ANDY MARTIN
Executive Editor
ContrarianCommentary.com
“Factually Correct, Not
Politically Correct”
ContrarianCommentary.com update:
FREE TONY REZKO
REZKO FEDERAL JUDGE HATES ARABS, MUSLIMS
OBAMA CRONY DESERVES PRE-TRIAL FREEDOM
CHICAGO TRIBUNE: REZKO TO APPEAL BAIL DENIAL
(CHICAGO)(February 13, 2008) As I get back in the swing of covering Illinois and national politics after my senate primary campaign, and before any future endeavors as a candidate, I start with a focus on the unconscionable incarceration of indicted Illinois wheeler-dealer Tony Rezko, Senator Barack Obama's long-time sponsor, banker and crony.
Why, you might ask, after having had had so much to do with exposing the Obama-Rezko connection am I suddenly advocating freedom for Rezko? What I have learned in 40 years as a lawyer is that when you tolerate abuses of the Constitution for your opponents you eventually find abuses of the Constitution directed at your friends. The expression that "justice is blind" does not really exist in Chicago, where we have "Obama" federal judges and right-wing nutcake judges as well. Sadly, justice is not blind in Chicago and, where Arabs and Muslims are concerned, not blind anywhere in the United States.
African-Americans have an expression they use to describe racist police, "DWB," which means "Driving While Black." In other words, African-Americans are always at the risk of racist justice when they are driving on the highway.
It seems that in federal courts we now have a similar syndrome: "DWA," or "Defending While Arab." In other words, Arabs and Muslims are prosecuted on flimsy charges, see their rights violated, and end up being punished where a non-Arab would not be. The U. S. Department of Justice has acted as a virtual extension of the Israeli secret service, the Mossad. In Tampa, Florida, federal prosecutors spent months presenting a wildly incredible case, and lost. Then they reneged on a plea agreement and continued to persecute the main defendant, Sami Al-Arian.
Closer to home, the same Judge Amy St. Eve who is persecuting Tony Rezko, a Syrian immigrant, previously conducted a sham trial against Muhammad Salah.
Judge Amy St. Eve has a problem: she apparently hates Arabs and Muslims. She becomes a vicious psychopath when Arabs and Muslims come before her. Tony Rezko would be wise to seek her removal.
St. Eve conducted the carnival trial against two Palestinian activists, Abdelhaleem Ashqar and Muhammad Salah. Former Attorney General John Ashcroft breathlessly announced the Salah indictment in a comedic news conference, accusing the men of being terrorist masterminds. St. Eve allowed Mossad torturers to come into court and testify—in disguise. The trial was a show trial of the type Americans would condemn in the Russia or China. But St. Eve conducted this travesty in Chicago.
Fortunately, the intelligent people of Illinois, jurors all, rejected the Mossad's fictitious allegations, and the Department of Justice was a humiliated by losing the vast majority of its Salah case. The two men were convicted on minor, technical violations, one of them (Salah) for mistaken testimony in a related case that has since been reversed on appeal by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago. (Boim v. Holy Land, 12/28/07).
But in what should have been and may have been a warning to Judge St. Eve in he Rezko matter, the Seventh Circuit stated in reversing Boim:
Belief, assumption and speculation are no substitute for evidence in a court of law…We must resist the temptation to gloss over error, admit spurious evidence, and assume facts not adequately proved simply to side with the face of innocence and against the face of terrorism. (Note: the Boim case was not decided by Judge St. Eve.)
St. Eve sentenced two innocent men to jail, one (Salah) to two years in jail and the other (Ashqar), who committed no crime, to eleven years in jail. And we wonder why they hate us?
Back to Rezko. What "crime" did Rezko commit to justify being jailed before trial? None that I can see. There was merely more of the same sort of anti-Arab hocus pocus presented to Judge St. Eve in the Salah trial. Rezko had borrowed money after posting bail. He had reimbursed friends for helping with his bail. And he paid his lawyers. From these innocent acts St. Eve concocted a vast conspiracy as a pretext to jail Rezko before trial. And the high quality of Mr. Rezko's bathroom fixtures also found its way into news reports after "federal agents" arrested Rezko is yet another show trial episode, storming his home in the morning when Rezko would have voluntarily appeared if asked to do so. It is enough to make you want to vomit about the sad state of justice in Chicago.
Mr. Rezko's crime in St. Eve's court was nothing more than "DWA," Defending While Arab. The fact that Rezko was in Syria when he was indicted, Syria!, and did not have to return to Chicago to face charges, and did so voluntarily, was ignored by the judge. She is apparently obsessed with the fact that Tony-the-Arab may flee to. Syria? He already left there.
And the fact that Rezko borrowed money? Lots of people who are broke can borrow money. I am not surprised that Rezko was trying to arrange his financial affairs to—pay his lawyers (who got the bulk of the "secret" loan). By all means, pay the lawyers!
In closing, three points.
Whether guilty or innocent, a defendant is entitled to a fair trial. Judge St. Eve has shown she hates Arabs and no Arab or Muslim can obtain a fair trial in her courtroom.
