Hopefully, the forum will include an update on the suspicious removal of historic documents from the National Archives, documents that would very likely prove that the IRS has known for decades that it is illegally enforcing the federal income tax. More about this at www.givemeliberty.org or:
One of the lawsuits, has a single plaintiff, Judy Welch. Welch's case is scheduled for trial on July 21, 2003 in Orange County Superior Court. In preparation for the trial, we want to depose two FTB employees in Sacramento. A deposition is a court proceeding in which a person (an FTB employee here) is questioned live, under oath. Judy Welch is entitled to ask A LOT of questions about how the FTB illegally operates and systematically violates the law.
If you live in the Sacramento area, or are willing to travel to Sacramento, you may be able to attend this "public" deposition of these two FTB employees. The purpose of inviting you, "the public", is to expose the deceit and fraud, which is so prevalent in the FTB's activities.
Public depositions are rare, and we are still researching the requirements and ramifications. We are not 100% certain that you, "the public", will be able to attend. Attendance may be limited to only the attorneys and parties to the lawsuit.
If you are interested in watching these FTB employees sweat while they confess to FTB's illegal activities, your preliminary input to attend this deposition is needed to arrange for the proper sized room, number of chairs etc., and to give the necessary advance notice to the Attorney General's Office which represents the FTB.
To commit to attend the deposition, please email Paul Ballmer immediately at alpinemarketing@yahoo.com
*******************************
Regards,
Joseph R. (Joe) Banister, C.P.A.
Former IRS Criminal Investigation Division Special Agent
Paul Ballmer, who won and collected a $250,000 Judgment against the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) in 2001, asked me to forward information in connection with various lawsuits filed against the Franchise Tax Board. An excerpt from Paul's announcement appears below:
Former IRS Special Agent Achieves Partial Victory But Further Appeal Efforts Necessary
As announced on Monday June 28th, 2004, the "Treasury" Department issued its decision regarding my January 23, 2004 appeal of Administrative Law Judge Moran's December 24th "initial decision" in my IRS LOCKOUT case (the IRS attempt to prohibit me from acting as an IRS-approved client representative). I also had announced that the "Treasury" appeal decision, spanning over one hundred pages, could possibly be the longest decision of its kind ever drafted and it appeared to play as many shell games with the facts and the law as the Internal Revenue (Tax) Code does.
Now that we have had an opportunity to digest this mammoth "Treasury" answer to our first appeal opportunity, we have learned that the decision acts largely as apologia for the actions of Administrative Law Judge William Moran in an attempt to shore up his recommended disbarment of the "dangerous" Joe Banister, complete with perversions of logic, prevarication, and near prostitution of the law. This one of a kind "Treasury" appeal decision is not a work of art but a work of artifice. I suggest you get out some note paper and sharpen your pencil because this is indeed a tangled web to follow.
The reason I put quotes around the term "Treasury" decision above is that although my appeal request was addressed to John W. Snow, Secretary of the Treasury as instructed by the applicable regulations (31 C.F.R. section 10.77), the most prominent of the many shell games played during this process was deployed. Namely, Treasury Secretary Snow delegated his decision making duty in my case to Emily A. Parker, the "Acting Assistant General Counsel of the Treasury" who also just happened to be the "Acting Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service". Emily Parker then conveniently delegated her decision-making responsibility to David F.P. O'Connor. Can you take a guess as to what Mr. O'Connor's title is? It will come as no surprise that David O'Connor's title is "Special Counsel to the Senior Counsel, Office of Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service".
Yes, folks, the case against me is so "strong" that the Secretary of the Treasury side-stepped deciding it and incestuously handed the decision-making authority back to the IRS, the very agency that lodged the allegations against me in the first place! Try to picture being charged with violating some law and then finding out that the prosecutor in your trial was sitting on the judge's bench! If the phrase "judge, jury, and executioner" ever applied to a punitive government action against a citizen, this is it! Remember the famous words from the U.S. Supreme Court, ".the power to tax involves the power to destroy"?
