 |
|
Add to My Group
|
July 18, 2008 at 08:12:43
Promoted to Headline (H2) on 7/18/08: by steveheller Page 1 of 4 page(s) |
|
|
Ohio Attorney Files Motion to Lift Stay in Ohio Case of King Lincoln Bronzeville v Blackwell At a press conference this morning in Columbus, Ohio, Cliff Arnebeck, lead attorney for the plaintiffs in the case of King Lincoln Bronzeville v. Blackwell, announced that he is filing a motion to "lift the stay in the case [and] proceed with targeted discovery in order to help protect the integrity of the 2008 election." Arnebeck will also "be providing copies of document hold notices to the U.S .Chamber Institute for Legal Reform and the U.S. Justice Department for Karl Rove emails from the White House." This case has the potential to put some of the most powerful people in the country in jail, according to Arnebeck, as he was joined by a well-respected, life-long Republican computer security expert who charged that the red flags seen during Ohio's 2004 Presidential Election would have been cause for "a fraud investigation in a bank, but it doesn't when it comes to our vote."
"This entire system is being programmed in secret by programmers who have no oversight by anybody," the expert charged, as Arnebeck detailed allegations of complicity by a number of powerful GOP operatives and companies who had unique access both to the election results as reported in 2004, as well as to U.S. House and Senate computer networks even today.
The presser was attended by some of the corporate-controlled media, including the head of the Ohio AP bureau, the Columbus Dispatch, and IndyMedia. Listening in by phone were ABC News, our friends from RAW STORY, and me, your humble blogger. I recorded the presser, so I have no links for the quotes in this post, but I transcribed them word-for-word and can vouch for their accuracy.
One of the more delightful and interesting quotes comes from Arnebeck, concerning what he expects to discover as the stay is lifted: "[W]e anticipate Mr. Rove will be identified as having engaged in a corrupt, ongoing pattern of corrupt activities specifically affecting the situation here in Ohio."
According to Arnebeck, his expert witness, Stephen Spoonamore, "works for credit card companies chasing data thieves, identity thieves around the globe, and also consults with government agencies including the Secret Service, the Pentagon, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in criminal matters. [He's] really one of the top, and in fact the top private cop in the world on the subject of data security.
"First, some background. The King Lincoln Bronzeville v. Blackwell case was filed on August 31, 2006. At issue was "whether the rights, privileges, and immunities guaranteed to Plaintiffs by the Civil Rights Act, and the First, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution have been violated by the past and ongoing conduct of Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell in connection with past elections in Ohio."
A stay was previously entered into on joint motion of the parties, Ohio's Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and the plaintiffs, to support settlement discussions in the case. "At one point," Arnebeck noted this morning, "this was interrupted when the Secretary wanted to bring all the ballots that had been ordered preserved by Judge Marbley, bring them in to one location. When the ballots came in, there was significant omissions and reports of the destruction of some of the ballots."
The BRAD BLOG reporter previously on some of some of the ballots missing from 56 of Ohio's 88 counties, despite the federal court order.
Arnebeck explained that part of the reason for the stay, at the time, was to allow the Ohio Attorney General to proceed first, as provided in Ohio House Bill 3 which states, in part:
...the attorney general may initiate criminal proceedings for election fraud under section 3599.42 of the Revised Code which results from a violation of any provision of Title XXXV of the Revised Code, other than Chapter 3517. of the Revised Code, involving voting, an initiative or referendum petition process, or the conducting of an election, by presenting evidence of criminal violations in question to the prosecuting attorney of any county in which the violations may be prosecuted. If the prosecuting attorney does not prosecute the violations within a reasonable time or requests the attorney general to do so, the attorney general may proceed with the prosecution of the violations with all of the rights, privileges, and powers conferred by law on a prosecuting attorney, including, but not limited to, the power to appear before a grand jury and to interrogate witnesses before a grand jury.
Arnebeck said that the Attorney General's office said they were ready to begin the investigation of the 2004 presidential election in Ohio, and Arnebeck said he submitted a great deal of material to them, including "Bob's [Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman's] book on what happened in Ohio, documentation of the exit poll discrepancy, [and] John Conyers' report to the Congress which was the factual basis for the challenge to the electoral votes of the Ohio vote in January of 2005."
About a month later, the Attorney General's office contacted Arnebeck and asked him, "Who do you want to indict?"
Arnebeck explained that the AG's "concept of looking at this from a criminal standpoint was not to convene a grand jury and cast the net broadly and use the grand jury process to investigate and narrow the focus into the question of who may have tampered with those votes. But rather they wanted us to come to them with a more focused case."
