Liberty Dollar sues Federal Government

[Porcupine_in_MA]

Government Is Sued Over Seizure of Liberty Dollars

By JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN, Staff Reporter of the Sun

June 20, 2008

The federal government's attempt to stop a group of gold-standard activists from minting an alternative to the greenback is about to face its first legal test.

The United States Mint showcases the new Presidential series $1 coins, featuring the Statue of Liberty on the reverse, on January 24, 2007 at Chicago, Illinois.

A dozen people around the country filed suit in U.S. District Court in Idaho this week demanding the return of all the copper, silver, gold, and platinum coins — more than seven tons of metal in all — that the FBI and Secret Service seized in November during raids of a mint in Idaho and a strip mall storefront in Indiana.

The Justice Department had decided that the coins, many of which bear the familiar symbol of Lady Liberty and the phrase "TRUST IN GOD," were being illegally marketed as government-sanctioned currency, according to the sworn affidavit of an FBI agent.

The creator of the coins, Bernard von NotHaus, who lives in Miami, claims that the federal government is trying to shut down production of his liberty dollars, as the coins are called, because of the competition they pose to the greenback. In recent years, his precious metal coins have outperformed the dollar, whose value has plunged in relation to gold.

The raids in November were the result of a two-year undercover investigation of Mr. Von NotHaus and how he sold liberty dollars. The Justice Department has not followed up with any criminal charges against Mr. Von NotHaus or the regional distributors of his coins.

In the suit filed in Idaho, the various plaintiffs say the federal government has no right to continue holding onto their coins any longer.

While it is common for agents to warehouse property seized during criminal investigations, such as firearms or surveillance equipment, the plaintiffs say coins of precious metal should be off-limits.

The coins "do not constitute contraband or other property subject to seizure," the legal papers state, adding that the seizures violated the Fourth Amendment rights of the plaintiffs.

For the most part, the plaintiffs had possessed bearer certificates for the silver liberty dollars that were being warehoused in Couer d'Alene, Idaho, at a mint. The mint, Sunshine Minting, is one of the sites that federal agents raided.

In an unusual request, the plaintiffs ask for an order, at the very least, forbidding federal agents from touching or moving the coins so that they are not dirtied in any way.

"Mishandling numismatic material can negatively impact value," the legal papers say.

A spokesman for the Justice Department, Charles Miller, said that the agency had not yet seen the legal papers and could not comment.

E-mail messages circulating among Liberty Dollar enthusiasts have expressed fears that the federal government intends to publicly auction off the coins. There has been no public announcement indicating that to be the case. The U.S. attorney's office in Asheville, N.C., which led the investigation that prompted the raids last November, did not return several calls for comment over the last few weeks.

Mr. Von NotHaus markets his coins via the Internet as an inflation-proof currency and claims that between 100,000 and 250,000 Americans own them. They have attracted the interest of coin enthusiasts, as well as critics of the Federal Reserve.

A 1999 report by the Southern Poverty Law Center said that many of the stores that accepted liberty dollars "are run by men and women connected to the radical right." The coins have caught on particularly well in Asheville, N.C., and Austin, Texas, and are accepted by some merchants there.

More than 50,000 of the coins seized last year bear the likeness of Rep. Ron Paul, whose monetary policies Mr. Von NotHaus supports.

"About a quarter of a million people holding liberty dollars are almost up-in arms — not up in arms yet, but almost — about having their property seized, and rightly so," Mr. Von NotHaus told The New York Sun yesterday.


http://www.nysun.com/national/government-is-sued-over-seizure-of-liberty-dollars/80368/

[TackleTheWorld]

Latest email from Liberty Dollar:
  Alert #23: Answer to US Complaint Filed

August 18. 2008

Dear Liberty Dollar Supporters:

Thank you for your recent orders... We are on a roll... So sample this Alert:

The $1 Peace Dollars are flying out the door. All Hallmarked and Numbered editions are SOLD OUT. So if you want some $1 Peace Dollars ORDER NOW...

I am pleased to inform you that the Liberty Dollar defenders et al filed their Answer to the AUSA Thomas Ascik Complaint on Wednesday, August 13. Please click HERE for their 32 page Answer and its six Exhibits, a total of a few hundred pages as we get rolling with our BIG "federal case." And of course I have not even been arrested... yet. But! I am sure that if they can indict a ham sandwich... they can and will indict me. Of course who would want a competitor whose product appreciates 500% while their crap depreciates 50% in the same time period!? More than just trying to run the Liberty Dollar out of business this is about economic and political power.

The government is clearly trying to destroy the Liberty Dollar business. And as the Defendant's Answer points out in Paragraph 233, the FBI raid on the Liberty Dollar was a classic example of the type of political oppression code-named COINTELPRO that date back to the 1960s and found to be a violation of the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552.