Now that I have explained why I put "Treasury" decision in quotes, I will now refer to the decision as it should be referred to - the "IRS" appeal decision, since it was an IRS official who made the decision.
Incredibly, even with the Internal Revenue Service's extraordinary level of control over the decision-making authority in my case thus far, even to the level of appointing one of the agency's own puppets to do the dirty work, the IRS appeal decision recognized the weakness of half of the allegations against me and dismissed the entire amended complaint. You may recall that the amended complaint alleged that I was subject to disbarment or suspension because I engaged in disreputable conduct by failing to file an individual Federal income tax return (Form 1040) for 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002, as allegedly required by Title 26 of the U.S. Code, section 1, 6011(a), 6012(a) et seq., 6013, and/or 6072(a). Pertinent to the failure to file allegations, the IRS appeal decision stated, among other things, that "The record in these proceedings contains no evidence that supports a finding that Respondent had a sufficient amount of gross income for any of the four years in issue to require him to file a federal income tax return for any of the four years." [page 62] The IRS appeal decision also stated "However, the record of the proceedings contains no evidence indicating why Respondent failed to file individual tax returns for these years." [page 63]
In a telling move perhaps indicating that IRS officials recognized they had bitten off a little more than they wanted to chew in litigating tax return filing requirements, the IRS appeal decision indicated that, although the normal process would have been to remand (send back) the matter of my duty to file an individual income tax return back to Judge Moran for further development, it was conveniently decided that the matter of my duty to file an individual income tax return would not be returned to Judge Moran for further development and that, for all intents and purposes, the matter would not be further pursued along the channels previously traveled. [page 61]
The IRS appeal decision contains no findings of fact, as has been typical of IRS-authored submissions in this case to date. Instead, the order changes the facts around as the IRS appeal decision narrative progresses. Indeed, the appeal decision often contradicts itself on what the facts actually are. At times, the decision asserts that I admitted everything in order to justify IRS assertions that there was no need for a hearing or discovery or further due process of law procedures. At other times, the decision contradicts itself by asserting that I denied everything or refused to provide evidence.
Nevertheless, fearing reversal, the IRS appeal decision made extraordinary assertions and admissions. The agency asserts it has the authority to prohibit any client from choosing a duly authorized, state-licensed accountant or attorney as their representative simply because the client's opinions or beliefs are not the same as the IRS. They claim my client's beliefs were so dangerous that I must be disbarred for simply mentioning those beliefs, describing those beliefs, or attempting to champion those beliefs to the best of my ability. Professionals Beware! Aggressive defense of your client or inquiries into IRS conduct could lead to being labeled a heretic. Once so labeled, beware. The IRS has brought back burning at the stake and it has a full box of matches at the ready.
The IRS appeal decision asserts that no citizen enjoys the right to due process of law in a disbarment proceeding - the IRS can do as it pleases without affording the accused person any discovery, any right to confrontation of witnesses, any right to present evidence in their defense, any right to protect against previewing one's defense against the criminal prosecution arm of the state, any right to a public hearing, any right to an impartial judge, and any right to an independent appellate officer. Give the Politboro the power and secrecy of the Star Chamber and imagine the consequences. Stalin would be proud.
Finally, it is clear from the message conveyed in the IRS appeal decision that the agency's actions against me have nothing to do with protecting citizens from allegedly disreputable tax advisors but, rather, with protecting the IRS from an informed, inquiring, fearless citizenry. The great "public interest" the IRS seeks is the agency's ability to collect as much money from as many people as possible with little to no resistance or scrutiny. What the IRS seeks looks much more like larceny than tax collection.
"Dangerous" tax advisors like former IRS Criminal Investigation Division Special Agent Banister must be discredited and silenced or, heaven help us, he might help to awaken the masses to the truth about how his former employer cheats and beats them. The IRS has underestimated the ability of American to recognize deceit. Giving them cake may not be enough to save the queen's head.
