The man who stole and leaked former President Donald Trump and thousands of other’s tax records has been sentenced to five years in prison.
In October, Charles Littlejohn, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of unauthorized disclosures of income tax returns. According to his plea agreement, he stole Trump’s tax returns along with the tax data of “thousands of the nation’s wealthiest people,” while working for a consulting firm with contracts with the Internal Revenue Service.
Littlejohn leaked the information to two news outlets and deleted the documents from his IRS-assigned laptop before returning it and covered the rest of his digital tracks by deleting places where he initially stored the information.
Judge Ana Reyes highlighted the gravity of the crime, saying multiple times that it amounted to an attack against the US and its legal foundation.
That’s a longer sentence than many of the January 6th traitors.
This. Jan 6 traitors are getting slap on their wrists and pat on their backs
All Cops are Bastards, All Judges are Bastards, All Prosecutors are Bastards.
The entire fucking “justice” system is tilted towards forgiving and enabling right-wing violence while labeling left-wing protest as “terrorism” that justifies lethal force.
I always call it a legal system, because theres sure as hell no justice in it.
Ooh, that’s good. I’ll update my vocabulary, the way I did when I started referring to people as “pro birth”, because they certainly don’t deserve to be called “pro life”.
That’s certainly easier than saying anti-post-natalists.
pro forced birth even
The entire system is tilted and reforms are needed.
Do you anticipate broad generalizations to overlook individual nuances & undermine constructive discussion?
Or is it important to cast blame upon each and every member of a broken system, regardless of whether they may personally be activists for our cause?
Snot Flickerman
All Cops are Bastards, All Judges are Bastards, All Prosecutors are Bastards.
The entire fucking “justice” system is tilted towards forgiving and enabling right-wing violence while labeling left-wing protest as “terrorism” that justifies lethal force.
Sweet Jesus the amount of extremist propaganda that’s gets peddled these days is mind boggling. To think people like this think they’re better than the people brainwashed by Fox and friends…
Then again… We’re on Lemmy lmfao.
You think every cop, judge, and prosector ain’t corrupt?
Reads like satire, probably as serious as the Herman Cain award lmfao.
The cognitive dissonance of your average Lemming is staggering.
Adding to this. The judge said “It engenders the same fear that January 6 does.” So if this crime is just as bad Jan 6, shouldn’t he be getting the same punishment as other Jan 6 traitors. Like you said, a shorter sentence. Not saying I agree with the judge but pick a side.
To a rich person, losing some (not even all) of their money is the most terrifying thing imaginable.
This is America.
Oh I know. Littlejohn committed the real type of crime- financial.
Financial crime against the rich, specifically.
What other kind is there? Stealing from the poor isn’t crime, it’s just business.
Judge: I asked my caddie’s chauffeur what a bank was, and he said it was a place poor people store money that isn’t properly invested. Therefor, robbing a bank is tantamount to that most heinous of crimes; theft of money!
Good ole Judge Whitey
Don’t catch you slippin’ now
The judge compared Littlejohn’s actions to those of the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, noting that, “your actions were also a threat to our democracy.”
Because stealing and releasing tax documents is the same thing as attempting to violently overthrow the government.
“your actions were also a threat to our democracy.”
This is one of those exciting sentences where you have to substitute ‘democracy’ for ‘rich people’s yacht money’.
I disagree. As commendable as his actions are, he clearly broke a law that is there for a good reason.
But how did it endanger democracy? Every president ever has willingly released the documents he leaked. How were his actions dangerous?
“Trust in the system” is a resource that needs managing. If the contractor got off lightly, it would erode the trust people have that the IRS will manage their information.
Let alone the fact that a light sentence for a guy who leaked the administration’s foe’s information would be incredibly corrupt
So the judge is in with trump. Hope none of his cases go that guys way.
Like yeah, he broke the law and needed to be punished. But it wasn’t government secrets, which i’m pretty sure is already legally coded separately from this guys crimes, and also neither of which are treason, which would be the capital attack.
So the guy blatantly spoke against his own legal experience for a political swing.
She was appointed by Joe Biden and is an immigrant to this country from Uruguay. I don’t think she’s a Trump sycophant, I think she’s just a lawful pedant and a fan of hyperbole.
