million-from-2009-act-media-lies/

From Citizen Wells July 8, 2011.

“Eric Holder made the following speech on April 2, 2009.

“Attorney General Eric Holder at the Mexico/United States Arms Trafficking Conference
CUERNAVACA, MEXICO ~ Thursday, April 2, 2009
Remarks as prepared for delivery.
First, let me express my thanks to Attorney General Medina Mora and Secretary of Government Gomez Mont for making this conference possible.

This is my first trip to another country as Attorney General.   I wanted to come to Mexico to deliver a single message: We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you in this fight against the narcotics cartels.  The United States shares responsibility for this problem and we will take responsibility by joining our Mexican counterparts in every step of this fight.

And, together, we will win – thanks in large part to the courage of my Mexican colleagues here today, who are on the front lines every day, and with whom I am proud to collaborate.

The topic that has been addressed over the past two days could not be more important – the development of an arms trafficking prosecution and enforcement strategy on both sides of the border.

I would like to thank the Mexican and U.S. experts who have worked so hard on this issue.  On our side, Secretary Napolitano and I are committed to putting the resources in place to increase our attack on arms trafficking into Mexico.

Last week, our administration launched a major new effort to break the backs of the cartels.  My department is committing 100 new ATF personnel to the Southwest border in the next 100 days to supplement our ongoing Project Gunrunner, DEA is adding 16 new positions on the border, as well as mobile enforcement teams, and the FBI is creating a new intelligence group focusing on kidnapping and extortion.  DHS is making similar commitments, as Secretary Napolitano will detail.

But as today’s conference has emphasized, the problem of arms trafficking will not be stopped at the border alone.  Rather, as our experts emphasized, this is a problem that must be met as part of a comprehensive attack against the cartels – an attack in depth, on both sides of the border, that focuses on the leadership and assets of the cartel.  This is the type of full-bore, prosecution-driven approach that the U.S. Department of Justice took to dismantle La Cosa Nostra – once the most powerful organized crime group operating in the United States.
With partners like those we have here today, I am confident that together, we will defeat these narcotics cartels in exactly the same way.  I am proud to stand with you, and to join you in this fight.  Thank you again for inviting me here.”

Read more:

http://www.justice.gov/ag/speeches/2009/ag-speech-090402.html

From the US Department of Justice website.

“American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009″

“The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides $2.7 billion to the Office of Justice Programs; $1 billion to the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program; $225 million to the Office on Violence Against Women; and $10 million to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.”

http://www.justice.gov/recovery/

From the US Justice Department ATF plan June 1, 2010.

The Department of Justice’s (Department) Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) received $10 million of the Federal aid issued through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). The Recovery Act provides additional funding for Project Gunrunner, an
existing ATF program, which is aimed at disrupting arms trafficking between the United States and Mexico.”

https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2011/07/08/eric-holder-perjury-fast-and-furious-aka-project-gunrunner-holder-speech-april-2-2009-usdoj-website/

From Citizen Wells July 20, 2011,

“The Justice Department is trying to protect its political appointees from the Fast and Furious scandal by concealing an internal “smoking gun” report and other documents that acknowledge the role top officials played in the program that allowed firearms to flow illegally into Mexico, according to the head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Kenneth E. Melson, the ATF’s acting director, also told congressional investigators this month that the affidavits prepared to obtain wiretaps used in the ill-fated operation were inconsistent with Justice Department officials’ public statements about the program. Justice Department officials advised him not to raise his concerns with Congress about “institutional problems” with the Fast and Furious operation, Melson said.
“It was very frustrating to all of us,” Melson told congressional investigators in a private meeting over the Fourth of July holiday, “and it appears thoroughly to us that the department is really trying to figure out a way to push the information away from their political appointees at the department.”

Not only was the department slow to react, Melson said, but Justice Department officials indicated they did not want him to cooperate with Congress.”

https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2011/07/20/atf-director-kenneth-e-melson-justice-department-protects-political-appointees-media-lies-fast-and-furious-run-out-of-phoenix-office/

From C-SPAN March 24, 2009.