I invite you to read the IRS appeal decision and arrive at your own conclusions. With your continuing assistance, I intend to appeal this sham IRS appeal decision to federal court and further expose just how impossible it is for the IRS to win without resorting to deceitful and even illegal methods. You have helped me achieve victory in having the amended complaint charges dismissed (as described above). Now it's time to defeat the remaining allegations. Contributions of any size are welcome and sincerely appreciated and can be sent to Joseph R. Banister, c/o Freedom Above Fortune, P.O. Box 90239, San Jose, California 95109-4239 so that I can continue this effort. Please pass this information on to as many of your contacts and media outletsas possible. More information about contributions and developments in this IRS case are available at www.freedomabovefortune.com by clicking on "IRS LOCKOUT UPDATE" in the center of the home page screen.
My sincere thanks to all who have offered prayers for my success and who have contributed financially to this effort thus far, many of whom have even made multiple donations. When one considers the power of our adversary and the size of its bag of dirty tricks, we are making extraordinary progress.
Kind Regards,
Joseph R. (Joe) Banister, C.P.A.
Former IRS Criminal Investigation Division Special Agent
My sincere thanks to those who have prayed for the success of our efforts and contributed to my defense fund. Your continued financial support is enabling me to illustrate, in detail and in a very public manner, that the IRS does not prevail against citizens because the agency adheres to the rule of law, but that the IRS prevails against citizens because the agency ignores the law, twists the meaning of the law, and overwhelms the citizen with economic and legal burdens. In a school yard, such tactics are called "BULLYING". In a government setting, such tactics are called "TYRANNY". This effort is the equivalent of ganging up on the bully and sending him to reform school where he belongs.
Your continued financial support is enabling me to illustrate, in detail and in a very public manner, that the IRS does not prevail against citizens because the agency adheres to the rule of law, but that the IRS prevails against citizens because the agency ignores the law, twists the meaning of the law, and overwhelms the citizen with economic and legal burdens. In a school yard, such tactics are called "BULLYING". In a government setting, such tactics are called "TYRANNY". This effort is the equivalent of ganging up on the bully and sending him to reform school where he belongs.
Apparently there were some technical problems with the We The People Foundation/We The People Congress that caused some website and email problems. Thus, I was not aware of this September 23rd update posting until today. I have included the text of the update below but, as always, the best place to go so that all links to further information are accessible is www.givemeliberty.org . Please forward this message to everyone on your lists.
What a difference 60 days makes: from 6 to 2,000 Plaintiffs.
Thousands of Americans are now learning the meaning of the last ten words of the First Amendment and are exercising their Right to Petition the government for Redress of Grievances relating to:
1.
The war powers clauses of the Constitution and the Iraq Resolution.
2.
The "privacy" and due process clauses and the USA Patriot Act.
3.
The taxing clauses and the direct, un-apportioned tax on labor.
4.
The money and "debt" clauses and the Federal Reserve System.
On July 19, 2004, four People and two organizations filed a Complaint in the District Court for the District of Columbia. The Complaint seeks an Order (quote):
"Granting declaratory relief to the Plaintiffs by constraining the defendants to meet their obligations under the law and relevant rules by entering into good faith exchanges with the Plaintiffs and to provide to the Plaintiffs documented and specific answers to the reasonable questions asked of them by the Plaintiffs and to address in their respective official capacities each of the issues raised by the Plaintiffs in their Petitions to representatives of the United States Government, namely: grievances relating to violations of the U.S. Constitution's war powers, taxing, money, and 'privacy' and due process clauses."
On September 16, 2004, the Complaint was amended.
Nearly 2,000 people from every state in the Union have now been added to the list of named plaintiffs.
The caption of the Complaint is now 64 pages in length.
No Longer a "Class Action"
Rather than potentially wait the many months it would take for the Court to identify and formally certify a "plaintiff-class," or worse yet, be dependent upon the discretion of the Court to certify a plaintiff-class, we have decided to make the action a "class-action-like" lawsuit, by dropping the "Class Action" designation and by greatly expanding the list of named plaintiffs.
