Kelsey Harris, June 3, 2013 at 5:06 pm
Almost two years after Gibson Guitars was raided for violating an obscure law, Representative Marsha Blackburn (R–TN) is demanding a full explanation:
The recent scandals surrounding this administration raise a number of questions about who they choose to target and why. The arrogance and lack of transparency displayed by this President and his cabinet officials in events such as the raids on Gibson Guitar and the IRS targeting of conservative groups show a complete disregard for the rule of law.
In 2011, Gibson’s Tennessee factories were raided for allegedly violating the Lacey Act, a federal statute that makes it a crime to import tropical hardwoods in violation of foreign law.
Imagine 30 heavily armed federal officers storming into your business, seizing your goods and providing no reason why. A nightmare for any business—and a reality for Gibson Guitars.
“Our business has been injured to the tune of millions of dollars,” Gibson chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz told Heritage in 2011 after $1 million of ebony, rosewood, and finished guitars from the factories were seized.”
In 2011, Gibson’s Tennessee factories were raided for allegedly violating the Lacey Act, a federal statute that makes it a crime to import tropical hardwoods in violation of foreign law.
My Take – In order to give foundation to the real story I am posting the links I ran regarding articles surrounding this miscarriage and abuse of justice starting starting on….
August 8, 2011 - Gibson Guitars proves the environmental police state that wants your wood products and guns --The recent US government raid of Gibson Guitars' Tennessee manufacturing facility is now receiving widespread media coverage, thanks to a flood of reports that have appeared across the web in recent weeks, including here at NaturalNews. But beyond simply the raid itself is the reality of the new environmental police state that appears to be taking over, where personal wood products of all kinds -- whether they be furniture, hand tools, or even guns made with rare wood stocks -- are now threatened with arbitrary confiscation……You see, Gibson's import of rosewood and ebony from India was not illegal under either US or Indian law. FWS merely decided to interpret Indian law in its own illogical way, and invoke the Lacey Act as justification for its illegal raid. And if the agency gets away with doing this to Gibson, they will surely do it again to others…………..The American police state truly is growing at an unprecedented rate, which is evidenced by the unveiling of this new environmental police force that is eager to confiscate personal property in the name of enforcing (fictitious) laws. If it is not stopped now, it will continue to grow until not a shred of freedom remains.
Then again on August 29, 2011 - Gibson Guitars proves the environmental police state that wants your wood products and guns - The recent US government raid of Gibson Guitars' Tennessee manufacturing facility is now receiving widespread media coverage, thanks to a flood of reports that have appeared across the web in recent weeks, including here at NaturalNews. But beyond simply the raid itself is the reality of the new environmental police state that appears to be taking over, where personal wood products of all kinds -- whether they be furniture, hand tools, or even guns made with rare wood stocks -- are now threatened with arbitrary confiscation……You see, Gibson's import of rosewood and ebony from India was not illegal under either US or Indian law. FWS merely decided to interpret Indian law in its own illogical way, and invoke the Lacey Act as justification for its illegal raid. And if the agency gets away with doing this to Gibson, they will surely do it again to others…………..The American police state truly is growing at an unprecedented rate, which is evidenced by the unveiling of this new environmental police force that is eager to confiscate personal property in the name of enforcing (fictitious) laws. If it is not stopped now, it will continue to grow until not a shred of freedom remains.
On August 31, 2011 - Whose Axe Made Your Axe? You Better Find Out - For the second time in two years, federal agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have raided two Tennessee factories that make iconic Gibson guitars. The government alleges that Gibson imported woods in violation of the Lacey Act, a century-old law that makes it a federal crime to trade in plants, wildlife, or timber that have been harvested in violation of “any foreign law.”
On November 11, 2011- Strassel: Stringing Up Gibson Guitar - Aren’t trees the ultimate renewable resource? Kim Strassel writes in the Wall Street Journal: On a sweltering day in August, federal agents raided the Tennessee factories of the storied Gibson Guitar Corp. The suggestion was that Gibson had violated the Lacey Act—a federal law designed to protect wildlife—by importing certain India ebony. The company has vehemently denied that suggestion and has yet to be charged. It is instead living in a state of harassed legal limbo. Which, let’s be clear, is exactly what its persecutors had planned all along. The untold story of Gibson is this: It was set up…
Then again on May 15, 2012- Congress Looks to Rewrite Act That Led to Gibson Guitar Raid - Lawmakers are reviewing legislation to amend a century-old law that led to a raid by armed federal agents at the Gibson Guitar Company in August 2011 at its Nashville and Memphis factories and, in a separate case, to the imprisonment of two Americans for importing improperly packaged lobsters,,,,, “How can this possibly be constitutional?” …..Federal agents confiscated a half-million dollars worth of property from Gibson Guitar in the August raid, including guitars and computers. The company did not import banned wood products, but is accused of violating a law in India that requires the wood product be finished by workers in that country before it can be exported. …Abner Schoenwetter and David McNab spent six years in federal prison, accused of violating Honduran fishing regulations. The lobsters they received should have been shipped in plastic, rather than cardboard, boxes…. [this] is a frightening example of over-criminalization. ….U.S. importers have been turned into policemen, who are responsible for knowing a myriad of foreign laws that are simply impossible to keep track of,”….
Finally on August 12, 2012 - Gibson Guitar CEO strikes back - Henry Juszkiewicz once again blasts feds 'violent, hostile' raids - Late in the same day that Department of Justice announced they had reached a settlement with Gibson Guitars, in which Gibson acknowledged illegally importing environmentally endangered woods, CEO Henry Juszkiewicz struck a defiant tone as he continued to criticize government actions.
“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,” he said in statement released via the company’s @gibsonguitar Twitter account late Monday.
“We feel that Gibson was inappropriately targeted, and a matter that could have been addressed with a simple contact (by) a caring human being representing the government,” the statement said. “Instead, the Government used violent and hostile means with the full force of the U.S. Government and several armed law enforcement agencies costing the taxpayers millions of dollars and putting a job creating U.S. manufacture (sic) at risk and at an unfair disadvantage.”……. Gibson must pay a $300,000 penalty within 10 days, but the company won’t face any further sanctions by the federal government as long as it complies with an 18-month criminal enforcement agreement. In addition, the guitar maker must pay $50,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Federation to promote conservation of protected woods used in the manufacture of musical instruments….
“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,” he said in statement released via the company’s @gibsonguitar Twitter account late Monday.
“We feel that Gibson was inappropriately targeted, and a matter that could have been addressed with a simple contact (by) a caring human being representing the government,” the statement said. “Instead, the Government used violent and hostile means with the full force of the U.S. Government and several armed law enforcement agencies costing the taxpayers millions of dollars and putting a job creating U.S. manufacture (sic) at risk and at an unfair disadvantage.”……. Gibson must pay a $300,000 penalty within 10 days, but the company won’t face any further sanctions by the federal government as long as it complies with an 18-month criminal enforcement agreement. In addition, the guitar maker must pay $50,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Federation to promote conservation of protected woods used in the manufacture of musical instruments….
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