“U.S.-Mexico Security Policy”

“White House

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Deputy Secretary of State Jim Steinberg and Deputy Attorney General David Ogden held a news conference to announce the U.S.-Mexico Border Security Policy. They spoke to reporters and answered questions about plans to send about 500 more agents and equipment to the nation’s southwestern border and Mexico to fight Mexican drug cartels and keep violence from spilling over into the United States. Secretary Napolitano said officials were still considering whether to deploy the National Guard to the Arizona and Texas borders with Mexico, which the governors had requested. She also acknowledged that greater efforts were needed within the U.S. to combat the drug trade.”

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/284798-4

From The Brian Terry Foundation.

“Our son didn’t have to die.

It has been more than 18 months since our son, Brian Terry, was shot and killed by a Mexican drug cartel armed by a failed U.S. Department of Justice “gunwalking” operation known as “Fast and Furious.”

The pain that Brian’s death has caused our family is indescribable. No matter what words we use in this letter to you, we will never be able to justly convey how much suffering we have endured. We still grieve every day, and we are resigned to the fact that the agony of his death will stick with us for the rest of our lives. Not because he didn’t achieve his dreams . . . not because he didn’t live his life to the fullest . . . and not because he didn’t leave anything behind that we couldn’t celebrate or remember.

Our family will be forever grief-stricken because Brian didn’t have to die.

We wish we could take solace knowing that Brian died doing what he loved to do. After all, it was his childhood dream to make a career in law enforcement and become a federal agent.

As a youngster, Brian was inspired by his Uncle Bob, a Michigan police offer who would give Brian tours of the police station and share stories of what it was like to be a police officer. From then on, Brian believed he was destined for a career in law enforcement. He joined the Marine Corps after high school and served four years in Naples, Italy before becoming a police officer in Lincoln Park, Michigan – just like his uncle. But Brian’s ultimate dream was to become a federal agent, and so he applied to the United States Border Patrol.

In 2007, he attended the Border Patrol Academy in El Paso, Texas, graduating as president of his class before being assigned to the Naco station near Bisbee, Arizona, only a few miles from the U.S.-Mexican border.

Brian accomplished exactly what he wanted to. But all of what he had worked for – and all our family had come to adore and love – was taken away so abruptly . . . so needlessly.

On December 14, 2010, Brian was conducting operations as a member of the Border Patrol Tactical Unit in Nogales, Arizona. He and his team encountered five Mexican drug cartel bandits in the “Peck Well” area near Rio Rico, Arizona. Not knowing the bandits were carrying the latest military grade assault weapons provided by the Justice Department as part of Operation Fast and Furious, there was an exchange of gunfire and Brian was shot in the lower back.

He died on December 15, 2010.

Before then, our family was expecting Brian to return home for Christmas. What we were not expecting was that he would return home in a flag-draped casket. All because of an ill-conceived government gun trafficking investigation gone horribly awry.
Please consider a contribution to the Brian Terry Foundation

The Justice Department’s “gunwalking” operation called for American gun dealers to sell weapons to “straw purchasers” tied to Mexican drug cartels between 2009-2011. The intention was to track the guns as they were sold to Mexican drug lords, which would theoretically lead to the arrests and dismantling of the cartels.

But that’s not what happened. It turned out that there was no actual plan to track the movement of the guns as they were “walked” into Mexico.

As a result, one of our four children and as many as 200 Mexican citizens were killed with weapons connected to the operation.

Still, hundreds of guns sold as part of Operation Fast and Furious remain unrecovered, putting more brave law enforcement personnel along the border – like our son – at unnecessary risk.

Even though our son fell in the line of duty more than 18 months ago, we still don’t have answers that explain why he had to die.

Unfortunately for our family and the families of others who have been injured or killed with these weapons, our son’s death has ballooned into a national controversy. Currently, the House Oversight Committee is moving forward with contempt proceedings against Eric Holder, the U.S. Attorney General and head of the Justice Department, for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena requesting all of his communications regarding Operation Fast and Furious. Our hope is that the Justice Department is not withholding information that could expose those who are responsible for our son’s death.

It has been nearly eight months since Mr. Holder was served his subpoena, and we know little more now than we did then. We think our family and Brian’s memory deserve better.

So even though this government investigation drags on and prolongs our family’s suffering, we are taking action.

