October 31, 2005

77-Year Old Schiff Being Tortured With Chain Shackles, Mistreatment

Imagine writing a book containing information so offensive and damaging to the government that the government prosecutes you for running a "fraudulent tax shelter" and the book is subsequently banned by a federal judge - without the government ever citing a single sentence that is false, misleading or fraudulent.

Imagine having your business raided and records seized using a court-sanctioned search warrant that fails to aver any specific law that
you have violated.

Imagine the raid is conducted by a platoon of well-armed federal officers that have no delegated or statutory authority to conduct such a
seizure.

Imagine then being indicted for allegedly committing more than a dozen federal tax crimes - each of which is predicated upon a crucial, but
erroneous, legal presumption that direct, un-apportioned taxes on the labor of individuals have in fact, been legally imposed and that the
government's prosecution is allowed to proceed without it ever having to establish for the legal record or prove before the jury that such a law exists - even though the Supreme Court has ruled it must.

Imagine filing more than a dozen legal motions over 18 months seeking to dismiss the charges for lack of jurisdiction, each one citing specific U.S. statutes and Supreme Court decisions leading to irrefutable legal conclusions requiring dismissal, only to have the government respond without substance that the motions are "frivolous" and then have the court delay its denial of the motions until just hours before the trial begins in order to prevent any appeal.

Imagine a "trial" where you are not allowed to question your accusers about the law or present evidence about the law, even though what the law actually says is the only question before the court and your entire defense is based on what the law actually says.

Imagine a "trial" where one morning, you witness the U.S. Attorneys emerging from a secret, ex-parte meeting in the judge's chambers about which you and your attorneys have no knowledge or notice and you have no idea what they discussed.

Imagine a “trial” where the judge refuses to allow any defense witness to testify as to material facts regarding the criminal charges.
 
Imagine a judge imposing contempt of court charges totaling years of incarceration for attempting to talk about the law during witness questioning.

Imagine a “trial” where the judge – who claims to be the sole authority and arbiter of the law – deliberately (and repeatedly) misrepresents the law and even misquotes the words of the law in order to deceive the jury.

Imagine a “trial” in which during jury deliberations, the judge denies a specific request from the jury to examine the Internal Revenue Code– which had already been admitted into evidence – because, the Judge said, providing the jury with a copy of the law would be “problematic.” 

Imagine sitting as a defendant in a criminal "trial", facing a virtual sentence of imprisonment until death, and the final words spoken by the U.S. Attorney to the jurors are, “You are breaking the law if you find the defendants not guilty.”

Imagine as a 77-year old, non-violent citizen, in frail health being incarcerated and denied any bail or medical treatment and being bound in chain shackles – all for being a “tax protester” while violent criminals remain free on bail and walk the jail unrestrained. 


The Gulag Is Real

All this and more has transpired since September 12 during the criminal trial of 78-year old tax-protester Irwin Schiff and his co-defendants, Cindy Neun and Larry Cohen. On October 24th, at approx. 2:00pm, Schiff and the co-defendants were convicted of virtually all of the charges. Irwin is currently being held in a Las Vegas city jail and Cindy in a federal detention facility in the area. 

As previously detailed by the WTP Foundation, these patriots were charged with tax crimes stemming from their consulting activities related to Schiff’s best-selling (and now banned) book, “The Federal Mafia: How the Government Illegally Imposes and Unlawfully Collects Income Taxes". 

In his book, Schiff provides evidence consisting of key U.S. tax statutes and Supreme Court decisions that enable people to legally assert their income is zero (0) because the high Court has repeatedly, and consistently, defined the legal term “income” (as used in the Internal Revenue statutes) as a “corporate profit or gain” upon which an excise tax applies and further, that there is no law that actually creates any legal liability for the payment of income taxes.

Indeed, as reported by trial observers who took copious notes during the proceedings, the draconian bias and denial of Due Process exhibited by the U.S. District Court Judge Kent Dawson was so blatant and outrageous it can leave but one conclusion:

Those that challenge this nation’s tax laws will be treated as “enemies of the state,” they will be ruthlessly prosecuted as political criminals and they will find no safe-harbor in the protections of the Constitution, the written laws of the nation, or most alarmingly, the federal judiciary.

In short, the Internal Revenue Code has become the tool by which our public servants now control our nation and order its most dangerous political dissidents – those that openly demand to be shown its authority to tax -- to suffer the U.S. Gulag.
 

