Posted 9:14 PM by Joe |

FORMER IRS SPECIAL AGENT & WHISTLEBLOWER REQUESTING YOUR HELP

From : Joe Banister
Sent : Tuesday, February 6, 2007 10:48 AM
To : List
Subject : FORMER IRS SPECIAL AGENT & WHISTLEBLOWER REQUESTING YOUR HELP

FREEDOM ABOVE FORTUNE NEWS

FORMER IRS SPECIAL AGENT & WHISTLEBLOWER REQUESTING YOUR HELP

Dear Friends:

It has been quite some time since I have provided you with an update of my
situation. There have been developments that I would like to share with you.

Thankfully, I am in good health and good spirits thanks to God’s blessings. It
is hard to believe that it has been nearly 8 years since my resignation from the
IRS Criminal Investigation Division and over a year and a half since I was
acquitted of all charges in a Sacramento, California federal courtroom
(http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/famed_irs_whistleblower.html ).

Not surprisingly, the income tax enforcement apparatus has not lightened up one
bit on its mission to silence and discredit yours truly. Apparently putting me
behind bars was the “icing” on the income tax enforcement apparatus’ “cake” but
since they didn’t get to eat the icing, they’ll settle for the cake. I need to
give you a little bit of background to help you understand my current situation,
so bear with me as I provide a summary.

You may recall from previous battle stories I have shared with you the saga of
my “disbarment” from “practice” before the IRS. (I routinely put “disbarment”
in quotes because I never applied to be a member of any IRS “bar”. I never
applied because the IRS has never had a “bar”. Thus, dis-“bar”-ing me is not
even an appropriate term – but it sounds really bad so the IRS is more than
happy to use it anyway.) The IRS “disbarment” saga began with allegations
leveled by the IRS (not the clients!) that I had engaged in “disreputable”
conduct in connection with assistance rendered to two clients by allegedly
giving “false opinions” to those clients that had “no basis in law or fact”.
Allegations were added later that I had also engaged in additional
“disreputable” conduct by failing to file income tax returns for 1999, 2000,
2001 and 2002.

When such allegations are leveled against someone, at least in this country,
that person is supposed to be provided, consistent with the “innocent until
proven guilty” and “due process of law” themes coursing throughout American law,
many levels of appeal to test the legitimacy of the allegations. Unfortunately,
our government often ignores these themes and routinely attempts to bypass the
levels of appeal and my IRS “disbarment” case was no exception.

Despite the fact that the law called for a hearing as my first level of appeal,
which would have been my “day in court”, so to speak, to defend myself against
the allegations of “disreputable conduct”, Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Moran
ruled that a hearing would not be given to me and a “sanction” (punishment)
proceeding would take place instead. Soon after, ALJ Moran ruled that the
record showed I had indeed engaged in “disreputable conduct”. ALJ Moran’s
ruling was not too surprising given that the absence of a hearing meant I was
refused the opportunity to get my side of the story (documents, witness
testimony, etc.) into the record or to cross-examine my IRS accusers – The
“disbarment” process was a sham and a “railroad”. You can read more about this
at http://joebanister.blogspot.com/2004_01_04_joebanister_archive.html .

You may also recall that I appealed ALJ Moran’s “disbarment” ruling to the
Secretary of the Treasury, John Snow, and, incredibly, Secretary Snow delegated
his decision-making authority regarding my appeal to a high-ranking attorney at
the IRS. Not surprisingly, the high-ranking attorney at the IRS ruled against
me. Yet another sham and “railroad” whereby my IRS accusers even served as the
arbiters of my appeal.

I was preparing to appeal the above-described “railroading” when, in November of
2004, I learned that I had been indicted on four felony charges. As those of
you who have been following my story since 2004 or earlier know, defending
myself against the felony charges was a horrendous undertaking, as I often would
relate in various email updates. All of my time and effort as well as all of
the generous spiritual and financial support I received from so many of you had
to be devoted to defense against the felony charges – I never could “come up for
air” long enough to appeal the “disbarment” debacle. It’s a shame that I had to
face prison in order to finally have a jury of 12 of my peers evaluate my
conduct – as opposed to past evaluations performed by biased IRS bureaucrats and
administrative law judges – but not surprisingly those peers recognized that I
was innocent and acquitted me of the felony charges leveled against me.

The stinging defeat suffered by the income tax enforcement apparatus barely
slowed them down. My hopes for a little time to breathe after having survived a
full court press to imprison me were dashed when the California Board of
Accountancy (CBA), the agency that oversees Certified Public Accountants
(“C.P.A.s”) like me, which had already been investigating me in connection with
the IRS “disbarment” debacle, stepped up their efforts to revoke my “C.P.A.”
license using the IRS “disbarment” as the pretext for doing so. The IRS also
stepped up their civil inquiries into my personal affairs.

Now that I have brought you up to date – here is where I stand. The California
Board of Accountancy (CBA) has just issued a decision that my “C.P.A.” license
be revoked. The CBA is basing their decision solely on the results of the IRS
“disbarment”, which you and I know was a sham but the CBA could care less. My
unblemished fifteen year record as a “C.P.A.” is meaningless to the CBA as well.
The income tax enforcement apparatus simply cannot afford to have a credible
person who happens to be not only a former IRS criminal investigator but a
“C.P.A.” believing what I believe and saying what I say.

