Politico: Traficant's in!

[Michigan11]

Seriously people, I know what were working against here, but do your own personal research on this guy. He isn't who the government is trying to paint him as...

 

[ctiger2]

He also says they wanted him to die in jail. Here's the thing: getting a Congressman convicted for a crime he didn't commit is hard. Getting someone in prison killed is easy - will cost you about two packs of cigarettes and someone will shank him.

IIRC someone tried killing JT while he was in prison. FWIW.

 

[BlackTerrel]

IIRC someone tried killing JT while he was in prison. FWIW.

How do you know?

Getting someone killed in prison is easier than installing MS Office. If someone has the clout to convict a Congressman of a crime he did not commit then they certainly have the clout to have him killed in prison.

 

[BlackTerrel]

Not so much about Traficant, just a comment on the above, which I used to think too.

Then it became clear, after looking into death row releases of people wrongly convicted and seeing what a high percentage existed there, at the end of what is supposed to be the very best of the best of what the legal system has to offer, I've become convinced that yeah, you know, a good chunk of the those guys in "Shawshank" are innocent, just like Andy DuFreyne was.

Well you hear about the ones that are released so it's a bit of a selection bias.

I know a number of bad dudes in prison and an even greater number of bad dudes who walked. I;m sure they make plenty of mistakes. But I think it's more likely they err on the side of not-guilty rather than guilty.

The state doesn't benefit from locking people up. That costs money. They benefit from harassing law abiding citizens and getting them to cough up more money.

 

[specsaregood]

The state doesn't benefit from locking people up. That costs money. They benefit from harassing law abiding citizens and getting them to cough up more money.

The state doesn't have any money of its own, so in reality it doesn't cost "the state" anything. And plenty of people profit from locking people up. Lots of slave labor is used nowadays. Hell they make lots of school lunches.

Also others profit, who do you think one of the biggest lobbying entities for the war on drugs is? Oh, I'll just tell you: The Prison Guards Union.

As far as trafficant, he is quite entertaining, the youtubes of him in congress are a riot. But I have no doubt he was crooked, probably just less crooked than the rest.

 

[Ron_Paul_Knows]

CNN article + partial clip of interview
[URL="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/02/23/traficant-will-launch-independent-congressional-bid/?hpt=Sbin&fbid=UqR-xo9cjgx"][url]http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/02/23/traficant-will-launch-independent-congressional-bid/?hpt=Sbin&fbid=UqR-xo9cjgx[/URL][/URL]

 

[johngr]

James Anthony Traficant, Jr. (born May 8, 1941) is a former Democratic Representative in the United States Congress from Ohio (from 1985 to 2002). He represented the 17th Congressional District, which centered around his hometown of Youngstown and includes parts of three counties in northeast Ohio's Mahoning Valley. He was expelled after being convicted of taking bribes, filing false tax returns, racketeering, and forcing his aides to perform chores at his farm in Ohio and on his houseboat in Washington, D.C.,[1] and was released from prison on September 2, 2009, after serving a seven-year sentence


Is this really who you want to support?

Maybe, maybe not, but I'd love to see a debate between him and Biden.

 

[johngr]

Paul/<del>Bachmann</del>Warmonger/Israel Firster 2012

Traficant the director of the IRS, overseeing it's dismantlement!

Traficant for VP. Napolitano as AG. First agenda item: the RICO lawsuits against the FED and the IRS.

 

[jmdrake]

Well you hear about the ones that are released so it's a bit of a selection bias.

I know a number of bad dudes in prison and an even greater number of bad dudes who walked. I;m sure they make plenty of mistakes. But I think it's more likely they err on the side of not-guilty rather than guilty.

The state doesn't benefit from locking people up. That costs money. They benefit from harassing law abiding citizens and getting them to cough up more money.

Was Trafficant put in a maximum security prison with rapists and murderers or a minimum security prison with accountants and politicians? Big difference.

 

[nobody's_hero]

I don't know much about him, but I was just reading his wikipedia page and found this:

Traficant served his first 17 months in prison at FCI Allenwood and shortly after, he was shackled and put in solitary confinement for causing a riot after telling a guard, "People can't hear you. Speak up."

