To: Paul Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge, FBI, Washington, D.C. Office
Felony charges for conspiracy to impede an officer of the United States
Senators are collaborating to prevent federal officials, including the President of the United States, from doing their job by:
1. Declaring there would not be a hearing of a nominee to fill Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s vacant seat,
2. Failure to confirm federal judges,
3. Failure to confirm more than a quarter of the administration’s most senior executive branch jobs.
1. Declaring there would not be a hearing of a nominee to fill Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s vacant seat,
2. Failure to confirm federal judges,
3. Failure to confirm more than a quarter of the administration’s most senior executive branch jobs.
Why is this important?
In Oregon this January, protesters began an occupation of the Federal Building at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge that lasted for 41 days.
The 25 people who occupied the reserve are now facing felony charges for conspiracy to impede an officer of the United States. That federal criminal statute has a maximum penalty of six years.
Prosecutors need only prove that two or more defendants agreed to prevent some federal employee from discharging his or her duty by force, intimidation or threat. Prosecutors do not have to prove they were successful.
It seems, then, that those listed below and other Senators are collaborating to prevent federal officials, including the President of the United States, from doing their job by:
1. Insisting there would not even be a hearing of a nominee to fill Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s vacant seat,
2. By failure to confirm federal judges,
3. By failure to confirm more than a quarter of the administration’s most senior executive branch jobs.
The airwaves and social media are chock-full of their own words: statements in press interviews, statements in YouTube videos, and statements in widely distributed emails.
Conspiracy to impede an officer of the United States includes:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Senator Chuck Grassley (IA), Senator Orrin G. Hatch (UT), Senator Jeff Sessions (AL), Senator Lindsey Graham (SC), Senator John Cornyn (TX), Senator Michael S. Lee (UT), Senator Ted Cruz (TX), Senator Jeff Flake (AZ), Senator David Vitter (LA), Senator David Perdue (GA), Senator Thom Tillis (NC), Senator Roger Wicker (Miss.), Senator Ron Johnson (Wis.), Senator John McCain (Ariz.), Senator Pat Toomey (Pa.), Senator Marco Rubio (FL), Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Donald Trump, Speaker Paul Ryan.
Part 1 - Supreme Court
The Constitution of the United States, Article II, Section 2 states: “The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
“He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he (the President) shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.”
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee signed a letter (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/02/23/us/politics/document-Senate-SCOTUS-Letter.html?_r=0) to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declaring they would not hold hearings to ensure the next president, not President Obama, pick someone to replace the late conservative justice, Antonin Scalia. This action is an attempt at intimidation and a threat to the President and people of the United States. If no hearing is granted, the tactics prevent remaining Senators from taking part in a confirmation vote, thereby preventing them from doing their job. The 54-member GOP caucus, and those in lock step with them, are united against taking any step in the Senate’s “advice and consent” process, making them subject to prosecution for “preventing some federal employee from discharging his or her duty by force, intimidation or threat.”
The Constitution hasn’t changed, but Mitch McConnell’s interpretation of it has as evidenced by his remarks from 1970-2010. How can this shift be anything other than McConnell’s attempt to prevent federal employees, including the President of the United States, from discharging their duties by force and intimidation?
“The framers intended for three separate and independent branches of government. The judiciary was to be free from political influences, insulated from the whims of a changing majority and answerable only to the law and a public that expected the judicial branch to dispense justice free from the taint of popular politics. Any attempt to deny confirmation on the basis of a philosophy, that is within the mainstream of American political and judicial thought, is an assault on this tripartite structure of government. It is clear under our form of government that the advice and consent role of the Senate in judicial nominations should not be politicized.” [Floor Remarks, 10/2/90]
“It is time to move away from advise and obstruct and get back to advise and consent. The stakes are high. The Constitution of the United States is at stake. Article 2, section 2 clearly provides the President and the President alone nominates judges.” [Floor Remarks, 5/19/05]
“There are few duties more consequential for a Member of the U.S. Senate than to vote on a Supreme Court nominee.” [Floor Remarks, 7/13/09]
“Our job is to react to that nomination in a respectful and dignified way, and at the end of the process, to give that person an up-or-down vote as all nominees who have majority support have gotten throughout the history of the country. It’s not our job to determine who ought to be picked.” [Fox News, 7/3/05]
“Whether it’s small-claims court or the Supreme Court, Americans expect politics to end at the courtroom door.” [NY Times, 8/5/10]
“I believe that a heavy burden must be met by those who would have this nominee rejected. Under the Constitution, our duty is to provide advice and consent to judicial nominations, not to substitute our judgement for what are reason...