I am telling you all of this because I once again need your help. I only have a
small window of opportunity to appeal both the IRS disbarment and the revocation
of my C.P.A. license. Robert Bernhoft and his firm have never abandoned me and
they don’t intend to now but representing me has been a huge financial burden
for them. Significant work will be necessary but neither the Bernhoft firm nor
I are equipped to move forward without your prayers and financial support.

I want you to know that this next round of appeals is about much more than my
personal or professional circumstances. There are many indications that the
IRS, the U.S. Department of Justice, state taxing agencies and state licensing
agencies (like the California Board of Accountancy) and other bureaucracies are
partnering together to “hammer” and starve Americans into submission regarding
their alleged income tax obligations and to destroy the professional career of
any professional who comes to their aid. It is hard enough for the average
American to defend themselves against the IRS but imagine how hard it will be
when professionals are too fearful of losing their livelihood to aggressively
defend you or, worse, fearless professionals can’t come to your aid even if they
wanted to because their license or other certification has been revoked or is in
danger of being revoked.

As far as I know, my case is early enough and public enough that an appeal would
reap significant rewards even if I am not successful in restoring the license
and professional reputation that the IRS has stolen from me. At a minimum,
being able to appeal my IRS “disbarment” and the “C.P.A.” license revocation
will enable me to gather significant information (through “discovery”) that will
likely expose some of the backroom deals and illegal activity that we all
surmise must be going on – and I will be able to share all of that information
with you as the cases progress.

I am sorry that I must reach out to you again. Besides the strength that God
gives me to persevere, your help over these last 8 years has been the key to my
success. The income tax enforcement apparatus gangs up on everyone it targets
and, sadly, it is extremely difficult and rare to survive such an attack. Your
assistance enables me to access the spiritual and financial resources of
thousands of people and helps to even the odds at least a little bit.

Please consider helping me once again. Donations can be made payable to “Joseph
Banister Legal Defense Fund” and mailed to 1805 N. Carson Street #188, Carson
City, Nevada 89701. Don’t forget to visit
http://www.ninehundred.net/banister/donation.html
and follow the instructions if you would like a thank you gift sent to you.
Donation forms should be used only by those who wish to receive a free gift –
suggested donation amounts are on the form. If no form is submitted, it will be
presumed that you are donating without desire for a free gift.

I wish to sincerely thank each and every person who has ever helped me. A
number of you have continued to support my efforts financially even during
periods when I have not formally asked for help, which is deeply appreciated
since I don’t always ask for help even though the need for help never fully
subsides.




***********

-For those who have received this message as a forward from someone else, you
can sign up to receive these messages directly by visiting
www.freedomabovefortune.com and clicking on "Mailing List".

-For those who are unfamiliar with what has transpired to date in this case,
especially the recent acquittal on all charges leveled against me, please visit
http://www.ninehundred.net/banister/ , www.joebanister.blogspot.com and
www.freedomabovefortune.com (click on "IRS LOCKOUT UPDATE"). You can also find
archives of informative radio shows at www.hearliberty.com .

-Prayers in support of this effort are always welcomed and encouraged.
Contributions to my legal defense fund are also welcomed due to the significant
costs of defending against multiple and continuing IRS attacks. Checks or money
orders are gratefully accepted and can be made payable to "Joseph Banister Legal
Defense Fund", and mailed to 1805 N. Carson Street, #188, Carson City, Nevada
89701. Money orders may provide a greater degree of privacy to the donor than
checks so use your own discretion based on the degree of privacy you desire.

-Visit http://www.ninehundred.net/banister for more information as to how you
can obtain information about my recent trial and contribute to my legal defense
fund at the same time.

-My sincere thanks to those who have prayed for the success of our efforts
and/or contributed to my legal defense fund. Your continued support is enabling
me to illustrate, in detail and in a very public manner, that the IRS does not
prevail against citizens because the agency adheres to the rule of law, but that
the IRS prevails against citizens because the agency ignores the law, twists the
meaning of the law, and overwhelms the citizen with economic and legal burdens.
In a school yard, such tactics are called "BULLYING". In a government setting,
such tactics are called "TYRANNY". This effort is the equivalent of ganging up
on the bully and sending him to reform school where he belongs.

***********

Kind regards,

Joseph R. (Joe) Banister
Former IRS Criminal Investigation Division Special Agent
www.freedomabovefortune.com www.joebanister.blogspot.com

II Chronicles 7:14:

And my people, upon whom my name is called, being converted, shall make
supplication to me, and seek out my face, and do penance for their most wicked
ways: then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal
their land.

George Orwell, 1984:

"You are a slow learner, Winston," said O'Brien gently.

"How can I help it?" he blubbered. "How can I help seeing what is in front of my
eyes? Two and two are four."

"Sometimes, Winston. Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three.
Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder. It is not easy to
become sane."


