Jesse Byrnes' piece goes into Machen's tenure as prosecutor dominated by cases relating to financial fraud and national security and political corruption, having prosecuted dozens of federal and local D.C. officials.
Byrnes quotes Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
“Under Lois Lerner’s direction, the IRS became a political tool used to systematically target and undermine Americans’ First Amendment rights," said Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who accused Machen of using "his own post for political ends" by not referring the case to a grand jury for months "as he is legally bound to do."Byrnes adds in his The Hill piece a month ago, the Obama administration has also not publicly released hundreds of documents related to the IRS's targeting of Tea Party groups. And significantly, Attorney General Eric Holder remarked on Machen's tenure on Monday, praising his “outstanding results” and “inspiring service.”
"Hopefully his replacement will do what’s right and allow a grand jury to do its work. The American people deserve to know the truth about the IRS targeting scandal, and Lois Lerner’s testimony is key to uncovering that truth."
That was then and today Paul Caron the Tax Professor who has kept up with this each day from day 1, now day 708, refers to Wall Street Journal editorial, How Lois Lerner Got a Pass: The Prosecutor Absolved the IRS Witness on His Last Day on the Job.
The WSJ reviews what we already know, that Lerner was summoned for questioning about her role in the IRS' politically biased review of Tea Pary nonprofit applications. Beginning her testimony with a statement proclaiming her innocence she ended the same way stating
* I have not done anything wrong
* I have not broken any laws
* I have not violated any IRS rules or regulations
* I have not provided false information to any committee
Only after delivering this long defense she then claimed her right not to incriminate herself by citing the Fifth AMendment and refusing to answer any further questions.
The House held her in contempt.
The only duty of the U.S. Attorney is to bring the case before the grand jury for its action. Instead, Machen sat on the contempt citation for 11 months then sent Boehner a letter saying he decided not to investigate Lerner.
The WSJ article elaborates on Machen's rational about why general claims of innocence do not forfeit one's 5th Amendment rights, and how one must ignore Lerner's rebuttal to specific accusations against her and one must also ignore Lerner's voluntary interviews with Justice prosecutors.
Lerner already disclosed to government prosecutors, she lost her privilege to clam up before Congress. And after her stonewall she speaks again to Politico website.
This is the WSJ talking.
In any event, the job of making these legal calls belonged to a grand jury—not Mr. Machen. Then again, this is the prosecutor who in an exit interview with the National Law Journal about his tenure touted his allegiance to Attorney General Eric Holder, describing him as a “tremendous mentor and a tremendous friend.”
After Mr. Machen’s performance in shielding Ms. Lerner from the consequences of her actions, Mr. Holder would no doubt return the compliment.He already did. That would be a returned returned complement.
19 comments:
The government is not your friend.
How many times do I need to tell you I told you so. I told you nothing would happen. Nothing. These people are despicable despots and they shit all over you and fuck you in the ass any chance they get and laugh all the way to their cocktail parties knowing how awesome they are that they just stomped through your assholes and look forward to doing it again while you just huddle against each other for warmth.
These motherfuckers need to be put up on the wall and hung. They've taken their positions of power and have proven that they are no better than filthy pigs in a shit pond.
Actual large-scale crimes against millions of Americans, including civil rights offenses, by the government results in crickets. Meanwhile, fake civil rights claims by individuals from favored groups are given wall-to-wall media coverage and all of America, including and especially those assholes getting screwed over by the IRS, are to blame.
You're right meth. You told us so. I was skeptical - but now I'm a believer.
A small token of satisfaction is derived from an incident at her home address. (which should be a jail cell)
When someone (I forget who) tried to interview Lois Lerner in front of her home and she was locked out of her house -- the neighbors wouldn't let her in. They hate her too. It isn't much - but as you say - Meth - nothing left but to cling to each other for warmth.
Crimes against Americans are not only being perpetrated by the IRS. Other agencies, and individuals, are screwing us over as well. Just assume that the entire government is progressively politicized and that no one from the government will be prosecuted under King Putt (unless it's a Republican or some sort of crusader off the reservation like Menendez) and just work to ensure that the evidence of the crimes is preserved for a later administration. This bitch, and others like her, need to serve prison time.
Media matters.
I've known Meth for quite a while now. Meth knows. Without a doubt.
Look, I don't like this anymore than any of you do, but simple and yet casual observation suggests that no one cares. Look at the latest scandals of the DEA and their prostitution sex scandal and the committee pulled together to grill the DEA chief for three hours and all they could do was get the response from her that basically equated to, "What the fuck do you want me to do? I can't do a god damned fucking thing to these people. They are a protected unionized worker class within the halls of government. Two weeks suspension most likely with pay is about as harsh as I can get. Otherwise, that's it, so leave me the fuck alone and I'll try to manage it better the next time. Okay? Jesus!!!"