I was going to argue that the attack on the Capitol (though your spelling may more accurately reflect real life) was not treason. No enemies were afforded aid or comfort.
“Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or imprisoned and fined, and incapable of holding any U.S. office.” [emphasis mine]
Now I’m rethinking my life. How could I have been so wrong about such a pivotal event in my life?!
(For any of your assholes thinking I’m a 01/06 sympathizer or apologist, I doubt you personally know anymore more angry. Given my druthers, I’d ask the court to impose the death penalty and carry it out personally. And I’m not some angry, young, keyboard warrior talking. I’ve thought on this much.)
I wonder if they’d accept the Pledge of Allegiance as counting for that section
This same judge has sentenced many for J6.
Apparently Norway must hate democracy since all of their tax returns are public.
Is the judge part of the Sinclair media group?
In a manner of speaking, yes.
Fucking judges are blowhards stuck up their own ass wanting to make the judgments they hand down sound more important than they are.
It’s all about feeding their giant fucking egos.
Documents that every other president released voluntarily…
Friend of mine recently was busted with an ounce of pot, he was compared to Al Capone in court by the judge. Judges can be straight sociopathic.
That’s RIGHT! Releasing Tax Returns gets you MORE Jail Time then trying to violently overthrow the United States Government and HANG the Vice President! That will teach Hostile Countries to MESS with US!
The way we turned our backs on Afghani interpreters who tried to get asylum here should have shown Charles Littlejohn what happens to people who fight for America
He probably knew. There are more stories of bad outcomes for that kind of shit than good ones. The fact that he did it anyway is why his actions are so admirable and heroic.
Yet holding onto classified documents, then hiding them and lying about it to investigators for months gets nothing but a very stern finger-wagging?
It may still come to bite him in the ass. The trial is actually scheduled to May this year but the scheduling will be looked at in March. The charges themselves are pretty serious, I think it was something like 30 charges under the espionage act and 10 charges for obstruction of justice or false statements.
There’s a reason Trump wants to postpone it until after the election. His only shot at wiggling out of it is by becoming president.
Lol check out this bs: "The judge compared Littlejohn’s actions to those of the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, noting that, “your actions were also a threat to our democracy.”
“It engenders the same fear that January 6 does,” Reyes added."
Invasion of privacy is a very big deal to our legal system when it is the rich peoples’ big number papers.
Invasion of privacy is a very big deal for rich people
What an out of touch judge
That’s a tautology right there. A redundant tautology.
If he really thought it was like january 6th he would have gone leinent on him like all the other j6 defendents.
The fear in who?
Fascists
Leak a billionaires tax records: 5 years.
Literally rape while a billionaire: 0 years.
Becoming president and attempting to overthrow the government: ???
Let’s find out!
Rape a girl behind a dumpster, with rich parents: think about his swimming career! 6 months, 4 with good behavior.
Raping multiple children while supposedly being the spiritual leader of a community: sideways job transfer.
Wasn’t that the rapist Brock Turner?
Rapist Brock Allen Turner, who is going by Allen Turner now.
Yeah, statute of limitations on rape shouldn’t exist. It’s kinda bonkers it hasn’t been removed yet.
It’s hard to prosecute rape 30 years later, fairly.
They were able to prove it well enough for E. Jean Carroll’s civil case to consider the assault a fact
No, it was considered more likely than not. A civil trial has a completely different standard from a criminal one.
Pretty damn fast compared to how long its taking to prosecute Trump.
…because the leaker plead guilty. If he went to trial this would have taken longer.
Does no one read the article or understand basic legal processes?
Technically the pleading guilty part is also in the footer below the post for users on desktop, but I was making a statement about due processes rather than complaining Charles case was too quick. Kind of akin to how a person mentions the beauty of the colors of clouds or the dread incurred by a coming storm just for somebody else to come along and yell “…Obviously. Does nobody watch the forecast or understand basic meteorology?”
A lot of people just want to be mad. This thread is full of people saying he should just be released, without realizing that if we release him because we happen to like the outcome, what’s that saying for the next person who wants to break the same law.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m as happy as everyone else that he did release the documents, but he broke the law to do it and knew the consequences when he did so. He knew this was a possibility.
Surely outrage is a good substitute for the legal system?
