Conservative bloggers are learning first hand what it is like to be harassed and intimidated. According to Michelle Malkin: (bolding is mine)
“Over the past year, Aaron Walker (who blogged as “Aaron Worthing”), Patterico, Liberty Chick, and now Stacy McCain have been targeted by convicted Speedway bomber Brett Kimberlin because they dared to mention his criminal past or assisted others who did. The late Andrew Breitbart warned about Kimberlin and company. I have spoken directly with both Patterico and Aaron about their ongoing battles. The mainstream press, not just the conservative blogosphere, needs to hear and report their stories.”
“This is a convoluted, ongoing nightmare that combines abuse of the court system, workplace intimidation, serial invasions of privacy, perjury, and harassment of family members. McCain was forced to move with his family out of his house this week, and has just gotten a small taste of what Aaron and Patterico have been enduring over the past year. Aaron and his wife were fired from their jobs after their employer feared the office would be targeted next. Convicted bomber Kimberlin has filed bogus “peace orders” against Aaron, when it is the Walkers who are the victims, not the perpetrators.”
“And Patterico’s plight will send chills up your spine when he is ready to tell it. Institutional inertia, incompetence, and apathy among law enforcement officials on both coasts have exacerbated the victims’ suffering. It has moved far beyond a partisan or political story to a bottomless, Kafka-esque morass. And, via investigative journalist Matthew Vadum, it certainly doesn’t help that “progressive,” left-wing foundations that have funded Kimberlin continue to look the other way.”
“Ted Frank at Point of Law summed it up: “A scary tale of what can go wrong if one makes the wrong enemy of someone willing to persistently abuse the civil and criminal legal system, and how poorly the legal system protects those victims.”
SEE RELATED:
Senator Orrin Hatch, Utah Republican, knows very well how Mr. Kimberlin operates. Senator Hatch’s office sent me a statement on the story above:
“Senator Hatch has had run ins with Brett Kimberlin before and they weren’t pleasant. So it’s certainly no surprise that Mr. Kimberlin has now taken to harassing and targeting conservative bloggers. Needless to say, efforts to silence and chill political speech are contrary to the values of our Constitution and First Amendment.”
In 1999, Mr. Kimberlin sued Senator Hatch and a staffer for geting involved in Kimberlin’s parole case in 1997: (bolding is mine)
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 238 submitted earlier by Senators LOTT and DASCHLE.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 238) to authorize representation of Member of the Senate in the case of Brett Kimberlin v. Orrin Hatch, et al.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the resolution.
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, this resolution concerns a civil action commenced by a pro se plaintiff in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia against Senator HATCH and a former member of the staff of the Judiciary Committee. The plaintiff is a federal prisoner serving a sentence for offenses related to a series of bombings in 1979.
The complaint seeks damages from Senator HATCH and staff for their alleged role in the United States Parole Commission’s 1997 revocation of the plaintiff’s parole for failure to satisfy an outstanding civil judgment against him in favor of one of the victims of his bombings.
The plaintiff’s claims of unfairness and political bias in his parole revocation hearing have already been rejected by the federal district court in Maryland in habeas corpus proceedings initiated by the plaintiff.
This resolution authorizes the Senate Legal Counsel to represent Senator HATCH in this action. The Senate Legal Counsel will seek dismissal of the suit for failure to state a claim for relief and for other reasons.
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and finally that any statements related to the resolution be printed in the RECORD.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 238) was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Res. 238
Whereas, in the case of Brett Kimberlin v. Orrin Hatch, et al., C.A. No. 99-1590, pending in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the plaintiff has named as a defendant Senator Orrin G. Hatch;
Whereas, pursuant to sections 703(a) and 704(a)(1) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, 2 U.S.C. §288b(a) and 288c(1), the Senate may direct its counsel to defend Members of the Senate in civil actions relating to their official responsibilities: Now therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate Legal Counsel is directed to represent Senator Hatch in the case of Brett Kimberlin v. Orrin Hatch, et al.
Kimberlin’s case against Hatch was dismissed in DC’s district court.
