Newsletter Text V784

Liberty In Peril

... Formerly

The Llano Ledger

Newsletter Text V784 ©2022 All Rights Reserved
August 12, 2022

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Publisher's Note: This publication receives no financial support through advertising. Although shaken down, looted, and abused by corrupt government, area businesses remain unwilling to stand up. Locals are too gutless to donate financially, cowardly fearing retribution. For this publication to survive, national readers need to contribute. Liberty In Peril is, has been, and will always remain beholden to NO ONE. -- Precisely why there is no financial assistance. ... From day of launch and certainly a no-brainer to this very day, firmly resolved to walk away first rather than compromise principle. -- To the chagrin of many and delight of few. T.C. (5-7-13).

For new readers: Fascism, nazism, national socialism defined as the pernicious blend of government, business, and religion. 'Justified' by perversion and bastardization of the latter.

No matter what, no matter where, this publication will remain up and running. For it to remain centered here, however, financial and/or material support must be provided. Status quo, unsustainable. Time to step up. Now.

5-25-18

... Hey, Sheriff? Is it true Llano County Attorney Becky Lange has advised you to stay out of the "Berardi Property Rights Denial-Damage To Pace Arrow-Deputy Leroy Rodriguez, Badge #764" fiasco? That right, Bill? Isn't that obstruction of justice? Also true your deputies have advised the Bolens to accept the status quo and not force the no-trespassing issue with Greene? If so, isn't that also obstruction and official oppression? When will you do your job, Bill? As an elected official, you answer to the public, forget? -- No honor? ... No honor at all? If the foregoing allegations are indeed true, didn't you swear an oath to uphold the law and Constitution? Why aren't you doing so? No guts?

Your deputy has been accused of abusing authority. What action have you taken other than ignore the complaint? Why aren't both Rodriguez and the County Attorney under criminal investigation? The County Attorney appears to be obstructing justice, accepting the word of Greene in lieu of two surveyor companies who strongly assert otherwise. Both the County Attorney and District Attorney have ignored complaints. Par for the course in Llano County, isn't it? Failed to do their jobs. No surprise there, right, Bill? Both receiving 'special consideration' up to and/or including a bribe from Greene? Regardless, clearly, no justice in Nazi Llano County. Bottom line? Desperate need for an outside criminal investigation. Conveniently, forget? This County is ruled by men, certainly not rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Precisely, why there is desperate need for a new federal agency whose sole function would be to investigate, arrest, charge, and prosecute criminal law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges in a special court whose only mandate would be to adjudicate such cases. Total independence. Until that happens, the criminal bastards who falsely believe they run and own this hell hole County will continue to do as they please.

Tim Chorney, Publisher
Liberty In Peril

Some salient quotes occurring later on in this edition vis a vis unfinished business County officials continue to ignore:

... "No justice. Precisely, why there is desperate need for a new federal agency whose sole function would be to investigate, arrest, charge, and prosecute corrupt, abusive, criminal officers, prosecutors, and judges in a special court that would adjudicate only these cases. Total independence. The only way to rein in these criminals, particularly the murderers in blue.

Sadly, the achingly clueless bastards in law enforcement don't need a legitimate reason to kill. Enjoy carte blanche to murder on the job. Nearly always, with impunity. ... Right, Sheriff? Sue the living shit out of the jackbooted motherf--kers, the department, and the city. Any officer engaged in, or threatening this kind of unnecessary violence needs to be criminally prosecuted. Not protected and coddled. Not put on paid leave, -- no more than a paid vacation. Not sent home without pay to catch up on his beauty sleep.

Firing is egregiously insufficient. How can the law enforcement community be trusted? No foreign power, no terrorist organization, not even the criminal element presents a greater threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties than the criminal jackbooted bastards in law enforcement. ... Right, Sheriff? Madam County Attorney? "Sonny Boy?"

These are extremely dangerous times for our formerly great country. ... Hear the rumble? An unwanted dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looming. -- As our legislators and other government officials figuratively 'fiddle while Rome burns.'

Not good enough. Nowhere near. Short of an unwanted dreaded second American revolution, only one way for these atrocities to end. Again, time for a new federal agency whose sole function would be to investigate, arrest, charge, prosecute corrupt, abusive, criminal officers, prosecutors, and judges in a special court whose sole function would be to adjudicate such cases. Total independence.

Local and state authorities are egregiously incapable of handling these cases. Tend to protect their own. ... Right, Sheriff? Goes with the territory, doesn't it, Bill? Precisely, why there is no faith or trust in your criminal jackbooted bastards. Local authorities here in Nazi Llano County have their heads figuratively, securely lodged so far up their clueless ass their eyeballs are turning inside out. Protect and coddle your clueless, out of control officers. Imagine that.

Unadulterated, blatant ongoing horse shit. ... Right, Bill? F--k these jackbooted bastards. Aren't worth a crap. Continually abrogate their oaths of office to protect and defend the United States Constitution. ... Right, Sheriff? Includes not only deputies, but the brass as well. No principles. No honor. Lying, conniving, abusive, murderous jackbooted thieving thugs. The American Civil Liberties Union needs to step up and represent the victims of abusive law enforcement.

To say nothing of innocent civilians all across our formerly great country who are victimized by abusive police. Need far better representation than a public defender. Forget? It's how the bastards in government line government coffers. All too often, looting the innocent. Those on the bottom of the food chain. ... Right, Sheriff?

No justice. The American Way. Nazi America. When is this shit finally going to end? All of it. Wake up, Sheriff. Again, where is dashcam video of the killing of Jeffrey Gray Wise, 52, of Austin by DPS and the Llano County Sheriff's Office? Three hundred twenty nine weeks, now. A goddamned disgrace.

Why are you still sitting on this information? What are you hiding, Sheriff? What is the identity of the officers who killed Wise? Too gutless to release this information to the public that pays your salary and that of your goons? Reportedly, there were three officers involved in the shooting. Who the hell are they?

When will the goddamned 'law' 'enforcement' community finally stop making excuses for engaging in outrageous criminal activity including blatant murder, violent assault, sexual assault, theft, drug trafficking, etc.? List can go on and on. Protecting its own no matter what it does or doesn't do? Convenient, isn't it, Sheriff? Again, no foreign power, no terrorist organization, not even the criminal element presents a greater threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties than all branches and levels of government, -- including law enforcement.

Corruption within law enforcement remains an existential threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties. So what else is new? ... Right, Bill? Same old duplicitous, aggressively stupid shit occurs right here in Nazi Llano County. ... Doesn't it, Sheriff?

Think it'll change any time soon? Don't hold your breath, readers. Not how things work in Nazi America, right, Sheriff? Highly reminiscent of how your goons operate though, isn't it, Bill? Forget? 'Stupid is as stupid does.' F--ked up is f--ked up no matter where, no matter how. Problem throughout all law enforcement.

Including right here in Nazi Llano County, right, Sheriff? Too many officers clearly have their heads securely lodged where the sun seldom shines. Egregious insanity continues to be perpetrated by the criminal jackbooted bastards in blue. Ongoing issue. All over our formerly great country.

Not just in Dallas as in the Guyger case, but all over the nation. No end to it. Surprised? Why? In today's increasingly national socialist climate anything goes, right, Bill? Live in a de facto fascist police-state, quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich. Certainly, a problem here in Nazi Llano County, isn't it, Sheriff? Your goons, however, aren't held accountable when they egregiously f--k up. Ever.

Precisely why you refuse to release information on your deputies to the long-suffering public? That is, employment history, criminal background, results of drug testing, etc.. ... Got to protect your criminal jackbooted thugs preying on the citizenry with virtual impunity, right, sir?

Equally pointedly, why hasn't Llano County Deputy Leroy Rodriguez, Badge #764 been held criminally accountable for egregious abuse of power involving denial of property rights to a Kingsland property owner? To say nothing of consequent resultant physical damage done to a motor home on that property. Why are you protecting this clueless son of a bitch, Sheriff?

Why hasn't he been prosecuted for official oppression? Where is financial compensation for the damage this jackbooted piece of human excrement is responsible for? Ferociously pointedly, why are the District Attorney and the County Attorney continuing to protect this jackbooted piece of shit? He and others like him present an exigent threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.

Equally to the point, why are your jackbooted pieces of human excrement refusing to enforce Berardi's property rights? Your goons have failed to take action against Theresa Ahrens when she tore down a no trespassing sign and barrier on Berardi's property. Have you, your goons, and/or Madam County Attorney been bribed by Johnny Greene?

Ahrens frequently drives all the way through Berardi's property. Coup de grace? When Berardi complained to Llano County Deputy Idle about the trespassing, the officer's response was insane. Said the Sheriff told him to tell Berardi since Ahrens believes she owns his property she can't be charged with trespassing. Perfect Catch-22, right, Sheriff? You're not fit for office, Bill. Bribed by Johnny Greene?

Why is Theresa Ahrens allowed by your goons to dictate what vehicles can and cannot be parked on Berardi's property? Ahrens claims she has proof the property belongs to her where the vehicle was parked. Has failed to produce it. Surveyors say otherwise. Back up Berardi. Yet, your jackbooted bastards refuse to enforce Berardi's property rights. Why? Somebody lining somebody's pockets, Sheriff?

Ms. Ahrens micro-mini portable 'house' is parked on an unused unmarked Llano County road. Imagine that. Madam County Attorney well-aware. Has done nothing. Shit squat. Egregiously ignored her oath of office. Someone bribing you, Becky? Lining your pockets, Counselor? Paying you not to sell the unused unmarked County road to Berardi? Doesn't the County want and need the sale money, to say nothing of the resultant tax income?

No question, County and State agencies remain determinedly, concertedly, achingly incapable of criminal investigation of their own. Precisely, why a new federal agency desperately needs to be created whose sole function would be to investigate, arrest, charge, prosecute corrupt, abusive, criminal officers, prosecutors, and judges in a special court whose sole function would be to adjudicate only such cases. Total independence. Certainly, go a long, long way to cleaning up this cess pool County. Rein in the outrageously corrupt, abusive, achingly inept, self-serving assholes who run and own this hell hole.