The 25 people who occupied the reserve are now facing felony charges for conspiracy to impede an officer of the United States. That federal criminal statute has a maximum penalty of six years.
Prosecutors need only prove that two or more defendants agreed to prevent some federal employee from discharging his or her duty by force, intimidation or threat. Prosecutors do not have to prove they were successful.
It seems, then, that those listed below and other Senators are collaborating to prevent federal officials, including the President of the United States, from doing their job by:
1. Insisting there would not even be a hearing of a nominee to fill Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s vacant seat,
2. By failure to confirm federal judges,
3. By failure to confirm more than a quarter of the administration’s most senior executive branch jobs.
The airwaves and social media are chock-full of their own words: statements in press interviews, statements in YouTube videos, and statements in widely distributed emails.
Conspiracy to impede an officer of the United States includes:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Senator Chuck Grassley (IA), Senator Orrin G. Hatch (UT), Senator Jeff Sessions (AL), Senator Lindsey Graham (SC), Senator John Cornyn (TX), Senator Michael S. Lee (UT), Senator Ted Cruz (TX), Senator Jeff Flake (AZ), Senator David Vitter (LA), Senator David Perdue (GA), Senator Thom Tillis (NC), Senator Roger Wicker (Miss.), Senator Ron Johnson (Wis.), Senator John McCain (Ariz.), Senator Pat Toomey (Pa.), Senator Marco Rubio (FL), Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Donald Trump, Speaker Paul Ryan.
Part 1 - Supreme Court
The Constitution of the United States, Article II, Section 2 states: “The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
“He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he (the President) shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.”
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee signed a letter (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/02/23/us/politics/document-Senate-SCOTUS-Letter.html?_r=0) to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declaring they would not hold hearings to ensure the next president, not President Obama, pick someone to replace the late conservative justice, Antonin Scalia. This action is an attempt at intimidation and a threat to the President and people of the United States. If no hearing is granted, the tactics prevent remaining Senators from taking part in a confirmation vote, thereby preventing them from doing their job. The 54-member GOP caucus, and those in lock step with them, are united against taking any step in the Senate’s “advice and consent” process, making them subject to prosecution for “preventing some federal employee from discharging his or her duty by force, intimidation or threat.”
The Constitution hasn’t changed, but Mitch McConnell’s interpretation of it has as evidenced by his remarks from 1970-2010. How can this shift be anything other than McConnell’s attempt to prevent federal employees, including the President of the United States, from discharging their duties by force and intimidation?
“The framers intended for three separate and independent branches of government. The judiciary was to be free from political influences, insulated from the whims of a changing majority and answerable only to the law and a public that expected the judicial branch to dispense justice free from the taint of popular politics. Any attempt to deny confirmation on the basis of a philosophy, that is within the mainstream of American political and judicial thought, is an assault on this tripartite structure of government. It is clear under our form of government that the advice and consent role of the Senate in judicial nominations should not be politicized.” [Floor Remarks, 10/2/90]
“It is time to move away from advise and obstruct and get back to advise and consent. The stakes are high. The Constitution of the United States is at stake. Article 2, section 2 clearly provides the President and the President alone nominates judges.” [Floor Remarks, 5/19/05]
“There are few duties more consequential for a Member of the U.S. Senate than to vote on a Supreme Court nominee.” [Floor Remarks, 7/13/09]
“Our job is to react to that nomination in a respectful and dignified way, and at the end of the process, to give that person an up-or-down vote as all nominees who have majority support have gotten throughout the history of the country. It’s not our job to determine who ought to be picked.” [Fox News, 7/3/05]
“Whether it’s small-claims court or the Supreme Court, Americans expect politics to end at the courtroom door.” [NY Times, 8/5/10]
“I believe that a heavy burden must be met by those who would have this nominee rejected. Under the Constitution, our duty is to provide advice and consent to judicial nominations, not to substitute our judgement for what are reason...