Similarity
of Ashcroft's Patriot and proposed Victory Act with "Hitler's 1933
Discriminatory Decrees."
How Property Forfeiture plays a key part:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Like the Nazi
Government, the U.S. Government recently authorized
"non-government private corporations" to spy on
and seize property from U.S. citizens and others using a "mere
preponderance of evidence."
In Germany 1933 it was the Gestapo:
In the U.S, noted from the enclosed news reports and referenced
"GAO report", the private mercenary corporation DynCorp
" was recently involved in 66,000 property
forfeitures from U.S. Citizens. The passage of
Republican Rep. Henry Hyde's "Civil Asset
Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000" increased
to more than 200, the number of alleged crimes or
violations that can make property
subject to "civil asset forfeiture" by the U.S. Justice
Department, police and others that provide a "mere Preponderance of
Evidence." Corporate mercenaries in America now spy on and seize
property from U.S. Citizens by generating
"a mere Preponderance of Evidence." (See below, e.g.,
DynCorp).
Please note
from the enclosed information, that Republican "Henry Hyde's
Asset Forfeiture reform bill" in effect, did away
with the "civil statute of limitations", the time police and governments
have to forfeit property from persons and businesses.
Note: Under the Patriot Act, asset forfeiture can include any
"person or corporation" that may have a direct or indirect
contact with the U.S. for almost any reason, and/or that participates in a
market that involves U.S. interests.
The last brief summary below:
addresses Henry Hyde's "Civil Asset Forfeiture
Reform Act of 2000." the title:
"New Federal
Civil Forfeiture Laws
CREATE ARMY OF INFORMANTS"
R. Striker
______________________________________________________________________
2001
Corporate
Mercenaries Spy on Americans and Seize their Assets
DANIEL FORBES, ALTERNET:
Quoting a
Government Accounting Office
report, The Miami Herald noted that DynCorp "has
been paid at least $270 million since 1991 to provide airplane and
helicopter pilots and mechanics for the war on drugs in Colombia, Peru,
Bolivia, Ecuador and Guatemala." Jason Vest reported in the Nation that
DynCorp oversees a fleet of 46 helicopters and 23 airplanes from an Air
Force base in Florida.
The Nation obtained a copy of DynCorp's contract,
which states that along with "fumigation and search-and-rescue," DynCorp's
other responsibilities include "flying local troops in to destroy drug
labs and coca or poppy fields." A nifty enabler, the guise of fighting
drugs allows the U.S. to fly troops around in other countries' civil wars.
This February DynCorp employees flew into the midst of a firefight to
rescue Colombian police shot down by leftist guerillas. As to DynCorp's
domestic drug-war boodle -- its five-year, $316 million contract helping
the Department of Justice seize assets -- there's been little public
notice of it outside National Defense magazine.
DynCorp told the magazine
that most of the 1,000 staffers involved in the
program, funded through 2003, hold "secret" clearances
and have been involved in more than 60,000 seizures in
the United States. Among other things, they provide
'criminal-intelligence collection and analysis, forensic support
and asset identification and tracking."
So this band of retired military honchos has
1,000 operatives
with some sort of "secret" mojo, spying on the American public at the
feds' behest and helping to hoover up vast sums of money
in over 60,000 seizures . . . According to
the Chicago Sun-Times,
"In 80 percent of forfeitures,
in fact, charges never are filed." The paper put the total value of assets
seized since 1985 by all levels of government at more than $7
billion. It's easy, when safeguards
we take for granted in criminal proceedings are reversed:
current law presumes that the property
is guilty, and owners have to spend time and money proving that "it"
wasn't involved in a crime.
End of Item
________________________________________________________________
Bush Plan &
Victory Act:
Ashcroft can Skip Grand Juries, Prosecutors and Judges to charge anyone.
How "Property Forfeiture" is a key part:
Under New Bush Plan & Victory ACT:
Ashcroft can Skip Grand Juries, Prosecutors and Judges
to charge anyone, the Mafia, Common Criminals and Innocent Citizens
"with Financing Terrorism"
Subject: ACLU
Latest News September 2003 Below:
"Missing Pieces?" How International
"Property Forfeiture & wiretaps"
play a key part in "Bush's new plan" and with Ashcroft's Patriot and
proposed Victory Act:
Proposed Victory Act provisions would treat drug offenses
as terrorist crimes,
allow
evidence to be introduced into court cases
even if it was gathered in an illegal manner. Such evidence is often taken
out of context.
