The IRS - No Morals

Just in case you were wondering if any of "We" have attempted to bring the issue to the front and fight the good fight, here is one guy who tried.

 

Ed Brown versus I.R.S. - 2007

 

On January 12, Ed Brown of Plainfield, New Hampshire walked out of his federal criminal tax trial protesting what he claimed was the District Court's unjust deprivation of his Rights to Due Process and a Fair Trial. He retreated to his rural home and publicly announced that he would resort to armed resistance if U.S. officials attempted to intercede or further deprive him his constitutionally protected Rights.

At the heart of Brown's protest is the Court's failure, in denying Brown's substantive and dispositive pre-trial motions, to properly respond to the questions and issues that were presented to the Court in the motions that is, the Court's failure to state the facts and the questions being presented by Brown, the law and how the Court was applying the law to answer the questions.

For instance, Brown motioned for a Bill of Particulars asking the Government to more fully explain the Indictment --twice. He asked many specific questions about the law he was being charged with violating since the indictment merely charged him with violating a "penalty" statute that did not directly impose any legal duty upon him. He cited legal authorities justifying his Right to the information. The Court denied the motion stating in large part that the information contained in the Indictment was sufficient.

In addition, Brown motioned for a dismissal on the basis of a lack of jurisdiction. He cited legal authorities to support his motion for a dismissal of the indictment and the case. The Court denied the motion saying in large part, The basis of the motion is [sic] unclear.

All this, coupled with the Court's instruction to Brown in two pre-trial hearings that he would not be allowed to argue the constitutionality of the income tax in front of the jury (meaning Ed would not be able to show the jury what he read in the tax clauses of the Constitution or in Supreme Court cases regarding those clauses, the definition of the legal term income, and the absence of any authority for the government to impose a direct, un-apportioned tax on a person's labor), together with the Judge's proposed jury instructions (i.e., I [the judge] will tell you [the jurors] what the law is and your job is to determineonly the facts that is whether the Browns filed tax returns and paid taxes) was too much for Ed Brown to accept.

The national interest is not served by the Government's continued silence to open murmurs. It breeds disaffection to the law and to the Government among a free people.

Ed Brown is a symptom of the larger constitutional crisis this Foundation has been attempting to resolve: our servant government's persistent refusal to be held accountable to the People for its unconstitutional actions, i.e., the refusal by the Executive, Legislative and Judicial departments to properly respond to a citizen's Petition for Redress of constitutional torts.

These are serious matters, indeed. In many respects, they are the very same matters regarding governance and Natural Right that drove our Founders to revolution.

Unless the government can be forced, by some non-violent means (such as the retention of money) to recognize its constitutional obligation to respond to the People's proper Petitions for Redress of constitutional torts, we can expect to see more people like Ed Brown willing to defend their Rights by violent means. Make no mistake: the government abhors opposition and will not voluntarily abandon its preference to act without accountability or constitutional restraint.

Ed Brown's case is not so much about tax evasion as it is about the failure of the government to respond to his Petitions for Redress of Grievances.

Prior to his decision to withdraw his financial support from the Government, Citizen Brown was concerned about the government's actions at Ruby Ridge and Waco and the fact that no one in government was held accountable for those misdeeds. Citizen Brown was concerned by the fact that the government failed to respond to his petitions for redress regarding the government's involvement in the flow of illicit drugs into this country through Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi and through Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Citizen Brown was concerned about the government repeatedly applying the armed forces in hostilities overseas without a declaration of war.

Citizen Brown was concerned about the Government's refusal to respond to his Petition for Redress related to the absence of a constitutionally required, well-regulated Militia in the State of New Hampshire. Citizen Brown was concerned by the fact that the government was doing whatever it wanted to do, showing less and less respect for the Constitution and its role of protecting, preserving and enhancing the individual Rights of the average, non-aligned citizen-taxpayer. Citizen Brown was concerned about the erosion and loss of his Rights, Freedoms and Liberties.

Neither is the national interest served by a national press that continually fails to investigate and report openly on the substance of the murmurs of the people. In doing so, it is failing in its constitutional role as watchdog over government and as an institutionalized means of protecting Liberty.

It is well past time for the dominant media to ask itself, Why do so many learned people -- with so much to lose -- (e.g., orthopedic surgeons and medical directors, constitutional attorneys, high-ranking military officers, graduates of our service academies, CPAs, business owners, and even former IRS agents) believe they have no obligation under U.S. law to pay the income tax? What is the substance of their beliefs? What have they learned that would cause them to take this bold stand? Why would these ordinary Americans risk prison just to avoid paying their fair share?

And again, very importantly, why is it that the Executive and Judicial departments refuse, at every turn -- even in their legal pleadings and rulings, to cite the specific U.S. statute that requires American citizens to pay taxes on their wages and salaries?

Worse yet, why do the courts refuse to let tax defendants show the jury what they read in Supreme Court decisions regarding, for instance, the meaning of the word income within the meaning of the 16thAmendment, or what they read in the internal revenue laws? Why not? After all, the defendants took the action the government finds unacceptable only after reading this material.

These defendants are not attempting to tell the jury what the law is,only what they read. It is their most important if not only evidence they have.To prevent the jury from reading what the defendant read is to prevent the jury from receiving the defendant's evidence. To prevent the defendant from presenting his evidence to the jury is to deny the defendant his Right to a defense, one of the most fundamental Rights of every American.

