A Just Cause

Trump's Motives Questioned but Evidence Shows DOJ Corruption Is a National Problem

FBI & DOJ Abuses in Colorado and California Cases Indicate Corruption is Common but Unreported Problem, Says Advocacy Group

 

Denver, CO -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/06/2018 --On January 29, 2018, CNN's Gloria Borger reported on "The Situation Room" news program that a source who speaks to President Trump regularly, says that Trump believes the DOJ and FBI is "corrupt." CNN also reported that the Republican-controlled House Intelligence Committee agreed to open an investigation into the FBI and DOJ.

"You can argue whether President Trump's and the GOP's public criticism of bias, corruption and misconduct at the FBI and DOJ is politically motivated, but there is plenty of objective evidence that officials from these agencies routinely show bias and engage in egregious misconduct that results in wrongful convictions and imprisonment of average Americans," says Lamont Banks of advocacy organization A Just Cause. "Sadly, instead of investigating and reporting on numerous cases of misconduct in the federal justice system, the mainstream media shows its bias by continually putting the FBI, DOJ and federal judges on God-like pedestals and promoting the broad narrative that they are consummate professionals who always follow the evidence and the law, respect the Constitution, possess uncompromising integrity and are above the fray of bias, maliciousness, vindictiveness, politicization and criticism," adds Banks.

Six to eight years ago when Robert Mueller was the FBI Director, Attorney General Eric Holder was forced to dismiss the indictment against U.S. Senator Theodore "Ted" Stevens because corrupt DOJ prosecutors obtained a wrongful conviction after hiding evidence that would have exonerated Senator Stevens. The federal judge in the case appointed a special investigator (Henry Schuelke) to investigate allegations of misconduct in the Stevens case. Schuelke issued a five-hundred-page report that exposed systemic misconduct by the FBI and DOJ, concluding that "the investigation and prosecution of Senator Stevens was permeated by the systematic concealment of significant exculpatory evidence which would have independently corroborated [his] defense and his testimony, and seriously damaged the credibility of the government's key witness." Schuelke also reported that DOJ prosecutors possessed a "win-at-any-cost" approach towards obtaining convictions which was used to wrongly-convict Senator Stevens.

"If the DOJ did it to Senator Stevens, why not Trump?" asks Banks. "Trump's allegations of corruption have merit and rings true with many Americans because them, their family or close friends have personally been abused by officials at all levels of the justice system," says Banks. "The U.S. is responsible for incarcerating 25% of the world's prison population. Not to mention, an estimated 68 million Americans (nearly 25% of the U.S. population) have criminal records, over 2 million are currently in prisons and jails, and six million are on probation or parole," adds Banks. "Politically motivated or not, A Just Cause welcomes the Intel committee's investigation and hopes that both judiciary committees will launch joint investigations that include the horrible misconduct that resulted in the wrongful-conviction and imprisonment of six Colorado technology executives known on the Internet as the IRP6 and nine Los Angeles County Sheriff officials known as the LASD9," says Banks.

On November 1, 2017, four members of Congress sent a letter to Trump's DOJ asking for answers about alleged misconduct concerning the highly questionable conviction and imprisonment of the IRP6 (David A. Banks, Demetrius K. Harper, Clinton A. Stewart, Kendrick Barnes, David A. Zirpolo and Gary L. Walker) that occurred while Mueller was FBI Director. Attached with the letter was a scathing dossier (http://bit.ly/2wBaCyJ) compiled by A Just Cause that contained documented evidence showing the FBI, DOJ prosecutors and federal judges, acting together or alone, (1) intentionally violated federal law to conceal defense expert testimony from the jury that could have exonerated the six men, (2) engaged in a conspiracy to cover-up a gross violation of the defendants constitutional rights committed by trial judge by deleting or destroying the critical portion of the trial transcript that implicated the judge's misconduct, (3) illegally seized church and parishioner banking records where the IRP6 attended, (4) made false statements on an affidavit to unlawfully obtain a search warrant, and (5) committed perjury or suborned perjury before the grand jury.

In 2006 and 2009 FBI Director Robert Mueller disregarded letters (http://bit.ly/2GAdOM0 & http://bit.ly/2EtwzAl ) from IRP Solutions President Gary Walker asking for help related to FBI abuses against the IRP6 and their company (IRP Solutions), including harassment, business interference, and the FBI's illegal seizure of software and other intellectual property vital to the IRP's business operations related to investigative case management software for the FBI and Department of Homeland Security. IRP Solutions security video captured an FBI agent arrogantly mocking the IRP by waiving at the camera during the raid in 2005 (See http://bit.ly/2ECkU2b). Mueller did nothing and the abuse worsened. The ongoing FBI and DOJ misconduct was so shocking, it caught the attention of former federal appeals judge H. Lee Sarokin who became an advocate for the release of the IRP6.

In 2014, after becoming aware of the suspicious disappearance of a critical portion of a trial transcript, Judge Sarokin immersed himself in the facts and evidence of the IRP6 case and reviewed trial transcripts. Sarokin not only concluded there was ample evidence from the transcript that the judge had not only violated the defendants 5th Amendment rights, but that DOJ prosecutors abused their power by wrongly-convicting and imprisoning the IRP6 for failing to pay corporate debts. Sarokin, a Huffington Post contributor, bemoaned by the injustice and the failure of his peers in the 10th Circuit to reverse the conviction, wrote numerous blogs about the case and was interviewed by Washington Post (www.wapo.st/29jXqSC) in July 2016, all of which are a part of the dossier mentioned above.

