Free Republic

A Virginia man was sentenced yesterday to two years in prison for stealing more than 100 Civil War-era documents from the National Archives, including some he tried to sell on eBay. Howard Harner, 68, took letters authored by Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and other historical figures. Federal prosecutors sought a lengthy sentence to help discourage trafficking in stolen American history. Harner, of Staunton, pleaded guilty in March to hiding the documents in his clothing and smuggling them out of a National Archives research room from 1996 to 2002. Prosecutors said he made $47,314 by selling the documents to a...

“It might be tough, but my dad used to say, tough times don't last — tough people do." – James RobertsonJames, on his 21 mile daily commute on footI know we could all use a feel-good story, and I have a doozy for you today. It comes to us from - of all places – Detroit. As you read James’ story you may begin to understand what once made Detroit a great city; a monument to American enterprise and the “Arsenal of Democracy” before the liberals took it over and tried to “fix” it with government dollars. It’s because people...

According to Robertson, the legal question at hand when considering the situation of terrorist detainees is when that detainee was considered “part of al-Qaida.” In this case, while “[t]he evidence does show that he provided some support to al-Qaida, or to people he knew to be al-Qaida,” Robertson noted that “[s]uch support was sporadic … and, at the time of his capture, non-existent.” Here’s the important part, as it relates to the ongoing prosecution of the newly-acronymed operation formely known as the Global War on Terror as a routine criminal exercise. According to Robertson, the government’s attempts to prove Salahi’s...

A "left-leaning, liberal, Clintonista" judge with ties to "ultra-liberal" civil rights groups ordered the release of a Gitmo terrorist yesterday. U.S. District Judge James Robertson—in a secretive move that arrogantly disdained transparency—ordered the release of Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a Gitmo terrorist who in the 911 Commission report was implicated for recruiting 911 terror attack operatives like Mohammed Atta. In the same report, he was identified as a "significant al Qaeda operative" and was also once called "the highest value detainee!" But now, thanks to Judge Robertson and his liberal ideology that puts terrorists' rights over national security, Slahi will be...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A judge has ordered the release of a Guantanamo Bay detainee described in the 9/11 commission report as a significant al-Qaida operative who provided advice to three of the Sept. 11 hijackers. The ruling in favor of detainee Mohamedou Ould Salahi was disclosed Monday in a two-sentence court entry. U.S. District Judge James Robertson will issue a written decision at a later date explaining his reasons for granting the detainee's petition.

WASHINGTON — A suspected Al Qaeda organizer once called "the highest value detainee" at Guantanamo Bay was ordered released by a federal judge in an order issued Monday. Mohamedou Ould Slahi was accused in the 9/11 Commission report of helping recruit Mohammed Atta and other members of the Al Qaeda cell in Hamburg, Germany, that took part in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Military prosecutors suspected Slahi of links to other Al Qaeda operations, and considered seeking the death penalty against him while preparing possible charges in 2003 and 2004.

On March 25th, Clinton-appointed Judge James Robertson (U.S. District Court), after having threatened to impose financial sanctions on John D. Hemenway for having enjoined the Berg lawsuit to force President Obama to release his birth records to prove his citizenship, backed down. Instead of financial penalties, the Judge issued a reprimand tinged with flippancy. Judge Robertson reconsidered his previous sanctions threat, possibly fearing monetary sanctions might spark a backlash and give a boost to the grassroots effort to force Mr. Obama to relinquish his records for public scrutiny. While the Judge gives passing tribute to Hemenway's long career of public...

GREGORY S. HOLLISTER, Plaintiff, v. : Civil Action No. 08-2254 (JR) BARRY SOETORO, et al., Defendants. MEMORANDUM ORDER We live in a free country. Our liberties are manifold and are the envy of the world. In the very top tier of those liberties, enshrined in the First Amendment, is “the right of the people . . . to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Many of those petitions are presented to judges. Every judge knows that a disturbingly high percentage of them involve petty slights, or imagined injuries, or matters that lie well beyond the reach of the...

On March 25th, Clinton-appointed Judge James Robertson (U.S. District Court), after having threatened to impose financial sanctions on John D. Hemenway for having enjoined the Berg lawsuit to force President Obama to release his birth records to prove his citizenship, backed down. Instead of financial penalties, the Judge issued a reprimand tinged with flippancy. Judge Robertson reconsidered his previous sanctions threat, possibly fearing monetary sanctions might spark a backlash and give a boost to the grassroots effort to force Mr. Obama to relinquish his records for public scrutiny. While the Judge gives passing tribute to Hemenway's long career of public...

Maybe we’re looking in the wrong direction on this whole NSA issue. I can’t help but think that for the Dems to go to such lengths, there has to be some campaign money in it for them. Just like they pander to the far left whackos I.E. Moveon.org, maybe they also have to protect themselves as well as pander to some of their big money supporters who may not want their overseas calls monitored by the Bush administration. This is just a first attempt to connect some dots, but it is interesting. Let’s start with Judge Robertson and the Clintons....

