"If Criswell predicts it, it's gotta come true!"

Did we not tell you this would happen? Did we not say that these people were begging for it to happen? Oh yes, we did. Because we are Criswell, and Criswell knows all. Yesterday, Brett Kimberlin filed a new civil suit under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (R.I.C.O.) Act against twenty defendants. Kimberlin alleges they have engaged

in a criminal racketeering enterprise that violated his civil rights and which includes widespread mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, intimidation, assault, extortion, threat of extortion, obstruction of justice, and gang activity for the purpose of harming Plaintiff and depriving him of his civil rights.

You can read the entire suit at Scribd (Update:  we have changed the link to the amended complaint). We were impressed by the construction of the case, which clearly lays out a pattern of fake organizations raising money to fight against fake oppression while touting fake narratives. James O’Keefe is named in the suit because of his new book, published by defendant Simon & Schuster, which claims that Kimberlin is responsible for SWATings of conservative bloggers. The publisher never contacted Kimberlin for comment and did no fact-checking on the book. None of the defendants has ever offered a single shred of proof that Kimberlin was ever involved in any of the false police reports that have been blamed on him, yet they have gone so far as to file lawsuits, contact law enforcement agencies, and demand action by Congress.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of some highlights we noted:

  • Andrew Breitbart was personally stirring the defendants to action before he died, and all the persons named as defendants are linked to him, which makes this suit part of the larger story of Breitbart’s empire collapsing into libel and defamation
  • The suit limits defendants’ discovery options, leaving no room for the malicious “fishing expeditions” they dream of conducting
  • Aaron Walker’s lengthy history of false reports to law enforcement regarding Kimberlin is revealed. Most recently, in August Walker tried to pressure Kimberlin’s wife into naming him as the SWATer by calling the FBI and insisting they should interview her
  • Los Angeles Assistant District Attorney John Patrick Frey gets special attention in the suit. Not only has he made false statements under the color of his office in order to prosecute Kimberlin in blog court, Frey acted as consigliere to Breitbart while he was alive, and has led the campaign against Kimberlin in Breitbart’s memory after his death. Frey is responsible for pretty much all outside press coverage that the SWAT story has received, and has consistently tried to frame Kimberlin through his public statements
  • Dan Backer and DB Capitol Strategies appear in the suit. We say this link should get much more attention from Supreme Court and campaign finance observers than it has so far enjoyed. The same man who just argued against all federal campaign contribution limits, and appears to have a majority of the court in agreement with him, was also excoriated by a federal judge last year for his part in Aaron Walker’s frivolous suit against Kimberlin
  • For the first time, the  many attempts to pressure and harass judges who deliver unfavorable rulings to the Breitbots are all listed in one place, along with the resulting threats and security problems they have created
  • The suit demonstrates the consistent pattern of right wing organizations issuing press releases based on the narratives of right wing bloggers, and those same right wing bloggers then posting those press releases in their blogs as endorsements of their narratives
  • The history of Ali Akbar’s National Bloggers Club, its fraudulent charity fundraising, and its defamatory mission against Kimberlin are all part of the suit

Finally, we note that RICO suits can be expanded as discovery warrants, or as the racketeering activity enlarges, and that this possibility should not escape the defendants while they scramble to invent their way out of the new disaster they have created for themselves. For example: over the last ten days, defendant R. Stacy McCain has been faildoxing a woman named Melissa Brewer as Xenophon Gryllus, despite our repeated warnings that he was making a fool of himself, because he seemed to be under the impression that “proving” this nonexistent connection would provide him with a dynamite legal defense against Kimberlin’s suit.

But last night, blogger Matt Osborne contacted us and independently verified that we are not Melissa Brewer, scuttling whatever defense McCain thought he had constructed. The episode should stand as a stark reminder of two things.

  1. Defendants ought to heed Popehat’s warning and stop making things worse for themselves by repeating their previous behaviors with new accounts, blogs, or pseudonyms. Find something else to blog about, already
  2. While Mr. Kimberlin has been the primary target of this activity, the defendants have attacked many other people in hot pursuit of their fake narratives. Bill Schmalfeldt has already been subject to dozens of false reports, peace orders, and lawsuits as well as countless defamations. Potentially, the hunters may now become the hunted, and the number of claims could enlarge, if this behavior persists

We make these warnings in good faith, but we expect they will be treated as dire threats. No one ever wanted to believe Cassandra; why should Criswell expect anything different?

Update: we have changed the embedded file to the amended complaint.