For some reason it made me laugh out loud. I guess if the man can cause a riot with six words, it might be wise to send him to Congress.

 

[teamrican1]

He just strikes me as someone who enjoy playing the victim. People here like him because he opposes Israel - that's about it from what I can gather.

James Traficant is famous for two reasons. First, he is the man responsible for the bill which switched the burden of proof in IRS cases from the taxpayer to the IRS. This was a huge victory for the anti-tax movement and made him public enemy #1 with the IRS. The second thing he is most famous for is championing the cause of John Demjanjuk, an American autoworker who was falsely charged with being the war criminal "Ivan the Terrible" and deported to Israel and sentenced to death. Through the tireless work of Traficant and others it was ultimately determined that Demjanjuk was innocent, and also that the US government knew it but deported him anyway. When this came out he was freed by the Israeli Supreme Court. If not for Traficant (and Pat Buchanan) keeping the story alive, there little doubt an American citizen would have been falsely executed. And if you weren't alive at the time, it is hard to imagine the amount of heat these guys took for standing up for Demjanjuk and the truth. They were called anti-semites by EVERYONE in the mainstream media. The brave Israeli lawyer who defended Demjanjuk ended up committing suicide. So Traficant's conduct in that case made him public enemy #1 with the US Israeli lobby.

The guy made a major change to the US Tax Code which benefited the taxpayers and he freed an American Citizen wrongly sentenced to Death Row. With just those two acts alone he's done more good than almost any Congressman in history. He was also famous for his 1 minute speeches where he frequently belittled and attacked the IRS and Justice Department.

BEAM HIM BACK!

 

[catdd]

James Traficant is famous for two reasons. First, he is the man responsible for the bill which switched the burden of proof in IRS cases from the taxpayer to the IRS. This was a huge victory for the anti-tax movement and made him public enemy #1 with the IRS. The second thing he is most famous for is championing the cause of John Demjanjuk, an American autoworker who was falsely charged with being the war criminal "Ivan the Terrible" and deported to Israel and sentenced to death. Through the tireless work of Traficant and others it was ultimately determined that Demjanjuk was innocent, and also that the US government knew it but deported him anyway. When this came out he was freed by the Israeli Supreme Court. If not for Traficant (and Pat Buchanan) keeping the story alive, there little doubt an American citizen would have been falsely executed. And if you weren't alive at the time, it is hard to imagine the amount of heat these guys took for standing up for Demjanjuk and the truth. They were called anti-semites by EVERYONE in the mainstream media. The brave Israeli lawyer who defended Demjanjuk ended up committing suicide. So Traficant's conduct in that case made him public enemy #1 with the US Israeli lobby.



The guy made a major change to the US Tax Code which benefited the taxpayers and he freed an American Citizen wrongly sentenced to Death Row. With just those two acts alone he's done more good than almost any Congressman in history. He was also famous for his 1 minute speeches where he frequently belittled and attacked the IRS and Justice Department.

BEAM HIM BACK!

Excellent post.

 

[CharlesTX]

James Traficant is famous for two reasons. First, he is the man responsible for the bill which switched the burden of proof in IRS cases from the taxpayer to the IRS. This was a huge victory for the anti-tax movement and made him public enemy #1 with the IRS. The second thing he is most famous for is championing the cause of John Demjanjuk, an American autoworker who was falsely charged with being the war criminal "Ivan the Terrible" and deported to Israel and sentenced to death. Through the tireless work of Traficant and others it was ultimately determined that Demjanjuk was innocent, and also that the US government knew it but deported him anyway. When this came out he was freed by the Israeli Supreme Court. If not for Traficant (and Pat Buchanan) keeping the story alive, there little doubt an American citizen would have been falsely executed. And if you weren't alive at the time, it is hard to imagine the amount of heat these guys took for standing up for Demjanjuk and the truth. They were called anti-semites by EVERYONE in the mainstream media. The brave Israeli lawyer who defended Demjanjuk ended up committing suicide. So Traficant's conduct in that case made him public enemy #1 with the US Israeli lobby.