The official record of Ed Brown's prosecution is apparent. In denying virtually every pre-trial motion filed by the Browns, the U.S. District Court has denied Ed Brown and his wife their unalienable Right to enjoy substantive Due Process and a Fair Trial. In its curt and legally deficient dismissal of Brown's well drafted motions, each of which raised serious and relevant legal and constitutional issues, the Court effectively denied the Browns their Right to Due Process.

Although Ed Brown ultimately refused to continue to participate in a judicial proceeding that he perceived as greatly prejudicial and biased against him as well as constitutionally flawed, once the facts are fully known and understood, his stance in protesting his prosecution will someday and at some level, come to be viewed by posterity as morally justified.

Although We The People Foundation cannot join in support of Ed Brown's stated intent to employ violence in defense of his Rights, the depth and justification of his personal commitment to the cause of Liberty should not go unnoticed by the media, the public or the government.

Our nation's own history, including the first violent confrontation of the Revolutionary War which occurred in Concord Massachusetts, just a few miles away from the federal courthouse in Concord, New Hampshire, ought to be a trenchant reminder to all that the People will not forever be denied their unalienable Rights.

This Foundation is committed to the non-violent enforcement of the Rights of the People, including those articulated in our Founding documents. As such, we have embarked upon a nationwide mission of public education and civic activism to exercise, and peacefully enforce,the First Amendment Right to Petition.

Not so ironically, it is this Right -- the capstone Right of Petition -- which, if honored and respected by those in government, is the very check and balance capable of forestalling the very situations such as both Ed Brown and the Government now find themselves. The former committed to Constitutional Order, Liberty and the Rule of Law, the latter to political benefit and expediency, the aggregation of power and the abuse of the limited authority delegated to it by the People. What is axiomatic and self-evident to Brown is that as government gains ground, Liberty loses ground.

These two opposing frameworks of governance and moral principle cannot co-exist. Either Men are Free and Sovereign and can rightfully demand Justice, or they are slaves and chattel to those that claim unbridled power over them.

It is no secret that our government is out of control. We endure the pains of undeclared wars and secret systems of surveillance and abbreviated forms of justice to combat terror. Our nation now suffers from years of unjustified international meddling and our families suffer from decades of failed attempts at social engineering and legislating the morals of the People.

A sword of Damocles hangs over our financial system because we have entrusted the creation of our money to a cartel of private bankers who have debased our currency by transforming it to a system of debt based upon the endless creation of credit. We anguish as the ills of our nation continue unabated despite elections and further acts of legislation seeking to reverse the inherent corruption that now controls the political process.

Beyond these Grievances countless Americans just like Ed Brown have found that no matter how substantive or compelling their facts or legal arguments, the courts will no longer provide Redress or Justice against any government act, no matter how vile or violative.

In short, many Americans perceive they are running out of peaceful options in their fight to defend Liberty against a government determined to achieve its own unjustifiable ends.

Unfortunately, Ed Brown is perhaps just the first of many who will ultimately feel driven to use the only practical means at their disposal to defend their Life, Property and Liberty.

We would urge the U.S District Court, in the interests of Justice and Due Process to strongly consider setting aside the convictions of Ed and Elaine Brown on the grounds of the Court's evident failure to properly decide and explain the Brown's pre-trial motions and its prejudicial restrictions on the Browns denying them the ability to show the jury what they read in the Constitution, Supreme Court decisions and the internal revenue laws.

A unilateral decision by the District Court to set aside the verdict for retrial would serve not only to preserve the interests of insuringbona fideJustice and Due Process in the instant case, but would ensure the public at large watching the Brown situation that the Court is truly committed to not only the veneer, but the substance of Justice.

It is indeed unfortunate that Ed Brown felt his only means to protest the Court's deprivation of Due Process and protect his remaining Rights was to take the steps he has taken. Thankfully, up to this point, no one has been physically injured.

If the U.S. District Court is truly committed to Truth, Justice and the propagation of peaceful Liberty as mandated by its Oath of Office and the Constitution, these interests must be weighed in favor of a retrial against the limited personal transgressions that may have been committed by Brown in his arguably justifiable protest of his treatment by the Court.

Compounding the situation further, is the significant likelihood that Ed Brown’s protest in the trial court and his lack of a defense on the record, will serve to practically deny him any chance of a successful appeal.

In the end, it must be remembered that Ed Brown and his wife have committed no overt act that has hurt anyone. They have stolen nothing. They have committed no acts that have injured another person. The money they enjoyed was earned lawfully and there is nothing in the court record suggesting that they did anything illegal, per se, with their money.

The crimes the Browns stand accused of consist of government claims that the Browns failed to give their personal money and the money from their business to the government and that the Browns violated federal law by conducting their personal financial affairs in such a manner as to avoid surveillance by the government.

Their prosecution proceeded unimpeded despite that fact the Court failed in its legal duty to fully justify its reasons in Law for its dismissal of virtually all of Brown's pre-trial motions and despite the fact that the government, even in Brown's indictment, disturbingly fails to cite the specific U.S. statute requiring the Browns to file or pay income taxes.

In the immediate interest of the People, the peaceful preservation of Liberty, and in resolving the long-outstanding questions regarding the legal authority for imposing the federal income tax upon ordinary wage-earning Americans, this Foundation urges restraint on behalf of Brown, the Court and the Department of Justice.

We further urge the Court to strongly consider the larger context its actions may ultimately influence as our nation continues to grapple with a Government that seems resolutely defiant of the limitations placed upon it by the Constitution.

Ed Brown is not perfect and Ed Brown has perhaps not made the best choices possible in defending himself against these charges.

But Ed Brown is one of us -- We the People. We are watching and we will not forget.

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