Because of this shift in legal strategy, all of our supporters that previously signed up intending to become members of the plaintiff "class-action" aspect of the case are now strongly encouraged to join the rapidly growing list of formally "named" Plaintiffs. All "named" Plaintiffs are eligible for the protections that the court may possibly order, if any, in the future as a result of the amended Complaint.
See the note below on how to join.
From 2,000 to 20,000
It has been said that when the People are up against unjust and uncivil government, they can achieve the reform they are entitled to only if they are pro-active, non-violent and have a mass-movement.
Therefore, we intend to amend the complaint again, by increasing the number of named Plaintiffs tenfold - to 20,000.
Then, if possible, we would like to amend the complaint with another ten-fold increase in the number of named plaintiffs.
We intend to make it as difficult as possible for the government, including the courts, not to take this matter seriously.
While only one person should be able to go to the court for a declaration of his or her Rights under the Petition Clause of the First Amendment, we know what is at stake for the government and how politicized the matter may become. Numbers DO count.
In any event, we need to let the government know that we, the People, are serious in our effort to get honest responses to our Petitions for Redress of these Grievances.
PLEASE, do all you can to help us achieve our next goal of 20,000 named plaintiffs.
PLEASE, join the action (if you are not already on the list of named plaintiffs).
PLEASE contact your friends and associates with a request that they join the lawsuit. If your friends and associates would like more information about the We The People organization and the Right To Petition lawsuit, they should send an e-mail to Bob@GiveMeLiberty.org, along with a mailing addresses. We will respond promptly.
Become A Named Plaintiff (All Irwin Schiff students should join this)
To be added to the list of Plaintiffs, one must do three things. First, read and sign one or more of the four Petitions for Redress. Second, send us a notarized Affidavit. Third, submit the on-line Contact Information form. Please go to the Lawsuit Information Center for all the details about joining the lawsuit.
It's Free
There is no charge to join the Right To Petition lawsuit.
Mark Lane is the attorney. His fees are being paid by solely through donations and contributions from the public at large.
Anyone wishing to contribute to the lawsuit can do so by clicking here to donate or by mailing their donation to We The People Foundation, 2458 Ridge Road, Queensbury, NY 12804. Donations to the Foundation are tax-deductible and can be made on a one-time or schedulable, monthly basis.
An Apology
We apologize for the fact that many are having difficulties getting our website to properly respond to their on-line information processing requests. First, our primary technical resource was unexpectedly forced to depart from us leaving us with significant operational and recovery issues. Then our Internet Service Provider committed a significant technical mistake while servicing our dedicated server resulting in the destruction of the primary components of our e-mail software system.
We are actively working to cure the problems. Thank you for your patience.
Many people have asked us how Dick Simkanin is doing.
The good news is he was moved to the federal "camp" at Texarkana, Texas. Dick tells us the facility is far better than the one he was at in Fort Worth. Not only are the inmates those who have been convicted of "white collar" crimes, there are no fences, bars, barbed wire, etc. Dick is spending some of his time as a GED instructor, teaching math, science and related subjects to inmates.
Everyone is urged to continue writing letters to Dick Simkanin. He really depends on your letters to keep his spirits up. His new address is:
Richard Michael Simkanin
30383-177 Unit F
FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION
P.O. BOX 7000
TEXARKANA, TX 75505-7000
Even though our organization has contributed significantly to Dick's Legal Defense Fund, we are unable to report on the progress of Dick's appeal. Unfortunately, the Foundation has not been kept informed about the specific progress and details of the appeal by his legal team which consists of attorneys Peter Goldberger and Robert Bernhoff, and paralegal Tom Selgas.
As soon as we hear something newsworthy, we will pass it on.
Join the RTP lawsuit and learn about the Right to Petition
Click Here for Lane's 7/04 Letter to Plaintiffs and to see how lawsuit kick-off began in DC this July
Become a local or state Coordinator.
