From an October 10th American Thinker article Is Obama’s Shutdown War on Private Business Illegal Racketeering? a wonderful question: Is this Mafia by government? Can we get them on RICO? Wasn’t Al Capone nailed on something small? (I forget what it was. I believe it was tax evasion.) Remember the Tom Cruise movie based on the John Grisham book “The Firm” in which they got justice on the group of thugging murdering lawyers via (literally) putting a stamp on fraud? Could it be this (relatively speaking) easy? Could it be their hubris finally caused them to overreach so egregiously that a case can be made to haul this crew across the south lawn in handcuffs? Oh, what a delicious thought. After all, in case you missed it, they actually closed the ocean! Furloughed God! Evicted an elderly couple from the home they’d lived in for over 40 years! This is unconscionable. If Mitt Romney gave big business a one year waiver and the launch for individuals were this disastrous, and those individuals faced tax penalties for not being able to sign up for insanely expensive insurance on a computer system the federal government can’t open, the main stream media and every Democrat on the Hill would be screaming.
But Obama’s a good progressive.
And black.
So his intentions are good.
So, eh.
I’ve excerpted the article below, but I heartily recommend a trip over to American Thinker to read the entire thing (and to make A.T. a daily stop. Wonderful writing. Every day.)
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Is Obama’s Shutdown War on Private Business Illegal Racketeering?
By Jonathon Moseley
Has President Barack Obama violated the Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations (“RICO”) Act with his hardball tactics over the government shutdown, to extort taxpayer funds?
“We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can,” an angry National Park Service ranger told Washington Times columnist Wesley Pruden. “It’s disgusting” The park ranger indicated that there is a political motive behind the closure of the open-air memorials.
The Park Service went out of its way to prevent tourists from taking photographs of Mt. Rushmore… The Park Service is actively blockading tourists from simply stopping along the public road to take a photograph… Government websites cost nothing to leave in place. Yet the government spent extra money to turn websites off. Mt. Vernon is privately funded and operated, on private land, using no federal funds. Yet the Park Service barricaded (bus access)… A senior administration official coldly told the Wall Street Journal: “We are winning. … It doesn’t really matter to us” how long the shutdown lasts…
In real estate law, a tenant has legal “possession” and control of land under a lease. When private businesses lease federal land, the U.S. government has no authority to interfere with “quiet enjoyment.” The legal meaning of a lease is that the owner gives up occupancy, possession, and control of land for money. As long as a tenant pays rent and complies with the agreement, a landlord has no legal right to suspend the tenant’s use of property.
For over a week, private inns and businesses along the Blue Ridge Parkway have been barricaded by armed park rangers from the National Park Service, blocking entrances with their police cruisers… The National Park Service’s actions are completely illegal… Adding to the farce, the Blue Ridge Parkway itself is open, but many businesses along it have been forcibly closed… In Philadelphia, NBC 10 reports that the City Tavern restaurant was ordered to close, since it sits inside Independence National Historical Park…
In Nevada, Joyce Spencer, 77, and her husband Ralph, 80, were kicked out of their home. The couple has owned the home since the 1970s, under a lease of federal land. They were given 24 hours to get out.
The U.S. government is actually trespassing by interfering with tenants on federal land. The U.S. Supreme Court has found an unconstitutional “taking” in violation of the Fifth Amendment when the government stops a tenant from using leased land (United States v. General Motors Corp, 323 U.S. 373 [1945]). Also, a temporary interruption in the use of real estate can be a taking (First English Evangelical Lutheran Church v. County of Los Angeles, 482 U.S. 304 [1987]). The government is also guilty of tortuous interference with business expectancy and liable to pay for all losses.
Meanwhile, the Obama administration has ordered 1,100 square miles of the ocean closed… (!)…
The Obama administration’s actions are illegal… No authority exists for the government to stop licensed captains from sailing, even with paying passengers. Senior Chief Geoff Ross (U.S. Navy, Ret.) is calling for boat captains to break the blockade.
Clearly, this is blackmail. This is a naked shakedown. Individuals within the administration, acting “under the color of law,” are causing unnecessary economic harm, damage, and pain and are intentionally and maliciously harassing and interfering with businesses, tenants, and the general public. The purpose is to obtain taxpayer money from Congress by extortion for Obama’s favored projects and people.
U.S. Supreme Court precedents are clear: a RICO violation includes any type of threats of economic harm in order to gain by coercion money or any financial advantage or benefit. A RICO violation occurs when an “enterprise” operates, through a pattern of two or more predicate acts, to gain any type of benefit, money, or advantage…
If we do not aggressively challenge this lawlessness and series of abuses, the dream that was America will surely slip into the night. The U.S. House of Representatives is investigating. They should also impeach from office the Director of the National Park Service.
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