When the Rove Republican Racket went after political operatives, sometimes they would lose during the first trial with a hung jury. They came back again and again, eventually winning and in some cases losing. Prominent Democrats plead out and went to jail. Others, like Governor Don Siegelman of Alabama, are still appealing.
U.S. Attorneys of the Rove-Bush machine were successful in part because of the enormous number of laws on the books. They can pick and choose what law fits the concocted "crime." (Be sure to see yesterday's post on the Dishonest Honest Services Charges.) In an eye-opening post today, Thomas Lifson of American Thinker writes of a new report:
When there are so many laws that are vague, contradictory, and unfathomable, anyone can become a criminal if the state chooses to prosecute. America is too rapidly approaching this state, as a horrifying report from Brian W. Walsh of the Heritage Foundation in the Washington Times indicates. George Norris, an orchid importer, spent two years in prison for paperwork errors in the course of operating his business of importing and distributing orchids. No illegal substances were involved, and so far as I can see there was no tax evasion going on. It was paperwork.
Two years in prison for paperwork errors!
The plain reality is U.S. Attorneys and their assistants wield too much power with too many laws. And if they subjectively feel you haven't cooperated, they can throw the entire penal code at you.