Donate - one time or monthly.
Join the WTP Congress.
*
To Join the RTP class action lawsuit, GO TO THE Lawsuit Information Center
*
Click Here to donate and help finance this vital project to protect the Constitution.
*
Read and sign the Petitions for Redress of Grievances regarding the Government's
abuse of its limited war-making, taxing, and monetary powers and its ongoing assault
on the Bill of Rights.
*
Click Here to obtain a copy of the Give Me Liberty 2004 conference record. 26+ Hours
of "must-see" freedom video -- the leading voices on reclaiming our Republic &
the Right to Petition...On (4) VHS tapes or (8) CD-ROMs.
-For those who have received this message as a forward from someone else, you can sign up to receive these messages directly by visiting www.freedomabovefortune.com and clicking on "Mailing List".
-For those who are unfamiliar with what has transpired to date in this case, please visit www.freedomabovefortune.com and click on "IRS LOCKOUT UPDATE" or visit www.joebanister.blogspot.com . You can also find archives of informative radio shows at www.hearliberty.com .
-My sincere thanks to those who have prayed for the success of our efforts and contributed to my defense fund. Your continued financial support is enabling me to illustrate, in detail and in a very public manner, that the IRS does not prevail against citizens because the agency adheres to the rule of law, but that the IRS prevails against citizens because the agency ignores the law, twists the meaning of the law, and overwhelms the citizen with economic and legal burdens. In a school yard, such tactics are called "BULLYING". In a government setting, such tactics are called "TYRANNY". This effort is the equivalent of ganging up on the bully and sending him to reform school where he belongs.
There have been some developments in my continuing "IRS LOCKOUT" saga that I would like to share with you. First, I need to summarize what has happened to date.
The IRS, in its continuing effort to prevent me from taking part in educating the American public about the fraudulently created and fraudulently administered federal income tax system, filed a complaint against me in March, 2003 alleging that I engaged in "disreputable conduct" by presenting certain information on behalf of clients who were attempting to resolve IRS disputes. In October, 2003, the IRS amended their complaint to allege that I had engaged in additional "disreputable conduct" by failing to file "an individual Federal income tax return (Form 1040)" for the years 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002. Punishment for "disreputable conduct", if found to exist, is "disbarment" from "practice before the Internal Revenue Service". I coined the phrase "IRS LOCKOUT" to convey that the IRS complaint process was an attempt to keep this agency whistleblower from exposing the truth about the income tax inside the walls of the IRS.
I had the misfortune to have the IRS complaint process administered by an Environmental Protection Agency (yes, EPA!) Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Moran, who, far from being an unbiased arbiter between IRS officials and me, completely denied my right to discovery (being able to receive and analyze the evidence that forms the basis for the allegations against me), ordered the wholesale exclusion of my evidence and witnesses from the court record (even prohibiting me from testifying in my own defense), denied my right to confront my accusers by cross-examining them, refused to convene a hearing to which the law entitled me, and, as many will recall, attempted to convene my "Sanction Proceeding" on a military installation located on an island in San Francisco Bay, far from public view.
In December, 2003, ALJ Moran issued his "initial decision", which, not surprisingly given Moran's conduct described above, was that I should be "disbarred" from "practice before the Internal Revenue Service". I appealed Moran's decision to the Secretary of the Treasury (the next appellate step) and nearly 6 months after Moran's decision, in June, 2004, I learned that the most prominent of the many shell games played during this process was deployed. Namely, Treasury Secretary Snow delegated his decision making duty in my case to Emily A. Parker, the "Acting Assistant General Counsel of the Treasury" who also just happened to be the "Acting Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service". Emily Parker then conveniently delegated her decision-making responsibility to David F.P. O'Connor. Not surprisingly, David O'Connor's title is "Special Counsel to the Senior Counsel, Office of Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service". Yes, the case against me was so "strong" that the Secretary of the Treasury side-stepped deciding it and incestuously handed the decision-making authority back to the IRS, the very agency that lodged the allegations against me in the first place!