We have established the Brian Terry Foundation not just to preserve Brian’s memory and honor his service to our country, but to also help families of other U.S. Border Patrol Agents who have been killed or injured by providing ongoing emotional and financial support, establish educational scholarships, recognize the heroic efforts of current Border Patrol Agents, and raise public awareness of the flawed Fast and Furious investigation. It is also our personal mission to guarantee that any mistakes made by the Justice Department are never made again.

Because of Operation Fast and Furious, some of the most dangerous criminal organizations in North America have been strengthened, and now our Border Patrol Agents are in the gravest danger of their lives.

So please, we urge you – not just for our son, but for all U.S. Border Patrol Agents who came before him and who will come after him – to join our cause and give as generously as you can. We have to make sure that nothing like Fast and Furious ever happens again, and without grassroots support from folks like yourself, our mission fails. This failed government operation cost our son his life, but that doesn’t have to stop us from saving the life of someone else’s son.

In the loving and enduring memory of Brian A. Terry,

Kent Terry, Sr. and Josephine Terry

The Brian Terry Foundation
http://www.honorbrianterry.com

P.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s refusal to fully disclose the documents associated with Operation Fast and Furious and President Obama’s assertion of executive privilege serves to compound this tragedy. It denies the Terry family and the American people the truth. The President’s executive priveledge makes getting to the truth much more difficult. We really do need your help. If you can afford to support the Brian Terry Foundation financially please give as generously as you can.”

http://honorbrianterry.com/

 

Thanks to commenter bob strauss.

Raghuveer Nayak indicted, Campaign bundler and contributor to Blagojevich and Obama, Jesse Jackson Jr. US Senate seat, 19 count indictment

Raghuveer Nayak indicted, Campaign bundler and contributor to Blagojevich and Obama, Jesse Jackson Jr. US Senate seat, 19 count indictment

“Why did the Illinois Senate Health & Human Services Committee, with Obama as chairman, create and push Bill 1332, “Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act,” early in 2003, which reduced the number of members on the Board from 15 to 9, just prior to rigging by Tony Rezko and Rod Blagojevich?”…Citizen Wells

“Why did Patrick Fitzgerald, instead of protecting the citizens of Illinois as he has touted, prosecute Tony Rezko first, a businessman, instead of Rod Blagojevich, the governor of Illinois.”…Citizen Wells

“Why did Patrick Fitzgerald and the US Justice Department wait until December 2008 to arrest Rod Blagojevich?”…Citizen Wells

From the Morris Daily Herald June 21, 2012.

“A longtime friend of U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.who was at the center of a Senate seat scandal that sent ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich to prison was arrested Wednesday in his own federal fraud case, accused of bribing doctors to send patients to his surgical centers.

Raghuveer Nayak, a wealthy businessman and former campaign fundraiser for both politicians, was indicted on charges he secretly paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to physicians from 2000 to 2010 to have patients referred to Rogers Park One Day Surgery Center, Lakeshore Surgery Center and other Chicago-area facilities he owned.

The investigation of his businesses had hung over Nayak’s head for years, and his lawyer, Thomas McQueen, said the charges were not unexpected. “He knew this had never gone away,” McQueen said after the FBI arrested his client at Nayak’s Oak Brook home.

A frowning Nayak appeared Wednesday at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in a rumpled shirt and entered a plea of not guilty to the 19 fraud counts against him. U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez ordered him released on a $10 million bond secured by six properties in Illinois and Indiana after Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Niewoehner told the court that Nayak has “rather significant assets” and ties to India.

Nayak left the courthouse without commenting.

In making their case against Blagojevich, federal authorities alleged that it was Nayak, a longtime friend of the Jackson family, who offered up to $6 million in campaign money in exchange for Jackson being named a senator. Blagojevich was found guilty on corruption charges last year that included counts involving the attempted sale of the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama after his 2008 election to the presidency.

Nayak was never charged in the Blagojevich case, and he quickly spoke with authorities after Blagojevich’s arrest in a bid for leniency. But he never was used as a witness, either, and investigators continued to look into his businesses.

Jackson testified at Blagojevich’s trial that he had no knowledge of a scheme to buy the Senate seat.