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Posted 3:02 PM by Joe |

Kill The Messenger Campaign Continues

From : Freedom Above Fortune
Sent : Monday, July 17, 2006 2:03 AM
To : List
Subject : Kill [The IRS Whistleblower] Messenger Campaign Continues

Freedom Above Fortune News

Kill The Messenger Campaign Continues

Dear Friends:

It will probably come as no surprise to you that the tentacles of the federal
income tax enforcement apparatus continue to reach far and wide to discredit and
silence my whistleblowing efforts at every opportunity and using every resource,
this time using the resources of two California bureaucracies, the California
Board of Accountancy ("CBA") and the California Department of Justice (“CDOJ”).

Detailed below is an account of the latest attack against me. I am again asking
for you to pray for me and my legal team as we prepare for this next battle and,
yes, I am asking you to pray for those who are trying to do me harm. I am also
asking for your financial support as I will again be incurring significant
expenses to defend myself (Details Below).

You may recall the “disbarment” fiasco in 2003/2004 wherein the IRS claimed it
was protecting the “public” from a “disreputable” character like me by
“disbarring” me from “practice” before the IRS. But when it came time for the
“public” hearing to which I was entitled, the IRS and the administrative law
judge sought to convene the hearing on, no joke, a military base located on an
island in San Francisco Bay, making it impossible for the “public” to attend.
After significant outcry from the very same “public” that the IRS was supposedly
protecting that they were being prevented from attending the hearing, the
administrative law judge then canceled the hearing altogether, scheduled a
“sanction” proceeding and railroaded me into “disbarred” status, which has
prevented me from formally communicating with the IRS regarding client disputes
ever since.

When I appealed my “disbarred” status to the next level, Secretary of the
Treasury John Snow, he side-stepped deciding my appeal and incestuously handed
the decision-making authority in my appeal back to the IRS, the very agency that
had asserted the allegations against me in the first place!

Even with the Internal Revenue Service’s extraordinary level of control over the
decision-making authority in my “disbarment” appeal, the IRS appeal decision
recognized the weakness of half of the allegations against me and dismissed them
outright. For the remaining allegations, the IRS justified its decision by
asserting that it has the authority to prohibit any client from choosing a duly
authorized, state-licensed accountant or attorney as their representative simply
because the client's opinions or beliefs are not the same as the IRS. Such a
justification is, of course, nowhere near adequate, at least not according to
American jurisprudence, and the remaining allegations are therefore being
appealed.

Although the IRS achieved its underhanded goal of marking me with the “scarlet
letter” of “disbarred” IRS practice status, the “disbarment” fiasco also exposed
a great deal of IRS trickery, injustice and hypocrisy to the thousands of
Americans who were following the battle. It appears that the “disbarment”
fiasco discredited the IRS much more than it discredited me so the IRS had to
cook up another way to “kill the messenger”.

What the IRS cooked up was to accuse me, in November of 2004, of criminal
conspiracy to defraud the United States of America and of criminal preparation
of false tax returns, accusations that, if sustained, could have sent me to
federal prison and certainly would have discredited me forever. The problem for
the IRS was that the accusations were totally false and a jury of my peers,
seeing that the charges were false, acquitted me on all charges. In fact, more
than one juror commented after the trial that I was more than just “not guilty”,
I WAS COMPLETELY INNOCENT. Once again the IRS failed to “kill the messenger”
and it had no choice but to reach back into its ever-growing and ever-brazen bag
of dirty tricks.

Some of you may recall the federal state partnership formally forged on
September 16, 2003 ( http://www.givemeliberty.org/RTPLawsuit/Update09-14-03.htm
). This cozy little relationship was designed to make the heavy hand of the
income tax enforcement apparatus even heavier. Federal and state government’s
pledged to work together to destroy anyone who questioned the legitimacy of
income tax administration and enforcement. Interestingly, the kick-off to this
cozy little relationship led to another extremely embarrassing moment for the
IRS (http://www.givemeliberty.org/wtp-tv/4MinLinks.htm ). Since the IRS wasn’t
having much luck at completely soiling my reputation and credibility, it sought
the help of a couple of its state “partners” to finish the job, namely the
California Board of Accountancy (“CBA”) and the California Department of
Justice” (“CDOJ”).

After over 7 years of whistleblowing efforts, I have learned a great deal about
what I have often described as the “income tax enforcement apparatus”. The
tentacles of this apparatus are much more numerous and far reaching than most
law-abiding, liberty-minded Americans could have imagined and those tentacles
stretch far outside the walls of IRS offices.

Unknown to those of us who thought we were free, these tentacles have been
purposely put in place over many decades, almost as if the evil octopus was
preparing for the day when Americans would discover the problem but find it
impossible to escape. These tentacles are constantly trolling for ways to reach
beyond the walls of the IRS to protect the federal income tax from any credible
opposition.

Unfortunately, credibility is a double-edged sword. When one is trying to blow
the whistle on wrongdoing, the more credibility you have the better. By the
same token, the more credibility you have the more of a target you become – the
worst thing that an evil- doer can have on its hands is a credible whistleblower
exposing its misdeeds. The apparatus was unsuccessful in discrediting me with
last summer’s criminal prosecution but it could not stop there.

The federal income tax enforcement apparatus simply cannot coexist with credible
people who expose its misdeeds, so rather than correct the misdeeds, the
credible people must be destroyed. A former IRS criminal investigator
whistleblower in jail was first prize but a former IRS criminal investigator
whistleblower defrocked of his credentials and reputation is a nice consolation
prize.

