Talk about your first amendment challenge. It doesn’t get any dirtier than this.
You might have read about Doreen Hendrickson’s first trial here and here.
Doreen is the wife of Pete, author of Cracking the Code: the Fascinating Truth About the Income Tax and who was himself jailed by the IRS for almost 3 years.
In its relentless quest to punish this courageous tax honesty family, the IRS appears determined to jail Doreen, too. She is going on trial for the 2nd time for the same egregious crime: refusing to lie on a 1040.
Her trial begins 7/21/14. For updates, see links at bottom.
If the IRS wins this case, it will mean that any judge can order any person to do or say any thing. If the person refuses, the judge throws ’em in jail until they comply.
Here’s Doreen’s case in a nutshell:
- Doreen is charged with contempt of court.
- Because she refuses to sign a 1040 that an IRS employee filled out for her using the IRS’ numbers and not hers.
- A 1040 is signed under “penalty of perjury,” meaning that, when you sign it, you are SWEARING it is true. If you sign it and it is not true, you have committed perjury, a felony with a sentence of up to 5 years. Plus, you lose your right to vote, to own a firearm, and good luck getting hired.
- The info on this 1040 suits the IRS but is not true for Doreen. If she doesn’t sign it, she is in contempt of court and goes to jail for a year. If she does sign it, knowing the figures are a lie, she has committed perjury and faces up to 5 years in prison.
- There is no tax due. Just to clarify: $0 due.
- Doreen has not been charged with tax evasion or failure to file. Only with contempt.
- Doreen offered to sign under the “penalty of perjury” line. The IRS refused.
- She offered to sign with the phrase “under duress” next to her name. The IRS refused.
- She offered to sign it and attach an affidavit (a sworn statement) that she was forced to sign it — that way, both parties win. The judge in the last trial liked this idea and was ready to accept it. The IRS refused.
- In the last trial, the judge actually said these words to the jury out loud: “It is not a defense to the crime of contempt that the court order was unlawful or unconstitutional.” In other words: Americans must obey a judge’s order even if it is unconstitutional or unlawful.
Her last trial ended in a hung jury with at least one jury member standing up for the 1st Amendment.
Because the IRS has a bottomless pit of money, it can afford to sue her again. If there is a hung jury this time, it can sue her again. And again and again until it gets the verdict it wants and can send Doreen to jail.
Is this what the Founders envisioned?
My DH drove up there yesterday to testify as to Doreen’s character, which is sterling.
Doreen could have signed this document, you know, and saved herself from jail. It’s just a one page document, it’s just a little tiny perjury that everyone already knows is happening… what does it really matter? If she’d signed it when first demanded to sign it 7 years ago, she and Pete would be back on the plantation and left alone by the IRS.
(Unless the IRS goes after her for perjury which they’ve all but admitted is a possibility.)
But neither Doreen nor Pete would take that easy road. They stood up for principle and Did. Not. Back. Down.
Whatever human flaws Doreen may possess, whether or not you agree with Pete’s conclusions about the code [he’s right], the Hendrickson’s are warriors. They walk the walk, painful and terrifying though it has been all these years. They have earned my respect.
Please share this story so that everyone knows Doreen Hendrickson’s name and that, using Doreen as the example, the Feds want to dictate your testimony.
If you know anyone at the IJ, please beg them to take the case. They have super powers when it comes to First Amendment challenges. The attorneys at IJ need to know about Doreen and what we are up against if she loses. [Update: IJ refused.]
Related online articles:
- Katie writes her mother’s opening statement
- Hendrickson Fights For His Wife
- Article about last year’s hung jury
UPDATE 7/21/14: Report from Day 1 (author is Doreen’s daughter)
UPDATE 7/22/14: Report from Day 2
UPDATE 7/23/14 Day 3
UPDATE 7/23 & 24/14 Day 3 and 4
UPDATE 7/25/14 Day 5 Guilty
UPDATE 7/4/2016 Doreen gets out of jail next week after 9 months in jail, then under house arrest for 3 months. If she refuses to sign the 1040, she will backs of jail. They are appealing. If you can help pay legal fees, make a donation at lost Losthorizons.com.
Hi Phil, I wanted to thank you for that acknowledgement. It means a lot to me. I love writing about liberty and wish I had more time to do so!!! So many articles in the pipeline and that’s just for Kentucky!
Thank you for the head’s up on Benton MacKenzie — I’m glad to know about him and be able to follow that. There are so many people who fall victim to the system and nobody ever knows. Sunshine is the best disinfectant.