Sheriff, you falsely claim the Kingsland County Commissioner has the authority to resolve this ongoing property rights issue. Clearly, doesn't. You, Madam County Attorney, and "Sonny Boy" are certainly an egregious impediment, continue to determinedly stonewall. Someone's pockets are being lined. Again, where's financial compensation for the damage Llano County Deputy Leroy Rodriguez, Badge #764 is directly responsible for to the Pace Arrow? Why hasn't he been prosecuted for this damage, to say nothing of infringement of Berardi's property rights? -- Just getting started, Sheriff. Far more to come.

-- You're not doing your jobs, Sheriff. You've got a loose vicious dog problem in Kingsland, Bill. When will you and the troops finally do something about this ongoing issue? Certainly, a recurring problem on Skyline, particularly on occasion at the intersection of Odessa. Pedestrians, runners, and cyclists are at risk. Too busy lining County coffers with bogus tickets?"

... Hey, Sheriff? Reportedly, promote Llano County Deputy Leroy Rodriguez, Badge #764 to Sergeant? If true, yet another classic example of survival of the unfittest in the law enforcement community. Readers are reminded this is the very same idiot, clueless asshole responsible for thousands of dollars of damage to the Pace Arrow as reported in each edition of this publication. Far more to Kingsland property owner James Berardi in a property dispute. -- A dispute engineered by Johnny Greene, apparently financed by a bribe to the former County Attorney, current District Attorney, and Sheriff. A federal investigation of Llano County government and the aforementioned allegedly corrupt and abusive bastards in this ongoing fiasco is desperately needed. Tim Chorney.

... Small sampling of what's to come in this edition. Read on.

The following email was sent to the District Attorney:

Wiley B. "Sonny" McAfee
District Attorney
33rd and 424th Judicial Districts
Llano, TX 78643

March 9, 2018

Re: Berardi Property Rights Denial-Damage To Pace Arrow-Deputy Leroy Rodriguez, Badge #764

Counselor:

The enclosed emails were sent to the Llano County Attorney and Sheriff, respectively, vis a vis the above matter. Remain unanswered. The County Attorney appears to be protecting and defending the deputy at behest of Kingsland property owner Johnny Greene. May have received some consideration from Greene up to and including a bribe. Are the County Attorney, Greene, and the Deputy under criminal investigation? If not, why not?

Tim Chorney, Publisher
Liberty In Peril
Formerly,
The Llano Ledger
www.libertyinperil.com
P.O. Box 151
Buchanan Dam, Texas 78609

c. Liberty In Peril

*********************************

Rebecca Lange, Llano County Attorney
Llano County Attorney's Office
Llano, Texas 78643

February 9, 2018

Re: Berardi Property Rights Denial-Damage To Pace Arrow-Deputy Leroy Rodriguez, Badge #764

Counselor:

As you're well aware, we have an outrageously corrupt, abusive, achingly inept Llano County Sheriff's Office here in Nazi Llano County. Worse, you and your office aid and abet these SS jackbooted bastards in black. The issue at the moment is the same it's been the last six months.

How is it two surveyor companies, the Appraisal District, the Tax Office, the Precinct 3 Commissioner, even the goddamned Sheriff himself now states Kingsland resident James Berardi owns the lots in contention all these months?

Yet, you ludicrously assert that's not the County's legal position. It's not? Why not? You claim you're not a real estate expert. Rather than accept the advice of two surveyor companies, the Precinct 3 Commissioner, the Appraisal District, the Tax Office, and even the Sheriff himself, you've inexplicably chosen to follow the advice of property owner Johnny Greene, -- who conveniently happens to be reportedly in the oil industry.

Question to be asked. Could you have received any 'consideration' in return, -- up to and including a bribe? Only way to know for sure is for the District Attorney to conduct a criminal investigation. Apparently, there has been none. If not, why not?

Equally pointedly, why hasn't Llano County Deputy Leroy Rodriguez, Badge #764 been held criminally accountable for egregious abuse of power involving denial of property rights to this Kingsland property owner? To say nothing of consequent resultant physical damage done to a motor home on that property.

Our achingly useless, worthless, gutless Sheriff has ignored an email vis a vis the damage this jackbooted thug is responsible for. Interestingly, his fellow officers believe him to be an idiot. Yet, the Sheriff continued to defend this piece of human excrement until he realized this entire fiasco would not be swept under the carpet.

Rodriguez is indeed an idiot. Would you believe this piece of crap ordered the motor home to be moved on to an unmarked unused Llano County road? That motor home has indeed been moved back to where it was parked before Rodriguez forced it to be moved. Why hasn't the County paid for the cost of moving it back? To say nothing of the damage.

Equally pointedly, why is it the County has allowed Theresa Ahrens to park and live in her tiny cottage on that very same road? Why hasn't she been evicted by the County? Why was she assessed taxes on an adjacent improvement she doesn't own?

Why is it, Counselor, Johnny Greene is paying for the attorney retained by Ms. Ahrens? Is Greene attempting to make this all go away by bribery? Greene has also informed Berardi he is going to sue. For what? Has Greene lost his mind?

What about Wells who installed a $4500 septic system on a lot turns out he does not own as a result of Greene, an outrageously inept County, to say nothing of the Llano County Attorney who remains equally determinedly clueless?

How about Bolen who hasn't a pot to piss in, but was nonetheless f--ked over by Greene to say nothing of an egregiously inept County, to say nothing of you and your goddamned equally incompetent office?

None of this is going away, Counselor, -- any time soon. Will not be swept under the carpet as all the other crap going on in this hell hole County. Not a chance. Expect a full expose in this publication whether or not this outrageous fiasco finally gets resolved. Including full public exposure of both the Sheriff and his jackbooted thug.

Tim Chorney, Publisher
Liberty In Peril
Formerly,
The Llano Ledger
www.libertyinperil.com
P.O. Box 151
Buchanan Dam, Texas 78609

c. Liberty In Peril

*******************

Bill Blackburn, Sheriff
Llano County Sheriff's Office
2001 N. State Hwy. 16 Suite A
Llano, Texas 78643

August 23, 2017

Re: Damage To Pace Arrow-Deputy Leroy Rodriguez, Badge #764

Sheriff:

Archive and retain all reports vis a vis damage to the Pace Arrow resulting from egregious abuse of authority perpetrated by Deputy Leroy Rodriguez, Badge #764, on the Berardi property in Kingsland on 8-16-17.

Tim Chorney, Publisher
Liberty In Peril
Formerly,
The Llano Ledger
www.libertyinperil.com
P.O. Box 151
Buchanan Dam, Texas 78609

c. Liberty In Peril

Wake up, Sheriff. Again, where is dashcam video of the killing of Jeffrey Gray Wise, 52, of Austin by DPS and the Llano County Sheriff's Office? Three hundred twenty nine weeks, now. A goddamned disgrace. Why are you still sitting on this information? What are you hiding, Sheriff? What is the identity of the officers who killed Wise? Too gutless to release this information to the public that pays your salary and that of your goons? Reportedly, there were three officers involved in the shooting.

Who are they, Sheriff? Their past history? An ongoing investigation remains a lame bullshit excuse. How can you and your goons be trusted when you refuse to disclose information? Three hundred twenty nine weeks. Especially, your egregious failure to disclose the identity of the officers who pulled the trigger. To cover your sorry ass, Sheriff? Those of your thugs? The people have a right to know what happened, how it went down. You don't understand that, Sheriff? Sadly, clearly, you answer to no one. Including taxpayers. Especially, taxpayers.

Until you and your goons come clean, doubt will remain this was indeed a good shoot. The longer you drag your feet, the greater the doubt. Think not? Wake up. Your credibility has tanked. Isn't getting any better as this bullshit continues unabated. Three hundred twenty nine weeks. Still no identification of the officers involved ... Can't get your stories straight? In line? Discrepancy between LCSO and DPS? Wake up, Sheriff. The public no longer buys the bullshit. No longer trusts you. On this and many, many other issues. You have no credibility. Absolutely, none.

Readers, this is but one of about four other highly questionable killings by law enforcement in Llano County in the last decade or so. There was one within the City of Llano, another in a field near Fuzzy's Corner, Buchanan Dam, yet another in Point Tella, Buchanan Dam, still another in Tow. If there are any others I may have neglected to mention, kindly email.

It's time the public be fully informed. -- Know what we're dealing with here and how 'law' 'enforcement' operates in this hell hole County. If these jackbooted bastards are not reined in, the life lost could be many others courtesy of a law enforcement system that is no longer accountable to anyone. ... Right, Sheriff? TL? "Sonny Boy?" Madam County Attorney?

The Sheriff seems to have no clue the people who pay him and his goons are entitled to know whom is killing whom and why. This shit always seems to be swept under the carpet. Ignored. The attitude of these jackbooted sons of bitches is trust us. They can't be. They've lied too many times. Refuse to be accountable to anyone. We live in a goddamned fascist police-state where law enforcement does as it pleases. Usually, with impunity. This has to change.

The Texas Rangers have become rubber stamp to atrocities committed by law enforcement. This also has to change. No one is holding law enforcement accountable any longer. No one. No one in state or federal government. This is precisely why Ferguson triggered such an uproar. There was no justice there. None here. None anywhere. Officers are abusive, corrupt, inept.

Falsely ticket and arrest the innocent to line County coffers. Court fees charged continue to be horrendous. -- Aren't taxpayers already looted to pay these costs? Aren't you not only double f--king those falsely accused, but taxpayers also hellaciously looted to pay the very same costs? Yet, the criminal bastards in power in Llano continue to pile on the fees. This is nothing more than goddamned bullshit. This money finds its way into the pockets of the corrupt, abusive bastards who falsely believe they run and own this hell hole.

Would you believe the last time the Sheriff's Office happened to be 'audited' during the Garrett regime, reportedly, auditors couldn't figure out what went where and why? Yet, surprise, surprise. Nothing was done. There has to be transparency. There is none. Why would these thieving bastards want any? ... Right, Sheriff? TL? How else could they so easily steal and loot with virtual impunity? Worse, this reinforces jackbooted power in this goddamned, godforsaken hell hole County.

The public has a right to know the histories of the Sheriff's goons. Clearly, the Sheriff doesn't think so. That is, where they came from. Why they left where they were. What is happening here is the Sheriff is using 'personnel matters' as a convenient excuse to deny the public access to the history of outrageously corrupt, abusive, inept officers who are no more than criminals themselves.