And people wonder why all of these 'investigations' lead nowhere and to nothing and no one gets the noose or the axe man's blade. No heads roll, it's the same old song and dance. Get caught, show up to explain, verbally spar and masturbate for a few hours for the cameras, go home, jack off to furry porn, snort some coke while downing a fifth of jack, and wait for your (man)whore to call for your next hookup all on the tax payers dime. YEE-FUCKING-HAW!!! It's a scam. The whole thing while schlubs like us support the good time these cocksuckers have.
You want to see what 4 trillion dollars per year looks like? Then fly to DC and get an eyeful of an executive, legislative, and criminal, er, congressional branches not to mention their over 2000 bureaucracies with their armed enforcement wings looks like and then come back and tell me what a great time you had realizing that every single person there visiting this shit hole of a geographic space should be leaving in utter dismay and disgust at what it's become. It's rotten, vile, and unworthy of the people that helped prop it up. The founding fathers would be telling us to burn it all to the fucking ground and start all over again because the republic has failed. How many more nails in a coffin do you need to assure that it's shut for good?
Besides, this side show circus is all of fucking distraction for the real shit show happening before our eyes in the form of a half black/half white traitorous interloper who somehow nefariously found his way in the ultimate seat of earthly power while he jiffy jams this country down a drain hole through taxation, regulation, and usurpation of everything we understood to hold dear. You would think this clusterfuck of a human being would get a clue that his recent electoral loses should somehow give him pause and rethink his political positions and move towards a more pragmatic view of what the people desire, but fuck the people this cretin says. I'm gonna do whatever the fuck I want, cause I'm the president and I can do whatever the fuck I want, so fuck you. And fuck you he shall.
We have the power. We just don't have any principles, and we buy the lies we like.
I'm drowning in liberals. Even most of them don't think these scandals are OK or acceptable, but they will still vote for these people primarily because they completely buy the caricatures sold to them of the alternatives. Libertarians are crazy and heartless. Conservatives are mean religious fanatics who want to jail all the Blacks and stop you from having sex or any fun besides NASCAR.
Liberals are like teenageres and their favorite politicians are the cools kids in college, and conservatives are your dad coming home to ground you. That sounds silly, but I listen to them trying to justify it, and that's what I hear. It's like talking to kids.
The other big problem is just plain ignorance among the ignorant, who have at least as many votes as you.
I submit this into evidence:
http://pjmedia.com/blog/pjtv-hillary-video-flashback/
I know young people at that same age who can install a 100-KVA 480V/208V transformer to code in an hour, build out and finish a bathroom, run a $500K laser cutting machine tool, or supervise a team of production workers.
Is there something about college that sucks your brain dry of all useful information and replaces it with social media?
bagoh20 said...
We have the power.
No you don't. To what level of power do you have to influence or sway any of these assholes who are already in power. You are nothing to them. They are the oligarchs. They run the show until they either die, get caught doing something totally nefarious worthy of indictment, or find themselves leaving of their own accord. You are just the shithead who feeds them their collective of infinite money so they can spooge all over your life and make you like it. You can think you have some power, some worthiness of influence as a citizen and they will let you see that you may, but only up to a point. You see you live in a giant bubble of appearances and your influence is about as long and as wide as your eye can see. Anything beyond that is beyond your control. You think you have a modicum of influence or power, but you don't. You aren't big enough, you aren't rich enough, you are worthy enough. It's that simple.
Let me tell you something. You ever met a big multimillionaire or a billionaire? Maybe you have, I have. Sat next to one at a function cause there were no other seats. Someone at that wealthy table was a no show. I'll leave his name out. He was a nice man I thought. We talked for a little while at this function so I just did what I always do. I asked him pointed straightforward questions on how he attained his wealth and what he does to keep it. You know what he told me?
He said, when you climb up the ladder of success to the level he has, what happens is that this level of influence he has becomes magnetic, like an attractor. Not because he overtly wishes it to be so, but because by the mere happenstance of his success it becomes so. He doesn't go to the power base, the power base comes to him seeking his largess. Finding ways to separate him from his money in the easiest way possible. His money makes money. He will never outspend his desires he said. Those powers want not only his money, but to parasitically attach themselves to him and his other powerfully wealthy friends and they will find points of weakness to leverage and wedge themselves into his life. He can push them off to a point, but they make him suffer in ways that would utterly crush an ordinary person. He can afford it he said and he laughs a laugh of a guy that is tired, but knows he has to keep it up.