The guy made a major change to the US Tax Code which benefited the taxpayers and he freed an American Citizen wrongly sentenced to Death Row. With just those two acts alone he's done more good than almost any Congressman in history. He was also famous for his 1 minute speeches where he frequently belittled and attacked the IRS and Justice Department.

BEAM HIM BACK!

Appreciate the summary!

 

[J. W. Evans]

I always found Traficant's way with words... unbelievable? Though I enjoyed hearing some of them.
Alright, so they were a bit vulgar, but he said some things that just made me crack up.

YouTube - James Traficant Hearing; "Kick Them In The Crotch"


But, on a more serious note..

YouTube - Americans Fear Their Government

 

[BlackTerrel]

Ok he is a bit before my time and honestly I never heard of Traficant until about six months ago when I heard it on this board. But what he says just doesn't pass my BS meter. Here's the part I don't get.

James Traficant is famous for two reasons...The second thing he is most famous for is championing the cause of John Demjanjuk, an American autoworker who was falsely charged with being the war criminal "Ivan the Terrible" and deported to Israel and sentenced to death. Through the tireless work of Traficant and others it was ultimately determined that Demjanjuk was innocent, and also that the US government knew it but deported him anyway. When this came out he was freed by the Israeli Supreme Court. If not for Traficant (and Pat Buchanan) keeping the story alive, there little doubt an American citizen would have been falsely executed. And if you weren't alive at the time, it is hard to imagine the amount of heat these guys took for standing up for Demjanjuk and the truth. They were called anti-semites by EVERYONE in the mainstream media. The brave Israeli lawyer who defended Demjanjuk ended up committing suicide. So Traficant's conduct in that case made him public enemy #1 with the US Israeli lobby.

Ok I have heard Traficant himself make this claim a number of times on videos I posted on this site. Let's break this down and see if I can follow the logic. This is Traficant's claim:

1. An American citizen John Demjanjuk is falsely accused of being a war criminal.

2. The US government knows this is false but deports Demjanjuk to Israel anyway.

???? Why would the US deport a man they knew was innocent? Our government can do a lot of bad things but they are rational actors. They don't just have a random US citizen deported so he can be killed. If they knew he was innocent what is the motivation?

3. Israel agrees with Traficant and decides to free Demjanjuk.

4. Israel now hates Traficant.

???? Can you explain the logic of 3 and 4? Israel agreed with Traficant and freed the guy. Traficant didn't stop them from doing anything - Demjanjuk was in their custody. So why would they agree with Traficant and then hate him? It makes no sense.

5. Israel lobby convicts him of a crime he didn't commit.

6. Israel lobby wanted him dead but somehow he survived these years in prison and now is back with a vengeance.

????? I don't see how you can have the clout to put a US Congressman in prison for a crime he did not commit and then not have the clout to make him disappear. Framing someone for a crime they did not commit is hard. Framing a US Congressman for a crime he did not commit is really really really hard. Having someone killed in prison is relatively easy. It does not make sense.

 

[BlackTerrel]

Was Trafficant put in a maximum security prison with rapists and murderers or a minimum security prison with accountants and politicians? Big difference.

According to post #30 there was a riot in the prison so it couldn't have been so low security.

 

[teamrican1]

1. An American citizen John Demjanjuk is falsely accused of being a war criminal.

2. The US government knows this is false but deports Demjanjuk to Israel anyway.

???? Why would the US deport a man they knew was innocent? Our government can do a lot of bad things but they are rational actors. They don't just have a random US citizen deported so he can be killed. If they knew he was innocent what is the motivation?

3. Israel agrees with Traficant and decides to free Demjanjuk.

4. Israel now hates Traficant.

???? Can you explain the logic of 3 and 4? Israel agreed with Traficant and freed the guy. Traficant didn't stop them from doing anything - Demjanjuk was in their custody. So why would they agree with Traficant and then hate him? It makes no sense.

