Sunday, October 03, 2010

Whom Can We Trust?

by James Scanlan, Esq.

Most people who have had substantial exposure to events that are reported in the press at least occasionally, if not commonly, find that the press has gotten it all wrong. They must then wonder what faith they can place in reportage of events they know little or nothing about. The same holds with respect to governmental institutions for people who are able to observe the conduct of those institutions closely enough to know that the institutions have gotten something all wrong – or have even knowingly gotten something all wrong. The matter is worth reflecting upon in light of the fact that on September 30, 2010, the Senate confirmed Robert E. O’Neill for the position of United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida.

O’Neill is the subject of my Truth in Justice editorials of June 23, July 11, August 17, September 4, and September 26, 2010. Readers of those editorials and even a smattering of the materials to which they provide links would, I think, regard it to be true beyond any doubt that (a) O’Neill lied on his US Attorney application by falsely attributing a District of Columbia Office of Bar Counsel investigation of his conduct in US v. Dean to a complaint filed by the defendant; and (b) that O’Neill was the subject of severe criticism by two courts for his conduct in the case. They would also regard it as virtually certain, or at least extremely likely, (c) that in the Dean case O’Neill engaged in egregious prosecutorial misconduct going well beyond the things considered by the courts that were so critical of his conduct; and (d) that in a 2005 deposition O’Neill falsely denied having made certain putatively threatening statements in the federal workplace.

In order to come to these conclusions, one does not have to leave one’s computer. The facts are set out in detail in materials made readily available on the Internet with electronic links to supporting documents. For example, the attachment to my July 9, 2010 letter to Attorney General Eric Holder made available by this link should leave no one in doubt as to the fact that O’Neill lied about the origination of the Bar Counsel investigation. The other points are supported in a similar manner. Thus, as should be clear from the documents discussed and made available in Addendum 7 to the Robert E. O’ Neill profile, it required virtually no work for the Justice Department or the Senate Judiciary Committee to reach solid conclusions on each of these matters. The truth was handed them on the electronic equivalent of a silver platter, leaving, at most, a few loose ends that could be readily addressed by simple phone calls.

And yet the Department of Justice allowed the O’Neill nomination to go forward while refusing to consider even those things that were made clearer to it than daylight. See in the September 4 and 26 editorials the discussion of Executive Office for United States Attorneys General Counsel Jay Macklin’s transparently inapplicable excuse for failing to investigate whether O’Neill lied on his US Attorney application – which Macklin had already to know was the case. For its part, as discussed in the September 26 item, the Senate Judiciary Committee did not simply show itself to be untroubled by these issues, but, through its chairman and ranking member, affirmatively led the public to believe that there existed no matters calling O’Neill’s integrity seriously into question.

Thus, based on what we have observed in a situation where the facts are crystal clear, when confronted with a situation that we know little about, what faith ought we to place in assurances by the Attorney General or the leadership of the Senate Judiciary Committee that there is nothing in the background of a candidate for a position of trust suggesting that the candidate in fact is not trustworthy? It seems that, whether we should be worrying more about the integrity or the competence of these institutions and their leadership, we cannot reasonably rely on such assurances.

Concern about the processes of government must make one wonder, for example, whether on concluding that it did not regard O’Neill’s false statement on his application to constitute an obstacle to his appointment as US Attorney, the Department of Justice felt a responsibility to advise the White House or the Senate Judiciary Committee of the fact of the false statement just in case those entities might have a different view. The same holds with regard to whether, notwithstanding the Department’s determination that it would not investigate O’Neill’s conduct in the Dean case because, in its view, the matters were or could have been addressed in litigation, the Department felt some obligation to advise the White House or Senate Judiciary Committee of the courts’ criticisms of O’Neill’s conduct or the probability that O’Neill engaged in more serious misconduct than that noted by the courts.

Interesting questions, I think, but beside the larger point here. On that point, we must look back again to Robert E. O’Neill’s observations in US v. Spellissy (discussed in the July 11 and September 26 editorials) to the effect that when you know a person is untrustworthy as to one thing, you cannot trust the person as to other things. I have previously mentioned the matter as it bears on the implications of the fact that, if we know nothing else about Robert E. O’Neill, we know that he lied on his US Attorney application. It warrants consideration as well for its bearing on the faith we can henceforth place in the Department of Justice and the Senate Judiciary Committee when they in some manner assure us that they have verified the trustworthiness of a high government official.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Indeed. There are apparent signs already in Florida that the criminals feel much safer today. I attribute this directly to the appointment of Robert O'Neill and just as directly to the feigned ignorance of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Let's not forget Fitzgibbons, Nelson, the others on the Florida committee and anyone in the local US Attorney's office who is keeping quiet out of fear. Do you folks think that will make it better?? If you keep quiet? Better for whom??
This will be a long four years for Floridians. At the end of this four years the jails will be full and the courthouses will be stuffed with those on the list of Robert O'Neill vendetta victims. Welcome to the Irish Republican Army of Florida, please turn in everything you now own.
On an interesting note, David Petrano, attorney is also a boy from NY. How did all these NY attorneys end up in FL for Bobby O'Neill?