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
 Contact Author |
Contact Editor |
 View Authors' Articles |
|
|
|
| 13 comments |
|
This is our best chance
Congress will never do anything to hold Bush/Cheney or their mininions accountable for their crimes; they're too scared, or too corrupt, or too lazy, or too ignorant, or all of the above. This civil suit just MIGHT bring the law down on a lot of rotten players. Mike Connell and Ken Blackwell, under oath in a deposition (the oath one takes in a deposition has the same power and rules of perjury as an oath taken in a court) could open up the whole thing. As for Rove, there will be no executive priviledge claim if they supoena him regarding what happened in the run-up to the 2000 election, before Bush was appointed, not elected, president by the Supremes. I think the King Lincoln Bronveville v. Blackwell case may well be our last, best hope of justice. by Steve Heller (6 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 36 comments) on Friday, Jul 18, 2008 at 10:34:56 AM  (0+)
|
|
Reply: Judicial prosecution last best hope
I sure hope you're right, Steve. Arnebeck has a tough row to hoe in Ohio where the judiciary repeatedly protects election thieves, to wit: Two employees from Cuyahoga, Jacqueline Maiden and Kathleen Dreamer, were convicted of tampering with the recount, resulting in felony convictions that were later expunged from their records. Having taken thousands of photographs of Ohio's 2004 ballots (which Richard Hayes Phillips wrote about in "Witness to a Crime": Irrefutable evidence of election fraud in Ohio), having watched those very ballots be destroyed contrary to a court order with no consequence, I have little faith in Ohio's judicial system. Nonetheless, I wholly support prosecuting this matter through all legal venues. A loss in court merely adds another log to the fire that public officials are building beneath their feet, as they repeatedly defy law and subvert the will of the people. by Rady Ananda (182 articles, 374 quicklinks, 49 diaries, 1718 comments [201 recommended, 2 rejected]) on Friday, Jul 18, 2008 at 10:50:55 AM (0+)
|
|
Will Conyers pay attention to this
and open impeachment hearings...will Pelosi finally have the "proof" she needs of High crimes and misdomeaners? by Susan Nelsen (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 287 comments) on Friday, Jul 18, 2008 at 1:49:58 PM (0+)
|
|
GOP
I have always thought in the back of my mind...cheese & onions.. I have always thought that the world is unkind...cheese & onions... Do I have to spell it out... by shadow dancer (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1115 comments [121 recommended, 2 rejected]) on Friday, Jul 18, 2008 at 9:35:01 PM (0+)
|
|
Reply: The Rutles!
I LOVE that you referenced the Rutles. Whoever you are, you are one cool dude or dude-ette. by Steve Heller (6 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 36 comments) on Friday, Jul 18, 2008 at 11:59:26 PM (0+)
|
|
GOP
Sadly when you politicize your system of justice then you are obstructing justice. You may never get to the bottom of the political corruption that seems to be a mainstay of the GOP. Do you think that if that party played by the rules they might never win an election? Seems to me that would be the case. by Archie (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1750 comments [111 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Jul 18, 2008 at 11:16:20 PM (0+)
|
|
Moreover...
Each state having a stake in those elections can also sue the state of Ohio, its corruptions, the private companies and we have all suffered from the results of this presidency, its Treasury robbing sliding the cash to its corrupt supporters. All the various criminal things which the Mafia did only on a larger scale were were done here by the Military, Medical Industrial Complexity of evil these last 8 years. The entire 8 years have been a successful attempt to far-undo the effects of FDR's New Deal, and to a Redistribution of the Wealth. Class action lawsuits against all in every state, indictments against all in every state, must be pressed forward to stymie their every move. We must rid America by legal means of all the evils of the bullying Right and dismantle their Mercenary, para-military organizations/corporations like Blackwater. We must convince Senator OBAMA not to "use Blackwater" as he indicated he would. We must all push to file such lawsuits and such indictments. by Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo (144 articles, 1 quicklinks, 95 diaries, 1317 comments [5 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Saturday, Jul 19, 2008 at 9:11:27 AM (0+)
|
|
Steve: a couple of quick questions
First, thanks for the best piece of news I've seen in months. So I'm wondering: Do you know the principals involved -- particularly Arnebeck and Spoonamore -- and if so, I suppose they're aware that they're in for the usual GOP character assassination routine? And do they feel sufficiently free of skeletons to withstand such an attack? Because you know if the RNC/GOP can't refute the message, they'll just go after the messengers -- with the full support of their ministry of propaganda, the former US free press. And secondly, it's a given that mass media -- by which I mean mainly TV "news" -- will either ignore this entire story or spin it as another politically motivated witch hunt. Also, it's pretty well understood among MSM reporters and producers that even a whispered mention of the Bushies stealing elections is either a career ender or a permanent fluff assignment covering things like high school spelling bees and rubber ducky races. Given the nature of US mass media -- again, led by TV's shameful substitution of lies, omissions and distortions for any useful reporting on real issues -- do you think this will actually get any serious coverage? Or is it more likely to be another of those stories that shows up on page one of every major newspaper around the globe except those published in the US? If it is covered, do you suppose it'll get the usual ridicule and marginalization treatment mass media uses to defuse stories potentially damaging to the Bushies? By "corporate mass media," I mean any paper, magazine, radio or TV station or cable channel or network that's owned by one of the big six who control about 85 - 90 percent of everything Americans see, hear and read. Those six are GE, Time Warner, Disney, News Corp., CBS Corp. and Viacom, according to this study and others like it. Again, thanks a lot for the great news and, if you have time to take your best shot at the foregoing questions, that's also great. Very best to you and I can only hope this is the one we've been waiting for ever since 12/12/00. wp by Warren Pease (4 articles, 1 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 14 comments) on Saturday, Jul 19, 2008 at 10:50:32 AM (0+)
|
|
Reply: I did not expect...