He's protecting his outrageously corrupt, abusive, inept jackbooted bastards. Worse, the standards imposed by sheriff's offices statewide with the exception of metropolitan counties are well below those of DPS and city police departments. Why? So the corruption, abuse, ineptness, and outright stealing can continue unabated? This has to change. ... Can't have that, can we? Sheriff? TL?

The public should understand Llano County authorities have it all sewn up. Did you know the Texas Attorney General does not have the authority to investigate and prosecute County authorities on his own? The District Attorney has to call for an investigation by the Texas Rangers. Then, the State can prosecute if it so chooses.

Consequently? Guess what? Nothing will happen. Nothing ever does. The goddamned corruption continues unabated until you, the public, pressure authorities. Precisely, why we all enjoy the 'best' government money can buy. Literally. Without question, the corrupt, abusive, inept sons of bitches are all bought and paid for. Firmly clamped to the taxpayer tit. Dependent on money looted from innocent citizens caught in their web. Phony fines and court costs cleverly designed to f--k the innocent and enrich the pieces of shit who falsely believe they run and own Llano County. Right, Sheriff? TL? "Sonny Boy?" Madam County Attorney?

Interestingly, the former Sheriff and District Attorney were reportedly forced to retire after an outrageous scandal involving a drunk driving police officer from out of town. Including special treatment of the drunken son of a bitch that no other citizen caught doing the same would have been afforded. An honest, honorable Llano County Deputy suffered the consequences. Forget? Great officers do not last in this hell hole County. ... Right, Sheriff? TL? "Sonny Boy?" Madam County Attorney?

With all ongoing abuse in this goddamned County, one thing remains for damned sure. We're just getting started, Sheriff. You will continue to be exposed for whom and what you and your corrupt, abusive, inept jackbooted bastards have become, truly are, not what you phonies purport to be, that is, how you continue to f--k over a public you've falsely sworn to protect and defend. -- Exposure, the only way short of an unwanted dreaded revolution to force desperately needed change in a goddamned fascist police-state. The Fourth Reich.

Have your jackbooted thugs been tested for steroids, Sheriff? If you've nothing to hide, Bill, release the results of all drug testing. 'Personnel matters?' Bullshit. Looted taxpayers have the right to know. They're footing the bill for all this goddamned corruption, abuse, ineptness. When will you and the boys end the shakedowns? Looting of the innocent to line County coffers? No honor at all?

Where are your swastika armbands, you fascist son of a bitch? You and your thugs remain out of uniform. Once again, Sheriff, and ad nauseum, did you and/or your goons pressure Schilling to exit the race? Did you steal the election? If so, an aggressively stupid, achingly gutless public gets what it truly deserves. One of the most corrupt, abusive, inept 'law' 'enforcement' agencies in our formerly great country.

While the business and church communities stood tall during the recent Kingsland flood catastrophe, there was one glaring exception. On 10-17-18, the Antlers Coffee Shop closed due to storm-related failure of the Kingsland water system. Patrons, however, are routinely allowed to get online outside even when the shop is closed.

A long-term coffee shop customer entered the hotel lobby to ask the desk clerk whether wifi was still up and running after the catastrophe. She said it was and told the patron he could get online inside the closed shop. She then asked him to have another regular customer who had just arrived outside to come in and get out of the cold as well.

Antlers co-proprietor Rick apparently quickly got wind of both customers, made quite a jackass of himself emulating the petulant narcissist currently occupying the Oval Office. Aggressive stupidity at a time the Kingsland business community is indeed suffering, can least afford it. Further proof positive of the old adage 'can fix ignorant, can't fix stupid.'

Why would, why should both customers put up with this? Think this hasn't happened to others?

TC 10-19-18

8-30-19

Highly reminiscent of our outrageously bought and paid for judiciary, Llano County prosecutors, Sheriff Bill Blackburn and his criminal SS jackbooted bastards in black who continue to egregiously disgrace themselves and the badge, do as they please regardless of the law and Constitution, carefully consider the following. It's appalling. Runs against the grain of everything our formerly great country once stood for. No longer.

Llano County DA "Sonny Boy" is in the news. Received an award. The DailyTrib reports:

"The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission recognized District Attorney Wiley “Sonny” McAfee on August 22 for his efforts in prosecuting natural and cultural resource violations as well as environmental crimes. The commission named the 33rd and 424th district attorney the 2019 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Prosecutor of the Year. McAfee serves Burnet, Llano, Blanco, and San Saba counties. Elected in November 2012 and taking office on January 1, 2013, he has been instrumental in a number of high-profile cases involving Texas game wardens and Texas State Park police officers."

The District Attorney has ignored a complaint filed earlier by this publication regarding special treatment accorded Texas oil man Johnny Greene by the Llano County Attorney and Sheriff vis a vis a property dispute involving a local banker, three other local property owners with homes encroaching on land they don't own, one of which is on an unused Llano County road. To say nothing of damage to a Pace Arrow motorhome on that property. All a result of egregious abuse of authority by Llano County Deputy Leroy Rodriguez, Badge #764. The circumstances of this fiasco can be found above in each and every edition of this publication since this happened two and a half years ago. The Sheriff, the County Attorney, and the District Attorney have all determinedly, concertedly ignored this ongoing, unresolved fiasco raising one ferociously pointed question. How much were they bribed?

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you truly deserve.

Newsletter Text 784
August 12, 2022

No justice. Law enforcement derelict in its duty. The Washington Post reports:

"Gretchen Van Winkle was transfixed as the hit Netflix series “Unbelievable” played across her TV screen in 2019. The dramatized version of a true story of one woman’s rape and betrayal by police was so similar it could have been hers. Just like the protagonist, Van Winkle was sexually assaulted in her apartment by a knife-wielding intruder, who bound and gagged her. Van Winkle remembered the same kinds of searing questions lobbed at her, as detectives accused the woman on screen of making up her assault. “Unbelievable” ends with a measure of justice: A partial DNA match helps identify the victim’s rapist and proves she was telling the truth all along. That moment had eluded Van Winkle for more than two decades. Van Winkle had already asked Virginia authorities to take a fresh look at her 1995 assault case, and now she pressed for new DNA testing. But any hope of an “Unbelievable”-style ending was soon dashed by a stunning series of calls and texts from a Fairfax County police cold-case detective. Van Winkle’s rape kit had been destroyed, in what police officials later concluded was a violation of department policy. So had the knife, her bloody bedsheets and the clothes she wore when she was attacked. In fact, police said detectives scoured the property room and found every bit of physical evidence in her case was gone. Then the detective wrote in a text that she had discovered more missing evidence in another old case. Van Winkle responded in disbelief: “Wow. This has left me kind of speechless.” “Me too,” the detective punched out."

Incredible, isn't it?

"The best chance for bringing Van Winkle’s attacker to justice was gone, but the detective’s words put her quest for answers on a new path. How could a department trash evidence in a sexual assault? How many other victims were in her shoes? What Van Winkle worked to uncover was worse than she had imagined — an accounting by Fairfax County police found the same detective who probed her case had marked evidence for destruction in dozens of unsolved felony sexual assault cases. Victims remain unaware. Why it happened, whether the evidence was improperly destroyed and the impact on cases is still not fully known. Fairfax County police have begun a review of each one to see what evidence remains and what can be salvaged, but they have refused to release many details about the cases in question or what the reexamination has found so far."

Still no transparency? Despite a total f--kup?

How does the following happen?

"Van Winkle’s case is part of a broader, but little-known problem: hundreds of rape kits have been destroyed at police departments across the country in recent years."

No excuse for this.

"A top police commander in Fairfax now says the department believes Van Winkle’s account of her sex assault, and police have apologized to her, but it has brought her little comfort. She decided to speak publicly because she thinks the reckoning within the department is not yet complete. “What the police did was worse than the rape,” Van Winkle said."

A most understandable reaction, isn't it?

"Van Winkle collapsed into bed after a night out in August 1995. She had just moved to Vienna, Va. after a stint with the Peace Corps in Antigua. At 24, she had a new apartment and a new job, and she had enrolled at the Corcoran school of art in D.C. She said the fresh start was thrilling. As Van Winkle drifted off to sleep, she heard a rustling. Suddenly, she said, a man was crawling up her bed. The intruder punched her in the face twice and started choking her. She recalls he gave her a gruff warning as he pressed a knife to her throat: “Don’t scream or I’ll kill you.” The man bound Van Winkle’s hands with her nightgown and stuffed underwear in her mouth. She said a harrowing sex assault followed. She can’t forget small details. Van Winkle can still see the man’s intense, wide-set eyes. She said the blue light that filtered through her bedroom window would be a recurring theme in her paintings for years. When the man set the knife down, Van Winkle said she knew she had to act. She said she wriggled her hands free, snatched the blade and cut him. He bolted from the bedroom and Van Winkle said she followed, slashing at his back. In the dining room, the man fell to his knees and Van Winkle thrust the blade at him one more time, she recalls. Instead of wounding him, the flimsy kitchen knife snapped on his back. Van Winkle screamed in terror and tried to run, but he tackled her onto her couch. The man choked Van Winkle, before, she said, she managed to push him off. “I remember distinctly saying, ‘I don’t want to die,’ ” Van Winkle said. “ ‘Please don’t kill me. Just leave.’ ” The man made her promise to tell no one about the attack, before slipping out a sliding door into the night."

Imagine having had to deal with all the above?

"Van Winkle was in shock. She remembers walking into the bathroom and pulling on a robe. She caught a glimpse of her face in the mirror. She recalls telling herself: “This really happened.” Neighbors called police and the investigation unfolded in a blur. Still in her robe, Van Winkle said she was whisked to the hospital by officers for a sex-assault exam. Hospital workers swabbed her for blood and semen. Police said DNA was recovered. Van Winkle’s boyfriend arrived and she was introduced to Fairfax County police Detective Cynthia Lundberg. She would investigate the case with her partner, June Boyle. Lundberg explained how officers found a banana peel in Van Winkle’s trash. Van Winkle said she was chilled and disgusted by the thought her attacker had apparently snacked, while waiting for her to come home. Lundberg was sympathetic as Van Winkle described what happened, Van Winkle said, adding she felt a sense of reassurance that two women would handle the investigation. They seemed to take her case seriously. “I trusted her,” Van Winkle said of Lundberg. Van Winkle said she worked with an artist to develop a sketch of her attacker the next day. A brief about the sexual assault ran in The Washington Times with the drawing. DNA testing was done at some point. Lundberg gave Van Winkle periodic updates on the probe, but detectives had no solid leads."