Inside The Gulag

During the months leading to the trial, Schiff filed a number of concise and condemning legal motions attacking the jurisdiction of the government to bring the charges against Schiff or submit him to a criminal tax trial. (Links to those filings can be found at the bottom of this article)

Although we encourage every reader of this article to read all of his court filings, Schiff’s 13-page (July 2005) pre-trial Motion to Dismiss concisely explains and exposes the core of the judicial tyranny leading to Schiff’s convictions.  (see below for a link to the Exhibits)

In its legal responses, the Department of Justice failed to refute or rebut the substance of any of Schiff’s citations of law or Supreme Court decisions, and instead merely parroted Schiff’s legal conclusions, characterizing them as “frivolous.” 

Just hours before the trial started, the Court, in the persona of Judge Kent Dawson, denied the motions without substantive explanation or discussion, effectively robbing Schiff of the opportunity to timely appeal Dawson’s rulings on the critical Due Process issue of jurisdiction.


Federal Courthouse, Las Vegas   Unfortunately, it would be during the trial itself that Schiff and the other defendants would suffer the full despotism of the Court.

During the trial proceedings, a large number of highly questionable rulings were made by Dawson including that Schiff could not talk about the law, could not question government agents about their authority, could not present any defense witnesses to testify about relevant and material facts, and required Schiff, who was representing himself, to submit questions in advance to the judge detailing what he intended to ask government witnesses.

Neun’s attorney, Michael Cristalli, a well experienced criminal defense attorney, remarked during the trial, “I have never seen anything like this. They are preventing us from building a record.  We are not being allowed to put on a defense.”
 

The following is a single example of “blind justice” suffered in Dawson’s courtroom:

One line of questioning by Irwin focused on the government’s failure to provide the Defendants with formal, legal Notice, prior to any criminal investigations and indictments, that the Defendants were violating federal tax laws. It is common knowledge that citizens have a Due Process right to such formal Notice.

In response, the government claimed that Schiff had been “served” legal Notice of the law and of his alleged criminal acts because Schiff had a copy of the government's “CRS Report,” Frequently Asked Questions Concerning the Federal Income Tax the in the offices of his business, Freedom Books, when it was raided by IRS agents in 2003.,

During cross-examination of government witnesses, Schiff established that aside from the CRS report, the government presented NO other evidence showing that the Due Process requirement for legal Notice had been satisfied.

Unfortunately for the government, not only is the “CRS Report” nothing more than the opinion of one man -- a mere staff attorney -- working for the Congressional Research Service (i.e., one man’s opinion of the law), the document does not indicate that it constitutes any legal “notice.” The Report merely attempts to debunk certain “tax protester” arguments.

Noteworthy, however, is the fact that the Report does correctly state, (and as the Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled) that the income tax is an indirect, “excise” tax.

In another Motion to Dismiss following the presentation of the government’s case, Schiff argued that if the CRS report is correct and constitutes legal notice, the case must be dismissed, because the government’s entire legal theory is premised upon the legal presumption that the 16th Amendment allegedly gives it the authority to impose a direct, un-apportioned tax (directly) upon the wages of American workers.

Schiff argued that if the CRS report constituted formal legal “Notice” to him as the criminal defendant, then the report should also constitute legal “Notice” to the Court, that the income tax is an “excise” tax – i.e., not a direct tax – and therefore, Schiff could not be charged with the alleged crimes.

Without any explanation, the judge simply denied Schiff’s motion.

Click here to see a version of the CRS report including
rebuttals of the government's legal assertions regarding the income tax. (873 KB)


Schiff: “The Judge is a Criminal”

Just before he was convicted and incarcerated, Schiff penned a partial but detailed review of some of the injustices he suffered at the hand of Judge Dawson during the trial. He had apparently intended to use the document as part of a court filing.

The document reviews the criminal denial of Due Process Judge Dawson committed during the trial and the inability of Schiff to put forth his defense.

The Exhibit referred to in Schiff’s document conclusively establishes that the IRS Criminal Investigation Division (“CID”), is only authorized to enforce criminal income tax statutes outside the borders of the United States and that IRS “pocket commissions” that authorize enforcement actions are only applicable to
Subtitle E taxes pertaining to liquor, tobacco and firearms.