He knows the game. All the other rich people he rubs elbows with know the game. They can play the game because they can buy the game, but the grifters and glad-handers also want in on the action on his and his friends coattails. They are everywhere. Now we were both a little drunk by that time, but after a couple of hours, he stood up, shook my hand and said that this conversation never happened okay? and he doesn't know who I am. Just a guy sitting at a table.
So you can think you have power. You don't have shit and they will do everything in their power to make sure you don't have shit. You may get lucky and get through the cracks to see success, but they will do everything they can to shit on you at every level.
Nobody can buy your vote, if you don't let them, and powerful money people have to work with who you elect.
I'm not concerned with the super-rich anymore than I'm concerned with plumbers or doctors or teachers. I'm worried about idiots, whether rich, poor, male, female or other.
I love wise people, and rich ones are especially helpful, just as foolish ones are especially problematic. Evil is not primarily fed by powerful smart people, but rather by a teamwork between the stupid powerless with just a vote and the stupid powerful with a shiny turd.
I used to define intelligence as the relative ability to use resources available to accomplish your goals, but that leaves you with evil people and good people possibly being equally intelligent, and that seem very lacking to me.
So now I see intelligence as the ability to use resources available to accomplish goodness. Evil people are just dumb on purpose.
Wow...I'm delighted with the bluntness of both Methadras and Bagoh20 on this thread. One problem, you both are about 99% right. Scary as that might be.
Methadras said & quoted....
Look at the latest scandals of the DEA and their prostitution sex scandal and the committee pulled together to grill the DEA chief for three hours and all they could do was get the response from her that basically equated to, "What the fuck do you want me to do? I can't do a god damned fucking thing to these people. They are a protected unionized worker class within the halls of government...."
That senior executive was lying, flat out unabashedly lying. SES level miscreants, like Ms. Lerner in the IRS case, can be fired at will...they are appointees, not civil servants. The rules are the same government wide. They're not fired because of skeletons in closets they keep track of and can play when they need to do so. As far as government rules, they can be fired at will. Period. When they are not, you know that others are worse.
Even Civil Servants can be fired, as their union is a voluntary thing, not near as powerful as private sector unions....not even slightly close. I have been there, as a DOD "Fed" and I am not guessing. I personally fired 3 civil servants for cause. It was a hassle, but not impossible. For a government executive say otherwise is a cop out...and a lie.
Methadrus said...
And people wonder why all of these 'investigations' lead nowhere and to nothing and no one gets the noose or the axe man's blade. No heads roll, it's the same old song and dance.
It is only possible because we allow it. Not sure we have a choice anymore. Given the expanse of the institutionalized federal bureaucracy today it may be hopeless. They know it and figure you won't call their bluff. They can always rat out the next guy and thus the next guy protects them.
We could elect G-d as chief executive and I am not certain even he/she could manage the mess.
Finally, you can bet your butt that Lois Lerner has the goods on a whole lot of senior people. You think she was promoted and transferred to the IRS from the FEC by accident? Please.
That is her "protection." The same DOJ schmuck that refuses to even send her case to a Grand Jury (the dodge of all dodges) says one thing: He is worse than her. His whole stinking agency/department is worse than her. And they know it.
Our system gives us all we need to fix this stuff. Elect enough of the right people, and they can reign in the animal that is government. We have a system that gives us the power, but it can't make us wise. There is no better system. Talk to people, change minds, convince them. It's the only way we have, and it's really the only way we want change to happen. It's hard, and that's a good thing. It took a long time and a lot of neglect to get it this messed up.
bagoh20 ... of course, again, you are right. I think I am getting too old to understand it all anymore. My "inner crank" is showing up more these days.
Bag, yes, the system is in place I agree. However, the electorate is simply, at this point, too stupid to use it or use it wisely, for good as you say.
Ari, of course she was lying, but that was her cop out and she banked that those fools on the committee didn't know it and it worked to a degree. Has she been fired? Has she stepped down? No. It's a game of chicken, but no one seems to have come close to making this woman swerve.
Methadrus said ...
It's a game of chicken, but no one seems to have come close to making this woman swerve.
True enough. She has "protection" as I said...and that means the situation is worse than we think. A lot of folks have a whole lot to hide and don't want Ms. Lerner to rock the boat. So long as DOJ is in the tank for all this, she hasn't a thing to worry about.
Dang it...Methadrus = Methadras , sorry about that :-(
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