So let me ask you something. What do you get out of this? Hanging around in places where you believe that all the people are wrong and foolish? Waiting for some comment that’s just low enough hanging fruit for you to know enough to have a basic response to, does this satisfy you? Your statement is no shit and your question is rhetorical. Do you just like standing in the middle of a crowd and screaming, denoting yourself separate and superior? Is this what you do online?
I like to have a diversity of thought and thought the Fediverse of all places would be promoting that. Instead everyone lumps into tribes and follows groupthink without question.
I’ve been here since LW started and belong here just as much as anyone else.
If you declare you are running for President, it should trigger an automatic disclosure of your entire tax record.
If you try to get any supervisory position in the federal government, they do a thorough background check, including checking on your debts. It’s important to know whether someone at any level of management is susceptible to pressure or bribery. This goes for a LOT of non-management federal positions, too.
But the president? No, we’ll just trust him. What’s a political candidate going to do, get up on a stage and lie?? Don’t be ridiculous.
Aight, I mean sure. It was wrong, but 5 years? I understand that not all judges sentence in the same way but 5 years? Insurrection gets basically gets butt pats and this guy gets 5 years?
I hope he manages to survive them.
Epstein jeopardized rich people and got suicided.
To be fair in Epsteins case his testifying could’ve probably put some people behind bars. This guy won’t have anymore information now that he’s been pulled away from the system.
True… though an example could be made? I suppose we’ll see what happens.
If you mess with wealthy people, they’ll come at you fast with prison time. See also Elisabeth Holmes and SBF (I don’t necessarily disagree with their sentences, but you don’t see someone that scammed a bunch of poor people get the same sentences).
Anyone has ever deserved a pardon it’s this guy
Unfortunately a presidential pardon would be as blatant a political act as they come. Or at least that’s how it would be perceived.
He’ll be OK. There’ll be employers lining up to give him a job afterwards.
Putting ketchup on a burger and not mustard is seen as a political act anymore. Trump pardoned a group of war criminals, Charles Littlejohn deserves to walk free.
The law is the law. We need to keep acting in good faith or we’re no better than the GOP. I agree with your sentiment but I think he knew exactly what would happen and did not expect to be let off the hook.
I doubt he expected five years though. It’s not like he was making money from what he did or showing classified information that could harm someone.
Which means GOP would do it in a heartbeat but we for some reason never could dream of doing so
We aren’t the Sith.
“some reason”?
Would you mind elaborating?
I miss the days when politicians weren’t afraid to do political things. These days they can’t even pass bills.
This is like a millennial joke wrapped in a boomer joke
Pfffffff Biden is old as fuck and would be on his second term. The final act of his political career, and as political foosballs go about as long lasting as Barak Obama having a ketchup stain on his suit.
he wouldnt pardon this guy, all his friends would be furious
Nope. It’s a bad move and would be acting like GOP scum.
There’ll be employers lining up to give him a job afterwards.
Whistle-blowers are not very employable.
What about at a whistle making factory, as a tester?
I’ve heard that job really blows.
This man is a hero.
This is what the US does to heros that speak truth against the owner class.
You’re not wrong but I feel you might be being overly specific. It’s not just the US that protects their wealthy – this would happen anywhere – some places maybe a little less harshly, but plenty would be more harsh, too. The Panama Papers journalist was killed “extrajudicially”
He was providing a public service since trump refused to release them like every other presidential candidate has done for decades. This should be considered the same as whistle blowing.
Why? No legal requirement to do so, it was literally something that started when a candidate did it to show how honest and transparent he was and caught on. It’s not illegal activity to refuse, so whistleblower laws don’t apply.
Also, even if they did for Trump’s returns, he released a lot more than just Trump’s returns so he’d still be in the hot seat.
Even Trump deserves the privacy protections guaranteed by law
No he doesn’t.
Guillotine, got it.
Very insightful
He deserves the gallows.
Only if convicted in a court of law
Jury of his peers are shouting for it.
That’s called a mob
Guess he’s gonna get an offer he can’t refuse
The jury selection process would exclude those people who already made a decision
You’re not allowed to say that here.
Breaking federal law is only bad if you’re on the right.