Then, the worst:

"Roughly six months after the sexual assault, Van Winkle said detectives asked her to meet with them one evening. Van Winkle was excited, assuming they had made a breakthrough. This account of what transpired during the 1996 meeting is based on interviews with Van Winkle and notes she said that she made the day after it happened. Lundberg and Boyle, who have since retired from the department, declined to comment. Fairfax County police officials said in an interview that Lundberg and Boyle’s handling of the meeting was inappropriate, but declined to discuss specific allegations that Van Winkle made. Van Winkle recalled that Boyle greeted her as the elevator doors opened at police headquarters. Boyle led Van Winkle to a small, cluttered room to review a book of mug shots. Van Winkle remembers flipping through about a dozen pages, but the pictures were of Black men. Her attacker had olive skin and she told detectives none of the photos appeared to be him. Boyle reached over and shut the book, according to Van Winkle, and offered a rejoinder that made her freeze: You’re making this up. Van Winkle recalled blurting out that she wasn’t. A tense, hours-long interrogation followed that Van Winkle described as “being attacked again.” Lundberg and Boyle told Van Winkle the evidence they found did not support her account of a rape, according to the notes that Van Winkle made. They said a metallurgist found no blood on the knife and doubted it could have broken the way Van Winkle said it did. They told her the blood spatter on her sofa and floor were consistent with the scene being staged, according to the notes. Van Winkle said in an interview they accused her and her boyfriend of getting the blood and semen found in the apartment from a hospital, where he was training to be a doctor."

Clearly emulating their male counterparts in law enforcement.

"The detectives told her they thought she fabricated the attack, possibly to get out of her lease, according to the notes. They said she was not “the first woman to do this” and that she “hadn’t planned on it getting this complicated,” the notes show. Van Winkle recalls that they asked her what would happen to someone who filed a false police report. Finally, the detectives asked Van Winkle to take a polygraph test, she said. Van Winkle agreed, telling them “she had nothing to hide.”

Polygraphs are not arbiters of the truth. Far from it.

"At the time, polygraph tests were sometimes used in the interrogation of sexual assault victims. It is no longer common. Victims’ advocates have long criticized the practice, saying the stress of recounting a rape can produce false signs of deception. The Fairfax County Police Department has discontinued the practice. Van Winkle recalled being hooked up to the polygraph machine. The examiner asked her name, address and other basic questions, before going over the rape detail by detail. Three tests and roughly two hours later, Van Winkle was finally done. The detectives told her she had failed. Lundberg asked her to tell them what really happened, Van Winkle recalled. She went over the rape yet again, but the detectives told her it could not have happened the way she claimed. “Go home, it’s late,” the notes show a detective told her. Van Winkle had spent hours at the police station. Shaken, she said she rode the elevator down by herself and trudged across an empty parking lot to her car around 1:30 a.m. She never heard from Lundberg or Boyle again."

How about that?

"Van Winkle resolved to move on, but the experience was a raw wound. During the rape, she could fight back, she said, but there was little she could do after she was discounted by the police. These were the very people who were supposed to help — who could she turn to? “She was just starting off life and it just derailed her,” said Van Winkle’s sister, Mieke Lozano. “It changed her in her core and her soul and everything she did after that was affected by this.” Van Winkle said she developed PTSD and woke up many nights screaming in terror. Others she spent at an all-night Kinko’s copy shop to be around other people. To this day, she checks her closets for intruders when she returns home. Large dogs are her constant companions. Van Winkle struggled forward, completing art school. She did silk-screens about polygraphs and paintings with shadowy, hovering figures. She married her boyfriend at the time of the attack, Kevin Curtis, and had two children who are now grown. She moved to New England. She got therapy. By 2014, Van Winkle had earned a masters in social work and began working with women who were victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. She began to revisit her own experience. She did a raw dramatic reading about her experience titled, “The Worst Part.” “To not be believed,” Van Winkle concluded as the lights on the stage dimmed, “that is the worst of all.”

Never gave up.

"In the years that followed, she was buoyed by the #MeToo movement and began researching rapes that occurred in the area near her Virginia apartment for leads on her attacker. In the summer of 2019, she was finally ready to call police about reopening the investigation. A pair of Fairfax County police detectives and a victim advocate visited Van Winkle in New England in September 2019 to begin a fresh look at her case and hear her account of what transpired during the investigation. Van Winkle and Curtis, whom have since divorced, met the detectives at a hotel. Curtis said Van Winkle answered questions for an hour and a half, before the detectives cracked open a binder of photos from the crime scene for both of them to see for the first time. Curtis, who had only briefly been in the apartment after the attack, said he was struck by how much evidence there had been: Detectives flipped through images of the disheveled bedroom where the assault occurred, the knife, scattered blood and the broken frame of the apartment’s sliding door where the attacker appeared to have entered. “It was exactly consistent with the story she related,” Curtis said. In the days that followed, Van Winkle watched “Unbelievable” and asked police to retest the DNA recovered in her case. Shortly after the attack, police had used an early, rudimentary version of a DNA test on the genetic material recovered from the scene, but it failed to provide a match, they said. The detectives searched the property room and discovered that genetic material had been destroyed, police said. Angry, Van Winkle fired off a series of public-records requests. Van Winkle wanted to know whether Lundberg had ordered evidence destroyed in other cases, so she asked police for the disposition of all the detective’s investigations between 1994 and 1997, when Lundberg worked as a sex-crimes detective."

Appalling. Get this:

"Van Winkle was floored when she got a spreadsheet that showed evidence was destroyed or missing in 47 unsolved cases — roughly half the investigations Lundberg undertook during the period. Van Winkle then requested an internal affairs investigation of how her rape was handled. The investigation, which concluded earlier this year, found the destruction of biological evidence in her case was “improper and in violation of department regulations,” according to a letter to Van Winkle that summarized the findings. Fairfax County police said they attempted to contact Lundberg and Boyle during the internal investigation of Van Winkle’s case, but neither gave a statement."

What could they say? How do you credibly defend the indefensible?

"Fairfax County Police Maj. Ed O’Carroll said officials still don’t know why the detectives accused Van Winkle of fabricating the assault, but said aggressive questioning was a tactic sometimes used at the time to try to ascertain if a victim was making up a story. He said nothing in the case file indicates why Lundberg and Boyle disbelieved Van Winkle. In an interview, O’Carroll apologized for the way Lundberg and Boyle treated Van Winkle and said “this case breaks my heart.” Some top officials in the department met with Van Winkle. Others, working under a previous chief, sent her a letter saying “we shared in your frustrations and anger with the handling of the investigation.” Last year, the department put out a press release seeking new leads in Van Winkle’s case. O’Carroll said the department has no reason to believe Van Winkle fabricated the assault and there was substantial evidence corroborating her account. O’Carroll said Van Winkle “was truthful then and she’s truthful today.” “The department let her down then and let her down a second time when her evidence was destroyed,” O’Carroll said. The evidence in Van Winkle’s case was destroyed in 2005, shortly after a message went out to staff reminding them to dispose of evidence that was no longer needed, O’Carroll said. The department was running out of space in its property room. Department policy was then — and is now — to retain evidence in cases that might still be prosecuted, O’Carroll said. In Virginia, there is no statute of limitations on felony sex crimes. At the time, detectives had unilateral authority to dispose of evidence, O’Carroll said. In response to Van Winkle’s case, he said the department has instituted a secondary review of any request to destroy evidence to prevent similar errors."

Think that's good enough? Still lack of transparency results in loss of credibility:

"Fairfax County police have not made public the evidence destruction in Lundberg’s cases, and O’Carroll said victims had not been notified. He said the department would decide whether to do so on a case-by-case basis, based on the ongoing review. O’Carroll said the department would do the “right thing.”

Think so?

"Department officials declined to release to The Post what the review has uncovered so far, other than to say a handful of cases need to be examined more closely. They said all of the evidence in some cases had been destroyed, while items remained in others. Police said the destruction of evidence in some cases may not have violated department policies."

... Convenient excuse?

"Police said the majority of those in which evidence was destroyed are felony sex crimes. They denied a public records request for additional information. Van Winkle said that lack of transparency is unacceptable. She wants to see the victims notified in cases where evidence was destroyed. And she wants a comprehensive review of sex crimes cases to see if evidence destruction extends beyond Lundberg. The Post filed a public-records request seeking to find out if 10 other sex-crimes detectives active in the 1990s had destroyed evidence in cases that could still be prosecuted, but the department said it would cost thousands of dollars to fulfill because the records are not digitized and each case would have to be examined by hand."

Another convenient excuse?

"The department did agree to look at 33 randomly selected cases from 1995 and said evidence had been improperly destroyed in one unsolved rape case not handled by Lundberg."

Big of them. Nothing quite like doing your job, is there?

"Improper evidence destruction in sex crimes is a wider issue. Maryland’s attorney general found in 2020 that state police agencies had destroyed nearly 270 rape kits in the previous two years, despite a new law requiring they be retained for 20 years. That year, a Minnesota TV station found hundreds of rape kits had been destroyed in unsolved cases there. A CNN survey in 2018 found police had trashed 400 rape kits in cases that could have been prosecuted at dozens of agencies nationwide. In 2015, then-Fayetteville, N.C. police Chief Harold Medlock held a news conference to announce his department discovered that it had improperly destroyed 333 rape kits over a 13-year period to make space in its evidence room. The department notified each victim and apologized."

Not good enough. Nowhere near.

"Experts say there has not been a comprehensive assessment on the pervasiveness of evidence destruction in sex assault cases on a national level. The issue has gotten far less attention than the backlog of untested rape kits that has been publicized in recent years. Medlock said it’s likely that evidence destruction in sex assaults remains hidden in some departments. “I took a pretty good beating from a lot of my peers,” Medlock said. “They chastised me a bit for admitting it publicly when it had not been public. … There were other departments that had done the same thing and didn’t feel the need to acknowledge it.” O’Carroll credited Van Winkle with bringing the issue to light in Fairfax County and potentially preventing it from happening again. Van Winkle was gratified that police were re-examining her case, but said the department needs to do more. “I would like this police force to somehow be held accountable for messing up this case and other cases too.” Van Winkle said. “If I had the evidence, it would be a whole different story.”

