A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: Screenshots of the Government’s Admission That James O’Keefe Did Not Attempt to Tamper With Landrieu’s Phones
It’s a court document signed by the Assistant U.S. Attorney representing the Government:
The document can be read in its entirety here.
As I noted in a more detailed post below, the Government sought to bury this admission by omitting it from their press release, and attempting to avoid reading it aloud in court when setting forth the factual basis.
I have updated that post to note that I have now obtained the filed version of the document, with the signature of the Government’s representative.
Now I think it’s time to start asking the U.S. Attorney’s Office why they tried to hide this language from the public.
It’s also time to ask Big Media why they aren’t reporting on this.
notice that James signed back in March> no wonder he was so cocky then, when the leftards were predicting doom and gloom for him….
now the only question is why the two month delay before the AUSA signed? were the Feds waiting to let things die down, so that know one would notice the lie in the “wiretap” meme?
of course the MFM will ignore this, or, more likely, misreport it as their sycophants in the blogs have.
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 5/28/2010 @ 12:53 pmAnd ask Chris Hooten and Brad Friedman why they continue to claim the opposite? Without any basis in fact.
SPQR (26be8b) — 5/28/2010 @ 1:52 pmWhy do both these guys misspell their own names in their signatures?
Kooky!
B (592050) — 5/28/2010 @ 1:54 pmChris Hooten needs to come on here and apologize for his slimy innuendoes.
Dmac (3d61d9) — 5/28/2010 @ 2:06 pmThe government was hoping to find evidence, and then be able to add some kind of perjury charge for the false claim that there was no such evidence and misleading the investigators?
htom (412a17) — 5/28/2010 @ 2:14 pmSOMETHING is wrong with the site! It must have been taken over by hackers to redirect me to a different site. There is no way it’s really Patterico.com, running snappy and smoothly, during an Instalanche! That just can’t be the case.
Please get to the bottom of this startling behavior.
Dustin (b54cdc) — 5/28/2010 @ 2:16 pmwell…..just what did the teabuggers plead guilty to then?
im so confused.
😉
[Indeed you are. — P]
wheeler's cat (ed4ec5) — 5/28/2010 @ 2:17 pmWhy do I have the feeling that the case against the Huttaree will have similar stipulations and lesser offenses pled to?
Is arrogance, ignorance and a failure to examine one’s assumptions catching?
Seems either Holder or Obama has given the DOJ a ‘Narcissists Flu’.
jakee308 (aec1b8) — 5/28/2010 @ 2:30 pmIs this what it’ll look like when Bill Clinton and Rahm get their 5 years? That’ll be fascinating.
Liz (5df85f) — 5/28/2010 @ 3:32 pmfrom reading that document it seems really poofterish for him to be on probation for three years.
Justice is gay.
happyfeet (c8caab) — 5/28/2010 @ 3:59 pmWhy doesn’t that statement claim that they entered the premises with the intention of checking the phone system, since that was the reason they gave publicly? Maybe they lied? Also, why are so many police officers arresting people under wiretap laws for video taping them? Is it because the wiretap laws have morphed into wiretap and electronic surveillance laws, and are no longer directly associated with telephones?
Chris Hooten (e4cd44) — 5/28/2010 @ 4:02 pmoh. What Mr. Dustin said. If the site is for reals more better is there anyway maybe you could jigger it to where there are more posts on the front page?
happyfeet (c8caab) — 5/28/2010 @ 4:04 pmWe’ll do our best, hf.
DRJ (d43dcd) — 5/28/2010 @ 4:16 pmKeep lookin’ for clues, Hooten. You will figure it all out one fine day.
I just know it.
GeneralMalaise (4e741b) — 5/28/2010 @ 4:33 pmIs Hooten B.F.’s BFF? Hooootie, hooooooootie… your day at Fantasy Island is over.
Time to devote your life to a hobby that reflects who you are. Something that says, I am Chris Hooten, and this is what I do. Maybe you can move in next to James O’Keefe and collect his used tissues. You can cry into them and tell them how you really REALLY know J.O’K. is GUILTY GUILTY GUILTY.
bonhomme (278a2d) — 5/28/2010 @ 4:33 pmThanks again, Patterico, for all the fine work on this.