... the corporate controlled media (CCM) to pick up this story at this point, because right now, the only hard fact in the story is that a lawyer, Cliff Arnebeck, is going to continue with a lawsuit. The lawsuit's allegations are explosive, and I believe that most if not all of them will be proven in court, but right now, they are still allegations. The CCM won't report that. But here's the thing; with a civil suit, although press coverage would be nice, it isn't really necessary. If Arnebeck can depose Mike Connell under oath, and hopefully even Rove, that might lead to some explosive facts. Just Connell and/or Rove taking the 5th amendment a bunch of times would be explosive news. Of course, the CCM may well ignore any facts that come out of the depositions. But if the depositions lead to arrests and charges, whether the press reports it or not is immaterial. This is a legit suit with legit attorneys who have legit evidence, and whether the press reports on it or not, the suit will go forward. And if the suit leads to indictments, again, whether the press reports on it or not, the indictments will be filed. Since I'm sure congress will do nothing, I do think this law suit is one of our last, best hopes to get the truth of Ohio, 2004, and bring to justice those who perverted our entire Republic for their personal and political gain. As for character assassination, Arnebeck is a litigator with about 20 years experience, and he's been on this case for years. He knows what's coming, and he'll be able to handle it, I'm sure. As for Spoonamore, he's an advisor and technical expert, and might be used as an expert witness, but he is not vital to the continuation of the case. Thanks for your comment, Warren. Let's keep our fingers and toes crossed! by Steve Heller (6 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 36 comments) on Saturday, Jul 19, 2008 at 12:39:48 PM (0+)
|
|
Will anyone ever learn?
I suspect an honest evaluation would show that the Florida election was also stolen. Bush has proven time and again he has no respect for the law and will do anything he wants without fear of retribution. by Paul Kruger (39 articles, 1 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 304 comments [2 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Saturday, Jul 19, 2008 at 11:23:00 AM (0+)
|
|
Reply: Only stupid Americans
Only stupid Americans believe that all of a sudden exit polls became opposite and there was the criminal smirking on TV for the world to see, right after Florida was called , predicting a win with Jeb and the former head of CIA in the room w/ him. Some of you younger folks may have missed the stories ,when I was growing up,when we ran around South and Central America throwing elections for our companies doing business down there. It was great fun then but the methods perfected came home to roost here. by tjb (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 255 comments [9 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Saturday, Jul 19, 2008 at 10:35:22 PM (0+)
|
|
Damage done in FL by Katherine Harris
There's no question the Florida vote was stolen. Katherine Harris had a company designate people with names close to known felons as felons. The Supervisor of Elections in one Florida county went to vote and was told she was on their felon list and couldn't vote. If memory serves, around 30,000 were disenfranchised, mostly black, and news of that wasn't spread around Florida. I had to hear about it when I left the state and I don't even know if my vote was counted. Chads didn't exist until Katherile Harris stated on the radio "some of them were a chad lose" in reference to the punchouts on the ballots. It was an idiot reporter who took that statement out of context and named them chads. by Dave Kisor (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 310 comments [40 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Saturday, Jul 19, 2008 at 11:51:39 PM (0+)
|
|
Dave
Comment from Ratings: This is the most informative article I have seen on Election Fraud. The points made regarding computer programmers, programming of election machines, and the fact that the elections boards do not actually have control of the machines is finally coming to light in this article. Unless we (voters) get a handle on how elections are run, we will forever be controlled by big business (specifically private voting machine vendors) who are in the pockets of politicians. Very few people know what can be done inside the software world of Electronic Voting Machines (DRE's). and especially precinct workers. Elections can be stolen from right under their noses. The only remedy is to totally ban Electronic Voting Machines, and that is not an overstatement. My hat's off to Steve for covering this vital subject so well. by Dave Davis (0 articles, 11 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 8 comments) on Thursday, Aug 7, 2008 at 4:41:39 PM (0+)
|
Want to post your own comment on this Article? 
|
||||
|
||||||||||||||
Must Read (0) 
Well Said (0) 
News (0) 
Touching (0) 
Funny (0) 
Supported (0) 
Interesting (0) 
Inspiring (0) 
Valuable (0)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tell a Friend:
|
Copyright © 2002-2009, OpEdNews |
