Pete's Criminal Trial

[Red Cedar PM]

When I read the attorney's latest filing, all I could think was, "Thank God. She's buying the defense some time so that I don't have to travel to Michigan in cold cold weather. Pete's attorney is a genius!"

You have no idea. It is 2 degrees out right now and tonight the low is going to be -5 with the windchill "approaching -20." That is really freaking cold - even by Michigan standards.

[Famspear]

When I read the attorney's latest filing, all I could think was, "Thank God. She's buying the defense some time so that I don't have to travel to Michigan in cold cold weather. Pete's attorney is a genius!"

You have no idea. It is 2 degrees out right now and tonight the low is going to be -5 with the windchill "approaching -20." That is really freaking cold - even by Michigan standards.

I'm definitely a warm weather person (from south Texas). Hey, I don't even like to open the refrigerator! I can only imagine what it's like up north.

[Prof]

When I read the attorney's latest filing, all I could think was, "Thank God. She's buying the defense some time so that I don't have to travel to Michigan in cold cold weather. Pete's attorney is a genius!"

You have no idea. It is 2 degrees out right now and tonight the low is going to be -5 with the windchill "approaching -20." That is really freaking cold - even by Michigan standards.

I'm definitely a warm weather person (from south Texas). Hey, I don't even like to open the refrigerator! I can only imagine what it's like up north.

There are advantages to a climate that consists of two seasons: Hot and Hotter. We're having a cold snap here in South Texas. The temperature here in SA probably won't get to 60 F today.

[Red Cedar PM]

There are advantages to a climate that consists of two seasons: Hot and Hotter. We're having a cold snap here in South Texas. The temperature here in SA probably won't get to 60 F today.

Cry me a river

Don't get me wrong - I love having 4 seasons. I just wish winter lasted about a month and not 4.5 months like it does here.

[Famspear]

In a discussion about Pete's latest criminal case, user and "Tyrannical Response Team" member Weston White says:

I am quite sure PH has been instructed by his attorney to not post anything about his case and to keep quiet during the entire trial process.

If he starts posting things, people will be asking him questions and then the lines will get blurred and before PH knows it he is divulging information publicly that should be kept silent. One does not want to give their strategy to the enemy.

User "TruthBearer" responds with:

According to Jurisdictionary, the "normal" procedure at this point would call for filing of motions to dismiss, to strike, or to require a more definite statement of the complaint. That's before an answer to the government's complaint is filed, and long before requests for admissions, interrogatories, dispositions, and issuance of subpoenas. Given Pete's strong position, I'm guessing the DOJ will realize its untenable position (as with Pete's book) and move to dismiss the case to head off what would certainly be a disastrous result for the IRS. It could be a long time before we hear more about what's happening....

http://www.losthorizons.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=1297

Yes, "TruthBearer," there is a chance that Pete will be acquitted, just as there is always a chance of an acquittal in any criminal case.

But Peter Hendrickson is hardly in a "strong position." The idea that the Department of Justice's position is "untenable" is laughable. The DOJ position is strong. As others have noted, Pete may have very little with which to bargain in order to plead out for a reduced charge or sentence (assuming that's what he would want to do), and the evidence against Pete is probably going to be overwhelming, considering all that's available on the losthorizons web site. But if Tommy Cryer could convince a jury to let him go, maybe Pete can do that too. We'll just have to wait and see.

[Famspear]

On January 15th, Hendrickson's attorney filed a motion to dismiss the indictment. The motion reads, in part:

This indictment should be dismissed as a Fifth Amendment denial of due process and as a violation of the First Amendment protections of free speech because it represents a selective and vindictive prosecution motivated by a desire on the part of the government to end the distribution of a book written by Defendant in 2003, entitled Cracking the Code, The Fascinating Truth About Taxation in America, and sold through his website, http://www.losthorizons.com and elsewhere.