Political Oppression that Wreaks!

Unfortunately, the brazen audacity of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to attack political organizations is nothing new. But to raid a large national political organization such as Liberty Dollar p! articipating in a hotly debated presidential election is un! heard of , and wreaks of political oppression. The title of a commentary by the Great Depression economist, Richard H. Timberlake, Jr., PhD, puts it right: "Gestapo raid on coin-producing enterprise."

As authorized by the Search and Seizure Warrants, the FBI raided NORFED - National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve Act and the Internal Revenue Code. Can there be any doubt that NORFED was a political organization? It was openly opposed to laws passed by US Congress, the non-Federal non-Reserve IOUs that pass as "legal tender" fraud and an oppressive tax scheme that is universally despised by every "taxpayer" and a growing body of non-taxpayers! Its name, sheer size and the booming success of its fund raising product, Liberty Dollar, obviously caught the attention of the federal authorities and they took the only action they t! rust - Attack!

It's a given that every federal investigation begins with a wiretap. That is clear, simple and SOP. So there is every reason to accept as fact that the attack on the national Fulfillment Office of NORFED was specifically timed to confiscate the Ron Paul Dollars and the new Peace Dollars for maximum impact. There is no doubt that the FBI knew when the two-ton shipment of Ron Paul Dollars would arrive and they planned their attack for just two days after delivery to damage the Ron Paul campaign. This is wrong and grossly unconstitutional! This was clearly "political oppression" of campaign material. Just imagine what 60,000 campaign buttons, T-shirts or anything means to a political campaign. But WOW, just think what $60,000 Ron Paul Dollars would have accomplished at that critical time in Congressman Paul's campaign.

And this is no little campaign for dogcatcher. This was, and still is, a presidential ca! mpaign by a well-established, 30-year US Congressman for the P! resident of the United States! This is the most important political election in the country! And the Federal Bureau of Investigation goons confiscated over $100,000 worth of presidential campaign materials!!! This was nothing short of a Nazi style attack to eliminate the competition. This is an assault on our right to political expression as guaranteed by the First Amendment. This sucks big time! F!@#$#@ the FBI!

The attack on NORFED and Congressman Ron Paul's presidential campaign cannot be allowed to stand. In our Answer we demand the immediate return of all Ron Paul Dollars, Peace Dollars and all my political materials that were seized on November 14, 2007. We have less than 30 days until the Republican National Convention, September 1-4 and need that material now.

The FBI attack on NORFED was the same oppressive tactics they employed against the Peace Movement in the 1960s. Its code name then was COINTELPRO: "Counter Intelli! gence Program." It was used against John Lennon, Timothy Leary, Martin Luther King and thousands of other innocent people dedicated to a peaceful society.

COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program) was a series of covert and clandestine projects/attacks conducted by the FBI aimed at investigating and disrupting dissident political organizations within the United States. The FBI used covert operations from its inception; however, the formal COINTELPRO operations took place between 1956 and 1971. The FBI motivation at the time was "protecting national security, preventing violence, and maintaining the existing social and political order." Sound familiar?! Targets included Groups suspected of being subversive, such as student political organizations; those in the non-violent civil rights movement, almost all groups protesting the Vietnam War; and even individual student demonstrators. The directives governing COINTEL! PRO were issued by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover who ordered! FBI age nts to "expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize" the activities of these movements and their leaders. If you went to college in the 60s you were spied on.

Guess what? The same FBI is still spying on you today! Recent news accounts have disclosed a burgeoning government (Pentagon, NSA, FBI, CIA, etc.) campaign for "detecting, identifying and engaging" internal enemies that include a database of personal information. The FBI is using "national security letters" to obtain secret access to your personal records and tens of thousands of Americans. And the National Security Agency's interception of telephone calls and e-mails from the United States - without notice to the federal court that has jurisdiction over domestic spying - had been going on since 1978. OK... so maybe you had some privacy from 1971 to 1978. But not NOW!

In the same month that NORFED was attacked, The W! ashington Post disclosed an exponentially growing practice of domestic surveillance under the USA Patriot Act, using the FBI's "national security letters." Originally created in the 1970s for espionage and terrorism investigations, the letters enable the FBI to secretly review the private telephone and financial records of suspected foreign agents. But the hated Bush regime, referring to the Patriot Act, transformed the purpose of those letters to permit clandestine scrutiny of U.S. residents and visitors who are not alleged to be terrorists or spies!

This series of revelations about domestic spying that have emerged in the past few months are always defended in the name of fighting "terrorism." This argument is a complete and utter lie. There is no doubt that these programs against NORFED, the Liberty Dollar, you and me have been enacted, enabled and deployed to stifle constitutionally protected domestic polit! ical dissents. The proverbial handwriting is on the wall. T! he US go vernment is against the very People who created it. And to make matters worse for you, me, the economy, your children's education, etc., the government stands for war... war... and more war! Enough! This is NOT bullshit... it is a crime!

