Warlord
05-22-2013, 05:21 AM
The persecution and prosecution of Gibson Guitar stands out as a prime example of government overreach, similar to IRS Tea Party targeting.
This video explains the insanity of the raid and ultimate charges — very technical and disputed interpretations of Indian law as to the importation of wood used in the guitars. This had nothing to do with conservation or protection of forests, it had to do with India keeping jobs in India, and insane paperwork requirements in the U.S. The trees would have been cut and the wood used regardless of how Gibson filled out the paperwork:
“The issue here is not illegal logging or some conservation abuse,” Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz told Reuters and other reporters last October. “The laws that are being identified by the Department of Justice have to do with protectionism by the country of origin, keeping work in that country and therefore not allowing something that isn’t that value-added to be exported.”
The Gibson Guitar prosecution smacked of partisan politics (h/t Instapundit), and although it ultimately agreed to a settlement to avoid the costs of defending the case, the absurdity of the charges remained:
On Aug. 24, 2011, the Department of Justice sent armed agents into the Gibson Guitar factor in Memphis “confiscating half a million dollars worth of guitar making material is an alleged violation of environmental standards.”
Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz is a conservative, and his company eventually settled rather than take matters to court.
Nashville-based Gibson agreed to pay a $300,000 penalty, forfeit claims to about $262,000 worth of wood seized by federal agents and contribute $50,000 to theNational Fish and Wildlife Foundation to promote the conservation of protected tree species.
We felt compelled to settle as the costs of proving our case at trial would have cost millions of dollars and taken a very long time to resolve,” CEO Henry Juszkiewicz said in a statement late Monday night….
“We feel that Gibson was inappropriately targeted, and a matter that could have been addressed with a simple contact a caring human being representing the government,” he said in his statement.
Gibson also forfeited an estimated $1 million in wood it purchased.
Guess who was a big supporter of this witch hunt against Gibson Guitar.
None other than Massachusetts Congressman and now Senate candidate Ed Markey (h/t Instapundit):
Markey’s press statement was all on board with the vigorous prosecution and attempted to turn it into a political issue regarding the Tea Party:
“Gibson’s admission of wrongdoing is a win for the Lacey Act, a win for US jobs and a win for consumers who can be assured that illegally trafficked ‘blood wood’ won’t be used to make their guitars,” said Rep. Markey, Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee. “Gibson, the Tea Party and House Republicans attempted to gut the Lacey Act by changing the law in Congress before the case against the guitar maker was resolved. I commend the hard and deliberate work of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Justice Department to bring this case to a close.
http://legalinsurrection.com/2013/05/ed-markey-cheered-govt-witch-hunt-against-gibson-guitar/comment-page-1/
This video explains the insanity of the raid and ultimate charges — very technical and disputed interpretations of Indian law as to the importation of wood used in the guitars. This had nothing to do with conservation or protection of forests, it had to do with India keeping jobs in India, and insane paperwork requirements in the U.S. The trees would have been cut and the wood used regardless of how Gibson filled out the paperwork:
“The issue here is not illegal logging or some conservation abuse,” Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz told Reuters and other reporters last October. “The laws that are being identified by the Department of Justice have to do with protectionism by the country of origin, keeping work in that country and therefore not allowing something that isn’t that value-added to be exported.”
The Gibson Guitar prosecution smacked of partisan politics (h/t Instapundit), and although it ultimately agreed to a settlement to avoid the costs of defending the case, the absurdity of the charges remained:
On Aug. 24, 2011, the Department of Justice sent armed agents into the Gibson Guitar factor in Memphis “confiscating half a million dollars worth of guitar making material is an alleged violation of environmental standards.”
Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz is a conservative, and his company eventually settled rather than take matters to court.
Nashville-based Gibson agreed to pay a $300,000 penalty, forfeit claims to about $262,000 worth of wood seized by federal agents and contribute $50,000 to theNational Fish and Wildlife Foundation to promote the conservation of protected tree species.
We felt compelled to settle as the costs of proving our case at trial would have cost millions of dollars and taken a very long time to resolve,” CEO Henry Juszkiewicz said in a statement late Monday night….
“We feel that Gibson was inappropriately targeted, and a matter that could have been addressed with a simple contact a caring human being representing the government,” he said in his statement.
Gibson also forfeited an estimated $1 million in wood it purchased.
Guess who was a big supporter of this witch hunt against Gibson Guitar.
None other than Massachusetts Congressman and now Senate candidate Ed Markey (h/t Instapundit):
Markey’s press statement was all on board with the vigorous prosecution and attempted to turn it into a political issue regarding the Tea Party:
“Gibson’s admission of wrongdoing is a win for the Lacey Act, a win for US jobs and a win for consumers who can be assured that illegally trafficked ‘blood wood’ won’t be used to make their guitars,” said Rep. Markey, Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee. “Gibson, the Tea Party and House Republicans attempted to gut the Lacey Act by changing the law in Congress before the case against the guitar maker was resolved. I commend the hard and deliberate work of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Justice Department to bring this case to a close.
http://legalinsurrection.com/2013/05/ed-markey-cheered-govt-witch-hunt-against-gibson-guitar/comment-page-1/