I plan to be writing more on topics that are important to Kentuckians this winter. I look forward to “chatting” with you online here and around the web ;)
Dear Sally OH,
Wanted to clarify that I was not solely checking this link just for an update/summary on Doreen. Now that I have discovered a like-minded outlet (KFP) I also peruse other stories here as well. You and KFP are a ‘beacon of freedom’, as I previously pointed out. The ignorance and uninformed masses is astonishing to me. I think some people have a clue, but are afraid to get involved due to the research/time required and also the potential consequences as such.
Thank you and the KFP for ‘telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth’ in these matters. Likewise in your situation, I too have been bludgeoned mentally, emotionally, and monetarily by these ‘public servants’. I NEVER thought I’d ever feel this angered over something. Perhaps the old saying, ‘Ignorance is bliss’ is in fact, true.
Thanks again.
Phil
Dear Sally Oh,
I failed to recognize your July 26 post because I was only checking this link to see if you had a summary written on the trial, of which I’m sure you will publish in due time. Then today I was more ‘patient’ and scrolled down to the comments, thus seeing your post.
Regarding the ‘tax details’, I too still struggle with the machinations of the terms, statutes, regulations and the like. It is truly confusing, probably for a reason. Regarding the obfuscation and total evasive corruption that has been going on for decades, if there is a way for you to obtain and read ‘Taxable Income’ by Larken Rose, I highly recommend it. Of course the courts have ruled against Rose (they jailed him for this) and We The People in this argument, however the truth is there in plain sight.
It is truly a despicable sham that we live under ‘freedom from illegal taxation’, among other freedom atrocities such as this story in Iowa (link below). Sally, it is my hope that you would do a story on Mr MacKenzie in the KY Free Press as well. I can’t believe where this country is headed. It is almost dare I say, a Communist country at this point. Most Americans are either too ignorant or afraid to speak out. Too bad.
Eternally grateful for the work you do!
Sincerely,
Phil
http://www.change.org/petitions/pm-free-benton-mackenzie?alert_id=zfStRLFzbC_bE2MMWsGX65X%2B0rJzOp%2FY3mUBV4eJMYCdtv0cJ2lFNyIG0dlaitNOzzUSxnyICsv&utm_campaign=100970&utm_medium=email&utm_source=action_alert
Hi Phil, thank you for that clarification. My husband has worked hard over the last 20+ years educating me on these details and I still have a hard time with them. I was wondering about “American Citizen” — I will use that from now on. Because, of course, we American Citizens are NOT liable for the tax the IRS so fraudulently applies to us.
And thank you for the kinds words. Having been relentlessly pursued by the IRS myself for over 10 years, I have become completely distrustful of anything my government says or does. If I’m not on a list somewhere, it’s only because they are not paying attention.
Bruce Layne,
Well said, sir. If the DOJ wins in this case, it’s over for us at least as far as tax honesty goes and then some. However, it would help all of us (this is not specifically directed at you) if we started referring to ‘taxpayers’ as ‘American Citizens’. ‘Taxpayer’ is an actual term in the tax code, in that the individual or entity is liable for the tax. A non-taxpayer in legal terms means they do not owe a tax, rather than the disparaging word applied to those who owe a tax but refuse to pay or illegally diminish their liability.
To government and the idiots/uninformed of the world, it’s all about public perception, status quo and the like. Anyone questioning that deep-seated posture or exposing the truth in these matters is implicitly dismissed as being ‘Un-American’ or criminal. Sad but true.
Sally Oh, you are a beacon for freedom and I love what you do! Thank you!
Most sincerely,
Phil
Thanks, Bruce! LOVED the video.
Updates are here (just in case you all aren’t pissed off enough already): UPDATE 7/22/14: Report from Day 1 (the author Katie is Doreen’s daughter) http://mssunshinesmoothie.blogspot.com/2014/07/trial-of-first-amendment-rights-day-1.html
This is sickening.
The more the IRS arrogantly twists the law and punishes and abuses American tax payers, the more scandals they generate by targeting and harassing Americans for political purposes and then pleading the fifth and claiming that all of their emails were lost in a series of hard drive crashes, the harder it’ll be for the federal prosecutors to seat a rigged jury that is sympathetic to the IRS. Suddenly, they won’t be able to find jurors predisposed to believe “I paid my taxes and he should too” (like crabs that try to pull another crab back into the pot if one should try to get away), and the more they’ll find jurors who are appreciative of any American who has had enough and stands up to IRS tyranny.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KohtsEmWY2w