Victory Act would tie drug possession to terrorism sponsorship:
Ashcroft's Victory Act creates
mandatory penalties of 20 years to life imprisonment for the
possession, manufacture, distribution, import or export of any amount of
any controlled substance that "directly or
indirectly"
aids a
"terrorist organization."
The Patriot/Victory Acts lends itself to
selective enforcement,
e.g., because most "Colombian Cocaine" is taxed by right and left wing
terrorists to protect shipments before it enters the U.S.
Anyone who sells or gives Cocaine away could be
alleged by the U.S. Justice Department or police to be "Aiding a Terrorist
Organization."
Under provision of the Victory Act,
low-level drug offenders could face life imprisonment for buying from or
selling drugs to people unknowingly connected with a terrorist
organization.
R. Striker
______________________________________________________________________________
http://www.aclu.org/NationalSecurity/NationalSecurity.cfm?ID=13692&c=24&MX=9
ACLU Latest News
On Eve of Sixth-Month Anniversary of September 11th,
ACLU Says Terrorist Attacks Have Changed American Law, Society
Threats to Civil Liberties
Post-September 11:
Secrecy, Erosion of Privacy, Danger of
Unchecked Government
Action Items
Legislative Documents
- National Security : General
Oppose the
Overreach of Police Powers
People across the country are questioning the provisions of the infamous
PATRIOT Act
and demanding that it be corrected. Congress is responding to this concern
and has begun re-considering many of the government powers expanded under
the PATRIOT Act -- like the use of
"black bag" searches."
Instead of listening to these widespread concerns, however, some Members
of Congress are promoting a new measure -- the so-called "Victory
Act" -- that contains numerous provisions previously rejected by
Congress.
This proposed bill
would expand police surveillance powers and significantly infringe on the
privacy of innocent people. It would treat drug offenses as terrorist
crimes, create incentives for government agents to conduct illegal
searches and remove constitutional protections on government
investigations.
Take Action! Urge your Members of Congress to oppose
the so-called "Victory Act."
This
bill would allow the government to use illegal evidence
in court in wiretap or Internet
eavesdropping cases.
The
Victory Act would allow
evidence to be introduced into court cases even if it was gathered in an
illegal manner.
This would give federal agents the incentive to overreach the
scope of their investigations and use improper surveillance
techniques. Innocent people would inevitably be spied upon and
investigated without proper court review.
This act would tie drug possession to terrorism
sponsorship.
The Victory Act would create a new federal crime of
"narco-terrorism"
that would bring
mandatory penalties of 20 years to life imprisonment
for the possession, manufacture, distribution, import or export of any
amount of any controlled substance that
"directly or indirectly"
aids a "terrorist organization."
Under this provision, low-level
drug offenders could face life imprisonment for buying or selling drugs to
people unknowingly connected with a terrorist organization.
The act would violate constitutional protections against unwarranted
searches.
The Department of Justice could require a person to appear in their
offices to produce records and answer questions without a warrant or
oversight by the courts.
This would remove key judicial review and create a situation prone to
abuse.
End of Item.
______________________________________________________________________________
by, R. Striker
Under New Bush Plan and Victory ACT:
Ashcroft can Skip Grand
Juries, Prosecutors and Judges to charge anyone, the Mafia, Common
Criminals
and Innocent Citizens
"with Financing Terrorism"
Bush
announced his new plan this week to expand counter-terrorism powers.
Bush seeks to allow federal agents - without the approval of a judge or
even a federal prosecutor - to demand from U.S. Citizens "their private
records and forced testimony. Bush’s plans to accomplish this by using the
power of "Administrative subpoenas."
This exception sought by Bush is found in federal drug law and was
recently contained in a bill introduced this week by Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.)
Yet even there, prosecutors generally use the power to obtain records,
not testimony.
With no Judicial oversight,
the Department of Justice could require
a person to appear in their offices to produce records and answer
questions without a warrant or oversight by the courts.
The Bush
plan calls for skipping the Grand Jury and its protection for U.S.
Citizens and other defendants.
Under the Bush plan, Americans
Citizens could be secretly
interrogated and/or languish in jail.
In effect the 5th Amendment against Self
Incrimination may be gone.
Even if the statute of limitation has passed,
the Bush plan will force U.S. Citizens to testify against him or herself
and/or incriminate others.
Much of this will be done in secret. Bush plans to expand the "death
penalty" in crimes that involve "terrorist financing."