For you see, CBA holds the keys to something about me that has undoubtedly
galled the IRS since the day I resigned from the agency – the fact that I was
not only one of their own highly decorated criminal investigators but that I had
three letters of additional credibility after my name – “C.P.A.” for “Certified
Public Accountant”.

Undoubtedly egged on by the IRS, the CBA is now poised to take some kind of
action against my C.P.A. license and the first battlefield was a hearing that
occurred July 6, 2006.

The hearing was relatively brief. The presider at the hearing was
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Steven C. Owyang from the California Office of
Administrative Hearings. The “complainant”, Carol Sigmann, of the California
Board of Accountancy (CBA), was represented by California Department of Justice
(CDOJ) Deputy Attorney General Jeanne C. Werner. Ms. Werner informed ALJ Owyang
that the complainant would not be calling any witness to testify and would be
proceeding against me solely on the basis of the disbarment appeal decision
rendered by the IRS (the decision described above that was supposed to be
decided by Treasury Secretary Snow but was delegated back to the IRS for a
decision). Some administrative matters were then taken care of and then my
attorney Robert Barnes gave a superb opening statement. Ms. Werner objected a
couple of times during Mr. Barnes presentation but ALJ Owyang politely allowed
Mr. Barnes to finish his statement. ALJ Owyang then instructed both sides to
submit opening legal briefs by September 5, 2006 and responses to each others’
opening briefs by October 11, 2006.

Thus, the period between now and the end of August is of critical importance and
this is the period when I most need your help. Here I stand at another
crossroads. I hope you will agree that your past prayers and financial support
have enabled me and my legal team to beat extraordinary odds against a
formidable foe. Up to this point, we have been able to create an incredibly
full record regarding how the income tax enforcement apparatus conducts its
dirty business. We need to continue building that record and exposing the
octopus for what it truly is and what it truly does.

I am therefore asking for your help again. It is not easy to withstand these
attacks but I know that each proceeding (disbarment, criminal prosecution,
abusive tax shelter investigation, CPA license revocation, etc.) brings these
dark forces a little farther into the light and exposes them for what they are.
I then make the resulting record of these proceedings available for all to see
(at www.freedomabovefortune.com click on “IRS LOCKOUT UPDATE” in the top center
of the screen). Ahhh, the life of a guinea pig!

I would appreciate any support you can provide. If your support is spiritual,
please give (pray) as often as you can. If you can afford to assist me
financially, your help is indeed welcomed and appreciated. Bernhoft Firm (
www.bernhoftlaw.com ) attorney Robert Barnes spent significant time preparing
for and attending the July 6th hearing and he and Bernhoft Firm principal Robert
Bernhoft will be spending many hours in the next few weeks preparing a brief
that will properly and adequately address the very important issues in this
California Board of Accountancy case. The legal briefs submitted in this case
will be made available on my website but first they have to be written, and
written well.

Make no mistake – the issues involved in this case have huge ramifications for
every American, the most significant of which is determining whether Americans
will retain the ability and freedom to choose zealous advocates to defend them
against government attacks and abuses or be left with only phony, spineless
advocates whose fear of being attacked themselves neutralizes any zeal to
advocate for their clients. Remember that the octopus is not just targeting
you, it is also targeting the professionals who would and could be there to
defend you.

The Bernhoft firm has already been extremely generous with billing concessions
(to the tune of many tens of thousands of dollars) but the level of their
concessions has reached a point where help is desperately needed to shoulder the
financial burden, especially the burden that will transpire over the next few
months.

You all have been so very generous with your support and I thank each and every
one of you for your ongoing help. A number of you continue to routinely send
donations without even being formally asked, for which I am forever grateful. I
can assure you that all of your donations have been used and will continue to be
used for these ongoing battles.

I will continue to provide updates as events unfold. Please support this effort
as often and as generously as you can. Details are included below. Thank you
from the bottom of my heart for your continuing support.

******************************************************************

-For those who have received this message as a forward from someone
else, you can sign up to receive these messages directly by visiting
www.freedomabovefortune.com and clicking on "Mailing List".

-For those who are unfamiliar with what has transpired to date in this
case, especially the recent acquittal on all charges leveled against me, please
visit http://www.ninehundred.net/banister/ , www.joebanister.blogspot.com and
www.freedomabovefortune.com (click on
"IRS LOCKOUT UPDATE"). You can also find archives of informative radio
shows at www.hearliberty.com .

-Prayers in support of this effort are always welcomed and encouraged.
Contributions to my legal defense fund are also welcomed due to the
significant costs of defending against multiple and continuing IRS attacks.
Checks or money orders are gratefully accepted and can be made payable to
"Joseph Banister Legal Defense Fund", and mailed to 1805 N. Carson Street, #188,
Carson City, Nevada 89701. Money orders may provide a greater degree of privacy
to the donor than checks so use your own discretion based on the degree of
privacy you desire.

-Visit http://www.ninehundred.net/banister for more information as to how you
can obtain information about my recent trial and contribute to my legal defense
fund at the same time.