Its insane how hypocritical many LW posters are while claiming they want to save our democracy, freedom, and the rule of law. Laws only apply to people you disagree with.
He got a longer sentence than many of the January 6th rioters. The reality is he committed a crime against billionaires and the Jan 6th dumbasses only committed crimes against public officials despite the latter criminals being more violent.
But I guess crimes only count when they affect the ultra wealthy plutocrats.
He got a longer sentence than many of the January 6th rioters.
That’s not the topic of any of my comments at all.
Many posters are ignoring basic facts of law and how courts work, just because they feel wronged.
Do I think the difference in length of sentence is fair for this leak vs jan 6 rioters? No it’s not fair, but that’s an opinion unrelated to the speediness of this trial entirely.
Many posters are ignoring basic facts of law and how courts work, just because they feel wronged.
So what you’re saying is that the commenters here are humans with biases and feelings about perceived injustice?! This is a travesty. People should really strive to be as robotic as possible! If a serial killer gets off on a technicality, welp guys that’s just how shit works sometimes and you aren’t allowed to express feelings about that.
Sure, but those same commenters also ridicule the other side for being uneducated and not understanding the law or operating based on feelings rather than facts.
Pot, meet kettle.
Right yeah the problem we have is then expressing feelings about Hillary Clinton. Not that they are objectively wrong about most of what they think about her and other dems. /s
If they had their facts straight they’d be well within their rights to want her and others locked up
You’re not allowed to say that here.
And yet they did. Shocking. How does that fit in your narrative?
Watch the down votes
Wah wah
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Of all the laws to pick and choose on, I’ll happily pardon this one.
Trump literally said he’d do it and then didn’t.
Every other president in recent history has done it.
It’s not like someone forced him to eat his hat. He was forced to follow a convention that he’d already told people he intended to follow.
Trump (like the bulk of the right) believe and act as though laws and norms are used solely to protect yourself and punish those they don’t like. Much like the paradox of tolerance, allowing these people to hide behind rules and norms they won’t respect themselves isn’t healthy for democracy, freedom, or the rule of law - the best way to protect those things is to keep the likes of Trump out of power. You’ve already seen what he’ll do with democracy given half a chance.
Keep him out how? By any means necessary, even illegal and unamerican ways?
Is this the “paradox of democracy” now?
The only way to save law and order is to not follow law and order? Do you realize how Fascist that sounds?
No - I mean actually have him face consequences.
Biden has treated him with kid gloves for multiple reasons - mostly because he doesn’t want to be seen as uncivil or disturbing the status quo. There’s massive scope to do more without getting into illegal territory.
How fascist does it sound, exactly - please enlighten us.
Of course, if we took Trump’s recent insistence that nothing the President does can be seen as illegal, Biden could just send SEAL Team 6 to kill him - but this is the attitude we’re defending the democracy against.
What does “unamerican” mean to you?
Depends which laws, doesn’t it? There are different ones you see (give him a break, guys he’s learning)
Sucks that leaking those returns moved the needle exactly 0% in the fight against Trump.
Trump could be eating his own shit in front of a crowd during a rally and his followers will start doing the same.
Would they eat his or their own?
Yes.
I… I could pay to watch this.
Just watch “The Platform”.
sounds like a potentially effective piece of performance art if we can find a skilled impersonator.
They made an example of them. That judge is well enough off to be thoroughly upset that somebody might release their crooked tax documents.
Honestly I think they should slip something into the law, for this type of leak if the person was lying and you release the document proving them lying that you get a slap on the wrist.
Yeah. I mean, considering what they could have done, though, I’d say 5 years is less of a slap on the wrist, and more of a whack with a yardstick.
Five years is literally the worst sentence you can get for the crime he pled guilty to. From how it’s worded, the most recommended penalty for that crime appears to be a $5000 fine and maybe a little jail time.
They “threw the book at him” by all definitions of the word.
So, they gave him the maximum sentence, and the pro-Trump judge was pissed the sentence couldn’t be any higher? What a piece of shit.
Apparently Ana Reyes was appointed by Joe Biden. You can’t really call her a fascist, but her delusional liberal view of the world make her an indirect but effective supporter of fascism: If the inequality caused by the insane concentration of wealth and the resulting systemic corruption and injustice is not addressed, it causes degradation of material conditions and creates a fertile ground for fascism. But this they don’t want to hear.