The indictment of Nayak is seen as one of the final offshoots of the sweeping federal investigation known as Operation Board Games, which in addition to Blagojevich led to convictions of fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko, formerAld. Edward Vrdolyak, Republican power broker William Cellini and others. One of the final sentences in cases connected to that probe could be handed down as soon as next week, when political insider turned federal witness Stuart Levine is expected to learn his punishment.
Sources have confirmed that the Board Games investigation is wrapping up. U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald is leaving office at the end of the month, and one of the lead prosecutors against Blagojevich, Reid Schar, already has left.

Although he raised money for politicians for more than a decade, Nayak mostly worked under the radar until his connections to Blagojevich and Jackson surfaced in 2008 as part of the burgeoning federal investigation into the governor’s office.”

“The indictment unsealed Wednesday alleges as part of the scheme that “physicians deceived their patients by not disclosing that they were being paid for making referrals to Nayak’s facilities,” but Nayak was the only person charged. He allegedly created false contracts to disguise some of the illicit payments, describing them as money for advertising, according to the document.

Prosecutors are seeking $1.8 million in “alleged fraud proceeds” in the case.

In one kickback scheme, prosecutors alleged, Nayak paid one person, identified only as “Individual A,” more than $2 million in checks drawn on his surgery centers’ accounts. In return, “Individual A” gave Nayak cash equaling about 70 percent of the value of the checks, according to the indictment.

In the Blagojevich case, Nayak’s friend Bedi testified that Nayak issued about $2 million in checks to a Bedi-owned company. Bedi testified he provided cash in return and said he knew Nayak was cheating on his taxes by making the payments.

Nayak’s businesses have over the years needed the approval of state regulators and auditors, and Nayak became a big campaign bundler and contributor, donating more than $779,000 to elected officials including Blagojevich, Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Obama from the late 1990s until his name surfaced in the Blagojevich scandal.

The Tribune previously reported that after Nayak first opened several Chicago drugstores in the early 1980s, his businesses faced multiple audits by state and federal authorities. His name also came up repeatedly in one of the largest health care fraud investigations in Illinois history.

That multiyear federal probe resulted in the shuttering of two hospitalsDoctors Hospital and Edgewater Medical Centerand the convictions of seven doctors and administrators. Nayak, who then owned a lab testing company called NR Laboratories as well as an outpatient surgery center, was among numerous people who came under scrutiny, the Tribune had reported.

Some of Nayak’s associates and friends were convicted in the scheme, which included charges that two patients died from unnecessary procedures performed by doctors looking to collect fraudulent public aid checks.”

Read more:

http://www.morrisdailyherald.com/2012/06/21/blagojevich-fundraiser-accused-of-health-care-fraud/aui3jyk/

Raghuveer Nayak indictment.

http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/sites/default/files/Nayak%20Indictment.pdf

From Citizen Wells December 22, 2008.

“MARCH 18, 2008 ARTICLE ON NAYAK, BLAGOJEVICH, REZKO, WEISNER

“Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Move Over Rezko; Weisner-Blagojevich Crony Raghuveer Nayak
Continues to Spend Thousands on Elected Officials…in Iowa?

Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner, boytoy Gerry Galloway and
crony Raghuveer Nayak are viewing a property in downtown
Aurora in the path of a major development back in 2005.
Nayak is spreading his money around. All the way to Iowa.”

“Raghuveer Nayak, the campaign crony who has dumped tens of
thousands of dollars into the campaign pockets of Aurora
Mayor Tom Weisner and Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, seems
to in a race to compete with another star campaign donor
from Illinois, Tony Rezko, to see how many people he can
contribute to and apparently “influence.”

While Rezko’s list includes some power names in Illinois,
including our local political rockstar, U.S. Senator and
Presidential candidate Barack Obama, Nayak seems to be
broadening his geographical reach (and Nayak is a Hillary
Clinton buddy).””

“The Case Against Barack Obama reveals Shomon connection

SHOMON CONNECTIONS TO WEISNER AND AURORA, IL
“Dan Shomon, who’s background is in media, has a lobbying
contract for the City of Aurora (scroll down or click for
our post on how Dan Shomon is fleecing the taxpayers of
Aurora). He got that contract after helping to secure a
political endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama for then-candidate
for Mayor of Aurora, Tom Weisner. That’s after
Obama said he wan’t going to be a “kingmaker” in Aurora.