Sen. Jay Rockefeller a Target?January 9,2006By Clarice Feldman Macsmind is reporting that Sen. Rockefeller may be the target of investigators examining the leak of classified information on the NSA surveillance program: "I'm trying to confirm this information, but several sources are telling me today that some investigators working on the NSA leak probe believe that Senator Jay Rockefeller may have been a little more than "concerned" about NSA. In fact, he may just be the leaker of the program to the NY Times, and is now being considered a "significant person of interest" in the probe. What I'm told that...

WASHINGTON -- Federal District Judge James Robertson, who resigned from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) court in protest over secret wiretaps ordered by President Bush, is regarded in Washington legal circles as one of President Bill Clinton's most liberal and partisan judicial appointments. Robertson, 67, has ruled consistently against the Bush administration's handling of enemy combatants. On July 15 this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia reversed his 2004 ruling that a military commission could not try alleged terrorist Salim Ahmed Hamdan. In private Washington practice before going on the court, Robertson was an aggressive...

Judge who resigned over NSA program a partisan Clintonista Jim Kouri December 23, 2005 A US federal judge has resigned from the court that oversees government surveillance in intelligence cases in protest at President George W. Bush's secret authorization of a domestic spying program, according to a Washington Post story. US District Judge James Robertson, a member of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, sent a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts late last Monday notifying him of his resignation without providing an explanation, the report said. Two other judges were quoted as saying Robertson privately expressed "deep concern" that...

Clinton Appoints 8 to Federal Bench Sept. 14, 1994 President Clinton nominated ...James Robertson for the District of Columbia; James Robertson, 56, has been a partner at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in Washington, D.C. since 1973, where he specializes in commercial and general civil litigation. From 1969 to 1972, Robertson served first as Chief Counsel for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in Jackson, Mississippi, and then as National Executive Director of the Lawyers Committee. Robertson recently completed a term as the President of the District of Columbia Bar Association. Robertson earned an A.B. degree from Princeton University...

WASHINGTON Dec 21, 2005 — A federal judge has resigned from a special court set up to oversee government surveillance, apparently in protest of President Bush's secret authorization of a domestic spying program on people with suspected terrorist ties. U.S. District Judge James Robertson would not comment Wednesday on his resignation, but The Washington Post reported that it stemmed from deep concern that the surveillance program Bush authorized was legally questionable and may have tainted the work of the court. The Post quoted two associates of the judge.

But now that Judge Robertson has in a puff of conscience resigned from the FISA court, there is speculation out there that Robertson and Rockefeller are leakers and Robertson resigned because he was going to be forced out as having leaked and instead he forces himself out. He resigns and takes this moral high ground, "I will not sit here and preside over a court that violates the law in such a way" when in fact he may be dirty. This has been speculated in a number of places, nothing official, just wanted to pass this on, but for all...

The presiding judge of a secret court that oversees government surveillance in espionage and terrorism cases is arranging a classified briefing for her fellow judges to address their concerns about the legality of President Bush's domestic spying program, according to several intelligence and government sources. Several members of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court said in interviews that they want to know why the administration believed secretly listening in on telephone calls and reading e-mails of U.S. citizens without court authorization was legal. Some of the judges said they are particularly concerned that information gleaned from the president's eavesdropping program may...

James Robertson had criticized the Guantanamo Bay detention center. He quit the spy court to protest secret wiretaps. A federal judge who quit the nation's secret spy court in protest over the Bush administration's covert domestic wiretaps has been one of the judiciary's most active and feisty critics of the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba, where hundreds of foreigners have been held for years without charges. U.S. District Judge James Robertson, 67, resigned as one of 11 members of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. An aide to Robertson told the Associated Press that the resignation letter submitted to Chief...

WASHINGTON -- A federal judge has resigned from a special court set up to oversee government surveillance to protest President Bush's secret authorization of a domestic spying program on people with suspected terrorist ties, The Washington Post reported. The action by U.S. District Judge James Robertson stemmed from deep concern that the surveillance program that Bush authorized was legally questionable and may have tainted the work of the court that Robertson resigned from, the newspaper said in Wednesday's editions. The Post quoted two associates of the judge. Robertson was one of 11 members of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court,...

Judge James RobertsonBorn: 1938 in Cleveland, OH Federal Judicial Service:U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia Nominated by William J. Clinton on September 14, 1994, to a seat vacated by George H. Revercomb; Confirmed by the Senate on October 7, 1994, and received commission on October 11, 1994.Education: Princeton University, B.A., 1959 George Washington University Law School, LL.B., 1965 Professional Career: United States Navy Lieutenant, 1959-1964 Private practice, Washington, DC, 1965-1969 Chief counsel, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Jackson, Mississippi, 1969-1970 National director, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Washington, DC, 1970-1972 Private practice, Washington,...