Thursday, March 28, 2024

The persecution of Tim Eyman continues

Posted

If you are going to challenge the political system be sure you have a lot of money and the help of a major law firm. Otherwise, you are in for a fight you cannot win.

It appears Attorney General Bob Ferguson continues his legal persecution of political activist Tim Eyman. Last week he requested the court declare Eyman’s attorney unqualified to represent Eyman.

It seems the AG has invoked the nuclear option by convincing the court to declare no individual practitioner can keep up with the army of lawyers employed by the state. So only hours before he was to appear in court Eyman found himself without legal council.

It has been said that anyone who chooses to represent themself in court has a fool for a client. The problem is Eyman did not choose to represent himself he was forced to by the very people who have filed the actions against him.

Of course he lost the hearing on procedural grounds that he didn’t follow proper court procedures. Of course he didn’t. Eyman is not an attorney.

The goal of all of this appears to be nothing more than an attempt to silence Eyman. A blatant attempt to strip Eyman of his civil rights under our Constitution.

Frguson is using the Campaign Finance Laws to persecute Eyman. Claiming Eyman did not file proper reports with the Public Disclosure Commission. The suit is for $2.1 million dollars and a lifetime ban from participating in any political activity. It has forced Eyman to file for bankruptcy.

The problem is the penalty far outweighs other suits by the AG’s office for similar violations of Campaign Finance law. A review of the Attorney General’s website regarding enforcement action against campaign finance law violations shows the action against Eyman is remarkable. Only one other claim exceeds the amount sought against Eyman. That was against the Grocery Manufacturers Association for $19.1 million. The next closest claim was against the Washington Education Association for $975,000.  The other 32 cases listed averaged $74,609 including AGO costs for prosecuting the cases.

In December of 2017 The Spokesman Review ran a story about how Campaign Finance complaints were becoming the newest political weapon in Washington politics. Bob Ferguson’s assault on Tim Eyman is moving that weapon from the big money politics of labor unions and political parties to individual citizens who are simply seeking to petition their government for a redress of their grievances.

That is unconstitutional. As the chief legal officer for the state, Attorney General Robert (Bob) Ferguson should know that.

There is another political activist who has promised to bring suit against Ferguson for violation of the very Campaign Finance laws he is charging Tim Eyman with violating. Glen Morgan of WeTheGoverned.com has filed 14 claims of violation of Campaign Finance Laws by Ferguson according to a story on his website.

There is no reason that individual citizens should need to hire a major law firm to represent them when they are simply exercising their Constitutionally protected rights.

It is time for political activists and organizations that claim to support holding government accountable to come together to support Tim Eyman. Organizations like Glen Morgan’s WeTheGoverned and The Freedom Foundation need to call on Ferguson, Governor Inslee and both political parties to end this travesty.

The suit needs to be dropped. The state needs to agree to pay for Eyman’s current legal costs and Attorney General Bob Ferguson needs to resign. It is the only fair solution to this egregious abuse of an ordinary citizen.

In light of the Supreme Court Decision in Citizens United there is some question about the legality of the entire Campaign Finance Law and the Public Disclosure Commission. That law was passed as a result of a citizen’s initiative but now is being used as a political weapon not a tool for citizens to make more informed decisions.

In light of the travesty being perpetrated on Tim Eyman as a result of this law it may be time for an Initiative to disband the PDC.

Here is a link to activist Glen Morgan's charges regarding Bob Feruson    http://mynorthwest.com/841665/suing-bob-ferguson-in-legal-trouble/?

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here