Recently, the FBI raided about 700 safe deposit boxes in Beverly Hills.
These were private safe deposit boxes owned by people who were not suspected of a crime. The FBI had a warrant for one box, but opened and searched through the contents of every box, regardless if they had probable cause that the box owners had committed a crime. Then they attempted to confiscate anything worth more than $5000 through civil asset forfeiture proceedings, regardless if the individual box owners had committed a crime.
Shattering the Constitution
Can we just declare the rule of law dead now?
The FBI has become totally corrupt and out of control. The agent-in-charge was apparently not even reprimanded. It would seem almost any federal agent can do whatever they want without consequences, but if you’d like to fight them, it’s going to cost you oodles of money in court fees because we live in the era of lawfare, where the government goes after its own citizens, particularly if those citizens don’t share the views of the ruling elite.
Civil asset forfeiture benefits agencies because they get a portion of the proceeds which they can then spend on goodies. Want a cool tricked-out MRAP? Done. Or fancy training, preferably conducted in Las Vegas or Hawaii, that will pad your resume? That guy’s grandma’s wedding ring will go a long way toward funding those perks. This gives agents a personal incentive to skirt the line of legality.
And it’s going to get worse because central bank digital currencies are coming and civil asset forfeitures, fines, and asset freezes become much easier when all your money is visible and available at the central bank.
You might want to buy some gold and store it in your basement.
Good News…Kinda
A federal appeals court recently ruled the FBI violated the 4th Amendment with their actions. That’s good news, but it only came after the individual box owners invested a lot of time and money to get their property returned to them. And the agents who flagrantly violated those citizens’ constitutional rights faced no consequence, so are likely to do it again. The message?
The government can engage in gross violation of rights with impunity and the only consequence is that the courts might reverse their actions years later. The rule of law no longer applies to regular citizens, but FBI agents are a protected class. They’re supposed to “protect and serve” the public, but their first allegience is to their fellow agents and their second is to their employer.
Where do you come in on that? Don’t ask silly questions! You aren’t important enough to matter.
A Dead Letter or a Wax Tablet
I thought the Constitution was supposed to protect us from unlawful search and seizure, but it’s become a dead letter and a living document that can be altered to fit any circumstance. Selectively enforced, it’s so inanely reinterpreted that it no longer has any meaning. Oh, yeah, there’s an occasional victory, but the declining trend has been obvious for decades. If the government needs a bunch of emergency powers next week, they’ll create a major crisis so they can subvert the Constitution some more.
And don’t count on agents with principles to stand up for you because law enforcement attracts people who lack priniciples and favor agression toward anyone who annoys them.
Never let a good crisis go to waste.
Financial and economic risks are rising in the United States and other countries, but the political risk is more dangerous than either. While the government’s stupidity can wipe us all out at pretty much anytime ($34 trillion in debt), political dangers are cracking the dam face. Political risk involves laws and taxes threatening not just your wealth, but also your freedom. The United States government no longer lets us leave for better expat fields because it considers both you and your property to be its property.
And we’ve been here before. Russian 1917. Germany 1933. Cuba 1959. Vietnam 1975. Rhodesia 1979. And lest you think this is a thing of the past — Venezeuela and Ukraine face a similar situation today. And these examples are just part of a much larger selection of tyrannies. Most Western countries are headed in the wrong direction. Don’t think it can’t happen here because it is happening here right now.
That gold in the basement is sounding more and more attractive. Maybe paint it to look like a doorstop or a fireplace surround? I know! A giant Lego castle.
Obviously don’t put it in a safe deposit box. That is no longer a safe place for your valuables. It’s not safe because the government considers you and your property to be its property.
Lela Markham is an Alaska-based novelist and commentator who is losing hope for the future, but not her sense of humor.