REACTION TO THE FISA MEMO

[Photo from wikipedia]

Have you read the FISA memo, which reportedly exposes alarming bias and abuses of authority
by a few top leaders in both the FBI and DOJ? What is your reaction?

As reported, the memo reveals that former FBI Director James Comey and others in his agency
and top leaders at DOJ utilized and politicized our nation's spying tools to spy on an opposition political party and an incoming president in an election year.  How frightening that is!

As a former federal prosecutor, I reviewed countless search warrant and Title III applications. I would never have participated in deceptions as described in this memo. Also, I never saw any of the fine FBI agents I worked with pull a stunt like this! And I am shocked and appalled to learn that, in this case, a few misguided lawyers and agents, in an election year, would apply for a FISA warrant utilizing the dirty dossier, when they reportedly knew it was bogus, and also without disclosing to the FISA court that the dossier was actually opposition research bought and paid for by Clinton and the Democrat Party. If proven, this will go down as one of the biggest political scandals in American history.

Many questions still remain:

• Will a new special counsel be appointed to clean up this mess?
• Will there be other revelations of corruption by this small group?
• Will the FISA court take action against any culprits who allegedly abused the FISA process?
• Will the main stream media ever even acknowledge any of this corruption?  

Before closing, I want to emphasize that I proudly worked, side by side, with countless outstanding FBI special agents for over twenty years. They are not to blame. The reported corruption in this situation clearly exists only at headquarters and not in the field.

What is your opinion of this colossal mess?

"Joke of the Day:" Police Officers, Death and Doughnuts!

White collar crime is a very serious topic. Maybe it's time for a blog entry that's not so serious! Do you like a good joke? Well, there are countless jokes about lawyers out there!

For example: What do you call a thousand lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?.......................... A good start!

And here's another old one, but a good one, about police officers! How can you tell when a cop is dead?................................The doughnut falls out of his mouth!

Have you heard any good, (clean), jokes about lawyers or police officers lately?!

A Proud Day At The Goolsby Law Firm!!!

This is a proud, happy day at our family law firm in Martinez, Georgia! You see, our family of lawyers will be getting bigger! Presently, The Goolsby Law Firm is composed of two lawyers, including me, Richard Goolsby, Sr., and our oldest son, Richard Goolsby, Jr., (a father and son attorney team). And now, we are proud to report that my second son also begins the study of law today! He has three tough years of law school ahead of him, but we wish him much success and God speed! We know he will do well!

I realize that the prospect of new lawyers being released on the world may be a bit unsettling to some of you! But please allow a proud father to boast just a little here!

And don't think that's all the Goolsby lawyers in the works! Our youngest son, a UGA undergraduate, also plans to go to law school in a couple of years, too! And I still tease our youngest child, and only daughter, that she should likewise go to law school, too, just like her three older brothers! But she may be the smartest of them all--she doesn't want to go to law school at all--instead, she wants to become a teacher!

Bernie Madoff and The "Corporate Perp Walk"

By now, we have all seen photographs in the news of Bernard "Bernie" Madoff, the convicted swindler and ponzi scheme perpetrator who ripped off billions of dollars from investors and is now serving a 150 year prison sentence. In my opinion, his crimes are deplorable and he is despicable. But what did you think about the staged photographs taken of Madoff, shortly after his arrest, while he was in handcuffs? Was this practice proper? In the criminal justice lexicon, this staged practice involving government agents parading an arrested white collar criminal (or perpetrator) before news media photographers is known as the "corporate perp walk." The apparent goals include fostering a public image of guilt for a prominent public figure and perhaps whetting the public's appetite for a guilty verdict. As a former federal prosecutor, even as to those, like Madoff, accused of heinous crimes, I did not believe in allowing government agents to conduct a "perp walk." I believe that, if they are guilty, then you should prove it inside the courtroom, not outside the courthouse. I once recall a situation in which agents, intent on getting their news headlines and "perp walks," raided a small town bank in south Georgia, while armed and wearing raid jackets. The agents must have resembled storm troopers. The incident terrified innocent bank customers and bystanders, along with the arrested bank officials. It was a disaster! And it was unethical and perhaps unconstitutional, in my opinion, to stage such a "perp walk." As to Madoff, while we all are disgusted with his crimes, and while we may believe 150 years may be too lenient, we still can believe the government should go about its job in a professional manner. And, in my opinion, that means dispensing with the "perp walks."