5. Israel lobby convicts him of a crime he didn't commit.

6. Israel lobby wanted him dead but somehow he survived these years in prison and now is back with a vengeance.

1. There is an organization in the US Government called OSI. Their job is to hunt down war criminals from WWII. They have a large staff and an enormous budget. But of course as time went on, there were fewer and fewer actual criminal to track down. So they created them. Government Agency justifying its own existence. Lead prosecutor who takes down "Ivan the Terrible" gets a laurel for his resume and political reward. Happens all the time. BTW- OSI still exists. Most war criminals would now be an age which would qualify them as the oldest living human beings on record and yet we still fund this fraud of an outfit.

2. Once OSI branded him a "NAZI" and the media followed suit, the politicians all fell in line. Who wants to defend a Nazi?

3. Israel didn't agree, the Supreme Court of Israel agreed. It's an important distinction. The political branches of Israel had no desire to free him because Holocaust survivors had lined up and tearfully pointed to Demjanjuk and claimed he was Ivan the Terrible. To release him would be calling Holocaust survivors liars, which is not good politics in Israel.

4. Never said Israel hated him. I said the American Israeli lobby hated him. Traficant stirred up trouble. He didn't go with the program and keep his mouth shut while an innocent man died and his actions ended up making OSI, Israel, and Holocaust Survivors look bad. Traficant is also a strident opponent of foreign aid, which again, puts him on their list just like Ron Paul.

5. I wouldn't say the AIPAC did this on their own. Traficant made real enemies with the IRS, the Justice Department, and AIPAC. Those are three of the most powerful groups within the Federal Government. Not hard to imagine political pressure existed to attempt to take him down coming from any one of those groups by themselves. But with all three after him it is almost assured.

6. All the above information doesn't preclude the fact that Traficant is a showman and bit of a drama queen. He thinks they wanted him dead. But him thinking that doesn't make it true. Besides, the odds of him successfully surviving (he's an old, overweight guy) prison and mounting a political comeback seemed ridiculously remote 7 years ago. People would have laughed at the suggestion. There was no need to kill him even if they had the means and fortitude to do it.

 

[BlackTerrel]

Pretty good explanation I must admit.

I still don't trust him. He does strike me as a drama queen. But everything you said strikes me as realistic.

Perhaps except for #6. Even if TPTB didn't think he would survive seven years they still could have looked back into it a few months ago.

 

[catdd]

"But of course as time went on, there were fewer and fewer actual criminal to track down. So they created them."

Sounds like the SPLC, they have to stir up a lot of shit to make the money they do. Come to think of it, the Federal Reserve is good at making something out of thin air which is the same kind of scam.

 

[teamrican1]

Perhaps except for #6. Even if TPTB didn't think he would survive seven years they still could have looked back into it a few months ago.

Well that could be true, but the reality is there are no "powers that be". Just a loose collection of interests that each have their own agenda which together slowly push us down the path to socialism and world government. The IRS, the Justice Department, and AIPAC all had reasons to push for an investigation and conviction of Traficant, but I seriously doubt any of them really wanted him dead. That's mostly the drama queen in Traficant coming to the surface.

Also, it is important to note that Traficant is not one of us. He's more a populist type than libertarian and doesn't have a very sound overall political philosophy at all. What makes so many of us root for him is the simple fact that he shows open contempt for the government (the bad suits, the hair, the hilarious and frequently off color 1 minute speeches), wants to abolish the IRS, and speaks his mind- loudly, proudly, and in a way that attracts attention. In fact, I was watching one of his earlier Fox interviews when he first got released and Greta Van Sustern asked him why he might want to run for Congress again, and his answer wasn't any political BS about doing good for his district or a desire to give back or serve or anything you'd expect your typical pol to say. No, the reason he gave was that Congress was the only place he would be in position to "get back" at the Justice Department. He's in this thing for vengeance! Any guy whose sole motivation for office is to make life miserable for the Feds has my full support.

Sidenote- Dr. Paul was one of the few Congressmen who declined to vote to expel Traficant from Congress. The resolution passed 420-1 (the one nay was Gary Condit). Paul and eight others abstained.