The IRP6 were wrongly-convicted in 2011 and have spent the past five and a half years in prison on harsh sentences of 7 to 11 years while the actual misconduct of justice officials goes unreported. Sarokin sent letters to the DOJ and U.S. Senator Corey Booker (D-NJ) but both responded with apathy. Sarokin also sent a letter to President Obama requesting clemency for the IRP6, stating that he "feared a grave injustice" had been done to the IRP6 and discussed details concerning how the case was "mishandled." Sarokin said there were a "series of events that cried out for clemency."

After the clemency applications languished for 2 years and just two weeks before Trump took office, the IRP6 suddenly received form letters from the DOJ claiming that Obama had denied them. Those who know Obama believe he never received Sarokin's letter. A Just Cause suspects DOJ prosecutors may have interfered with the clemency applications. Finally, to bring more attention to the IRP6 case, Sarokin, who is a playwright in his retirement, wrote a short play about the IRP6 injustice called "The Race Card Face Up" that was ultimately brought to life on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y94O5mMJqHU) where professional actors portrayed the IRP6 discussing the facts of the case.

In the LASD9 case, the FBI violated both California and federal law by illegally smuggling a cell-phone and possibly narcotics into a violent inmate housed at an Los Angeles County jail as part of an unsanctioned FBI sting into deputy abuse. When Sheriff Lee Baca ordered a lawful investigation into the FBI's illegal activities and exposed the FBI's conduct on the local news, the FBI and DOJ retaliated by prosecuting Baca and nine LASD officers (Undersheriff Paul Tanaka, Capt. Tom Carey, Lt. Steven Leavins, Lt. Greg Thompson, Sgt. Scott Craig, Sgt. Maricela Long, Deputy Mickey Manzo, Deputy Gerard Smith and Deputy James Sexton), most of whom were involved in the investigation. All the LASD9 deputies were sent to prison. The FBI did not deny their agents orchestrated the dangerous smuggling of the cell phone and a source tells A Just Cause that discovery documents includes a memo that says the lead agent's career was uncertain at the Bureau. "Again, no reporting by the Los Angeles Times, local TV or national media about the FBI and DOJ's violation of the law," says Banks. "But there was plenty of slanted coverage against Baca and Tanaka," adds Banks.

Although federal Judge Percy Anderson in the first trial of lower level LASD officials said there was no evidence Tanaka was involved in the investigation, DOJ prosecutors vindictively pursued a conviction strictly by assassinating his character by suggesting to the jury that Tanaka was part of an alleged "gang" of abusive deputies named in a 30-year-old lawsuit that was dismissed. Tanaka was not a named party in the lawsuit, but prosecutors still used the lawsuit to poison the jury. The 9th Circuit panel speciously excused the prosecutors misconduct by saying questions were "clearly" asked in "good faith" and that although the prosecutor's used the term "deputy gang" during closing arguments, it was an "error" that was not serious enough to have impacted the jury's decision (See 9th Circuit opinion at http://bit.ly/2w0px0c. To read more about the DOJ's threats and character assassination scheme against Tanaka see other online press releases (http://bit.ly/2eQbxAo - http://bit.ly/2gqB572 - http://bit.ly/2iPj8Uh).

"Why didn't the media question why the prosecutor was permitted by the courts to paint Tanaka as a member of some alleged 30-year-old deputy gang when he was not named in a related lawsuit that was dismissed 30 years earlier?" asks Banks. "Tanaka NEVER had a single complaint of deputy abuse filed against him in 33 years at LASD," says Banks. "Paul is in prison today because federal judges give DOJ prosecutors wide latitude to prejudice juries against defendants and virtually all prosecutorial misconduct is routinely excused by the courts as harmless and unreported by the media," contends Banks.

Linda Thompson, the wife of LASD Lt. Greg Thompson, appeared on A Just Cause's Blog Talk Internet radio program and described how early one morning, multiple FBI agents executed a SWAT-style raid on them while her and Greg were sleeping. Allegedly, agents barged into her home, put guns to her and Greg's heads, threw them out of the house into the cold night air in their pajamas and conducted an illegal search of their home to seize cameras and other recording devices that could be used to expose their abusive use of force. Lt. Thompson, a highly-decorated law enforcement officer who had agreed to turn himself in, was allegedly told by FBI agents during the raid that this is what happens when you refuse to talk to the FBI. The FBI also put guns to the dog's heads. To hear both AJC radio programs concerning the LASD9, including Linda Thompson's full interview and other interviews from Undersheriff Tanaka's sister (Cindy) and former officials from the sheriff's department click on the following links:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ajcradiospotlight/2017/07/19/ajc-paul-tanaka-8-los-angeles-sheriff-dept-officers-targets-of-fbi-corruption

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ajcradiospotlight/2017/07/21/ajc-paul-tanaka-8-la-sheriff-dept-officers-targets-of-fbi-corruption-part-2

"Whatever your feelings are about President Trump's motivations for criticizing the FBI and DOJ, the IRP6, LASD9 and Senator Stevens cases proves that his criticisms are legitimate," says Banks. "President Trump, like every other American deserves to be treated fairly by the FBI, DOJ, the courts and the media," adds Banks. "Abuses and corruption in the justice system is a national problem that is not only responsible for the wrongful-convictions and imprisonment of the IRP6 and LASD9, but also is a key reason why an estimated 25% of the U.S. population have criminal records, 8 million Americans are currently incarcerated or on probation or parole, and why so many families and children are hurting in this country," says Banks. "Hopefully the Trump administration will correct the horrible injustice done to these technology execs and police officers under the Obama Justice Department," concludes Banks.