Despite the Internal Revenue Service's extraordinary level of control over the decision-making authority in my case to that point, even to the level of appointing one of the agency's own puppets to do the dirty work, the IRS appeal decision recognized the weakness of half of the allegations against me and dismissed the entire amended complaint (the part of the complaint dealing with Federal income tax returns).
In a telling move perhaps indicating that IRS officials recognized they had bitten off a little more than they wanted to chew in litigating tax return filing requirements, the IRS appeal decision indicated that, although the normal process would have been to remand (send back) the matter of the duty to file an individual income tax return back to Judge Moran for further development, it was conveniently decided that the matter of the duty to file an individual income tax return would not be returned to Judge Moran for further development and that, for all intents and purposes, the matter would not be further pursued along the channels previously traveled.
The IRS attorney "stand-in" for the Secretary of the Treasury did sustain ALJ Moran's order of disbarment relating to the original complaint allegations (relating to the allegedly unacceptable information I presented on behalf of clients) and I will soon be appealing that decision in federal court. Now that I have brought you up to date on what happened in the past, it's time to describe what is happening in the present.
Even though I have been able to withstand the IRS punches so far (with the consistent support of so many of you), the tentacles of the IRS octopus reach far and wide. As many of you were probably aware, I have held a Certified Public Accountant (C.P.A.) license since 1991. My C.P.A. license was issued to me by the State of California after I fulfilled specific testing and experience requirements. During the 13 years I have held this license, no one has ever lodged any kind of complaint against me. My reputation as a C.P.A. has been nothing short of exemplary. The agency that monitors California C.P.A.s is the California Board of Accountancy (CBA) ( http://www.dca.ca.gov/cba ), 2000 Evergreen Street, Suite 250, Sacramento, California 95815. One of the ways a California C.P.A. can receive scrutiny from the CBA is if there exists "a cancellation, revocation, or suspension of the right to practice as a certified public accountant before any governmental body or agency".
Unfortunately, even though the IRS pulled every dirty trick in the book to stain me with the "disbarment" status, and even though my legal team is very confident that the remaining complaint allegations (and my "disbarment" status) will be reversed on appeal, my status could be construed as falling into the category of "cancellation, revocation, or suspension of the right to practice ... before any governmental body or agency". Thus, the California Board of Accountancy has commenced an investigation to determine whether I should continue to hold my C.P.A. license.
I hope that the California Board of Accountancy will see the "IRS LOCKOUT" ordeal for the political persecution that it is rather than some indication that I am not worthy to be a C.P.A., but only time will tell.
According to Gregory P. Newington, Chief, Enforcement Division of the California Board of Accountancy, I am to report to an investigative hearing at 1:00 p.m. this Thursday, November 4th, 2004, at the Westin Hotel, 5400 West Century Blvd., Los Angeles, California 90045. Not surprisingly for those who are familiar with these various government efforts to protect the public from me, Mr. Newington has stated that the November 4th hearing is "closed to the public". I am looking into whether the public can be legally excluded from this hearing but I do not have any information one way or the other at this time.
If anyone lives or works in the Los Angeles area and would like to try to attend the hearing, you are welcome to come to the Westin Hotel. Although I welcome any and all support, I expect that anyone who supports me by attending this event will maintain a professional, polite, and well-mannered demeanor at all times in and around the hearing location. I am not sure exactly where in the hotel the hearing is supposed to occur but I imagine the front desk will have details.
Don't forget that I was considered such a dangerous individual during the IRS LOCKOUT proceedings that ALJ Moran initially wanted to hold the proceedings on a military base and even after he grudgingly changed the location to the San Francisco federal building, he had two armed federal agent body guards and a half-dozen armed IRS special agents in the courtroom. I hope that these California officials won't be as paranoid but it is something I cannot control. Ultimately, if you attend, it will be at your own risk. I should be easily to recognize. You can see my picture at www.freedomabovefortune.com and www.josephbanister.com for a reminder of what I look like. My hair is a little more gray than in the pictures, which, given what I have been experiencing, should not be too much of a surprise.