Please Note that "Ashcroft’s Victory Act"
would tie drug possession to terrorism sponsorship.
The Victory Act would create a new federal crime of
"narco-terrorism" that would bring mandatory penalties of 20 years to life
imprisonment for the possession, manufacture, distribution, import or
export of any amount of any controlled substance that
"directly or indirectly"
aids a "terrorist organization."
Under this provision, low-level drug offenders could face life
imprisonment for buying or selling drugs
to people unknowingly connected with a terrorist organization.
But
what is
"terrorist financing?
The Patriot Act's mention of incidental
criminal networks-opened the door for police under the Act's
anti-terrorism provisions
to use "secret evidence
and
witnesses" to cause the
imprisonment, execution and/or
confiscation of assets
of any person a government deems undesirable for even alleged
non-terrorists crimes. Now Bush
seeks the death penalty for "terrorist financing" which need only be
indirectly "related" to a Common crime.
The Patriot
Act redefined "Terrorist
Association"
as "any criminal activity or market"
that may "relate"
to supporting terrorists. Please Note:
Any legal or illegal activity can be alleged by the Justice Department to
"finance terrorism."
CONCERN:
Bush and Ashcroft have "established a pattern since 9-11"
of using "fears of
terrorism" to push Congress into
passing "anti-terrorist legislation."
Legislation that has contained provisions that
appear more aimed at non-terrorists and/or intimidating, even crushing
American civil liberties, an individual’s right to free speech and
association. "Bush's new plan to bypass grand juries, prosecutors and
judges to interrogate U.S. Citizens, appears typical of this pattern.
Subsequently, it may prove ironic that so many American
Soldiers died during World War II in Europe to stop Hitler's fascism,
stop Hitler's Gestapo (Police) from using "such interrogation methods" and
now the President of the United States, attorney general and some elected
officials in (Congress) now seek to employ the same interrogation tactics
against U.S. Citizens.
Example: For prosecution,
the U.S. Patriot Act cleverly merged
"alleged" common criminal activity with supporting terrorism: The Act
states: criminals and terrorists use the same "world networks and
organizations to "Market" illegal-drugs; and both have
interests in criminal activity."
The U.S. Government can use Patriot Act I and proposed Victory Act
to charge any person or organization with criminal
activity that involves illegal-drugs as being
"related" to a
"criminal market"
that networks with terrorists."
That covers about every illegal and legal world market on the planet.
The
Patriot/Victory Acts lends itself to selective enforcement because
most "Colombian Cocaine" is taxed by right and left wing terrorists to
protect shipments be fore it enters the U.S.
It is unlikely that any "U.S. illegal drug marketer" could stop "Colombian
terrorists" from taxing or using their "world markets" to distribute drugs
or other criminal activity. Anyone having the slightest link with any
alleged criminal network could be charged under the Bush plan with
"financing terrorism" which can invoke the death penalty."
That would include corrupt
police that may be indirectly involved in selling cocaine on U.S. streets.
Recently,
the Bush Administration stated that persons who use (buy drugs) in the
U.S. are supporting terrorists. How far can Bush take this?
Currently, "Charged
Defendants" under the current Patriot Act start out guilty-having to prove
they did not reasonably have reason to know
that the person(s), organization or entity they
associated or networked had committed a terrorist act or would commit one
in the future: what constitutes terrorism under the Act may be arbitrarily
decided by police: Any physical act that is legal or illegal may be
alleged by police to be or support a terrorist act under 18 USC 2331.
Bush’s plan would make it tougher for defendants in terrorist cases to be
released on bail before trial.
The "Bush plan" shifts the burden of proof from
prosecutors to the defense in determining whether a defendant should be
locked up. Bush appears intended to muzzle the judiciary branch of
government, to remove whatever checks and balances remain after the
passage Of the Patriot Act.
The Patriot Act, contrary to
the Constitution,
included several "retroactive laws." U.S. Citizens can now be arrested
because of what or whom they knew years before Congress passed the Patriot
Act.
Under the Bush Plan,
defendants may be sentenced via the Patriot Act
to "Death by secret and/or compelled testimony" and never learn the
evidence against them. Defending
against "secret testimony and evidence" would be very difficult.
"Government purchased testimony"
is another concern under both the Patriot Act, Victory Act and "New Bush
plan", especially because the "Bush plan" calls for skipping the Grand
Jury, prosecutors and judges: Like Nazi Germany, innocent Americans may
expect to be approached by government agents at any time and taken off
some where. A mere statement by a
neighbor or informant to local police could
cause the arrest or detainment of
American Citizens and/or confiscation of their assets and business.