-My sincere thanks to those who have prayed for the success of our
efforts and/or contributed to my legal defense fund. Your continued support is
enabling me to illustrate, in detail and in a very public
manner, that the IRS does not prevail against citizens because the
agency adheres to the rule of law, but that the IRS prevails against
citizens because the agency ignores the law, twists the meaning of the
law, and overwhelms the citizen with economic and legal burdens. In a
school yard, such tactics are called "BULLYING". In a government
setting, such tactics are called "TYRANNY". This effort is the
equivalent of ganging up on the bully and sending him to reform school
where he belongs.

*****************************************************************

Kind regards,

Joseph R. (Joe) Banister, C.P.A.
Former IRS Criminal Investigation Division Special Agent
www.freedomabovefortune.com www.joebanister.blogspot.com

II Chronicles 7:14:

And my people, upon whom my name is called, being converted, shall make
supplication to me, and seek out my face, and do penance for their most wicked
ways: then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal
their land.

George Orwell, 1984:

"You are a slow learner, Winston," said O'Brien gently.

"How can I help it?" he blubbered. "How can I help seeing what is in
front of my eyes? Two and two are four."

"Sometimes, Winston. Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three.
Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder. It is not
easy to become sane."

Posted 8:35 PM by Joe |

BANISTER ACQUITTAL

1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Freedom Above Fortune News

Dear Friends,

It was one year ago today that a jury of my peers decided that I was innocent of outrageous and unfounded charges leveled against me by the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Please join me today in praying for our Country and especially for all of those innocent Americans who have been attacked by the IRS.

I again offer my sincerest gratitude to all of my friends across the U.S.A. who continue to pray for me and provide economic support for my ongoing legal battles.

Joseph R. (Joe) Banister, C.P.A.
Former IRS Criminal Investigation Division Special Agent
www.freedomabovefortune.com www.joebanister.blogspot.com

II Chronicles 7:14:

And my people, upon whom my name is called, being converted, shall make supplication to me, and seek out my face, and do penance for their most wicked ways: then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

George Orwell, 1984:

"You are a slow learner, Winston," said O'Brien gently.

"How can I help it?" he blubbered. "How can I help seeing what is in front of my eyes? Two and two are four."

"Sometimes, Winston. Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder. It is not easy to become sane."

Posted 10:09 PM by Joe |

FORMER IRS SPECIAL AGENT SPEAKING IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MARCH '06

I will be speaking at the 2006 Health and Freedom Conference in Irvine,
California, which will be held Friday March 10th through Sunday March 12th,
2006. Barring any unforeseen scheduling difficulties, one or more members of my
legal team are also planning to attend and may be given an opportunity to speak
to the gathering. I will be joining many other speakers that weekend, some of
whom you may be familiar with and some not. For more information go to
www.livefreenow.org and click on "2006 Health and Freedom Conference" or call
Freedom law School at (760) 868-4271 for a color brochure.

Read here.

Posted 4:29 PM by Joe |

FREEDOM ABOVE FORTUNE NEWS

From : Joe Banister
Sent : Friday, November 25, 2005 4:40 PM
To : Distrobution
Subject : TAX POLICE STATE STRIKES AT IRS WHISTLEBLOWER YET AGAIN

LOCKOUT, LOCKUP, SHUT UP: TAX POLICE STATE STRIKES AT IRS WHISTLEBLOWER YET AGAIN

Examine how the federal income tax enforcement apparatus has reacted to my whistle-blowing efforts over the past seven years and decide for yourself whether their reactions belie legitimate income tax administration or more layers of a massive cover up of illegitimate income tax administration. The IRS is swinging at me again and you will be amazed at what they are up to now. I NEED YOUR HELP NOW!

Imagine you belong to the “inner circle” of the federal income tax enforcement apparatus and you are faced with a predicament – a well-respected IRS criminal investigator, while serving in that capacity, questions the legitimacy of the manner in which the federal income tax enforcement apparatus fulfills its mission, and after resigning from that position, assists citizens engaged in IRS disputes. What are your options? What would the taxpaying public view as a proper response to this IRS investigator’s inquiries? What response would be considered proper if indeed the apparatus was functioning legitimately and within the law? Gauge the sincerity of the IRS investigator’s concerns? Examine the evidence relied upon by the IRS investigator that led him to pose his questions in the first place? Engage in a dialogue with the IRS investigator? What if you and the other members of the “inner circle” realize that such “proper” responses might expose aspects of the federal income tax enforcement apparatus that are better kept from public view because of their questionable legitimacy? What would be the most effective way to deal with this former IRS investigator turned taxpayer advocate if indeed the apparatus was functioning illegitimately and under color of law? How could the uncomfortable questions and scrutiny of this former IRS criminal investigator be neutralized if not wholly eliminated?

The federal income tax enforcement apparatus’ response to the pre-resignation questions and concerns I posed to them leaves little doubt as to whether that apparatus is operating legitimately or illegitimately. The apparatus, specifically the IRS (later being joined by the U.S. Department of Justice), disregarded my initial inquiries and, in its first attempt to lock me out of any dialogue about the legitimacy of the federal income tax, encouraged my resignation with the obvious hope that my contact with other employees would be minimized and I would be left stranded like a lone hiker crying out in the wilderness with no one to hear me. Was locking me out of my job at the IRS the response the taxpaying public would consider appropriate? You be the judge.