Second, if Rezko is guilty of his criminality involving Obama (where he has not been charged with a crime) and other influence peddling with crooked politicians in Illinois, he should be found guilty and punished appropriately. But he should be treated as a defendant, not an Arab-defendant, and be tried before a judge whose neutrality and impartiality is not in question.
Finally, my comments have nothing to do with the "war on terror." I am a strong supporter of the war on terror, and I have no hesitation to prosecute or convict, or kill, persons who conspire against the United States. But Palestinian freedom fighters or sympathizers are not conspiring against the United States; they are fighting to free their land from Israeli occupation, seizure and theft. American courts have no business criminalizing a war of national liberation that is playing out in the Middle East.
The Department of Justice lost in Florida. They lost in Texas and they lost in Chicago. The Department keeps losing its anti-Arab cases because it is bringing phony, trumped-up political cases against people who are freedom fighters and sympathizers, not criminals. Why does Justice keep trying? Because of pressure from the Israeli government to fight the war in America that Israelis losing in the Middle East.
Fortunately, in each instance above, juries freed the defendants from the charges, but could not always free the defendants from the malignant tentacles of the Department of Justice. The innocent were made to suffer.
Near as I can determine, Tony Rezko has never had anything to do with Middle East politics. He came to America to make money. Rezko loves money, he loves making money, and he loves spending money on politicians. And he may have crossed the line as a confederate of Illinois' corrupt Governor Rod Blagojevich. But, because Rezko is an immigrant from an Arab country, and a non-very-popular Arab county at that, Rezko is receiving corrupt justice from a biased judge in federal court in Chicago.
I am compelled to stand up for our Constitution. Free Tony Rezko. And let the man defend himself in open court without dragging him through the streets of Chicago in chains and prison clothes. End the racial bias of the judge and the Department of Justice against Arabs and Muslims. Hasn’t Justice lost enough cases? What does it take for the "justice" lawyers to get the message? Ultimately, the Department is not disgracing Rezko. The Department is disgracing the American people. And the whole world is watching.
------------------------------------------Chicago-based Internet journalist, broadcaster and media critic Andy Martin is the Executive Editor and publisher of ContrarianCommentary.com. © Copyright by Andy Martin 2008. Martin covers regional, national and world events with over forty years of experience. He is a former candidate for U. S. Senator. AndyforUSSenator.com. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. Columns also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com. Comments? E-mail: AndyMart20@aol.com. Media contact: (866) 706-2639. Web sites: ContrarianCommentary.com.
Executive Editor
ContrarianCommentary.com
“Factually Correct, Not
Politically Correct”
ContrarianCommentary.com update:
FREE TONY REZKO
REZKO FEDERAL JUDGE HATES ARABS, MUSLIMS
OBAMA CRONY DESERVES PRE-TRIAL FREEDOM
CHICAGO TRIBUNE: REZKO TO APPEAL BAIL DENIAL
(CHICAGO)(February 13, 2008) As I get back in the swing of covering Illinois and national politics after my senate primary campaign, and before any future endeavors as a candidate, I start with a focus on the unconscionable incarceration of indicted Illinois wheeler-dealer Tony Rezko, Senator Barack Obama's long-time sponsor, banker and crony.
Why, you might ask, after having had had so much to do with exposing the Obama-Rezko connection am I suddenly advocating freedom for Rezko? What I have learned in 40 years as a lawyer is that when you tolerate abuses of the Constitution for your opponents you eventually find abuses of the Constitution directed at your friends. The expression that "justice is blind" does not really exist in Chicago, where we have "Obama" federal judges and right-wing nutcake judges as well. Sadly, justice is not blind in Chicago and, where Arabs and Muslims are concerned, not blind anywhere in the United States.
African-Americans have an expression they use to describe racist police, "DWB," which means "Driving While Black." In other words, African-Americans are always at the risk of racist justice when they are driving on the highway.
It seems that in federal courts we now have a similar syndrome: "DWA," or "Defending While Arab." In other words, Arabs and Muslims are prosecuted on flimsy charges, see their rights violated, and end up being punished where a non-Arab would not be. The U. S. Department of Justice has acted as a virtual extension of the Israeli secret service, the Mossad. In Tampa, Florida, federal prosecutors spent months presenting a wildly incredible case, and lost. Then they reneged on a plea agreement and continued to persecute the main defendant, Sami Al-Arian.
Closer to home, the same Judge Amy St. Eve who is persecuting Tony Rezko, a Syrian immigrant, previously conducted a sham trial against Muhammad Salah.
Judge Amy St. Eve has a problem: she apparently hates Arabs and Muslims. She becomes a vicious psychopath when Arabs and Muslims come before her. Tony Rezko would be wise to seek her removal.
St. Eve conducted the carnival trial against two Palestinian activists, Abdelhaleem Ashqar and Muhammad Salah. Former Attorney General John Ashcroft breathlessly announced the Salah indictment in a comedic news conference, accusing the men of being terrorist masterminds. St. Eve allowed Mossad torturers to come into court and testify—in disguise. The trial was a show trial of the type Americans would condemn in the Russia or China. But St. Eve conducted this travesty in Chicago.
