Congress Watch -- The Political Theater

It is nice to know that our Congressmen are on the watch. Here is a press release from Congressman John R. Carter, R-Texas, on his new bill titled the Geithner Penalty Waiver Act. The Act would impose the same penalty rate for persons joiniing the special voluntary disclosure program as imposed on Timothy Geithner, the Secretary of Treasury. The rhetoric is interesting; seems to me more for political theater than being a serious proposal.

DOJ Tax Seeks John Doe Summons for Stanford Group Investors

The Stanford Group maintain offshore financial accounts for its investors / depositors. It is thus not surprising that DOJ Tax is seeking that information via a John Doe Summons. Here is the press release. More business for the tax enforcers and for the lawyers who assist taxpayers caught up in the mess. According to the preliminary internet chatter, the investors who already feel aggrieved think -- or at least assert -- the Government is piling on.

These taxpayers with offshore Stanford accounts already had the opportunity to join the special voluntary disclosure initiative which ended 10/15/09. This bunch who have lost much or all of their offshore investment (at least those who did not pull out before the end) may truly not have anything left to make the type of payments required under the earlier initiative, much less any more onerous amounts that may be required of late comers.

Article on Stein Dismissals for Constitutional Violations from DOJ Forcing Withdrawal of Attorneys Fees

There is a good recent article on the important tax / white collar crime case of United States v. Stein, 541 F.3d 130 (2d Cir. 2008). The article is Christopher McNamara, How the Decisions in Favor of the Stein Thirteen Will Affect the Litigation of Corporate Crime and Department of Justice Policies and Expand the Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel, 78 Fordham Law Rev. 933 (2009). The article is available here. The following is from the introduction. Footnotes, except for identfying the author, are omitted.

[*933]

HOW THE DECISIONS IN FAVOR OF THE STEIN THIRTEEN WILL AFFECT THE LITIGATION OF CORPORATE CRIME AND DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE POLICIES AND EXPAND THE SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO COUNSEL

Christopher McNamara*

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit became the first appellate court in nearly thirty years to uphold the dismissal of criminal indictments for a Sixth Amendment right-to-counsel violation. United States v. Stein is a unique case that intertwines constitutional interpretation, constitutional remedies, white collar crime, and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) policy. The immediate effects of the Stein decisions not only reflect the changing attitudes at the DOJ on how to prosecute white collar crime but have simultaneously caused the DOJ to implement such changes. As the Sixth Amendment has developed and augmented, so has the interpretation of remedies when there is a right-tocounsel violation. This Note explores the Stein decisions in light of existing doctrines, and concludes that while certain parts of the decisions are legally sound, other parts—right or wrong—may present direct challenges to existing jurisprudence.
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