4. This indictment should be dismissed as a denial of Fifth Amendment due process and as a violation of the First Amendment protections of free speech because it represents an attempt to chill Defendant’s right to contradict the statement made by the entity which has paid him money, as to the character of that money, i.e. that it is “wages” as defined in the tax laws or to express an honest disagreement with representatives of the United States as to his legal obligations under the tax laws of the United States.

5. The rationale for this motion is more fully discussed in the brief accompanying this motion.

[Famspear]

I see no "brief" accompanying the motion.

What I do see is an attachment that appears to be, possibly, a one-page photocopy of the text of an Act of Congress in July 1798, imposing "a direct tax within the United States."

EDIT: See the materials at entry 18 on the case docket (15 January 2009).

Case 2:08-cr-20585-DML-DAS
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

SECOND EDIT: Oops, sorry, my bad. The brief is part of the same PDF file as the motion.

[Demosthenes]

The motion:

http://www.cheatingfrenzy.com/hendrickson18.pdf

The attachment:

http://www.cheatingfrenzy.com/hendrickson18-2.pdf

[Red Cedar PM]

The motion:

http://www.cheatingfrenzy.com/hendrickson18.pdf

The attachment:

http://www.cheatingfrenzy.com/hendrickson18-2.pdf

His attorney really filed this? I wonder if she fully realizes what she is getting herself into.

[Nikki]

Does she actually read what PH writes or just signs and submits it on his say-so?

She's going along with the concepts of both federal privilege and a tax on wages versus income.

Has anyone checked Pete's victory wall to see if HER refund is posted there?

[RyanMcC]

I don't think she is arguing that any of his positions are correct. It appears to me she is just stating what his positions were, and that he believed them to be true. Therefore he could not file a return he believed to be true to every material fact, and sign the unmodified jurat.

The tax structure provides for each individual to declare under the penalties of perjury his or her belief as to whether, and to what extent, he/she earned “wages” or acquired other “income” within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code. The IRS’s inability to itself determine tax owed and then to assess it (much as the State of Michigan determines and assesses property tax owed) is the root of the difficulty faced by an individual such as Defendant. The standard form 1040 requires the filer to state, “Under the penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this return and accompanying schedules and statements, and to the best of my knowledge and belief, they are correct, and complete.” The IRS insistence that a filer sign this jurat, in order to comply with the law, puts a filer, such as Hendrickson, who has a genuine disagreement with information contained in a w-2, in a position in which he cannot, without violating the standard jurat, file a form 1040 which reports “wages” consistent with a w-2 that has been submitted to the IRS by the entity for which he was working. In effect, the IRS position forces such a filer either to file a false jurat, thus incurring the penalties of perjury, or to file a form 1040 which, together with form 4852, contradicts the w-2. This is a free speech and due process issue.

When the government elects to prosecute a filer, such as Hendrickson, because he will not, according to his beliefs, swear falsely on a form 1040 or a form 4852, that is a denial of his free speech rights and a denial of due process warranting dismissal of the indictment.

http://www.cheatingfrenzy.com/hendrickson18.pdf

[Famspear]

I read the brief quickly, and I see no clear statements to the effect that Hendrickson is actually correct in his "theory" or that the IRS is wrong -- except, arguably, in one place. On the fourth page of the brief, in the paragraph beginning with the words "Thousands of other individuals ....", the third sentence reads:

"The IRS began declaring arguments purportedly found in the [book] Cracking the Code, as (mis)interpreted by the IRS, to be frivolous." (Underline and "(mis)" prefix in the original).

I don't know that even this is a statement that Hendrickson is "correct." It seems to be an assertion that the IRS has misinterpreted what Hendrickson is saying in his book. This is standard Hendrickson Hokum, though.

The brief also contains the typical Hendrickson complaint that the IRS or the courts or both have not expressly referred to the book, or have not "actually analyze[d] and refute[d] the arguments set forth" in the book. See, for example, footnote 5 on the fourth page of the brief.