Fortunately, the intelligent people of Illinois, jurors all, rejected the Mossad's fictitious allegations, and the Department of Justice was a humiliated by losing the vast majority of its Salah case. The two men were convicted on minor, technical violations, one of them (Salah) for mistaken testimony in a related case that has since been reversed on appeal by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago. (Boim v. Holy Land, 12/28/07).
But in what should have been and may have been a warning to Judge St. Eve in he Rezko matter, the Seventh Circuit stated in reversing Boim:
Belief, assumption and speculation are no substitute for evidence in a court of law…We must resist the temptation to gloss over error, admit spurious evidence, and assume facts not adequately proved simply to side with the face of innocence and against the face of terrorism. (Note: the Boim case was not decided by Judge St. Eve.)
St. Eve sentenced two innocent men to jail, one (Salah) to two years in jail and the other (Ashqar), who committed no crime, to eleven years in jail. And we wonder why they hate us?
Back to Rezko. What "crime" did Rezko commit to justify being jailed before trial? None that I can see. There was merely more of the same sort of anti-Arab hocus pocus presented to Judge St. Eve in the Salah trial. Rezko had borrowed money after posting bail. He had reimbursed friends for helping with his bail. And he paid his lawyers. From these innocent acts St. Eve concocted a vast conspiracy as a pretext to jail Rezko before trial. And the high quality of Mr. Rezko's bathroom fixtures also found its way into news reports after "federal agents" arrested Rezko is yet another show trial episode, storming his home in the morning when Rezko would have voluntarily appeared if asked to do so. It is enough to make you want to vomit about the sad state of justice in Chicago.
Mr. Rezko's crime in St. Eve's court was nothing more than "DWA," Defending While Arab. The fact that Rezko was in Syria when he was indicted, Syria!, and did not have to return to Chicago to face charges, and did so voluntarily, was ignored by the judge. She is apparently obsessed with the fact that Tony-the-Arab may flee to. Syria? He already left there.
And the fact that Rezko borrowed money? Lots of people who are broke can borrow money. I am not surprised that Rezko was trying to arrange his financial affairs to—pay his lawyers (who got the bulk of the "secret" loan). By all means, pay the lawyers!
In closing, three points.
Whether guilty or innocent, a defendant is entitled to a fair trial. Judge St. Eve has shown she hates Arabs and no Arab or Muslim can obtain a fair trial in her courtroom.
Second, if Rezko is guilty of his criminality involving Obama (where he has not been charged with a crime) and other influence peddling with crooked politicians in Illinois, he should be found guilty and punished appropriately. But he should be treated as a defendant, not an Arab-defendant, and be tried before a judge whose neutrality and impartiality is not in question.
Finally, my comments have nothing to do with the "war on terror." I am a strong supporter of the war on terror, and I have no hesitation to prosecute or convict, or kill, persons who conspire against the United States. But Palestinian freedom fighters or sympathizers are not conspiring against the United States; they are fighting to free their land from Israeli occupation, seizure and theft. American courts have no business criminalizing a war of national liberation that is playing out in the Middle East.
The Department of Justice lost in Florida. They lost in Texas and they lost in Chicago. The Department keeps losing its anti-Arab cases because it is bringing phony, trumped-up political cases against people who are freedom fighters and sympathizers, not criminals. Why does Justice keep trying? Because of pressure from the Israeli government to fight the war in America that Israelis losing in the Middle East.
Fortunately, in each instance above, juries freed the defendants from the charges, but could not always free the defendants from the malignant tentacles of the Department of Justice. The innocent were made to suffer.
Near as I can determine, Tony Rezko has never had anything to do with Middle East politics. He came to America to make money. Rezko loves money, he loves making money, and he loves spending money on politicians. And he may have crossed the line as a confederate of Illinois' corrupt Governor Rod Blagojevich. But, because Rezko is an immigrant from an Arab country, and a non-very-popular Arab county at that, Rezko is receiving corrupt justice from a biased judge in federal court in Chicago.
I am compelled to stand up for our Constitution. Free Tony Rezko. And let the man defend himself in open court without dragging him through the streets of Chicago in chains and prison clothes. End the racial bias of the judge and the Department of Justice against Arabs and Muslims. Hasn’t Justice lost enough cases? What does it take for the "justice" lawyers to get the message? Ultimately, the Department is not disgracing Rezko. The Department is disgracing the American people. And the whole world is watching.
------------------------------------------Chicago-based Internet journalist, broadcaster and media critic Andy Martin is the Executive Editor and publisher of ContrarianCommentary.com. © Copyright by Andy Martin 2008. Martin covers regional, national and world events with over forty years of experience. He is a former candidate for U. S. Senator. AndyforUSSenator.com. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. Columns also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com. Comments? E-mail: AndyMart20@aol.com. Media contact: (866) 706-2639. Web sites: ContrarianCommentary.com.
posted by Andy Martin | 9:53 PM
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