I will provide more information as events unfold. I can never thank you enough for the prayers and financial support you have given to me thus far. I know that such large groups of people praying for a just outcome is very powerful indeed. Please continue to pray for my efforts, the efforts of my legal team ( www.bernhoftlaw.com ), the efforts of so many other "tax honesty" advocates, and for all those people who have suffered at the hands of the income tax enforcement apparatus. It has been difficult to individually thank those of you who have sent financial contributions to help me pay the legal expenses but I am very, very grateful to each and every one of you. If you are able to contribute to defray the cost of filing the upcoming appeal in federal court or the costs associated with this new California Board of Accountancy inquiry, it would be very helpful. The mailing address for contributions is P.O. Box 90239, San Jose, California 95109-4239 and further details about contributions are given below. I will send more informational updates as soon as there is news to report.
For those who have received this message as a forward from someone else, you can sign up to receive these messages directly by visiting www.freedomabovefortune.com and clicking on "Mailing List".
-My sincere thanks to those who have prayed for the success of our efforts and contributed to my defense fund. Your continued financial support is enabling me to illustrate, in detail and in a very public manner, that the IRS does not prevail against citizens because the agency adheres to the rule of law, but that the IRS prevails against citizens because the agency ignores the law, twists the meaning of the law, and overwhelms the citizen with economic and legal burdens. In a school yard, such tactics are called "BULLYING". In a government setting, such tactics are called "TYRANNY". This effort is the equivalent of ganging up on the bully and sending him to reform school where he belongs.
Former IRS Criminal Investigation Division Special Agent
I would like to announce the formal creation of the
"Joseph Banister Legal Defense Fund". This is the official destination for financial contributions made to help me to defend against the forces lined up against me.
For those who contributed after my first announcement, please do not worry. Your contributions have been processed without any difficulty. For future contributions, it would be a great help if
donations could be made payable to the "Joseph Banister Legal Defense Fund". You can still mail the payments to the same address, just write:
Joseph Banister Legal Defense Fund, P.O. Box 90239, San Jose, California
Please pray for this effort as often as you can. Someday I will be able to share with you specific details as to how your prayers have helped. If you have contributed financially in the past or plan to contribute financially in the future, please know that this fight would have ended long ago were it not for the generosity of Americans like you all across the country. I know you realize that the outcome of this effort affects all of us, although for the time being, I have been placed in the "eye of the storm".
I have many experts and professionals who have stepped forward to assist me. Your contributions help me to afford the significant time the team must contribute to winning this effort and to afford the significant expenses associated with such an effort.
I have included below the initial announcement I had sent out on Monday, November 22nd with a couple of revisions in brackets. Thank you so very much for standing with me.
I awoke last Thursday morning [November 18, 2004] to the arrival of uninvited visitors at my home. I do apologize for not corresponding with all of you sooner, since it has been your faith, hope, prayers, and
financial support that has done so much to reassure me in this long struggle. The delay could not be avoided because I needed private time with my family and trusted friends. The time was useful and productive. Now the time has come to act.
Most of you are well aware of previous [character] assassination attempts on my personal and professional life. In obvious desperation, the IRS has had to hunt around its slimy cave for a bigger club because the ones the agency had used in the past were not working as planned. The club now being swung against me is an attempt to take away my personal freedom. As you know, I am married and my wife and I have two young boys, aged 16 and 13. I want you to know that we are doing alright, although you can probably imagine what you would think of all of this if you were 16 or 13 years old, or a loving spouse. There are many things that need to be done in the coming months. My immediate
family has always been there to stand by me and their support has given me great strength. Now that this latest event has occurred, I need to reach out to my extended family around the country yet again to help me.