Anonymous said...

Wow. Google United States Attorneys and Assistant United States Attorneys. Are they even allowed to lobby Congress without identifying themselves as DOJ attorneys? I'm asking. Consider it rhetorical if you like.

Anonymous said...

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/tampa-lawyer-files-to-disqualify-floridas-attorney-general-from-wellcare/1126060

More graft and theft.

It goes with this post's comments.


Barry Cohen whom I believe to be a good person was a reference for Robert O'Neill.
I could never reconcile that in my mind.

BUT, another issue I have here is WHY is the DOJ getting all that money and is it enough to buy some senators????
Another interesting thread I am pulling on is the Fitzgerald one who spent the Rove years finding no crime but digging and spending MILLIONS in the process and going after blagoevich whom I have no real opinion on and millions more for ONE count. It's interesting all these Irish names (I am Irish) spending BAZILLIONS of taxpayer money, finding nothing, looking some more and Patel, the owner of wellcare escaped just before the FBI swooped in. Man, the timing.
It all fits together.
WHOM do you trust?

Anonymous said...

Please read the comments at the SPT article. They tell another part of the story.

Anonymous said...

Robert O'Neill is a liar and as he said himself, a liar is a liar.

Vox Populi said...

Go have a look at the smirk.

The liar is not shamed by any name you throw at him. In true IRA fashion, he is PROUD of his double-dealing, backstabbing, stalking and criminal krewe.

THIS is the new face of Amerikan ju$tice. A smirking Irish Republican Army snake in the grass.

Anonymous said...

More signs that Florida criminals are truly safer now. And that the selective asset seizure will soon begin afresh and/or continue unabated. A big thing with these folks is threatening people with the IRS (saved all the emails) and I've also noticed that names I researched always had a tax lien (including colin breen, Robert O'Neill's business partner) and then this tax lien would be dissolved and that person would then be on the "wrong side" as in complicit with the mobsters of the Irish Republican Army.
Today there is a hastily written article in the SPT propaganda rag relating to an IRS agent who sniffs out this and that, including mortgage fraud. Now, I know personally that O'Neill and Breen are neckdeep in crime and fraud and the threats directed towards my family along with Jason Kuhn, car lot owner/tax attorney, etc and many others due to the value of our property... and I also know that A.Brian Albritton made the statement that 'we cannot prosecute our way out of mortgage fraud' and he stands by as South Florida ATTORNEYS submit false and forged documents, stealing peoples' homes as reported in the SPT by one of their few reliable reporters. So, of course since this was such a hastily written article and I know FOR A FACT that many IRA loyalists are employed as SPT "journalists" I immediately knew there would be some connection to O'Neill and Albritton. Didn't take three seconds.
The head of the local FBI office is corrupt. FDLE (florida dept of law enforcement) is a rubber stamp for the local police and sheriff. And now we have Robert O'Neill and this one ... in the same basket. Florida is in big trouble. They've already gone after some big names selectively and gotten away with it. Now that they have their IRA soldier in place, people will be quietly "persuaded" from their belongings, perhaps through planted child porn is another of their favorite threats. YET, the question remains! How did COLIN BREEN, Robert O'Neill's partner go from writing bad checks to living in a MANSION and owning a successful (LOL) bar in just ten years?? He was being sued left and right and had tax liens filed and then bob came along. Bobby apparently doesn't notice his partner's mysterious success OR his previous runins with the IRS.
I'll be reporting on this as it develops.
It should also be noted that Jason Kuhn and his lotboys and others related to Kuhn in the car sales (LOL) industry have stalked my family and committed crimes of property damage and vehicle tampering and are still doing so. Lots of video of Kuhn employees stalking us along with his vehicles. He's a real scary guy. And he's already connected to the state's attorney's office. Note the common thread all along. COLIN BREEN ROBERT O'NEILL.

Anonymous said...

Jason Kuhn (tag Kuhn 1) back to stalking today. Boy, Robert O'Neill follows your column closely. Have the video and pictures and then the guy hiding his face.
Haven't seen EVEN ONE O'Neill shirt since BOBBY slithered into office.