In my view the wealth inequality violates the intent of the constitution and Littlejon is a political prisoner.
I can’t speak for whether the judge was pro-Trump. It doesn’t sound (from other replies) like that was the case.
I think it’s more that the everyone in the System (from prosecutors to judges) have a strong dislike for whistleblower crimes.
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Could have done worse. Whistleblowers generally deserve significant leniency though I feel. Especially for a crime where no one was injured.
He got the maximum sentence under §7213
I mean, they could have disappeared him or thrown in a bunch of bullshit charges. But for what he did, he got as bad as it gets. The DOJ page even said they sentenced him so harshly to send a warning to people who consider repeating his behavior.
Whistleblowers are always punished harshly on purpose.
Whistleblowers are always punished harshly on purpose.
yeah we gotta fix that.
Wait. Was this a felony? Okay, then I guess he’s not getting off lightly. Sure, he’s in prison for only 5 years, but after he gets out he’s still a felon. That means no voting, no gun ownership, no passport so he can’t leave the country, ever.
Wait, felons can’t get a passport so they leave the US? That kind of makes them political prisoners.
I thought the same as you, but it seems it’s not so bad. You can vote after a felony sentence in the US, but maybe not right away and sometimes you have to settle court fines first.
Guns take longer and maybe never if your crime was violent or involved gun laws.
For passports, it seems most certain to be a no if your crime involved trafficking, smuggling, or anything to do with another country.
I think this guy can expect these rights restored after his sentence. But you’re still right that the conviction will likely be a continuing problem in other ways. I doubt he could be hired as CPA or anywhere else involving confidential records.
I mean, in the eyes of the judge and the lawyers, the crime was premeditated, covered up, and the defendant is remorseless. Pretty clear grounds to give the maximum penalty allowed by law.
I believe the tax records for large corporations and the upper class should fax higher scrutiny without having to be publicly leaked.
No the judge was far more extreme then that:
“What you did in attacking the sitting president of the United States was an attack on our constitutional democracy,” Reyes said. “We’re talking about someone who … pulled off the biggest heist in IRS history.” The judge compared Littlejohn’s actions to those of the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, noting that, “your actions were also a threat to our democracy.” “The fact that he did what he did and he’s facing one felony count, I have no words for,”
She practically admitted that her thinking was politically motivated. And that even though democracy in the US was and still is in danger and wealth inequality severely undermines the democratic vote of citizens, there is absolutely no excuse to resist against tyranny using illegal means. She’s not a fascist, but she’d make an excellent nazi. Yes Godwin’s law but that is how that worked. If Trump wins again democracy in the US could literally end but she sees no morally justifiable reason to resist.
PS: Or she just doesn’t understand that extreme wealth inequality and rise of fascism are linked, and you cannot fight the one without fighting the other.
Just like the sentencing for the insurrectionists right? Oh wait…
True, however, power concedes nothing without a demand. The only thing the powerful fear is losing that power. You can call for higher scrutiny of the upper class and corporations all you like, but they won’t do it unless forced to. And they’re also the ones who write national policy, so good luck writing a law to force them to do anything. It will be shoved into a shredder the second it enters the DC city limits.
I think he was given the maximum to keep the peace and not allow the dimwits to say he was a Dem puppet.
I have a feeling that in the background he’ll likely be treated ok.
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So if his sentence is altered by possible violence, ie ‘keep the peace’ then that means terrorism works on the government. File that one away for later, could come in handy.
Let’s not give them ideas. Uh… I mean validate their previous behaviours.
Honestly I think they should slip something into the law
Remind me again who are “they” exactly, and what are their incentives?
They are lawmakers.
Incentives would be to engage whistleblowers, forcing all to be more transparent in cases where no one is physically harmed.
Okay. Now pretend for a moment we are talking about the real planet Earth with the existing legislators of it’s actual countries.
You get approximately 0% of the change you never seek.
Can you cite anything that the judge has gone outside of the recommended punishment for this type of crime? Or is this just an idea that all of these powerful government officials are conspiring to scare people into not doing something like this? Any evidence that this judge is rich and corrupt? Or is it just that it fits the narrative that you want to be true so you’ll assume it’s true?