In the brief, Hendrickson (through his lawyer) attempts to make the argument that the prosecution of Hendrickson is improperly selective and vindictive, and is in connection with an improper government motive to end the distribution of Hendrickson's book, etc.

Side observation: A clear-cut assertion -- that Hendrickson is "right" on his theory about "what the tax law is" -- would probably not really be necessary to support the technical legal arguments (relating to due process and first amendment free speech) that Hendrickson's attorney is presenting in the brief, anyway. Hendrickson's attorney wisely left such an assertion out of the brief.

Without running the usual traps, I believe the government can fairly easily refute these arguments, and that the Court will probably deny the motion. Nice try, though. We'll see what happens.....

[Nikki]

If nothing else, she's sloppy in her work products.

Note the certificate of service for the motion:

/s/Ellen Dennis_(P-24400)
Law Office of Ellen Dennis
Attorney for Defendant Arlee
101 S. Ann Arbor St., Ste. 203A
Saline, Michigan 48176
734 944-5819
l_den1947@yahoo.com

Cut and paste from work she did earlier without checking it.

And it doesn't matter if her paralegal or her secretary did it. It's still her work.

[Dr. Caligari]

According to Jurisdictionary, the "normal" procedure at this point would call for filing of motions to dismiss, to strike, or to require a more definite statement of the complaint. That's before an answer to the government's complaint is filed, and long before requests for admissions, interrogatories, dispositions, and issuance of subpoenas.

There is no "complaint," in this case, only an indictment, and most of the rest of those procedures apply only to civil cases, not criminal ones.

[Famspear]

At losthorizons, "Tyrannical Response Team" fearless leader Weston White writes:

[ . . . ]if you visit Quatloos.com they are all over this, they can't stop posting about PH (they have like five threads about PH) and in fact I bet they are made aware about the progress of his case before he even himself knows (because they are crawling PACER with a keen eye for PH).

http://www.losthorizons.com/phpBB/viewt ... 2049#12049

Yes, Weston, we know about what happens in Pete's case before he does. We are the Illuminati.

User "mutter" responds:

5 threads on one guy huh. the shills must be scared!

Ah, that recurrent tax protester word: "shill." People who monitor tax scams are "IRS shills" or "DOJ shills." Yes, we've heard all that before.

Clue: Yes, Weston, and yes mutter, we are all over this. Quatloos is a web site that monitors and reports on various scams and, in particular, tax scams. Peter Eric Hendrickson runs a tax scam through his web site, losthorizons dot com, and his "book," Cracking the Code.

Clue: Neither the Quatloos regulars, nor (I suspect) the employees of the Internal Revenue Service, nor (I suspect) the personnel at the Tax Division of the United States Department of Justice are "scared."

We do notice, however, that some of the regulars at losthorizons are scared. As they should be. We do notice that some of the regulars at losthorizons discussed being scared, frightened, worried, and afraid -- in a losthorizons thread entitled, well, Are you scared/frightened/worried/afraid or ... -- a thread which was begun by one Weston White:

are you ever more vigilant and motivated? Are you a "Tax Protester" or are you are Freedom Fighter at a "red" [meaning are you are are race car at a red light]?

Please, let us get this out in the open now, our worries, concerns, ect., ergo, the truth, what is on our minds. Lets talk about now, really, honestly, and truly, all of us.

After reading about PH new journey, I will begin by saying I am evermore inspired and vigilant. Full pull, heck even full throttle, if you will!

[ . . .] in regards to PH current predicament do you consider yourself any combination of the following: scared/frightened/worried/afraid, or anything remotely bearing the similar?

[ . . . ]does the U.S. Treasury and/or the IRS scare, frighten, worry, or make you afraid? [ . . .]

http://www.losthorizons.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=1113

(bolding added).

I think psychologists call it "projection." The losthorizoners are scared, but are trying to deny it by saying, figuratively, "we losthorizonsers are not scared; it's the Quatloos people and the IRS people and the DOJ people who are scared."

That doesn't really work very well, "mutter."

