Posted on 02/19/2022 9:18:42 AM PST by DUMBGRUNT
took funds from nearly every corner of the Nelsons' world, ... the savings Amy racked up from her decade as a practicing attorney and her later efforts as head of The Riveter, the co-working start-up she founded. But the FBI never even suspected Amy of committing any crime. It was Carl they were investigating—a probe that has not resulted in a single charge against him almost two years
...Whether or not the FBI has come to that conclusion is still a mystery; its years-long investigation into Carl's alleged fraud has not yielded an indictment. Yet no such thing was necessary for the federal government to wreck the Nelsons' lives, costing them their home, their community, their jobs, their girls' place in their Seattle school, and their security for the future.
.... Last week, the government agreed to a settlement: Of the original approximately $892,000 it seized, it will return $525,000, while Amy and Carl forfeit about $109,000. ( ... depleted by court fees.)
It's also lucrative. State, local, and federal governments have seized $68.8 billion via civil forfeiture over the last 20 years, according to a recent report by IJ. "The vast majority of seizures and forfeitures…are driven by the profit incentive," says Alban. "In most states and at the federal level, police and prosecutors get to keep up to 100 percent of the proceeds. So they just have a very strong incentive to go out and seize whatever they can and try to forfeit it so that they can supplement their budget." Those assets then find their way into police slush funds, where they may be spent on things like submachine guns, parking tickets, or cash withdrawals that no one seems to be able to explain. They're also sometimes used illegally on things like gym equipment and Fitbits.
(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...
No ipecac needed.
So, we know all these things are going on. We talk about them constantly.
What do we DO?
We avoid the 900 lb gorilla in the room like a plague. We all know what we need to do and none of us want to do it.
I am reminded how hard the colonists tried to get king George to just recognize their pleas to him for reasonable discorse and concessions. He refused. They reluctantly went to war for the next 8 1/2 years and an additional four years of occupation of New York after the british defeat at Yorktown by Washington’s 8,000 men of the Continental Army.
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, .without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
I'd be tempted to "settle accounts" more quickly.
Maybe they’re Canadians.
“...nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, .without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
Somehow, that doesn’t apply to the IRS. How did they get that kind of power? Beats me.
Same here.
EXACTLY why I didn’t want Hillary to win in 2016 and I still have NO RESPECT for so-called ‘conservatives’ who either supported her outright or indirectly supported her by telling people they wouldn’t vote for Trump (and implying that neither should they).
If we’re going to end this OUTRIGHT THEFT of Americans, with no due process, it won’t be Democrats, or Democrat judges ending it...
” How did they get that kind of power? Beats me.”
They are the collection arm of the FED. They even have their own courts and judges.
It’s even easier now for the Feds to win a case when the defendant has no money for counsel. The money seized can be used to defame the victim in the press and pay off journalists for favorable coverage before indictments and trail. No wonder Feds have 95% conviction rates.
The federal police state agencies are beyond repair. The federal government needs to implode.
Revoking qualified immunity for Feds would help.
One associated problem with civil forfeiture, is it gives cops an incentive to go after people with funds to seize, and ignore bumps with no assets to fine or seize.
Judges. Judges is how the IRS and the other alphabet soup agencies got their power.every little pissant in a robe thinks he (and more often, she) has the wisdom of Solomon and the power of Sampson.
We bitch about legislators and rail against presidents but judges have almost unlimited power since it costs $300/hr minimum to argue with them.
Time to start putting money under the mattress and buried in jars in the yard - like my grandmother did.
“In most states and at the federal level, police and prosecutors get to keep up to 100 percent of the proceeds. So they just have a very strong incentive to go out and seize whatever they can and try to forfeit it so that they can supplement their budget.” Those assets then find their way into police slush funds, where they may be spent on things like submachine guns, parking tickets, or cash withdrawals that no one seems to be able to explain.
***Exactly what some of us were saying when these laws were being passed, but were loudly shouted down here on FR. Where are those jackbootlickers now?
Thank you, Richard Nixon...
Your weakness in the face of the communist onslaught in congress gave us lots of wonderful goodies successfully wielded over the intervening to get us the communists who now rule us...
As just a small example:
- The RICO act...
- The Environmental Agency...
- School busing...
Obviously we need the feds to go after the cartels. Otherwise, this country will be like Mexico. But yeah we need to rein in the feds when they go after “John Doe”.
The “Tyranny of The Black Robes” is owned by the demoKKKrats and exercised in every important decision, in all matters, large and small. The once-few GOPers barely have a chance, but Trump’s many bench appointments have helped offset the imbalance.
Exactly what needs to be done?
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