When all but disavowing my existence did not eliminate the uncomfortable questions and scrutiny the IRS was receiving because of my whistle-blowing efforts, the IRS next tried to disrupt and discredit my advocacy efforts on behalf of clients who were being railroaded by the same illegitimate operations about which I had blown the whistle. A Nixonian-styled department within the IRS called the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) was unleashed against me as “lock out” mechanism attempting to discredit me with allegations that I acted disreputably in advocating for my clients in connection with their IRS disputes and that I willfully failed to file federal income tax returns. The supposed unbiased arbiter selected to adjudicate the OPR’s allegations, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrative Law Judge Moran, sought to protect the public from my alleged disreputable conduct by convening my OPR hearing on a U.S. Coast Guard military installation in the waters of San Francisco Bay, away from public view! (See www.freedomabovefortune.com , click on IRS LOCKOUT UPDATE, and scroll down to “Notice of Hearing Location 11/05/03”)

When hiding his dirty deeds on an island didn’t work, Mr. Moran ruled that I not be allowed to present any evidence or witnesses and that a “lockout” should be instituted against me by disbarring me from representing clients before the IRS. My appeal of Mr. Moran’s decision was eventually assigned to the most biased arbiter available, an attorney named David F.P. O’Connor from the Internal Revenue Service Office of Chief Counsel, for a final administrative decision. The IRS attorney not surprisingly rubber-stamped Mr. Moran’s decision and the “lockout” was completed (See www.freedomabovefortune.com , click on IRS LOCKOUT UPDATE, and scroll down to “Treasury Decision 06/25/04”). Was locking me out of meetings with IRS agents the response the taxpaying public would consider appropriate? You be the judge.

We were in the process of formulating an appeal of the outrageous “railroading” that had occurred in the “lockout” proceedings when, in November, 2004, I was indicted on felony charges that I willfully prepared three false and fraudulent federal income tax returns and that I conspired with one of my clients to impede, impair, obstruct and defeat the ascertainment, computation, assessment and collection of federal taxes. My trial occurred in June, 2005, and a jury of twelve of my peers, who had viewed and heard all of the evidence the government could muster, returned a “NOT GUILTY” on all counts (See www.freedomabovefortune.com , click on IRS LOCKOUT UPDATE, and scroll down to “Verdict 06/23/05”). Is an attempt to throw me in prison the appropriate response the taxpaying public would consider appropriate? You be the judge. (Even the jurors did not think so – see www.freedomabovefortune.com , click on IRS LOCKOUT UPDATE, and scroll down to “Juror in Landmark IRS Trial Tells Hidden Side of Story”).

In late September, 2005, only three months after my acquittals, I received a letter from Mr. Phil Edwards, IRS Field Examination Territory Manager from Santa Ana, California, that the IRS had “reviewed materials regarding your participation in tax avoidance transactions” and that the IRS was “considering penalties and injunctions under Internal Revenue Code sections 6694, 6695, 6700, 6701, 7402, 7407 and 7408 for promoting and/or preparing documents relating to these transactions” (See www.freedomabovefortune.com , click on IRS LOCKOUT UPDATE, and scroll down to “Latest Harassment the IRS has thrown my way”)

Yes, my friends, the IRS is now attempting to set in motion a series of administrative steps that will, they hope, culminate in a court ordered zipper on my lips, court ordered shut-down of my website, and ultimately a prohibition against interacting with the public. Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 6694 deals with the alleged understatement of a taxpayer’s liability by an income tax return preparer; IRC section 6695 deals with other assessable penalties with respect to preparation of income tax returns for other persons; IRC section 6700 deals with the alleged promotion of abusive tax shelters; IRC section 6701 deals with penalties for aiding and abetting understatement of tax liability; IRC section 7402 deals with the jurisdiction of federal district courts to issue orders necessary for enforcement of the internal revenue laws; IRC section 7407 deals with seeking injunctions (court orders) against income tax return preparers from further engaging in prohibited conduct; and IRC section 7408 deals with seeking injunctions (court orders) against promoters of abusive tax shelters.

IRS efforts to discredit and silence me did not succeed when the agency encouraged my resignation from their Criminal Investigation Division. IRS efforts to discredit and silence me did not succeed when agency bureaucrats and their Environmental Protection Agency kin tried to spirit me away to an island star chamber and lie under oath about their authority to proceed against me. IRS efforts to discredit and silence me did not succeed when the agency prohibited me from entering their buildings and confronting their agents. IRS efforts to discredit and silence me did not succeed when the agency smeared me with allegations of criminal conduct and sought to cage me like an animal. IRS efforts to discredit and silence me did not succeed when the IRS Commissioner himself and the local U.S. Attorney declared my guilt in a widely circulated press release before my trial had even begun. IRS efforts to discredit and silence me did not even succeed when the prosecutor in my trial, Assistant United States Attorney Robert Twiss, attempted to bar one of my attorneys, Robert Bernhoft, from representing me at my trial. Each of these events, and many more dirty deeds not listed here due to limited space, occurred during a lengthy time period in which I had actively sought a dialogue with those same officials to discuss my concerns.