No justice. Precisely, why there is desperate need for a new federal agency whose sole function would be to investigate, arrest, charge, and prosecute corrupt, abusive, criminal officers, prosecutors, and judges in a special court that would adjudicate only these cases. Total independence. The only way to rein in these criminals, particularly the murderers in blue.

Cowardly fail to financially and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you truly deserve. Forfeiture of liberty. At the hands of outrageously corrupt and abusive government.

In follow-up to an horrendous case covered repeatedly here and elsewhere, The Associated Press reports:

"The federal government filed civil rights charges Thursday against four Louisville police officers over the drug raid that led to the death of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman whose fatal shooting helped fuel the racial justice protests that rocked the nation in 2020. The charges — most of which stem from the faulty drug warrant used to search Taylor’s home — are an effort to hold law enforcement accountable for the killing of the 26-year-old medical worker. One of the officers was acquitted of state charges earlier this year. “Breonna Taylor should be alive today,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in announcing the charges, which include unlawful conspiracy, use of force and obstruction of justice. The charges named former officers Joshua Jaynes and Brett Hankison, along with current officers Kelly Goodlett and Sgt. Kyle Meany. Louisville police said they are seeking to fire Goodlett and Meany. Hankison was the only officer charged Thursday who was on the scene the night of the killing."

Readers will recall:

"Taylor was shot to death by officers who knocked down her door while executing a search warrant. Taylor’s boyfriend fired a shot that hit one of the officers as they came through the door, and they returned fire, striking Taylor multiple times. Hankison, Jaynes and Meany had initial appearances Thursday in federal court before Magistrate Judge Regina Edwards, who set their bonds at $50,000 each, according to a court clerk official. The three men face a maximum sentence of life in prison for the civil rights charges. Calls to attorneys for Jaynes and Meany were not returned Thursday. It wasn’t immediately known if Hankison had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. Goodlett has pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy, Taylor family attorney Ben Crump said Thursday, though records on her court proceedings were sealed. Goodlett faces up to five years in prison."

Finally, an attempt at some semblance of justice.

"Local activists and members of Taylor’s family celebrated the charges and thanked federal officials. Supporters gathered in a downtown park and chanted: “Say her name, Breonna Taylor!” “This is a day when Black women saw equal justice in America,” Crump said. Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, said she has waited nearly 2 1/2 years for police to be held accountable. “Today’s overdue, but it still hurts,” she said. The Justice Department is also conducting a non-criminal investigation of the Louisville Police Department, announced last year, that is probing whether the department has a pattern of using excessive force and conducting unreasonable search and seizures."

Enough is enough. NBC News reports:

"Lawmakers in a small Alabama town on Thursday moved to fire its police chief and dissolve the entire department after a racist joke was texted among officers. The Vincent City Council, representing almost 2,000 people about 35 miles east of Birmingham, voted unanimously to begin the process of ending city police services and contracting with the Shelby County Sheriff's Office. "I have thought long and hard about this. It's not a decision that I have come to very easily," Mayor James Latimer said at the council meeting Thursday ahead of votes to terminate the chief and assistant chief and end the department. "As all of you know, I've always wanted us to have the best police department possible. I think in light of recent events, it's no longer possible, at least in this moment, for us to continue services of the police department." Shelby County Sheriff John Samaniego said he backed the move. "The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office was recently notified by the Vincent City Council and Mayor regarding the recent allegations of misconduct within the Vincent Police Department and we equally condemn these actions," the sheriff's department said in a statement Friday. "Sheriff John Samaniego stands with the City of Vincent in providing emergency law enforcement related services for the citizens during this time."

Get this:

"Police Chief James Srygley could not be immediately reached for comment Friday. Assistant Chief John Goss hung up the phone when reached by NBC News and didn't immediately return voicemail and email messages."

Surprised?

"Latimer, a police officer in another city in his day job, said Friday that he informed Srygley and Goss of the council action. The mayor declined to characterize their reactions. "I know the community is hurting right now," Latimer said Friday. "I appreciate their patience and their understanding as we go through the process of trying to recover from this. It is a stressful time for all of us. It's a heartbreaking thing." The racist comment shared on text did not surprise Vincent residents, said Kenneth Dukes, president of the NAACP Shelby County branch, who credited public pressure for the council action. "This has happened before, they've had this kind of attitude and conduct that's been displayed before (by police)," Dukes said Friday. "A lot of citizens were just fed up and came together in strong numbers."

How about that?

The following is inexplicable. How does something like this happen? The Washington Post reports:

"A retired D.C. police lieutenant has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a library officer during a training exercise Thursday, an incident witnesses say could have stemmed from a joke gone tragically wrong. A D.C. police spokesman, Dustin Sternbeck, identified the retired lieutenant as Jesse Porter, 58, who left the force in November 2020. He is accused of fatally shooting Maurica Manyan, 25, of Indian Head, Md. Her relatives could not be reached. A D.C. police officer who responded to the scene said she saw Porter performing CPR on Manyan and heard him say something like: “I thought I had my training gun. Why did I do this? Is she okay?” according to the charging documents. Porter appeared in court Friday wearing a white, plastic forensic investigations jumpsuit and navy blue high-top Converse sneakers. He was released from custody until trial — a move prosecutors did not oppose — and ordered not to possess any weapons and to turn over any personal firearms to police. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 24. His attorney declined to comment. Porter was contracted by the Anacostia neighborhood library to provide training for some of its officers on the use of extendible batons, according to police and court records. He runs a private company called Porter Consulting and Expert Tactical Training, online records show. Websites describe Porter as a “use of force consultant” and a “de-escalation and crisis intervention instructor.” D.C. Police Chief Robert J. Contee III said that it was unclear why a live firearm was involved in the training — and the charging document does not explain why Porter brought such a weapon there. Contee said that “it is not good practice to do that.”

How did it happen? This is an experienced retired officer with a training company.

"The shooting occurred in a training room in the lower level of the Anacostia Neighborhood Library, located in the 1800 block of Good Hope Road SE, around 3:30 p.m. Thursday. It was the end of a day-long training, and the group of library police officers and trainers posed for a class picture, according to charging documents. The room was still arranged for the session, with chairs and tables pushed to the side and pieces of law enforcement equipment spread across the room — including brightly colored plastic training handguns that do not fire. Police have said about six people were in the room at the time, including Porter, Manyan and several other library police officers. At that point, witnesses interviewed in the charging documents said, Manyan told the class she wasn’t ready for the picture because she was still wearing her mask to protect against the coronavirus, according to the charging documents. The group began laughing at her, according to the documents, because she had “been having hair issues all day.” Video footage, which has not been released but was referenced in the charging documents, showed Manyan removing her mask and placing it down by her side. Porter then exclaimed something like, “Ah, here we go again,” according to a witness; he walked out of the picture line, picked up his handgun, and turned and shot Manyan in the chest, according to the charging documents. Witnesses described hearing a loud boom and then watching the 25-year-old collapse on the floor."

Perpetrated by an experienced retired officer.

"Officers who reviewed the video footage said that Porter performed CPR on Manyan and “appeared distraught and very remorseful,” according to the charging documents. One library police officer said Porter looked at them as D.C. police were escorting him out of the building and said: “I’m sorry. I shot your officer.” Multiple witnesses told police that Porter seemed to be joking around with Manyan when he fired his gun."

... Joking around???

"One witness, who has known Porter for about a year, said the retired lieutenant is often “playful as to not make the training dry,” according to the charging documents. That person described an interaction before lunch a day earlier, when Porter had pointed an orange training firearm at Manyan and “simulated shooting her” after she “made a funny comment.” A D.C. police officer employed by Porter’s firm and in the training room that day said Porter had his training weapon in his holster throughout the session and had probably just switched it for his live firearm because they were getting ready to leave."

... An excuse?

“He does not play with live ammunition and live weapons, and it is not in his character,” the officer said, according to the charging documents. Manyan was pronounced dead at a hospital. Porter declined interviews with detectives, according to the charging documents. “It’s a very tragic situation that we are dealing with here,” Contee said. He added Friday that witness interviews and video footage informed the decision to criminally charge Porter. Two weeks ago, Porter was interviewed on NewsNation about the San Bernardino, Calif. police officer who shot and killed a 23-year-old as he ran away. “That’s one of the things I always tell officers when I teach them. There is always a video out there,” Porter said. “That’s one reason why I tell police officials, you have to be careful when you make a public statement, because there are always going to be more videos that are going to pop up later during the investigation.” In court Friday, Porter only spoke his name and said “yes” when the judge asked if he understood the conditions of his release. He is required to check in with pretrial officials weekly by phone. An involuntary manslaughter charge suggests the killing was reckless but unintended. The D.C. Public Library is an independent city agency that has its own police department. Its officers, who are licensed to be armed, are responsible for public safety at library locations, said library system spokesman George Williams."

In follow-up to a particularly gruesome case covered repeatedly here and elsewhere, ABC News(AP) reports:

"A former Colorado police officer who did not stop another officer from being rough with a 73-year-old woman with dementia was sentenced Friday to 45 days in jail and three years of probation."

... That's all?

"Daria Jalali earlier pleaded guilty in the arrest of Karen Garner in Loveland, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Denver, in 2020. She had faced up to 60 days in jail for failing to intervene, a crime created by lawmakers as part of a police reform bill passed during protests over racial injustice and police brutality in 2020."

Not good enough. Nowhere near.

"Former officer Austin Hopp arrested Garner after she left a store without paying for about $14 worth of items. Police body camera video released last year shows Garner repeatedly saying that she was trying to go home. After Garner turns away from him, the footage shows Hopp grabbing her arm and pushing her to the ground and handcuffing her. Later, he pushed her against the hood of his car and, after she tries to turn around, he moves her bent left up arm up near her head. Soon after, Garner began to slump toward the ground. Jalali, who arrived after Garner was handcuffed, says, “Stand up! We’re not going to hold you.”