We think it’s HIGHLY unethical of Dan Shomon or Tom Weisner
to exploit the taxpayers of Aurora for political purpose.
Barack Obama’s credibility is also risked in the process of
Shomon and Weisner’s games at the expense of taxpayers.”

“Like the ill-advised connection to Obama in Aurora, thanks
to Dan Shomon, Obama is mentioned in the same discusion with
all these problems with Giannoulias. Not good for a
political rockstar who otherwise could be on his way to
becoming President of the United States.””
“Aurora Mayor Thomas J. Weisner gave Shomon the lobbying
gig in exchange for political work, including getting the
endorsement of Barack Obama back in 2005 when Obama first
said he would remain “neutral” in the heated mayoral race.

Shomon’s main activities are political campaigns and helping
Obama and his friends like Alexi Giannoulias who is now the
Treasurer for the State of Illinois.”

“Plus, when all hell breaks loose on Weisner’s various problems
with cronyism and allegations of corruption (and it WILL),
it’s probably in Obama’s interest that Dan Shomon has nothing
to do with Weisner any longer.”

https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2008/12/22/obama-indictment-obama-must-be-arrested-patrick-fitzgerald-blagojevich-arrest-raghuveer-p-nayak-seeks-immunity-december-22-2008-obama-rezko-levine-weinstein-blagojevichnayak-pay-to-play-chi/

 

Stuart Levine sentencing June 28, 2011, Rezko Blagojevich Obama crony, Levine among most valuable witnesses in 3 decades, Blagojevich arrest delayed

Stuart Levine sentencing June 28, 2011, Rezko Blagojevich Obama crony, Levine among most valuable witnesses in 3 decades, Blagojevich arrest delayed

“Why did Patrick Fitzgerald, instead of protecting the citizens of Illinois as he has touted, prosecute Tony Rezko first, a businessman, instead of Rod Blagojevich, the governor of Illinois.”…Citizen Wells

“Why did Patrick Fitzgerald and the US Justice Department wait until December 2008 to arrest Rod Blagojevich?”…Citizen Wells

“At Rod Blagojevich’s December sentencing Assistant U.S. Attorney Reid Schar called Levine one of the most significant cooperators the Dirksen Federal Courthouse had ever seen.”…Natasha Korecki, Chicago SunTimes

Stuart Levine, corruption buddy of Tony Rezko, Rod Blagojevich and Barack Obama is finally being sentenced on Thursday, June 28, 2012.

Daily Calendar

Thursday, June 28, 2012 (As of 06/22/12 at 01:48:43 PM)

Honorable Amy J. St. Eve                    Courtroom 1241 (ASE)

1:05-cr-00691   USA v. Levine                          10:00   Sentencing

http://www.ilnd.uscourts.gov/home/DailyCal/0.htm

From the Chicago Tribune June 16, 2012.

“Prosecutors: Levine among ‘most valuable’ witnesses in 3 decades”

“Prosecutors called their key witness against former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and two top advisers “one of the most valuable cooperators” in three decades of public-corruption prosecutions in a late-Friday filing arguing for a light sentence.

Stuart Levine could have faced life in prison under federal sentencing guidelines but prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence of 5 years and 7 months in exchange for Levine’s cooperation. Friday’s filing comes after U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve, during a hearing in April, asked for a “lengthy recitation of Levine’s cooperation.”

Levine didn’t testify against Blagojevich, but prosecutors noted “the case against Blagojevich was made possible only by Levine’s cooperation.”

“The government not only used information provided initially by Levine in the case against Blagojevich, it was Levine’s decision to cooperate that set in motion the series of events that led directly to the government obtaining the evidence and witnesses it needed to prosecute Blagojevich,” prosecutors wrote.

Friday’s filing, in advance of Levine’s June 28 sentencing, recognizes both Levine’s cooperation and his extensive criminal history.