The income tax enforcement apparatus routinely destroys those it targets and the history of my interaction with this apparatus reflects a clear intent to destroy me. What is my “crime” worthy of such treatment? Asking income tax enforcement apparatus officials to address my concerns, the concerns of a duty-bound official sworn to support and defend the Constitution, that the income tax laws were being illegitimately administered and enforced. Nearly seven years have transpired since I first voiced my concerns and, as outlined above, the income tax enforcement apparatus has repeatedly met my concerns with conduct including, but by no means limited to, silence, scorn, false accusations, perjury, “star chamber” styled proceedings, biased arbiters, character assassination, simultaneous civil and criminal investigations, and criminal prosecution. The totality of the last seven years’ circumstances brings us back to the original theme posed at the beginning of this article – does the conduct of the income tax enforcement apparatus in dealing with my inquiries indicate that the apparatus is operating legitimately or illegitimately? By this point in time, the answer is abundantly clear.

Apart from a sincerity and commitment to duty that only officials of the income tax enforcement apparatus still seem to question, I believe my ability to endure and survive these outrageous attacks is attributable to the devout prayers and support of tens of thousands of Americans who are well aware of the deceitful and illegitimate activities of the income tax enforcement apparatus. Many of those same Americans have also generously supported my efforts financially. The income tax enforcement apparatus is powerful indeed. However, its power is routinely exercised in the same manner as a schoolyard bully or neighborhood gang, attempting to unfairly overwhelm its prey. The thousands of Americans who have lent me their spiritual and financial support are like a throng of well-behaved classmates traveling everywhere together - the bullies and the gangs never succeed with their cowardly plans because of the constant state of vigilance, readiness, and solidarity of the well-behaved classmates.

One thing is certain, the income tax enforcement apparatus has seemingly endless resources and legions of bureaucrats eager to direct those resources towards my destruction. This latest attempt to restrict, if not outright eliminate, my public testimony about the federal income tax through the use of obscure and obviously inapplicable sections of the Internal Revenue Code is proof of this. I must therefore once again request your support to keep up this fight. I am encouraged, however, because each time the IRS attacks me, more evidence of their wrongdoing is exposed. Such exposure is also happening in their attack against Bill Benson, co-author of “The Law That Never Was”, who, it just so happens, is being represented by my lead trial counsel, Jeffrey Dickstein (Visit here for an article describing how the government appears to have backed themselves into a corner by having to prove the 16th Amendment WAS ratified in order to prevail against Mr. Benson.)

As I have mentioned previously, my legal team was gracious enough to put the success of my defense effort above their own compensation needs. Still, even at the discounted rates generously offered for their legal expertise, balances owed were still being whittled down before this latest attack. Now it is critical to continue to diminish the existing balances owed to my legal team and yet at the same time fund the defense against these latest attacks against me. This is an excellent opportunity for my supporters not only to stand together with me in the protective “throng” that has worked so well in the past, but to receive as a gift unprecedented evidence as to “which side the con is on” (the theme of my attorney Jeffrey Dickstein’s closing argument) in the form of actual testimony, video footage, and impressions from my recent trial.

By visiting here, you can view an unprecedented array of evidence that proved to the jury in my case that the government’s case against me was nonexistent. You can request a presentation I gave to Cencal Aviation Products personnel and view the documents I had assembled to support my concerns about the federal income tax enforcement apparatus ($50-$75 requested donation). You can request the deposition and view the transcripts of my former IRS Criminal Investigation Division supervisor Robert Gorini as he gave sworn testimony about my character and sincerity ($50-$110 requested donation). You can request the transcripts of the entire trial to read for yourself how prosecution witnesses melted under cross examination and could not produce testimony or evidence of any criminal conduct whatsoever ($100 requested donation for DVD, $150 requested donation for hard copy, $200 requested donation for both). And you can request the most telling item of all, an interview with two of the jurors from my trial who emphatically state that the prosecution had no case and that there was no question in their minds that I believed I was conducting myself lawfully ($50 requested donation).

I can never express enough gratitude for each and every one of you who have contributed emotionally, spiritually, and financially to my efforts. I personally read each and every one of your words and letters of support. The volume is too great to be able to respond back to you individually but please know that I sincerely appreciate your support and I could not have survived this ordeal thus far without your support. I am also thankful to those who have taken extra steps to tell other Americans about my efforts and efforts of so many others who work tirelessly to expose the injustices of the income tax enforcement apparatus. Such extra steps are extremely helpful not only to me but to the cause of re-establishing honesty in federal taxation. Keep spreading the word to others, as outlined below.

-For those who have received this message as a forward from someone else, you can sign up to receive these messages directly by visiting www.freedomabovefortune.com and clicking on "Mailing List".

-For those who are unfamiliar with what has transpired to date in this case, especially the recent acquittal on all charges leveled against me, please visit http://www.ninehundred.net/banister/ , www.joebanister.blogspot.com and www.freedomabovefortune.com (click on "IRS LOCKOUT UPDATE"). You can also find archives of informative radio shows at www.hearliberty.com .

-I am still accepting contributions to my legal defense fund due to the significant costs of defending against multiple IRS attacks. Checks or money orders are gratefully accepted and can be made payable to “Joseph Banister Legal Defense Fund”, and mailed to P.O. Box 90239, San Jose, California 95109-4239. Money orders may provide a greater degree of privacy to the donor than checks so use your own discretion based on the degree of privacy you desire. Visit http://www.ninehundred.net/banister/ for more information as to how you can obtain information about my recent trial and contribute to my legal defense fund at the same time.