Jesus Christ. What a piece of shit.

"Hopp was sentenced in May to five years in prison for his treatment of Garner. Loveland settled a lawsuit filed by Garner for $3 million. Her family has said her condition deteriorated after her arrest and she requires around-the-clock care as a result. Jalali apologized to Garner and her family in court, the Loveland Reporter-Herald reported. She told Judge Joshua Lehman that she thought Garner was intoxicated and believed Garner was only complaining about her handcuffs so she could get out of them."

Your victim was 73-years-old at the time and suffering from dementia. Give me a break. What a crock of shit.

“I wanted to be a good police officer and my heart was in the right place, but I still came up short,” she said."

You think?

Get this:

"Jalali's lawyer, Anna Geigle, said Loveland police and another department let her stay on the job despite a pattern of poor performance recorded in her personnel files. A neuropsychological evaluation showed Jalali did not have the “psychological makeup” to act with the precision and awareness expected of police officers, she said. Lehman said Jalali should have known Garner was a “delicate” woman suffering from a mental health issue. “She just sounds out of it and terrified to me,” he said after watching body camera footage from the arrest for the first time in court. “The fact that two law enforcement officers couldn’t comprehend that is incomprehensible to me.”

You think?

"Garner's son, John Steward, told the judge Jalali had no idea of the stress, pain and sadness the arrest has caused his family. “We all have choices to make in life, and all our choices have consequences,” he said. “I ask that justice be served for my mom today.”

In follow-up to yet another gruesome case covered repeatedly here and elsewhere, ABC News(AP) reports:

"One of the six police officers who faced charges in the 2015 deadly arrest of Freddie Gray has been promoted from lieutenant to captain."

How about that?

"The Baltimore Sun reports that Alicia White will serve as captain of the department’s Performance Standards Section, which conducts audits and inspections to make sure the agency is properly following its policies. She served in a similar role before her promotion Friday."

Readers will recall:

"Gray, who was Black, died after suffering a severe spinal cord injury inside a police van. His death prompted days of unrest. White was among six officers charged in the Gray case by Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby. Three of the officers were acquitted, and Mosby dropped the charges against the remaining three, including White."

How about that? -- This, the new standard of 'justice' in our formerly great country?

"Federal prosecutors declined to bring charges following an independent Justice Department investigation."

How about that? -- This, the new standard of 'justice' in our formerly great country?

Remains clueless:

"In a 2016 interview with the Sun, after her state charges were dropped, White defended her actions. “I still believe that, when I went to work that day, I did everything that I was trained to do,” she said. “Unfortunately, that day someone lost their life. But I feel like everything I was trained to do, I did.”

Think so?

"White responded to the scene after Gray was already in police custody, to investigate complaints about the arrest, officials have said. Mosby said White was responsible for investigating the arrest but only “spoke to the back of Mr. Gray’s head.” Mosby said White failed to summon a medic or properly assess his injuries. White said that when she arrived on scene, she saw Gray kneeling in the police wagon and asked him whether there was a problem. White later told investigators that Gray didn't really respond, which she took to mean he didn’t want to cooperate. She said she didn’t see a reason to seek medical attention at the time."

Jesus Christ. What a piece of shit. Pitiful.

Get this:

"Gray was not secured by a seat belt in the wagon, against department rules. When the van arrived at the Western District, officers said they found Gray not breathing in the back. White then called for a medic. Gray died from his injuries a week later."

No justice.

More of the same. Think it'll ever end? The Washington Post reports:

"Three small towns on Maryland’s Eastern Shore will pay $5 million to the family of Anton Black, a Black teenager who died in 2018 during an encounter with a White police officer, and will institute changes in policing to prevent more deaths involving police. The settlement ends a nearly two-year legal battle by Black’s family and the Coalition for Justice for Anton Black, a grass-roots group that has fought for transparency and accountability in Black’s death, against the towns of Greensboro, Ridgely and Centreville, and two officers and two police chiefs from those towns. The litigation against the state medical examiner’s office, also a defendant in the lawsuit, continues. “No family should have to go through what we went through,” Jennell Black, Anton Black’s mother, said in a statement. “I hope the reforms within the police departments will save lives and prevent any family from feeling the pain we feel every day.” Attorneys Lyndsey Ryan, Patrick W. Thomas and Sharon VanEmburgh, who represent the three towns, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The settlement imposes a new use-of-force policy that, among other things, restricts restraining a suspect in the prone position, a long-criticized technique that has been brought to the forefront after a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd in 2020. It requires additional police training for intervention, implicit bias and de-escalation. The agreement also mandates a mental health response training for all current and new officers and requires the towns to introduce new officers to the community through a town meeting and for the officers to remain on probation for one year."

Sounds reasonable, doesn't it? What took so long to force desperately needed change?

“Today marks a step forward on the path toward accountability for … Anton Black and toward a Maryland in which Black lives are valued,” Deborah Jeon, legal director of the ACLU of Maryland, which represented the coalition, said in a statement. The lawsuit, which was filed in federal district court in Baltimore, claimed that officers used excessive force and accused police of violating Black’s constitutional rights with the force used. No one was charged in Black’s death."

Why not? Why were they protected and coddled?

"The settlement comes nearly four years since Black, a 19-year-old college student, died in what the lawsuit described as a “chillingly similar” manner as Floyd. Floyd, whose death forced a national reckoning about systemic racism and policing, died as Derek Chauvin, a White Minneapolis police officer, pinned his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. Greensboro officer Thomas Webster IV, who was responding to a call about a possible kidnapping, chased and used a Taser on Black. The family says Black, who had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, was experiencing a mental health crisis. Black fled on foot after Webster discovered him and a 12-year-old boy that a 911 caller said Black was roughhousing with. In an affidavit filed in response to the suit, Webster wrote that the boy, a family friend of Black’s, told Webster “something to the effect of ‘he’s crazy, he has schizophrenia’ ” about Black."

Never, ever, NEVER run from law enforcement. The jackbooted bastards in blue take it as carte blanche to murder on the job. Sadly, how they get their cookies off.

"After the chase, police body-camera footage shows Black being tackled outside his mother’s mobile home, pinned in a prone restraint on his stomach, handcuffed and shackled at his legs. He later lost consciousness and never regained it. Webster wrote in a court affidavit that he and another officer struggled with Black, trying to keep him restrained and handcuffed. Black’s death roiled Greensboro, a rural community nearly 75 miles east of D.C., sparking protests and calls for police accountability after the family waited more than four months for the autopsy report to be made public. For years, state lawmakers pushed for policing changes based on Black’s case."

For damned good reason. The unnecessary killing needs to end. It's called murder.

"In 2021, following Floyd’s killing, Maryland passed sweeping police overhauls that repealed the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights and created new rules for when officers may use force and how they are investigated and disciplined. Since October, when a new law went into effect that requires the attorney general’s office to investigate all police-involved deaths, there have been 21 people who have died in such incidents across the state. The package of accountability bills also included a measure in Black’s memory that requires increased transparency of public misconduct records."

Transparency is the key to credibility. Law enforcement doesn't seem to understand this.

The following is a serious problem:

"Webster, the lead defendant in the case, had 30 use-of-force complaints filed against him in his previous job on the Dover, Del., police force, including a second-degree felony charge for kicking a Black man in the head while the man was kneeling in surrender. Webster was acquitted in that 2013 criminal case but was banned from the Dover force after the department settled a lawsuit filed over the incident. Former Greensboro police chief Michael Petyo, who was aware of Webster’s history, pleaded guilty in January 2020 to one count of criminal misconduct for making “intentional misrepresentations and factual omissions” in Webster’s application for certification. Petyo was also a defendant in the civil case along with Gary Manos, the former police chief of the neighboring Ridgely Police Department, and Dennis Lannon, a police officer in Centreville. Manos and Lannon were off-duty and helped Webster restrain Black."

Sad, isn't it?

Get this:

"U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake issued a ruling earlier this year that was considered to be a major blow to the police. In her ruling, Blake said the video evidence “is not so conclusive as to ‘clearly contradict’ and outweigh the plaintiffs’ allegations. She said a reasonable jury “could reach more than one conclusion regarding whether Manos, Lannon and Webster’s use of force was reasonable.” She denied the defendants’ request for the case to be dismissed."

Blake stood tall. Did the right thing.

"Black’s family and the coalition also sued the state medical examiner’s office, which at the time was led by then-Chief Medical Examiner David Fowler. Fowler, a named defendant in the lawsuit, testified last year as an expert witness for Chauvin in his murder trial. During the trial, Fowler deemed the cause of Floyd’s death as “undetermined,” linking it to heart disease and drug use rather than to his oxygen being cut off from the pressure of Chauvin’s knee."

How about that? A corrupt and abusive medical examiner clearly in the pocket of the jackbooted bastards in blue.

"In 2018, the state medical examiner’s office ruled Black’s death as accidental, saying that it was “likely that the stress of his struggle” with police contributed to his death, as did bipolar disorder and underlying heart issues. The lawsuit accuses the medical examiner’s office of covering up “the obvious cause of death — prolonged restraint that prevented Anton from breathing.” The attorney general’s office, which is representing the medical examiner’s office, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. A spokeswoman with the ACLU of Maryland said the lawsuit against the state medical examiner’s office is still ongoing."

Think the bullshit and corruption will ever end?

Think Texas Gov. Abbott's head's on straight? NPR reports:

"New York City Mayor Eric Adams is criticizing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for sending busloads of migrants to the city, saying that Abbott "used innocent people as political pawns to manufacture a crisis." "Unlike Governor Abbott, New York City will always do our part," Adams said via Twitter, after his office posted images of the mayor greeting migrants and refugees arriving at the Port Authority bus terminal in midtown Manhattan. "This is horrific when you think about what [Abbott] is doing," Adams said on Sunday, according to the Gothamist website, which reports that more than 4,000 immigrants had arrived from Texas so far. New York isn't alone: Abbott's office says Texas has already sent more than 6,100 migrants on buses to Washington, D.C., as NPR reported. Both cities are now the main targets in Abbott's program to send people who recently crossed the U.S. southern border to locations on the East Coast. Both Adams and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser are asking for federal aid to help their cities cope with the new flow of migrants, many of whom are being assisted by volunteers, non-profits and shelters in addition to city agencies. Abbott and Republican leaders in nearby border states are seeking to blame Democrats for the country's longstanding immigration crisis. On Friday, Abbott — who is in the midst of a reelection campaign — mocked Adams' description of New York as a "sanctuary city," calling it an "ideal destination for these migrants."