The recommended penalty for unauthorized disclosure is something more like a $5000 fine. The maximum allowable penalty for the offense is 5 years in prison.
“Wanting to do the right thing” is apparently an aggrivating circumstance.
Thanks for actually addressing the point. Where did you get this information from? Not that I don’t trust you, I’m just curious to read more.
Weird. I SWORE I linked this. Maybe it was a different reply.
As for the exact terminology, I got the crime he pleaded guilty of from the propaganda press junket from the DOJ on the matter.
Thanks appreciate it. Considering he got the harsher end of the spectrum, I’m going to look into this further.
He got the maximum sentence because he was unrepentant of the crime, and because anything less than that would seem biased. I didn’t see any mention of fines, maybe he got off easy there?
If you check the original article there’s a bit at the bottom where the prosecution wanted to charge him for much more than just one Unauthorized Disclosure
E:switch Prosecution for Judge
I thought when I read the article that the judge was upset that the prosecution didn’t go for more.
When you do, you’ll find out he did more things (more folks’ tax returns, though he didn’t publish those AFAIR). I’m sure he pled to this crime because of those other things. But that doesn’t really justify maximum sentence for what he was found guilty of.
But that doesn’t really justify maximum sentence for what he was found guilty of.
Considering I was planning on looking into this, can you explain your reasoning? I could easily be convinced one way or another.
I can cite a shit ton of the uber wealthy that get off scott free for a hell of a lot worse. But that won’t support your point any better.
So, no, you don’t have any evidence that this judge has done anything wrong, nor do you know that the ruling was especially harsh. Figured.
Does professional trolling pay well these days?
No argument, empty ad hominem. It’s amazing that people still don’t realize how much this reveals how little faith they have in their own argument.
Wow, you just keep going, it’s truly impressive at this point.
Don’t be too impressed as it’s easy to keep going when you argue the facts and the other person can’t do anything but sling insults. This is especially true when they aren’t even good at slinging insults.
That is like saying if you break into someone’s house and steal something that was stolen already then your crime is ok? “Two wrongs don’t make a right”
“Two wrongs don’t make a right”
The utter irony of saying this.
The defendant’s last name is “LittleJohn.”
Little John was the sidekick of Robin Hood.
Robin Hood is the embodiment of the idea that, actually, two wrongs can very much make a right - stealing from the corrupt rich and giving to the poor is a good thing, actually. And breaking the law is good when the law only protects and empowers the corrupt and the wealthy
And that is exactly what this defendant did. Much like his coincidental namesake, he stole from the corrupt rich and shared what he took with everyone else. And much like the “Outlaw” Robin Hood, he was punished for it.
The only problem is that the United States isn’t waiting for the Good King Richard to return and right all of our society’s wrongs. Because, unlike Merry Old England, we don’t have such a Good King coming to save us.
The irony of basing your comment on a fictional character
Please elaborate on how that meets the definition of “irony.”
Because it’s like a traffic jam when you’re already late. Or a no smoking sign on your cigarette break. Obviously.
That makes sense. Pretty similar to rain on your wedding day as well
Do you know what allegories are
Nah, I’m saying that sometimes someone does the wrong thing for the right reasons and they deserve leniency
I’m saying I’d like to see him tried and sentenced like he’s a billionaire.
Right and Wrong are human concepts that change and adapt depending on the the motive of the story teller.
Is killing another human being wrong? What if we call it Murder? What if we call it Self Defense? What if we call it Sacrifice? What if we call it War?
All these words we use to describe the same thing, but whether its a Right or Wrong highly depends on the era, local, and values of the story teller.
Was it wrong for Americans to help slaves escape to the north before the Civil War? That was illegal. Our hiding Jews during the Holocaust? That was also illegal.
Would it be ok to break into my neighbor’s house if I saw them drag another human being against their will, but the cops wont do anything because I can’t prove it? Pretty sure a jury wouldn’t fault me Breaking and Entry for that.
too bad judge Reyes isnt going to tell us how serious it is to steal classified documents and sell them.
Selling classified documents to Russian and Chinese interests is standard practice for the oligarchy though. Some petty serf peasant slapping a few feudal lords, that is a real crime in Neo Feudal America.