-My sincere thanks to those who have prayed for the success of our efforts and contributed to my defense fund. Your continued financial support is enabling me to illustrate, in detail and in a very public manner, that the IRS does not prevail against citizens because the agency adheres to the rule of law, but that the IRS prevails against citizens because the agency ignores the law, twists the meaning of the law, and overwhelms the citizen with economic and legal burdens. In a school yard, such tactics are called "BULLYING". In a government setting, such tactics are called "TYRANNY". This effort is the equivalent of ganging up on the bully and sending him to reform school where he belongs.

Kind regards,

Joseph R. (Joe) Banister, C.P.A.
Former IRS Criminal Investigation Division Special Agent
www.freedomabovefortune.com www.joebanister.blogspot.com

George Orwell, 1984:

"You are a slow learner, Winston," said O'Brien gently.

"How can I help it?" he blubbered. "How can I help seeing what is in front of my
eyes? Two and two are four."

"Sometimes, Winston. Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three.
Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder. It is not easy to
become sane."

Posted 4:25 AM by Joe |

Letter From Joe Banister

From : Joe Banister
Sent : Friday, October 21, 2005 12:16 AM
To : Distribution
Subject : EXTRA*JURY WANTS TO SEE THE LAW*EXTRA

FREEDOM ABOVE FORTUNE NEWS

Dear Friends:

I wanted to alert you to a significant event that has manifested itself in the Irwin Schiff/Cynthia Neun/Lawrence Cohen trial currently underway in Las Vegas. In a development reminiscent of my own trial, the jury has apparently asked to have Cindy Neun's IRS code book brought in to them so that they could examine it. The judge as apparently denied this request saying that providing it to the jury would be "problematic".

On the first day of the jury's deliberations in my trial, the prosecution's worst nightmare came true when the jury asked to see for themselves a year 2000 edition of the Title 26 of the Code of Federal Regulations (Title 26 of the Code of Federal Regulations is a compendium of rules created by the Secretary of the Treasury to clarify and implement the Internal Revenue Code). As one of the jurors explained to me after my trial, the jury wanted to compare the excerpts I had taken from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and presented to the Internal Revenue Service against what was actually written in the Code of Federal Regulations to see if I had been truthful. The judge in my trial, William B. Shubb, refused the jury's request to see the CFR for themselves just as Judge Dawson has apparently refused to let the Schiff jury see the Internal Revenue Code. Juror's suspicions about the prosecution's case are understandably heightened when they are forbidden from looking at the very book of laws that the defendant is accused of violating.

The latest news on the Schiff/Neun/Cohen trial is available at the following websites:

http://irwinschiff.blogspot.com

http://triallogs.blogspot.com


-For those who have received this message as a forward from someone else, you can sign up to receive these messages directly by visiting www.freedomabovefortune.com and clicking on "Mailing List".

-For those who are unfamiliar with what has transpired to date in this case, especially the recent acquittal on all charges leveled against me, please visit http://www.ninehundred.net/banister/ , www.joebanister.blogspot.com and www.freedomabovefortune.com (click on "IRS LOCKOUT UPDATE"). You can also find archives of informative radio shows at www.hearliberty.com .

-I am still accepting contributions to my legal defense fund due to the significant costs of defending against multiple IRS attacks. Checks or money orders are gratefully accepted and can be made payable to “Joseph Banister Legal Defense Fund”, and mailed to P.O. Box 90239, San Jose, California 95109-4239. Money orders may provide a greater degree of privacy to the donor than checks so use your own discretion based on the degree of privacy you desire.

-My sincere thanks to those who have prayed for the success of our efforts and contributed to my defense fund. Your continued financial support is enabling me to illustrate, in detail and in a very public manner, that the IRS does not prevail against citizens because the agency adheres to the rule of law, but that the IRS prevails against citizens because the agency ignores the law, twists the meaning of the law, and overwhelms the citizen with economic and legal burdens. In a school yard, such tactics are called "BULLYING". In a government setting, such tactics are called "TYRANNY". This effort is the equivalent of ganging up on the bully and sending him to reform school where he belongs.

Kind regards,

Joseph R. (Joe) Banister, C.P.A.
Former IRS Criminal Investigation Division Special Agent
www.freedomabovefortune.com www.joebanister.blogspot.com

George Orwell, 1984:

"You are a slow learner, Winston," said O'Brien gently.

"How can I help it?" he blubbered. "How can I help seeing what is in front of my eyes? Two and two are four."

"Sometimes, Winston. Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder. It is not easy to become sane."

Posted 3:30 PM by Joe |

Freedom Above Fortune News

Dear Friends,

For those of you who missed the interview on WRMN, Elgin Illinois, with me and my attorney Robert Bernhoft of the Bernhoft Law Firm ( www.bernhoftlaw.com ), it has been archived at www.hearliberty.com . Scroll down to the October 10, 2005 entry.

Please alert everyone on your email lists who might benefit from the little dose of reality this radio dialogue brings.

Joe Banister