Excuse me, but what the hell is the FBI doing spying on you and me? And why did they raid the Liberty Dollar? Why did the FBI confiscate the Peace Dollars and Ron Paul Dollars?! To kill political dissents. Clear and simple!

When I did six years in the 60s at Kansas State University, the person who published the radical "student" newspaper turned out to be an FBI agent! I now know he was part of the government COINTELPRO. The only difference between Kent State and Kansas State was that the government did not murder four students at K-State. The only difference between the FBI raid on NORFED and a raid on your home is that I have already been raided. If you want to protect ! your gold and silver, if you support a peaceful society, then please support the Liberty Dollar with a donation or at least an order.

Love the country? Love your home? Have a vested interest in the economic system? Please take action: Click on this link: http://www3.capwiz.com/y/dbq/media. Click five media locations in your area (limit 5 at a time) and send this Press Release to them.

SAMPLE PRESS RELEASE:

IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 18, 2008

Political Oppression of Ron Paul Dollars
Liberty Dollar Cites FBI Seizure as Covert Action against Ron Paul Campaign
Demands the Immediate Return of Two Tons of Ron Paul Dollars

http://www.libertydollar.org/ld/legal/lawsuit.htm

EVANSVILLE, INDIANA - Liberty Dollar Group announced today that it has filed an Answ! er in Federal Court for the immediate return of thousands of g! old, sil ver, platinum, and copper Liberty Dollars - including two tons of Ron Paul Dollars - seized in a FBI raid on November 14, 2007.

The group denounced the confiscation as political oppression of the Ron Paul presidential campaign and asserted that the seizure of the Ron Paul Dollars constitutes an attack on its First Amendment right of political expression. They point that in addition to the Ron Paul Dollar with a presidential candidate engraved on the front, the Peace Dollar features the Statue of Liberty torch with STOP THE WAR - clearly an 'expressive act' with political intent protected by the Bill of Rights.

The defendant's Answer to the government's Complaint says the federal government has no right to hold the currency, since it does not "constitute contraband or other property subject to seizure." And that the seizures violate the plaintiff's First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

Von NotHaus says h! e's "beyond outraged" over the government's brutal oppressive behavior. "It was bad enough that the U.S. Mint branded us as criminals for exercising our right to freely exchange the private gold and silver currency," he said. "But interfering with Ron Paul's presidential campaign is clearly a Gestapo tactic."

The agents based their search and seizure warrants on an affidavit that the currency was being marketed illegally as legal tender. This claim is denied strenuously by Bernard von NotHaus, the fiery monetary architect of the currency. He points out that the primary point of the marketing was that it was NOT legal tender and that the Liberty Dollar is a private voluntary barter currency.

Robert J. Stientjes, the plaintiff's attorney, asserts in the Answer that the affidavit does not constitute a prima facia allegation of probable cause. His motion also points out that "without the misle! ading depictions of the size, weight and color... ther! e is no probable cause for issuance of the warrants."

The plaintiffs explain that the Ron Paul Dollar was created to give citizens the opportunity to own valuable metals, while providing important support for the Ron Paul campaign. They say they intended to make a significant donation for every Ron Paul Dollar issued.

Von NotHaus points out, "The US dollar has lost over 50% of its value in the last ten years, while the Liberty Dollar has appreciated by 500%! Would you rather make five times your money or lose half of it? I think the government is trying to crush our inflation-proof currency plus Ron Paul's free market and peace campaign in a single stroke."

ADD YOUR NAME AND CONTACT INFO HERE...


Thank God for Founding Father George Mason's demand for the Bill of Rights! Otherwise we wouldn't have shit! Well, we would still have the Bush regime, which is just the same!

Meanwhile the $1 Peace! Dollars are flying out the door. All Hallmarked and Numbered editions are SOLD OUT. So if you want some $1 Peace Dollars ORDER NOW...

And if you have a few minutes check out this interview by Don Harrold:
#1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMtRekpiP4A
#2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u4U9bUYMdE

More news on my retirement will be disclosed as we get closer to October 1... but I can tell you that my retirement will probably "blow your mind!"

Many thanks to all the Liberty Associates, Merchants, and RCOs for your continued support. For it is only by banding together and adopting a free and independent currency that provides us with "just weights and measures" will we ! be able to throw off the yoke of a manipulated monetary/tax sy! stem and generate a peaceful and prosperous society.

Bernard von NotHaus
Monetary Architect


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Click [ur=http://www.libertydollar.org/pommo/user/subscribe.phpl]HERE[/url] to Subscribe to Future Mailings.

To be removed from all future mailings follow the instructions HERE.