Levine testified against former Blagojevich fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko, who is now in federal prison, and was the star witness against Springfield power broker, William Cellini, who is awaiting sentencing. During his testimony at Cellini’s trial, Levine described in detail the million-dollar bribes he tried to orchestrate and told of his extensive drug use and cocaine parties he attended.

“Levine’s cooperation has proven to be every bit as important as the government hoped it would be. As a result of (his) assistance, the government charged and convicted people of extremely serious crimes who otherwise would not have been caught.””

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-prosecutors-levine-among-most-valuable-witnesses-in-3-decades-20120615,0,829553.story

Federal prosecutors have lauded Stuart Levine as a great, cooperative witness. Why then did they not prosecute Blagojevich first to protect the citizens of Illinois and then wait until after the 2008 election to arrest him?

Couple the value given to Levine by the prosecutors with the timeline. There is only one logical conclusion to come to. The prosecution of Rod Blagojevich was delayed to protect Barack Obama.

From Citizen Wells December 10, 2011.

“2006 is the pivotal turning point.

1. Blagojevich and his corruption buddies are in trouble.

2. Blagojevich, the presumptive presidential candidate, is out and Obama, the unknown, is in. So is the fix.

Rod Blagojevich was elected governor of Illinois in 2002.

From the Blagojevich Criminal Complaint.

“Since approximately 2003, the government has been investigating allegations
of illegal activity occurring in State of Illinois government as part of the administration of Governor ROD BLAGOJEVICH. As further detailed below, the investigation has developed evidence that: (a) beginning not later than in or about 2002, ROD BLAGOJEVICH has conspired with multiple individuals”
From the Washington Post December 22, 2008.

“The wide-ranging public corruption probe that led to the arrest of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich got its first big break when a grandmother of six walked into a breakfast meeting with shakedown artists wearing an FBI wire.
Pamela Meyer Davis had been trying to win approval from a state health planning board for an expansion of Edward Hospital, the facility she runs in a Chicago suburb, but she realized that the only way to prevail was to retain a politically connected construction company and a specific investment house. Instead of succumbing to those demands, she went to the FBI and U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald in late 2003 and agreed to secretly record conversations about the project.

Her tapes led investigators down a twisted path of corruption that over five years has ensnared a collection of behind-the-scenes figures in Illinois government, including Joseph Cari Jr., a former Democratic National Committee member, and disgraced businessman Antoin “Tony” Rezko.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/21/AR2008122102334.html?w

The following events leading up to 2006 are damning!

June 7, 2004: Stuart Levine, a longtime Republican reappointed to the powerful Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, abruptly resigns on the eve of several important hospital expansion votes. The revelation is the first indication that the Blagojevich administration is under federal criminal investigation.

June 27, 2004: The Tribune discloses that an official for one hospital seeking permission to expand was wearing a federal bug during meetings in an effort to expose extortion attempts by Levine and others for contributions to Blagojevich.

July 2, 2004: Levine resigns from his seat on the board of the state Teachers’ Retirement System. It remains undisclosed that federal authorities had secretly taped Levine’s conversations.

May 9, 2005: Levine is indicted on corruption charges. Federal subpoenas are issued to numerous administration sources, including top Blagojevich fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko

May 20, 2005: The governor’s office acknowledges to the Tribune that Rezko has an ongoing eight-year professional relationship with Patricia Blagojevich’s home-based real estate brokerage, River Realty Inc.

Sept 15, 2005: Prominent Democratic fundraiser Joseph Cari and a former lawyer for the state’s teacher’s pension board pleads guilty in an extortion scheme that steered state pension business to favored companies in exchange for campaign contributions to a high-ranking public official described in court documents only as “Public official A.”

Oct. 25, 2005: The Tribune discloses a federal grand jury investigation into the alleged political hiring practices of the Blagojevich administration, including the governor’s top hiring aide, Joseph Cini.

Aug. 5, 2006: The Tribune reports that Levine is cooperating with the federal investigation of state government.

Sept. 10, 2006: The Tribune reveals that the FBI is investigating allegations by a one-time Blagojevich family friend that she had concerns her state job may have come in return for a $1,500 personal check her husband wrote to one of Blagojevich’s children.