Clearly, Abbott is up for re-election. LOL.

"Even before Adams spoke out, Abbott and his peers were accused of making political points off of the immigration crisis, with critics saying the politicians were risking the well-being of people seeking asylum. Abbott has unveiled a string of headline-grabbing immigration policies this year, first as he faced two staunchly conservatives challengers in the GOP primary and now as he tries to shore up his lead over Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke ahead of the November vote. Some of Abbott's policies have opened up the governor to criticism within his own state: his April order imposing safety inspections on trucks crossing the border from Mexico created massive slowdowns and was later blamed for billions of dollars in U.S. trade losses."

Called aggressive stupidity, that is, where you do all you can to be just as stupid as you can possibly be. LOL.

"The highly publicized border inspections by the Texas Department of Public Safety resulted in "zero apprehensions," Texas Public Radio reported."

Couldn't be, could it? LOL. Never a dull moment, is there?

Follow-up to another horrendous case. ABC News(AP) reports:

"The father and son convicted of federal hate crimes in the death of Ahmaud Arbery were sentenced Monday to life in prison. Gregory McMichael, 66, chased 25-year-old Arbery on Feb. 23, 2020, with his son, Travis McMichael, 36, who fired the fatal shot. The McMichaels' neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan, 52, who joined the chase and recorded video and was also convicted of federal hate crimes, was sentenced Monday to 35 years. "I would like to say to Mr. Ahmaud Arbery's family and friends how sorry I am for what happened to him on that day," Bryan said in court, according to WSB radio. "I never intended any harm to him, and never would've played any role if I knew then what I know now." Arbery's father, Marcus Arbery, told reporters after the sentencing, "When you get caught up and it's looking bad for you, that's when you're trying to apologize? That's a long time." "He should've did it day one," he said. "'Cause Ahmaud was lying on the ground dying and he didn't do nothing to help him." Gregory McMichael said in court to the Arbery family, "I’m sure my words mean very little to you but I want to assure you I never wanted any of this to happen." "There was no malice in my heart or my son’s heart that day," he said."

Believe it? Truly, think so?

"Travis McMichael did not make a statement. Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, told reporters outside the Brunswick, Georgia, courthouse, "I feel every shot every day that I wake up." All three men are already serving life in prison for Arbery's killing after being found guilty of murder in a Georgia state court last fall. The McMichaels were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole while Bryan was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. The three white men were convicted in the federal case in February by a jury who decided that they followed and killed Arbery because he was Black. After deliberating for less than four hours, the federal jury convicted all three men of being motivated by racial hate in interference of Arbery's civil rights and attempted kidnapping. Travis McMichael and his father were also convicted of carrying and brandishing a weapon during the commission of a crime of violence. Travis McMichael was also found guilty of discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence."

Readers will recall:

"The McMichaels chased Arbery in their pickup truck after they saw him jogging in their neighborhood, falsely believing he had been responsible for several break-ins in coastal Georgia's Satilla Shores neighborhood. Bryan joined the chase in his own truck, blocking Arbery from escaping, and recorded cellphone footage of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery with a shotgun after a brief struggle. During the trial, prosecutors released text messages and social media posts in which Travis McMichael and Bryan repeatedly used racist slurs. Witnesses also testified to hearing both McMichaels make racist comments."

Trump's Florida estate searched for classified material. The Associated Press reports:

"The FBI searched Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as part of an investigation into whether he took classified records from the White House to his Florida residence, people familiar with the matter said, a dramatic and unprecedented escalation of law enforcement scrutiny of the former president."

What took so long? Why the delay?

"Trump, disclosing the search in a lengthy statement, asserted that agents had opened a safe at his home and described their work as an “unannounced raid” that he likened to “prosecutorial misconduct.” He was in New York, planning to meet later Tuesday at his Bedminster, New Jersey, club with members of the Republican Study Committee, a group headed by Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana that says it is committed to putting forth his priorities in Congress. Monday’s search intensified the months-long probe into how classified documents ended up in boxes of White House records located at Mar-a-Lago earlier this year. A separate grand jury is investigating efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, and it all adds to potential legal peril for Trump as he lays the groundwork for another run.

"The Justice Department has been investigating the potential mishandling of classified information since the National Archives and Records Administration said it had received from Mar-a-Lago 15 boxes of White House records, including documents containing classified information, earlier this year. The National Archives said Trump should have turned over that material upon leaving office, and it asked the Justice Department to investigate. There are multiple federal laws governing the handling of classified records and sensitive government documents, including statutes that make it a crime to remove such material and retain it at an unauthorized location. Though a search warrant does not necessarily mean criminal charges are near or even expected, federal officials looking to obtain one must first demonstrate to a judge that they have probable cause that a crime occurred."

Wouldn't want to confuse Republicans with the truth, would we?

"Two people familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said the search on Monday was related to the records probe. Agents were also looking to see if Trump had additional presidential records or any classified documents at the estate. Trump has previously maintained that presidential records were turned over “in an ordinary and routine process.” His son Eric said on Fox News on Monday night that he had spent the day with his father and that the search happened because “the National Archives wanted to corroborate whether or not Donald Trump had any documents in his possession.” Asked how the documents ended up at Mar-a-Lago, Eric Trump said the boxes were among items that got moved out of the White House during “six hours” on Inauguration Day, as the Bidens prepared to move into the building."

Give me a break. They were classified documents. Where was the security? Non-existent?

"Thomas Schwartz, a Vanderbilt University history professor who studies and writes about the presidency, said there is no precedent for a former president facing an FBI raid -- even going back to Watergate. President Richard Nixon wasn’t allowed to take tapes or other materials from the White House when he resigned in 1974, Schwartz noted, and many of his papers remained in Washington for years before being transferred to his presidential library in California."

While Nixon had indeed engaged in criminal activity, he was a choir boy compared to Trump. Unlike currently, Republicans a half century ago stood tall. Forced Nixon's resignation.

"The probe is hardly the only legal headache confronting Trump. A separate investigation related to efforts by him and his allies to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election — which led to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol — has also been intensifying in Washington. Several former White House officials have received grand jury subpoenas. And a district attorney in Fulton County, Georgia, is investigating whether Trump and his close associates sought to interfere in that state’s election, which was won by Democrat Joe Biden."

The Associated Press reports:

"The FBI’s unprecedented search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida residence ricocheted around government, politics and a polarized country Tuesday along with questions as to why the Justice Department — notably cautious under Attorney General Merrick Garland — decided to take such a drastic step. Answers weren’t quickly forthcoming. Agents on Monday searched Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, which is also a private club, as part of a federal investigation into whether the former president took classified records from the White House to his Florida residence, people familiar with the matter said. It marked a a dramatic escalation of law enforcement scrutiny of Trump, who faces an array of inquiries tied to his conduct in the waning days of his administration."

Why all the foot dragging? No one is above the law. -- From the bottom of the food chain to the very top.

"From echoes of Watergate to the more immediate House probe of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, Washington, a city used to sleepy Augusts, reeled from one speculative or accusatory headline to the next. Was the Justice Department politicized? What prompted it to seek authorization to search the estate for classified documents now, months after it was revealed that Trump had taken boxes of materials with him when he left the White House after losing the 2020 election?"

Again, what took so long?

"Garland has not tipped his hand despite an outcry from some Democrats impatient over whether the department was even pursuing evidence that has surfaced in the Jan. 6 probe and other investigations— and from Republicans who were swift to echo Trump’s claims that he was the victim of political prosecution. All Garland has said publicly is that “no one is above the law.”

Goddamned right.

"A federal judge had to sign off on the warrant after establishing that FBI agents had shown probable cause before they could descend on Trump’s shuttered-for-the-season home — he was in New York, a thousand or so miles away, at the time of the search. Monday’s search intensified the months-long probe into how classified documents ended up in boxes of White House records located at Mar-a-Lago earlier this year. A separate grand jury is investigating efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, and it all adds to potential legal peril for Trump as he lays the groundwork for a potential repeat run for the White House.

"Justice Department spokesperson Dena Iverson declined to comment on the search, including whether Garland had personally authorized it. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the West Wing first learned of the search from public media reports and the White House had not been briefed in the run-up or aftermath. Jean-Pierre refused to say whether Biden wanted the attorney general to explain publicly the rationale for the search amid the concerns about politicization of the probe. “The Justice Department conducts investigations independently and we leave any law enforcement matters to them,” she said. “We are not involved.”

CBS News reports:

"The FBI took boxes and documents while executing a search warrant at former President Donald Trump's home in Florida on Monday, two sources confirmed to CBS News. No electronics were taken, according to the sources. Trump said Monday night that his Mar-a-Lago resort was being "raided" by the FBI. Sources confirmed to CBS News that the search was connected to a Justice Department investigation that was prompted by the National Archives earlier this year, when the agency said it found 15 boxes of presidential records, including classified material, at Mar-a-Lago. One official said some or possibly all of the seized documents contained classified material. A source in Palm Beach, Florida, who is close to Trump told CBS News on Monday that the search was "related to PRA," or the Presidential Records Act. "When have you ever heard about a raid because of PRA?" the source asked. The Presidential Records Act, which was enacted in 1978, governs the records-keeping responsibilities of former presidents. It requires any memos, letters, emails and other documents related to the president's duties to be preserved and given to the National Archives at the end of an administration."

Here's the problem:

"In February, the National Archives asked the Justice Department to investigate Trump's handling of documents. The National Archives said then that some of the documents Trump turned over to them had been ripped up and taped back together. On Monday, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman released photos from her upcoming book that appeared to show at least two instances where Trump tried to flush documents down the toilet."

No problem with that?

"Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before," Trump said in a statement on Monday. "After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate."

Don't think so?

"Republicans blasted the search, with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy vowing that if the party takes back the House, "we will conduct immediate oversight of this department, follow the facts and leave no stone unturned." He warned, "Attorney General Garland: preserve your documents and clear your calendar."