Also provided is a comparison Schiff constructed for use in arguing jury instructions which contrasts the 1939 tax code and the subsequent 1954 code.

In the extracts from the tax statutes, one can see where in 1954, Congress removed all references in Section 61 regarding taxing “wages and salaries” and also removed the language from Section 1 which specifically referenced “collection” and “payment” of the income tax. 

Schiff has contended that in 1954, Congress brought the tax code into full compliance with the Constitution and previous Supreme Court rulings regarding the income tax when it explicitly deleted the language taxing “wages and salaries” and the language imposing the liability for the tax, essentially making its assessment and payment voluntary.


Schiff Being Tortured
& Mistreated

Irwin Schiff and Cindy Neun and Larry Cohen have been convicted – of non-violent, “white collar” financial crimes against the federal government. They have hurt no one.

They have suffered at the hands of a despotic federal judge who did everything he could – ethical or not -- legal or not -- to insure their conviction. 

These brave Americans peacefully and respectfully challenged the government’s taxing authority, putting forth irrefutable legal positions and evidence that remain un-rebutted to this day– despite a lengthy criminal trial and a jury’s vote to convict and sentence them.

Irwin Schiff and Cindy Neun, remain behind bars, denied both bail and humane treatment – even while they seek the protection of the appellate court to correct this grievous, unjust wrong.
 
Beyond the disgrace of an abusive prosecution and failed judicial process, Cindy and Irwin now face the horror of jail, with “special treatment” being doled out for their status as political “tax” prisoners.

They have entered the American Gulag.

One of the first people to visit Schiff since his incarceration was radio reporter Mike Golden. Mike visited Schiff Saturday evening at the Las Vegas city jail.

Golden reported that 78-year old Schiff appeared almost ready to collapse, that he was in immediate need of medical attention that was not being provided, and that he was being held in locked chain shackles despite the fact that no other prisoner was.

Schiff reported he was running a high fever and that he was denied a second blanket in the 55 degree jail cell.  Schiff had earlier reported he was being forced to attempt to sleep on a one-inch thick mattress and had been denied a pillow. 

Golden reported that Schiff appeared unstable and partially disassociated, and could not put on the telephone headset used to talk through the glass to jail visitors, even after having one hand unlocked by a jailer. At one point, Schiff, who’s never at a loss for words, could barely remain seated on his stool and could not form a cohesive response to questions posed by Golden.

Schiff currently without counsel, is being denied access to a law library and has only a 2-inch pencil available for his use.  Golden reports from conversations with Cindy Neun that she is being locked full-time in leg-shackles, has no paper available for her use, and is being denied the medication she takes to combat debilitating pain from a previous back injury and surgery.

We urge all our supporters to listen to the disturbing audio blog report of Golden’s visit to the Las Vegas city jail to see Schiff, and the jailhouse phone calls with Cindy Neun pleading for support.

Go to www.triallogs.blogspot.com and listen to the 10/30/2005 audio posting at 1:34 AM by Mike Golden.
Cindy’s phone calls from the jail were on 10/28 at 6:58 PM and on 10/30 at 10:55 PM. Additional postings are being made daily.


What Does A Free Person(s) Do?

What does a free People do now, given the current facts and circumstances and the menacing indications of the loss of liberty in America?

That is the question weighing heavily on those of us at WTP. Bob Schulz intends to address the issue when he speaks at the 2005 Atlanta Freedom Conference on November 13, 2005. 

What happened in Vegas last week and in Fort Worth last year with Dick Simkanin must be confronted. In the shadows of Stalin, Pol Pot, Mao and Hitler, innocent Americans are being wrongfully harassed, bankrupted, prosecuted, jailed and tortured in the cogs of the administrative, judicial and corrections systems of our “servant government.” 

The path to the unthinkable is shorter than most realize. We the People must act decisively or the events of Las Vegas will continue to grow as a cancer on the Republic until it will no longer be possible to peacefully restore the Constitution, self-government and the fundamental Freedoms which had been Divinely bestowed upon us.

Irwin can be reached by mail at:

Irwin Schiff
C\O Las Vegas Detention Center
3200 Stuart Ave
Las Vegas, Nevada, 89101   (do not send $ to this address)

Cindy can be reached by mail at:

274586 Cynthia Neun
2332 Las Vegas Blvd. N.  Suite 200
North Las Vegas, NV  98030   (do not send $ to this address)