What Are The Chances?

Racketeering charges?

Perhaps there is some strange computer virus that selectively trashes records inconvenient to incumbents, like the “glitch” that erased part of Nixon’s tapes. How else to explain the fact that this is the fourth announcement of an ever-expanding computer calamity connected to Lois Lerner to emerge from the IRS? First it was just Lerner’s computer that was affected, then those of her closest co-conspirators, then “no more than twenty” computers, and now an ever larger batch of burned out workstations.

Even more interesting, the IRS has apparently not yet shared this newest tidbit with Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, the distinguished and courageous jurist presiding over Judicial Watch’s Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
Here was Remy singing about it when it was just seven hard drives...

7 comments:

Joseph W. said...

Damned unlikely for a RICO/Wire Fraud charge. Look at the statute.

To be guilty you have to have a "scheme to defraud" (check) and send an e-mail, make a phone call, etc. to further that scheme.

The "scheme to defraud" is the destruction of e-mails, hard drives, blackberries, etc....but you have to prove that she sent e-mails, made phone calls, or whatever in furtherance of that scheme. And I'm not aware we have any admissions to prove that.

RICO/Wire fraud is often read in a creative way because it's used not just for criminal prosecutions, but for civil suits. Better to go with old-fashioned obstruction of justice...which I believe is not a RICO predicate act.

Of course, per basic probability theory, you must multiply the small chance of a RICO charge sticking by the chance of the Justice Department actually bringing the case. The statute of limitations for wire fraud is 5 years..."think now what I would speak."

Joseph W. said...

P.S. - The other purpose of RICO is to go after the profits from racketeering...i.e., if the mob made millions from wire fraud, and invested those in IBM, the government can prosecute them for making that investment and take the money. But this isn't that kind of scheme, and invoking RICO would be pointless.

Ymar Sakar said...

They know Spineless Americans exist merely to Obey Authority. They aren't going to do a damned thing to them and they know it.

Eric Blair said...

once is accident, twice is coincidence.

three times is enemy action.

Ymar Sakar said...

Meanwhile they're going to figure out a better way to disarm the population so they can set up sex slaves on college campuses.

The illegal armaments people have needs to be confiscated. Illegal since if they were legal, it would compete with selling arms to Mexican drug cartels, AQ, and Phillippino armed groups.

Grim said...

Alas, all I know about RICO comes from Sons of Anarchy, where it makes a frequent appearance. It sure is interesting that this story keeps changing the way it does, though.

Ymar Sakar said...

It's like we're at Aruba and Natalie Holloway is missing again.

But I'm sure the Dutch judge and his sons did nothing wrong.