The IRS instills fear in even its most patriotic citizens through the clubs it wields, and it has come after me with the biggest one it has. One of the concerns that always hovered in the back of my mind was how to defend against the bully's club and still fulfill my duties to provide for my wife and my children. This quandary -- between questioning the IRS when I felt what they did was wrong and meeting my
duties to my own family -- faces too many Americans because of the disparity of power between them and the IRS, and we all know too well how the IRS profits from this disparity.
My faith perseveres. I cannot know what it is like to feel such stress that I sweat blood in the garden of Gethsemane or to stand amidst God's most fearsome creatures in a den of lions. But, my parents and my teachers raised me to appreciate those who did, and to do my best to follow, however humbly in comparison, in their footsteps. I have tried not to forsake that path.
That is why I have always believed with all my heart that if a day came when defending against the bully's club brought hardship to those I care most about, that somehow, someway, God would provide. With that faith buried in my heart and alive to this day, I forged ahead and blew the whistle on the most feared entity in our country.
That day has arrived. Defending myself must become a full-time commitment in the coming months, with little time available to support my family. In order to mount the best defense possible, a defense
necessary to protect every conscientious American who yearns for honesty in taxation and honor in our public officials, I dearly need your spiritual and financial support. I believe those who wish to throw me in this lion's den have made one mistake -- they do not realize that I am not alone there. To provide for my family and continue my struggle to expose how the IRS does business, I need your help.
No matter how you support me, please know that I deeply appreciate it. You are the check against the abuse of power. Every contribution you make protects my family and helps me focus on preparation of my defense. The mailing address is [Joseph Banister Legal Defense Fund, P.O. Box 90239, San Jose, California 95109-4239]. If you have privacy concerns regarding the mailing envelope, feel free to put the P.O. Box address in the return address space rather than your own. If you wish, cash donations or money orders are also fine, as well as checks.
Please inform as many of our fellow Americans as possible about my situation. Forward this email to as many people as possible. There are a number of spokespeople who will be speaking out about how my IRS whistle-blowing activities have led me to this point. The point of contact is Attorney Robert E. Barnes (rebarnes@bernhoftlaw.com). Please respect the fact that Mr. Barnes has a very busy schedule and email contact is best (and being very specific in the subject field of the email). Please contact radio talk show hosts, both national and local. Some ideas are Alan Colmes, Sean Hannity, Michael Reagan, Michael Savage, Rush Limbaugh, Bill Press, Ken Hamblin, Dr. James Dobson, G.
Gordon Liddy, Geoff Metcalf, Barbara Simpson, Claude Howard, and Joseph Farah. Any of the preceding names can be entered into www.google.com to find out how to contact them. Let them know how important this story is.
I truly wish I could individually thank each and every one of you helping me. It is you that keeps hope alive. Please know that I am ever grateful for your support.
His arrest was simultaneously coordinated with the arrest of Al Thompson. As part of the normal booking procedures he had a pre-trial probation interview. The interviewer made vague references to another matter about which Joe then had no knowledge of. This matter Joe eventually learned had to do with Al's arrest, which was still in progress at the time. They did not want to divulge much to Joe until they were assured that Mr. Thompson had been arrested and taken into custody. After that was confirmed and after they finished the interview with Joe, they were able to determine that Joe should be released on his own recognizance. I think he had a hearing scheduled for 2 p.m.
Third, know that Joe believes that one of the keys to his success lies with all the support he receives from all of you and he asked that I specifically remind everyone of that. He knows that a large number of people support him and are pulling for him and he asks that those who pray for him to continue in that.
As you can imagine, this type of thing can be very disruptive to families and can be especially trying for spouses. Please include in your prayers a request that peace and tranquility will remain in the Banister household.
Send an e-mail to John Turner for further info on Joe. e-mail address at the bottom of this message.
Early this morning I received a phone call from Joe Banister. As you know,
yesterday a grand jury returned an indictment against Joe and Al Thompson. Joe was picked up by law enforcement authorities early yesterday morning and was subsequently released later in the afternoon on his own recognizance.
First, know that Joe is in good spirits. Second, know that Joe said he was treated well by the IRS special agents and the other law enforcement officials.