The Aryan arrogance of the nazi element in the Republican Party knows no bounds.

Trump pleads the Fifth. The Associated Press reports:

"Donald Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination as he testified under oath Wednesday in the New York attorney general’s long-running civil investigation into his business dealings, the former president said in a statement. Trump arrived at Attorney General Letitia James’ Manhattan offices in a motorcade shortly before 9 a.m., before announcing more than an hour later that he “declined to answer the questions under the rights and privileges afforded to every citizen under the United States Constitution.” “I once asked, ‘If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?’ Now I know the answer to that question,” the statement said. “When your family, your company, and all the people in your orbit have become the targets of an unfounded politically motivated Witch Hunt supported by lawyers, prosecutors and the Fake News Media, you have no choice.”

What a crock of shit. You reap what you sow, Mr.'President.'

"As vociferous as Trump has been in defending himself in written statements and on the rally stage, legal experts said answering questions in a deposition was risky because anything he said could potentially be used against him in a parallel criminal investigation by the Manhattan district attorney. The Fifth Amendment protects people from being compelled to be witnesses against themselves in a criminal case. Still, New York University law professor Stephen Gillers said he was surprised, given Trump’s previous experience with depositions, a legal term for sworn testimony that’s not given in court. “Jousting with lawyers at depositions, while avoiding lying, is something he’s proud of,” Gillers said. “Perhaps his lawyers feared that his impetuosity would imperil him.”

Clearly, the walls are closing in.

"Trump has undergone many depositions, dating to his career as a real estate developer. He has sometimes seemed to relish giving answers: For example, he said he was “pleased to have had the opportunity to tell my side” last October in a lawsuit brought by protesters who say his security guard roughed them up outside Trump Tower in 2015. However, Trump invoked the Fifth Amendment to refuse to answer 97 questions in a 1990 divorce deposition."

... Something to hide, Mr. Trump? Covering your ass, sir? 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?'

"Wednesday’s events unfolded as a flurry of legal activity surrounds the former president. Just days before, FBI agents searched his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida as part of an unrelated federal probe into whether he took classified records when he left the White House. New York’s investigation, led by James, involves allegations that Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, misled lenders and tax authorities about the value of prized assets like golf courses and skyscrapers. “My great company, and myself, are being attacked from all sides,” Trump wrote beforehand on Truth Social, the social media platform he founded. “Banana Republic!”

What a goddamned blowhard.

"In May, James’ office said that it was nearing the end of an investigation against Trump, his company or both. The Republican’s deposition was one of the few remaining missing pieces. Once the investigation wraps up, the attorney general could decide to bring a lawsuit seeking financial penalties against Trump or his company, or even a ban on them being involved in certain types of businesses. Two of Trump’s adult children, Donald Jr. and Ivanka, testified in recent days, two people familiar with the matter said. The people were not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity. It’s unclear whether they invoked the Fifth Amendment during their depositions. When Eric Trump, their brother, sat for a deposition in the same investigation in 2020, he invoked the Fifth more than 500 times, according to court papers. James, a Democrat, has said in court filings that her office has uncovered “significant” evidence that Trump’s company “used fraudulent or misleading asset valuations to obtain a host of economic benefits, including loans, insurance coverage, and tax deductions.” James alleges the Trump Organization exaggerated the value of its holdings to impress lenders or misstated what land was worth to slash its tax burden. The company even exaggerated the size of Trump’s Manhattan penthouse, saying it was nearly three times its actual size — a difference in value of about $200 million, James’ office said. Trump has denied the allegations, contending that seeking the best valuations is a common practice in the real estate industry. He’s also accused James, who is Black, of racism in pursuing the investigation."

'Kettle calling the pot black.' Literally. LOL. What a crock of shit.

"People generally don’t have a constitutional right to avoid questions in a civil lawsuit, but Trump’s legal team fought James’ attempt to question him for months, arguing that the district attorney’s parallel investigation created a risk he could face criminal charges. Lawyers in James’ office have assisted with that criminal investigation. Manhattan Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that James’ office had “the clear right” to question Trump and other principals in his company — though Trump also had a right to decline to answer questions because of the criminal case. That criminal probe had appeared to be progressing toward a possible criminal indictment, but stalled after a new district attorney, Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, took office in January. A grand jury that had been hearing evidence disbanded. The top prosecutor who had been handling the probe resigned after Bragg raised questions internally about the viability of the case. The district attorney’s investigation has already led to criminal charges against the Trump Organization and its longtime finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, who are accused of tax fraud related to fringe benefits offered by the company. Weisselberg and the company’s lawyers are scheduled to be in court Friday to argue that the case should be dismissed."

The effort to expose Wells Fargo egregious deceptive trade practices continues. Several years ago to determinedly apply renewed pressure on our truly worthless, egregiously self-serving Texas Attorney General, now Governor, an excoriating email was sent to the bastard. Copies of which were also passed on to both offending Wells Fargo officers. A copy was also sent to the Davis campaign and others at the time.

Voters did have a right to know as Attorney General, the GOP candidate for Governor apparently selectively investigated, or not, bona fide complaints filed by citizens against banks too big to fail. Possibly, Wells Fargo could have lined his pockets in some fashion. That has yet to be determined.

The bastard and his office, no matter what, failed to respond to the complaint originally snail mailed several years ago. This material, figuratively targeting Wells Fargo and the governor 'wannabe' now Governor, had been posted and can be found by scrolling all the way down and clicking on the links well below. ... Governor? Wells Fargo bribe you to look the other way?

Will continue to do all I can to publicly expose this to all, both in this publication and elsewhere. Have done precisely that with the following email sent to Matt Turner, Matt Turner Video Services, Marble Falls, TX. A copy of it was also sent to Wells Fargo officer Amanda Wright. She has, indeed, been promoted branch manager. Reverse Darwinism. Survival of the unfittest.

This young woman has indeed been rewarded by the Wells Fargo corporate management suite for engaging in criminal deceptive trade practices and her undying loyalty to her corporate masters. The process to update those already informed of this fiasco has finally been completed. This latest material can be found by clicking onWells Fargo Deceptive Trade Practices Salvo 240, 2-8-19 .

The name of this publication was changed some fifteen years ago from The Llano Ledger to Liberty In Peril. The reason? Simple. Cowardly failure of this community to stand up to tyranny that has only exponentially worsened the last decade and a half. Clearly, demonstrated as well by the cowardly failure of businesses to financially support this publication. Either through advertising or other financial support. Too afraid doing so would enrage the bastards who run and own this hellhole County.

-- Despite the fact these businesses were, and are, being egregiously f--ked by these very same bastards. Tough, isn't it? Impossible to entertain any sympathy for cowardice, however. Especially in view of the fact this writer has placed himself in great jeopardy taking on these corrupt, abusive, inept criminal bastards. Alone.

Exactly, why you see no investigative material highly critical of these sons of bitches in other local rags. Sadly, cowardly, all advertising income immediately dries up. Consequently, the bastards continue their criminal chicanery with impunity. On a rampage. Thus, you get what you truly deserve. Always. Precisely, why this earlier name change to Liberty In Peril remains appropriate. -- Despite the fact this writer has not yet left the area. Ten years after originally intending to do so. Thirty years in this goddamned godforsaken hellhole.

This writer, then and now, remains primarily interested in state, federal, and international issues. Another reason for this publication name change. Despite the fact I stupidly cluelessly remain here, local issues must be addressed. Can't be ignored. That's where you come in dear readers. Have the courage to inform this writer of local abuse, corruption, ineptness you are aware of, have personally experienced.

... Information these criminal bastards do all they can to conceal, cover up. Otherwise, how can they effectively sustain the charade and intended result? Loot confiscation through a boot heel on the throat of the citizenry.

The only way, short of an unwanted dreaded second American revolution, to force badly-needed change is to expose all this to the light of day. These bastards are beginning to understand they have a problem. No question, the growing rage of those they've abused, looted, egregiously f--ked. It's time to stand up. Expose this corruption to glaring sunlight. Otherwise, as fools, cowards, you will remain under their thumb. From the loftiest business owner to those on the bottom of the food chain. Wake up. Grow a pair.

Still don't think that likely to happen. After all, you're bought and paid for. Owned. Not only by your government masters, but their masters. The corporate management suite. Your employers. Think not? Wake up. You're human chattel. Corporate-owned, bought and paid for. Precisely, why you cowardly, compliantly, literally bare your asses for corporate inspection by the company doctor. Willingly, compliantly, cowardly piss in a cup under employer supervision. To sit in front of a keyboard or stock shelves all day. You have no control of your lives. You're owned. Forget? For a measly salary, no job security, reduced to no benefits. At a time of record corporate profits and cash reserves.

Then, you gallingly complain about the oppression as you tolerate egregious theft of your labor. Not only by your corporate masters, but their bought and paid for government lackeys. Too cowardly to stand up, allow disclosure of your identity when you rightfully complain to this publication of being mercilessly f--ked. Some of you falsely arrested, criminally assaulted, bogusly fined for 'offenses' you did not commit. To line County coffers. Keep the peasants in line and under control. A fascist police-state. Nazi America.

Again, yet another reason why this publication is called Liberty In Peril. Most galling? Nothing changes if you fail to step up and challenge corrupt, abusive, inept authority. Too afraid, cowardly compliant to let the bastards know who you are. Did it ever occur to the cowards out there if the identity of the accuser is kept under wraps the bastards will falsely claim it's all made up by this publication? Thus, conveniently killing all credibility. Wake up.

Cowardice is unbecoming, unworthy of our formerly great country. Insult to injury? There are the hopelessly deranged who believe the chicanery reported here to be manufactured anyway. No matter the effort. No matter the research. No matter the proof. Wake up. This writer cannot do it alone. Snowball's chance in hell. Then again, cowardice, delusion is always amply, justly rewarded. Always. You continue to 'enjoy' the very best government money can buy. Literally.

Tim Chorney

Tim Chorney, Publisher
Liberty In Peril
Formerly,
The Llano Ledger
United States Of America

Cannot do it alone. Impossible. Not sustainable. This publication needs your financial and material support. Both. Time to step up.

Tim Chorney, Publisher
Liberty In Peril
... Formerly
The Llano Ledger

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Tim Chorney, Publisher
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