[Famspear]

Speaking of Hendrickson's Heroes' assertions that the Quatloos regulars monitoring the Cracking the Code scam must be "scared," I wonder how Hendrickson's Heroes feel about the newly-disclosed undercover operation that was conducted against Peter.... Hmmmm????

I wonder who if any among Hendrickson's Heroes are actually shills who have been working with the government and helping to accumulate evidence to be used in the trial......

I wonder how Hendrickson's Heroes feel about the 3,800+ pages of documents that the government has accumulated in connection with the upcoming trial.

Yeah, I'll bet that prosecutor from the U.S. Department of Justice is sssssooooooo "scared"..... Do you think Hendrickson has convinced his own lawyer that the government prosecutor is "scared"? Hmmmmmm????

Consolation for Hendrickson's Heroes: Even if Hendrickson is convicted and goes back to prison (and that's an "if"), his web site can probably go on and on, just as Irwin Schiff's web site is still up while he languishes in prison. So, Hendrickson's Heroes might still have a place to commiserate and plot even more tax crimes......

Still, if I were a follower of Hendrickson, I would be SCARED just thinking about what the government might already know about me -- maybe as a result of that undercover operation, or those 3,800+ pages of documents......

EDIT: Hey, Weston White over at losthorizons: Where's your "Tyrannical Response Team"? Surely there must be some cogent legal advice the Tyrannical Response Team can provide to Hendrickson's lawyer..... You guys have all the tax laws figured out, don't you?

[Demosthenes]

Why would anyone here be scared?

We're here for the amusement value - the worst that can happen is that we get bored.

Compare that to Pete and his marks. The worst that can happen to Pete is a lengthy prison sentence and the worst that can happen to his suckers is financial failure and/or prison time.

I've met a lot of Tax Division prosecutors over the years. Haven't seen one scared by a TP yet. Irritated by pro se antics wasting the prosecutor's time? Yes. Scared? No. Scaredy-cats don't grow up to become federal prosecutors.

[Famspear]

Ohhhh, but they should be scared!

Man, just look at the awesome team that Weston White is assembling!

Aw, come on, Weston White! Put your Tyrannical Response Team to work! Help Pete Hendrickson out of this jam! Call on a "TRT Team Leader"!

Call on the "TRT Legal Task Force":

The holders of this position will be required to have a legal background either as a holder of a Juris Doctorate, or is a certified Litigator, Mediator, Legal Counselor, Legal Clerk, Paralegal, Courtroom Clerk, experience law enforcement officer or deputy, or is or has occupied a similarly related profession. This position will be responsible for assisting in FOIA requests, filing legal notices to members of the government pertaining to TRT findings, actions, and investigations. Assisting TRT Members with the proper and recommended legal action to take as required and beneficial to our mission as a whole. Verifying or correcting report findings pertaining to the individual position holder’s area of expertise.

http://defendindependence.org/Forum/trt ... -t398.html

(bolding added).

Come on, Weston! What about using a "TRT Intel & Recon Specialist":

This position requires an advanced knowledge in the area of IRS, U.S. Treasury, Federal Reserve, other federal and related matters, and State Laws and Revenue Codes, thereby requiring the holder to have a sound background in such fields of study. This position will assist the TRT Intelligence Team and TRT Reconnaissance Task Force as requested. TRT Intel & Recon Specialists will work in bar with the TRT Legal Task Force to accomplish TRT related objectives, tasks, and goals.

Weston, surely these guys can save the day!

[Demosthenes]

Now now, Famspear.

Weston's just excited that he'll get to wear his TRT T-Shirt once the weather thaws.

[Famspear]

Now now, Famspear.

Weston's just excited that he'll get to wear his TRT T-Shirt once the weather thaws.

Yeah, there's lots of cool "gear" for sale to members of the Tyrannical Response Team, at

http://www.cafepress.com/oif2007/3431663

I bet they even have secret passwords and decoder rings.

Check out the mugs and teddy bears.