It’s pretty satisfying to see the truth about O’Keefe defended so vociferously, here and elsewhere.
no one you know (14208b) — 5/28/2010 @ 4:38 pmSomehow I get the impression that Justice may not be blind after all. Which also may call the ancient art of sculpture into question.
ropelight (667d14) — 5/28/2010 @ 4:47 pmYeah o.k. But what if this had been 4 Muslim men attempting to gain entry into a Republicans office?
highpockets (cf4a2b) — 5/28/2010 @ 4:59 pmAlways the lawyer, eh, Patterico? Never ask a question to which you do not already know the answer 🙂
ras (88eebb) — 5/28/2010 @ 6:09 pmA couple of things to note, and I don’t mean to pick nits here:
1. A factual basis for a plea agreement is meant to define the crimes the defendants committed, not crimes they didn’t commit.
2. I thought it was rather extraordinary that the paragraph was in the document in the first place. That’s not something I have ever seen before.
But, I suspect it was included because the criminal complaint has alleged what would have been a felony, and the Information ultimately filed included only a misdemeanor. The paragraph in question was probably included for the purpose of making it clear to the Judge why a felony had not been filed, since DOJ policy requires the filing of the most serious charge that can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
By local rule in my district the parties must affirmatively set forth in the agreement that ”
So, in a circumstance such as this where the government brought a complaint to a magistrate saying there is probable cause to beleive the defendant committed a felony, but then later charges only a misdemeanor, that difference can sometimes warrant an explanation for what has changed.
Here the FBI made certain conclusions on the day of the offense based on statements given by some of the third party witnesses — GSA employees mostly — and alleged there was PC that a felony was committed.
But, when the further investigation didn’t support those preliminary conclusions, no felony was charged. The paragraph in question simply explains that to the judge.
shipwreckedcrew (dd1bdb) — 5/28/2010 @ 6:15 pmGovernment. Media. Is there a difference? My bad.
mbabbitt (424211) — 5/28/2010 @ 6:22 pmIf the site is for reals more better is there anyway maybe you could jigger it to where there are more posts on the front page?
I think the jury is still out on whether the site is for reals more better. It briefly appeared that way for a period of time today, and then it didn’t again.
But I agree that I have been frustrated with how quickly posts disappear. It is something the techies asked for, and if it is critical to keeping the site up, I’ll go along with it. But I would prefer to see more posts on the front page.
Patterico (c218bd) — 5/28/2010 @ 6:29 pmTech problem. I keep having this problem where the front page post will say 22 comments but when I go to the comments, there are less than that. It seems that the number of comments that turn up is the number that were posted when I commented.
I have purged the cache and history and attempted to get a new page so I don’t think it’s my browser doing this. Don’t know though. I’m using firefox 3.01.019. Any ideas what’s going on and what to do about it?
jakee308 (aec1b8) — 5/28/2010 @ 7:09 pmYeah o.k. But what if this had been 4 Muslim men attempting to gain entry into a Republicans office?
Does one of the Muslim men have a documented history of doing undercover video investigations of a similar nature?
If so, then I would view it the same.
See, if you load the hypothetical by omitting that critical fact, you manage to convey a very different impression.
Patterico (c218bd) — 5/28/2010 @ 7:11 pmRef to my 23 about tech problem.
I have discovered that flushing the cache will not make the comments reappear. However if I delete the patterico.com cookie, then I get everything the way it should be. It seems to happen after I make a comment. the page gets stuck on showing the page as it was when I hit the submit comment button.
Does the cookie make a note of this and could the site be reading or writing the cookie incorrectly (or the browser for that matter)?
Maybe. Stay tuned as I am going to do some tests over in some posts to see if I can make the problem happen reliably.
jakee308 (aec1b8) — 5/28/2010 @ 7:19 pmsee my 23 and 25.
Patterico: I have found that if I make a comment, all comments will then disappear except the ones that were present when I originally commented.
If I delete the Patterico.com cookie, then the comments appear as they should. WTF? I know when it happens and what to do (although erasing the cookie is a pain) but I have no clue as to why.
jakee308 (aec1b8) — 5/28/2010 @ 7:23 pmMr. jake you can set FF to permanently block the cookies if you want go here for how… you’ll just have to type in your name and email every time you comment
I hope it’s ok to link that
happyfeet (c8caab) — 5/28/2010 @ 7:49 pmlook..why can’t i ax that?
wheeler's cat (ed4ec5) — 5/28/2010 @ 7:54 pmwhat did O’Keefe plea to?
ah…..that was a good explanation, ty.
so…..the original felony charge was plea bargained down to a misdemeanor, and the original felony charge was included as information.
