Thursday, January 28, 2010

O'Keefe Defies Gag Order, Reveals "True" Story

"There was no wire-tapping, bugging or interfering with the phone system," said Michael Madigan, attorney for the conservative activist and filmmaker James O'Keefe. I can see that they are already putting the spin on things. O'Keefe was arrested before he could finish the job, but this response sounds similar to another story O'Keefe was associated with, and by that I am referring to ACORN. While ACORN had not done anything illegal during the videotapes O'Keefe and partner Hannah Giles made, the conservative activists denied their target's innocence and determined the organization was guilty before any real investigation took place. What is even more shocking is Gile's response to O'Keefe's arrest. "Following the law is an integral part of being a good investigative journalist," Giles said. "I certainly hope these reports are untrue." I assume that Giles believes that the two did not violate any laws in their illegal taping of ACORN workers last year and that their highly edited videos equal investigative journalism.

The group of activists face charges under Sections 1036 and 1362 of Title 18. Section 1036 involves entering Federal buildings under false pretenses, but the more serious charge is what is under Section 1036, which is probably why they claim to have only been in the office to unplug the telephone systems to disrupt the U.S. Senator's office, things just don't add up. Section 1036 reads as the following:
Whoever willfully or maliciously injures or destroys any of the works, property, or material of any radio, telegraph, telephone or cable, line, station, or system, or other means of communication, operated or controlled by the United States, or used or intended to be used for military or civil defense functions of the United States, whether constructed or in process of construction, or willfully or maliciously interferes in any way with the working or use of any such line, or system, or willfully or maliciously obstructs, hinders, or delays the transmission of any communication over any such line, or system, or attempts or conspires to do such an act, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
Even though they claim to have only been in the building to disrupt communications, not wiretap, it would appear that they would still fall under the section where one would maliciously interfere "in any way with the working or use of any such line," which is what they claim they planned on doing (maybe they think this would get them a slap on the wrist).

To make matters worse, O'Keefe seems to have violated a court ordered gag order, tweeting "Govt official concedes no attempt to wiretap," which sounds fine and dandy, but according to an ABC report, "a federal law enforcement official said one of the suspects was picked up in a car a couple of blocks away with a listening device that could pick up transmissions. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the information was not part of the FBI affidavit." Maybe O'Keefe should shut up instead of trying to continue to control his manufactured story that has left his hands.

2 comments:

  1. Let’s face it, all charges will be dropped, because he is poor white trash. This Tuesday, James O’Keefe was arrested by the FBI, for entering a federal property under false pretenses with the intent to commit a felony and maliciously interfering with a telephone system operated and controlled by the United States of America. They were dressed up as telephone company employees with tool belts and fluorescent jackets. It appears to be a bungled attempt to wiretap the office of Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu, in Louisiana and paid by Andrew Breitbart.

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  2. I assume nothing will come of this arrest, but I hope they get the book thrown at them. Blatant disregard for the law needs to be addressed, or else conservative activists will get bolder with their attempts to discredit the legitimate government of the country.

    They are trying to fabricate some kind of Watergate scandal to bring down Obama, and it is just despicable.

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