Fred James: It is the evening of November 1, hours after Vic was found guilty on three of the four counts. The good news is that the one count he was found not guilty on was the most grievous of the four counts. And there are a number of good reasons for a solid appeal. Whether or not Vic decides to make an appeal will be done in about three months, after the sentencing which is scheduled for early February next.
The grounds for appeal might be the fact that the local media inundated Alaskans with highly negative publicity almost on a daily basis for the last ten months, putting Vic’s picture on the cover of the ADN or at the Start of the TV news, constantly , repeating the words, “raid, corruption, guilty, money changing hands” etc. which tended to bias the jury pool, the refusal by the judge to allow the trial to be conducted elsewhere, the fact that 20 potential testimonies by local people including Leza and myself were denied by the judge. We could have shown that Vic was constantly using the phrase “If there is anything you need, please feel free to call me for help.” a phrase which the government lawyers twisted to mean, “I’ll be happy to do your bidding oh corrupt VECO Crooks if you pay me money”. And a particularly open ended FBI video where Bill Allen, the head crook of VECO handed Vic some money. How much money was never established because it could have been five dollars or five million. Bill Allen SAID it was so and so amount and the government kept repeating that as if it were true.
As Vic Faced the jury this afternoon he began to hear the three guilty verdicts and one not guilty, he kept his composure and bravely kept up his head. The judge asked the government attorneys if Vic should be allowed to stay on his present free status until the sentencing in early February, they quickly agreed as they saw no flight risk.. So that was ordered. Vic can mump about without electronic monitoring or checking in ever morning or any of that nonsense. As one blogger put it, “They missed the sharks in this scandal, and caught a minnow.”
I believe there is a very healthy anti-government, anti-politician attitude in the public right now which is one reason Ron Paul is gaining so much ground. But the other side of this is that the one politician who IS NOT a statist Vahrule, the one pol who has an almost pure libertarian political philosophy and who is not afraid to write about it in his opinion pieces, a large, tall target named Vic has been drawn down with the ACTUAL corrupt politicians as if he were one of them.
Recently two politicians were found guilty of corruption along with the “VECO Crooks.” I believe this jury simply lumped Vic in with the others. After all how do you tell if a politician is lying? His lips are moving. I have always felt this way about Rulers. I have always agreed with the great American political philosopher Woody Allen. Allen told his audience once, “Everyone knows that politicians are one rung lower than child molesters.” Vic has been lumped in.
In movies and TV shows (including Boston Legal) when the accused is about to find out the verdict he usually is required to stand and his lawyer with him. But in this federal courtroom, the judge received the written verdict and handed it directly to his court clerk who promptly read it! No one stood. But if Vic and his lawyer had been required to stand, I who sat directly behind them for almost two full weeks would have stood too. And if the judge had told me I did not have to stand, (Like Spock in Star Trek) I would have said in a loud voice, “Sir, I stand with my friend.”
A friend called me on the phone tonight, a man who I used to go shooting with occasionally in Alaska in the last 25 years. He told me most sincerely, “After watching that debacle for the last two weeks it turned me into a total libertarian.”
Oddly, except for denying the change of venue motion and several small items, Judge John Sedwick was the first judge in a criminal court I’ve ever seen who seemed to be really attempting to conduct a fair trial!
Vic is down but not out. I saw a number of news photographers tell him to keep up the fight. Last week I observed at least one reporter attempt to twist virtually everything Vic said. I read one blogger who admitted Vic was truly a polite, friendly man but then went on to write that this manner HAD TO BE A CON! I’ve known the man since 1992 and KNOW he’s exactly the polite, gentle giant that his attorney once called him.
I saw one person in this charade say one thing on the radio and then literally lie to Vic’s face the next day by telling Vic the opposite. I observed government attorneys speak over and over to the jury about specific sums of money that Bill Allen, the crooked center of all this mess, merely TOLD the government he gave to Vic. They spoke as if it were proven fact. So allegations became fact, rumor became truth. Black is white and Big Brother wins another.
George Orwell is laughing in his grave as the state rules.
Aloha Nui Loa,
IL Fettucinni
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