Am i correct in assuming any tape footage was likely surrendered as part of the plea deal?
[You are not. I have read it. — P]
wheeler's cat (ed4ec5) — 5/28/2010 @ 8:01 pmInteresting that they still plead guilty – if the the defendents attorney’s insisted on that language but for what purpose – this was some kind of plea agreement was it not?
As far as a documented undercover reporter – didnt he have a higher duty to immediately report the criminal actions of the acorn workers to law enforcement authorities first – instead of hold back evidence for personal profit?
EricPWJohnson (cedf1d) — 5/28/2010 @ 8:05 pmI’m thinking we need a herd of Retractos …
SteveCan (72a7f6) — 5/28/2010 @ 8:32 pmyeah your right happyfeet. (i know how to block the cookies btw, but thanks)
I don’t want to have to keep doing that and maybe others are having the same deal (or not if no one else has said so)
this’ll act as another test to prove the point.
jakee308 (aec1b8) — 5/28/2010 @ 9:06 pmKudos to this blog for staying on this story. Great work!
Metallica (bb58d8) — 5/28/2010 @ 9:07 pmSee my previous.
It definitively is the case that if I make a comment and submit it then leave the site (afer deleting the cookie) for awhile then return (I’ll see all comments when I first come back) and go to the same post and comment again; when the comments reload after I comment, I will be shown only the comments that were present when I last previously commented and not the latest comment of mine.
that’s weird. Anyone else have this?
jakee308 (aec1b8) — 5/28/2010 @ 9:10 pmre my previous 34
all this started after the site changeover took effect.
jakee308 (aec1b8) — 5/28/2010 @ 9:12 pmJeez. What’s with Krazy Kat? Drinking again?
Eric Blair (106bf3) — 5/28/2010 @ 9:13 pmAs far as a documented undercover reporter – didnt he have a higher duty to immediately report the criminal actions of the acorn workers to law enforcement authorities first – instead of hold back evidence for personal profit?
Assumes facts not in evidence, and no.
Patterico (c218bd) — 5/28/2010 @ 9:15 pm37
Weak, very weak. Didnt Okeefe have a much higher duty to turn over evidence which I believe you had stated was a serious crime in other posts over to law enforcement authorities?
What is a higher moral or civic duty?
EricPWJohnson (cedf1d) — 5/29/2010 @ 5:32 amWeak, very weak. Didnt Okeefe have a much higher duty to turn over evidence which I believe you had stated was a serious crime in other posts over to law enforcement authorities?
What is a higher moral or civic duty?
I’ll say it again.
1. Assumes facts not in evidence. You don’t know he didn’t turn over evidence to law enforcement authorities. In fact, I believe it is public record that he DID — was it not reported that the Brooklyn D.A. received unedited copies of the videos? Same for the California A.G.? Okay then.
2. No. To the extent that you believe he needed to stop what he was doing after the first one and turn over evidence INSTEAD of continuing, that would have deprived law enforcement of the chance to see a pattern. It’s not like the evidence got weaker because he waited, what, a couple more months before making everything public?
Look. Come clean: you just don’t like the guy, so you’re searching out increasingly weak and desperate arguments to tar him.
In this respect you have much company.
Patterico (c218bd) — 5/29/2010 @ 7:32 amEricPWJohnson demonstrated that, Patterico, when he invented all kinds of sputtering nonsense about O’Keefe attacking secure phone circuits. He’s discredited himself wonderfully.
SPQR (26be8b) — 5/29/2010 @ 8:11 amSince when is a private person who discovers evidence of a crime obligated to report it to the police? What is this, the USSR? I don’t work for the police, and I don’t see how I have any affirmative duty to do their job for them.
Besides, when’s the last time a NYT or WaPo reporter did so? Did Woodward and Bernstein turn everything they had over to the police as soon as they had it?
Milhouse (5c042a) — 6/2/2010 @ 12:47 pm