Kimberlin Amended RICO Suit Fed Final Links by Breitbart Unmasked

6 thoughts on “We Are Criswell: Brett Kimberlin Files A R.I.C.O. Suit. Will It Enlarge?”
  1. RICO strikes fear into the heart of lawyers and defendants everywhere. I read the suit and it looks very well framed. If I were to give Kimberlin any advice in the event he plans to file an amended complaint, add language as often as possible as to how the defendants had contact with the state of Maryland. In other words, were the online articles available in Maryland, did any of the defendants contact anyone in Maryland in person or by phone, email or mail, did any of the Defendants who live in Maryland such as Hoge and McCain, contact the other Defendants, did Kimberlin receive the threats in Maryland, etc.

    I realize that this is touched on in the suit, but I can guarantee that some defendants are going to argue lack of personal jurisdiction, but that argument can be easily overcome by showing a nexus to Maryland. Also, because he is alleging RICO conspiracy, he will have a much easier time than if he had just alleged diversity.

    The suit is very well laid out, easy to understand, and he uses the defendants’ own posts to make the case. The many instances of criminal activity, highlighted by Akbar’s lies about the 501c3 status of NBC, is going to cause him and the others a lot of problems. It appears that Kimberlin has shown that the other defendants were pushing for donations to NBC, and so they were either part of the fraud or they were negligent in their due diligence of NBC. Either way, it’s fraud per se.

    My other suggestion to Kimberlin is to use this complaint to get the attention of federal prosecutors. The case is very strong that at least some of the defendants were providing false information to federal officials to create a witch hunt of a political enemy. The suit is almost like criminal RICO indictment.

    Our firm has brought and defended RICO cases over the years. My advice to Kimberlin is to keep focused on the goal of treble damages and punitive damages. He could end up with a lot of dough on this case. As far as advice to the defendants, I want to be frank. RICO cases are very difficult to defend against and this case appears to be better documented than many I have seen. In fact, any lawyer who plans to get in there and fight this case to the bitter end is going to have to devote the next two years to it and be prepared to bill at least $250,000 per defendant. This case is not going away on a Motion to Dismiss or Motion for Summary Judgment. And federal lawyers like we have in our firm would charge from $280 to $650 per hour depending on which lawyer was billing.

    Let me give a few examples. We had a client who had been doing some shady business regarding oil leases over a period of years. He had a contract to do certain things, but with every tanker, he was falsifying records and submitting them by mail to his partners. Finally they caught on and sued him under RICO alleging some of the same frauds Kimberlin alleges. We looked at the case, saw that the partners had installed a surreptitious meter on the wells which proved siphoning of thousands of barrels of crude. So we settled before the case even got to its first hearing. Our client had to pay a hefty sum but it was far less than what he had stolen. But the important thing for us was to keep the client out of jail, which would probably have occurred once all the evidence came out at trial.

    Then there was another case in which we sued a party under RICO. It took us 3 years of trench warfare and we billed hours totaling almost two million dollars. At the end of the case, we did win at a trial, getting only about one point five million in compensatory damages, and we got a punitive award of five million.

    It sounds like Kimberlin is in no mood to settle, but based on my experience, if the terms are right, anyone will settle.

    1. But Roger, the sharp legal minds of blog court insist the suit is a failure. Surely McCain’s petulance has greater legal weight than an experienced attorney? Surely Hoge’s arrogance will prevail at the Supreme Blog Court?

  2. One of the anonymous cowards, the same one who e-mails me every day to remind me that I remain under a peace order, says he showed BK’s complaint to a lawyer who specializes in RICO cases, and the lawyer laughed at it. Of course, he didn’t mention which lawyer. But I’m sure that he’s not pulling that out of his ass or anything. I know Roger S., the initial commenter. I know his background. I know his legal bona fides. And the people like R. Stacy McCain and WJJ Hoge who are so stupid and fraught with Hubris that they think the judge is going to dismiss the suit because — Kimberlin — continue to waste their time and effort attacking me. Which is fine with me. The more time they spend whacking away at me, someone they cannot harm, someone who is beyond their reach, the less time they are spending preparing themselves for the very real, imminent threat to themselves presented by this suit. They think it will go away if they just ignore it. Or if they mock it. They are wrong, and I couldn’t be more of a gleeful observer.

    Now, if the Maryland Court of Appeals would just decide what they’re gonna do. I’ve exhausted my options at the Circuit Court level as the judge and Hoge’s lawyer made goo-goo eyes and kissy faces at each other while not allowing me to speak or present a case to argue against Hoge’s answer to my motion to modify the peace order.

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