Similar laws passed in 1933 Nazi Germany
when Hitler managed to get the Reich Constitution suspended and the German
equivalent of the "U.S. Fourth Amendment" replaced with Hitler's
"Discriminatory Decrees."
The "Decrees" like the Victory Act allowed unlimited arrests of German
Citizens and confiscation of their private property and businesses.
Imagine Americans arrested under Bush’s new plan and "Ashcroft’s so-called
Patriot Act."
Americans FORCED to endure FBI and/or other
agents sitting at their table whenever an attorney came to meet with them
in a jail? Could this happen in America? Will charged U.S. Citizens under
"Ashcroft's Victory Act" and " Bush's plan, be allowed independent
attorneys;
especially during "Secret Police Interrogations?"
______________________________________________________________________________
Missing Pieces?
Ashcroft's "Victory/Patriot Act Property Forfeiture Provisions"
will make DynCorp rich and other
"Corporate
Mercenaries"
See below:
New
Federal
Civil Forfeiture Laws
"CREATE ARMY OF INFORMANTS"
Corporate Mercenaries Spy on Americans
and Seize their Assets
U.S. corporate
mercenaries and informants now work so closely with U.S. police and
intelligence agencies, they appear to merge. Not since Hitler's Gestapo
has there been such a close working relationship between state police and
corporate interests: Corporate Mercenaries are using federal asset
forfeiture laws to seize property from American Citizens.
R. Striker
______________________________________________________________________
October 19, 2003
By, Robert Striker
New
Federal Civil Forfeiture Laws
"CREATE ARMY OF
INFORMANTS"
Government can now Forfeit
Property "Involved" In Most Felonies and Seize Inheritances:
HR 1658,
"The Civil Asset Forfeiture
Reform Act of 2000"
expanded government forfeiture laws to
include approximately 200 felonies and violations making more property
subject to government forfeiture; even after the statute of limitations
has passed for criminal prosecution. Only a "mere preponderance of
evidence" is needed for federal agencies and police to seize property,
not "clear and convincing
evidence."
Inheritances and Innocent Heirs:
Heirs need not be
"involved" in a felony that makes their inheritance subject to government
forfeiture. They need only have reason to know that someone e.g., a
relative, employee or other person previously committed a felony involving
their inherited property or other assets.
Innocent Property Owners Lost under HR 1658:
Nationally, property owners
and real estate associations could not stop the U.S. Senate from GUTTING
HR 1658’s original "Innocent Owner Protection Provision" that would have
made government PROVE by "Clear and Convincing Evidence" that an owner’s
property is subject to government forfeiture."
The
standard of proof needed
for government to seize property is ONLY a
"Mere Preponderance of Evidence." Rep. Hyde’s HR 1658 "The Civil
Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000"
DID AWAY with
the statute of limitations for government to civilly seize
assets. Police now have five years to seize property from the date police
allegedly learn that an "asset was involved in crime"
that would make it
forfeitable:
Police in effect, may have forever
to seize citizen and corporate assets using a
"low standard of evidence." For example, police agencies can under the USA
Patriot Act, retain for years telephone and email communications:
Twenty years in the future, a police agency may claim to have allegedly
"discovered something" in an electronic communication in order to cause
the seizure of a business and/or a citizen’s assets. Under the USA Patriot
Act, police need not inform the owner why they are taking his or her
property.
NEW ARMY OF INFORMANTS:
Congress’s
expansion of property forfeiture laws under HR 1658 created an
"army of informants."
Informants to get a "25% to
50% "Informant Reward" may simply
allege or falsely tell police that an innocent person, inheritance or
business was "involved" in a felony in hopes the government will seize
assets. This practice lends itself to corruption because it is too easy
for informants to kick part or all of their "forfeiture commission" back
to the police involved in initiating the seizure of an owner’s property.
Under HR 1658, state or
federal government’s discovery of a 20-year-old crime may make property
forfeitable: An alleged
misrepresentation by the deceased on a FDIC Insured Loan Application can
make an inherited home or its subsequent sales proceeds forfeitable by the
federal government.
Did
Innocent Property Owners Lose?
"The Civil Forfeiture Reform Act
of 2000" Passed:
And as before, still only a "Mere Preponderance of Evidence" is required
for government to civilly forfeit an innocent owner’s property—NOT "Clear
& Convincing Evidence."
