Traitor Gets Slap on Wrist
Ronald Montaperto was an intelligence analyst for the Pentagon. He has been convicted of passing "highly classified" information to the Chinese.
A crime for which he will serve three months in jail, three months of home detention and five years' probation.
That's right. A man that compromised national security will spend three months in jail, in spite of the fact that sentencing guidelines call for four to five years.
Why so little? Judge Gerald Bruce Lee (a Clinton appointee) was impressed that other traitors that infest our intelligence agencies wrote character references in support of Montaperto.
Rep. Peter Hoekstra, chairman of the House intelligence committee, said he is concerned by the apparent support for Montaperto from the U.S. intelligence community and promised a committee probe.
"You would think that the intel community would set the standard for holding people accountable for mishandling and passing of classified information to our enemies," Mr. Hoekstra said.
First, believing intelligence officers about the character of a fellow intelligence officer is like asking doctors to sanction other doctors who commit malpractice. Or judges sanctioning other judges for making up the rules as they go along rather than following the law. It just doesn't happen that often.
Second, who still believes that the members of our intelligence community have any respect for the rule of law or want to support American interests?
Third, how many more judgements like this will it take before Americans stand up and demand judicial reform?
Our dear friend Judge Lee (described as a "hero to criminal defense attorneys") is the one responsible for sentencing American terrorist Ahmed Abu-Ali, who was convicted of providing material support to al Qaeda and was involved in a conspiracy to assassinate President Bush. Judge Lee decided not to impose the death penalty and settled for the much lighter sentence of 30 years.
Lee is also notorious for dismissing the kidnapping and murder charges against Jay Lentz even though a jury had found him guilty.
Legal experts said Lee's ruling, which came after he excluded much of the evidence prosecutors wanted to present to jurors, marked the first time a judge dismissed a jury verdict in a federal death penalty case.
Judge Lee, setting precedence and making it up as he goes along. What ever happened to shooting those who commit treason?
Finally, remember Lawrence Franklin? He was recently convicted of passing some classified material just like Montaperto. So here's a little table presented for comparison purposes:
| Ronald Montaperto | Lawrence Franklin | |
| Occupation | Intelligence Analyst | Intelligence Analyst |
| Conviction | Passing classified material to our enemy, the Red Chinese |
Passing classified material to our allies, the Israelis |
| Sentence | 3 months jail, 3 months house arrest, 5 years probation |
12 years in prison |
| Judge | Gerald Bruce Lee Appointed by Clinton |
T. S. Ellis III Appointed by Reagan |
And some people don't think it's important to have a Republican in the White House.
Technorati tags: Treason in our Courtrooms, Judge Gerald Bruce Lee, Judge T. S. Ellis III, Conservative Judges, Liberal Judges, Need for Judicial Reform, Impeaching Judges, Ronald Montaperto, Lawrence Franklin, Judicial Reform.
Blog post #6246 in category
Conservative Causes
posted 10 September 06
So how come the current 'Republican in the White House' has stood silently by while an organized effort by high ranking intelligence officials formed to defend Montapero?
How come the current 'Republican in the White House' hasn't demanded the resignation deputy national intelligence officer for East Asia Lonnie Henley who appears to be leading this effort?
How come the current 'Republican in the White House' hasn't demanded the DNI produce a formal damage assessment for the material exposed in this case (like the one they demanded in the New York Times leak investigation)?
While you want to turn this issue into an easy partisan talking point, the fact is Bush's protection of sensitive information has been horrible. He's repeatedly released information when it's politically convenient, restricted information that out to be open when it's politically convenient, and his enforcement priorities seemed more geared toward how much political damage results from an exposure rather than how much national security damage results.
He's treated national security as a prop for his political agenda, and is that regard he's just as bad as the President he replaced.
Posted by Stormy Dragon on Sunday at 2:33 PM
That's a stupid remark. Have you ever read the Constitution, and if so, exactly what Constitutional power do you believe the current President has over this judge and his decisions?
Posted by rightwingprof on Monday at 7:55 AM
Excuse me, where did I mention the judge anywhere in my comment? My criticism was based wholely on his failure to control his own adminstration and political appointees, which is definitely within his constitutional perogatives.
Posted by Stormy Dragon on Monday at 4:38 PM