Skip to main content

DOJ Dusts Off Civil War-Era Statute to Replace 1512(c)(2)

 Obsessed with targeting Trump supporters, the DOJ is now charging multiple defendants with a Civil War-era statute-18 U.S.C. 372-which punishes those who intimidate "Officers of the United States" from their posts.

Title 18 U.S.C. 372 punishes conspiracies "To prevent, by force, intimidation, or threat, any person from accepting or holding any office, trust, or place of confidence under the United States, or from discharging any duties thereof, or to induce by like means any officer of the United States to leave the place, where his duties as an officer are required to be performed[.]" The DOJ's position is that Members of Congress hold the "Offices" and are the "Officers of the United States" that are covered by Section 372 and, accordingly, that J6ers can be prosecuted for allegedly causing their evacuation from Capitol Hill.

A Member of Congress does not receive a "Commission" because he or she, unlike federal judges, executive branch appointees, and military officers, is not an "Officer of the United States" and does not hold an "Office, trust, or place confidence."

In court filings, the DOJ has not disputed that, under the Constitution, Members of Congress are not "Officers of the United States." Instead, the DOJ argues that the 1861 Congress that enacted Section 372 used the term "Officer of the United States" in a sense broader than the technical, constitutional definition.

Binding Supreme Court precedent from the 19th century holds that, when used in federal criminal statutes, the terms "Office," "Officer," and "Officer of the United States," absent unambiguous language to the contrary, refer to individuals who received positions via the Appointments Clause of the Constitution.

In one of those cases decided in 1878, United States v. Germaine, a surgeon hired by the Commissioner of Pensions was indicted for extortion while serving as, in the words of the statute, an "Officer of the United States." Arguing for the indictment's dismissal, the surgeon argued that because he was not appointed to his position pursuant to the Appointments Clause, he could not be convicted of violating a statute, which applied only to "Officers of the United States." The Supreme Court agreed, ruling that absent unambiguous language to the contrary, the term "Officer of the United States," when used in criminal statutes, is limited to individuals appointed pursuant to the Appointments Clause.

This statute punishes conspiracies aimed at preventing individuals "From accepting or holding any office, trust, or place of confidence under the United States[.]" Members of Congress, obviously, do not "Accept" their positions-instead, they assume or take office.

https://www.declassified.live/p/guest-column-doj-dusts-off-civil 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Fauci Files Reveal Pfizer Helped Biden Rig 2020 Election

 Pfizer secretly colluded with Joe Biden's team to help him rig the 2020 election against Trump, according to new Fauci documents. In his new book, "On Call," Fauci admits that Albert Bourla, the CEO of Pfizer, called him the night after Biden was declared the winner of the election, to inform him of Pfizer's "Game-changing results" from the rigged mRNA trial. "On November 7, after the absentee ballots were counted, Joe Biden was declared the winner of the presidential election. It was the very next night that Albert Bourla, Pfizer's CEO, called me away from my neighbors' fire pit to inform me about the game-changing results from the Pfizer mRNA vaccine trial. I finally thought we had truly turned a corner in defeating this terrible disease." Today reports: In another interesting tidbit, Fauci discusses Trump's FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn declaring that he would not go along with the Trump Administration's plan to roll out the vac...

Republicans Withdraw $1 Billion From BlackRock Due To Its ESG Policies

  Multiple U.S. states governed by Republicans are withdrawing state funds from BlackRock's management, as they disapprove of the ESG investment policies of the world's top asset manager, the Financial Times reports. In recent weeks, Louisiana, South Carolina, Utah, and Arkansas have announced they would divest funds from... For months now, Republican states have said they would not do business anymore with asset managers who have ESG-aligned investment policies, which, the states say, show that those financial firms are boycotting the oil and gas industry. Texas is leading the campaign against this movement The Lone Star State published a list of financial firms that could be banned from doing business with Texas, its state pension funds, and local governments. https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Republicans-Withdraw-1-Billion-From-BlackRock-Due-To-Its-ESG-Policies.html

EU Ambassador & Munich Security Conference Chair Headline Chinese Communist Party Influence Event.

  The Vice Chairman of the Munich Security Conference and a former Ambassador of the European Union to the U.S. headlined an event sponsored by a leading Chinese Communist Party influence group The China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF) CUSEF has been identified by the US government as part of China’s “United Front” which works “to co-opt and neutralize sources of potential opposition to the policies and authority of its ruling Communist Party.” O’Sullivan Director General of the Institute of International and European Affairs Has held a variety of influential positions within the European Union including Chief Operating Officer of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Ruge also has ties to the EU’s military infrastructure Vice Chairman of the Munich Security Conference https://thenationalpulse.com/2022/10/20/eu-amb-and-munich-chair-headline-cusef-webinar/