Sept. 17, 2006: The Tribune reports that the Blagojevich administration skirted state hiring rules to give jobs to at least 360 people whose applications were sent through back channels by the governor’s offices and politically connected officials.

Oct. 11, 2006: Blagojevich confidant and top fundraiser Rezko is indicted on federal charges he sought millions of dollars in kickbacks and campaign donations from firms seeking state business.

Oct. 27, 2006: Political insider Levine pleads guilty in a scheme to squeeze millions of dollars from firms seeking state business. In court papers, federal authorities spell out allegations that Rezko and another schemer, identified by sources as Blagojevich confidant and top fundraiser Christopher Kelly, were using their influence for corrupt purposes.

Oct. 27, 2006: The Tribune reveals that Blagojevich’s wife, Patricia, earned more than $113,000 in real estate commissions in 2006 through a woman with a no-bid state contract whose banker husband–a major Blagojevich fundraiser–has business pending before state regulators. Both the FBI and the Cook County state’s attorney’s office begin investigations.”

Next examine what else happens in 2006.

“Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has always been rumored to be interested in higher office. A single entry in a campaign-finance report he filed this week could add fuel to the speculation.

Blagojevich paid $7,500 in December to one of the top Democratic political strategists in Iowa, where contacts are important for anyone with presidential aspirations.”

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2006/02/blagojevich_for_president.html

“In the Summer of 2006, then-U.S. Sen. Obama backed Blagojevich even though there were serious questions at the time about Blago’s hiring practices.

At the time, numerous state agencies had had records subpoenaed, with U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald telling authorities he was looking into “very serious allegations of endemic hiring fraud” with a “number of credible witnesses.”

In an interview with the Chicago Daily Herald in July 2006, then-Sen. Obama said, “I have not followed closely enough what’s been taking place in these investigations to comment on them. Obviously I’m concerned about reports that hiring practices at the state weren’t, at times, following appropriate procedures. How high up that went, the degree at which the governor was involved, is not something I’m going to speculate on.

“If I received information that made me believe that any Democrat had not been acting in the public interest, I’d be concerned,” Obama said.

That said, Mr. Obama said, “If the governor asks me to work on his behalf, I’ll be happy to do it.”

Apparently the governor did. At the Illinois State Fair in August 2006, Obama spoke on Blagojevich’s behalf.

“We’ve got a governor in Rod Blagojevich who has delivered consistently on behalf of the people of Illinois,” Obama told the crowd.

In January 2007, Blagojevich’s office reserved the Old State Capitol for Mr. Obama’s presidential announcement at Obama’s request.”

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/12/questions-arise.html

Instead of protecting the citizens of Illinois as he has touted, Patrick Fitzgerald prosecuted Rezko, a businessman, instead of Blagojevich, the governor of Illinois.

From Patrick Fitzgerald’s Government Sentencing Memorandum.

“Antoin Rezko, …recently received a sentence of 126 months’ imprisonment for corrupt activity that he engaged in directly with Blagojevich or with  lagojevich’s tacit approval. Yet, Rezko: (a) held no elected office of trust;”

By prosecuting Rezko first and not calling him as a witness, they kept him incarcerated with no ability to rat on Obama.

They delayed the arrest of Blagojevich until after the 2008 election.

The prosecution botched the first Blagojevich trial and did not call Rezko as a witness.

Counts 1,2 and 4, the ones with the oldest corruption activity and the strongest ties to Obama, were dropped. The alleged excuse was to streamline and simplify the case. Of course if Blagojevich had been arrested by 2007 that would not have happened and Obama would not have been elected.

The second Blagojevich trial also did not call Rezko as a witness. This added to the delays. Blagojevich has just been sentenced.

The day of Blagojevich’s sentencing, we learn that Tony Rezko has filed an appeal. A Blagojevich appeal is sure to follow.

The Blagojevich and Rezko appeal process will go late into or past the 2012 election cycle. Once again protecting Obama.

This is simple enough even for a fifth grader, maybe even a congressman to follow.”

https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/blagojevich-rezko-obama-patrick-fitzgerald-justice-department-near-perfect-crime-obama-protected-delayed-prosecution-of-blagojevich-rezko-behind-bars/

 
Thanks to commenter Rebel Mope.