The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Barrett Brown Trial Pushed Back to September, at His Lawyer’s Request

Posted on | March 9, 2013 | 16 Comments

September 2012: Barrett Brown threatens an FBI agent in video

Missed this news earlier: There was apparently a hearing Wednesday in which an attorney for former “Anonymous” spokesman Barrett Brown, who had been scheduled to stand trial later this month and in April on federal charges, was granted a continuation pushing the trial back to September. It’s important to make the point this delay was at the request of Brown’s own lawyer, because here’s the inflammatory headline:

Anonymous ‘spokesperson’
to spend year in jail without trial

This makes it seem like it’s the government’s fault, which it’s not, nor is it the government’s fault that nobody will go Barrett’s bail.

Doug Morris, a public defender appointed to serve as Brown’s defense counsel, asked for an extension in order to evaluate the evidence against his client, the Associate Press reports. US District Judge Sam Lindsay obliged on Wednesday this week.
The AP adds that Brown’s trial for one indictment is now slated for September 3, 2013, with trials for his second and third indictments scheduled to start on Sept. 23. Brown was arrested on Sept. 12 last year and has been in law enforcement custody for the nearly six months since.

I’m not sure what Barrett’s bail would be, but he might be considered a flight risk, given that “Commander X” (Christopher Doyon) jumped bail and is now a fugitive, and other members of Anonymous have reportedly fled the United States.

Anybody who’s seen the immortal YouTube rant in which Barrett threatened to “destroy” an FBI agent (and it helps to read the indictment that mentions an unnamed co-conspirator who helped “dox” the agent) knows that the feds have got Brown dead to rights on that charge, even if they can’t make anything else stick. The logical thing would be for Barrett to cop a plea, but apparently the U.S. Attorney’s office in this case isn’t in a mood to let Brown off with a wrist-slap, so he’ll sit in jail and wait for his trial while his lawyer from the public defender’s office “evaluates the evidence,” and good luck with that, eh?

Something else: Barrett was in custody for more than four months before the court determined he was sane enough to stand trial — just barely, perhaps — and it’s certainly not the government’s fault that Barrett Brown is crazy, unless . . .

Look, I hate to feed into anyone’s paranoia here, but everybody knows about how Neal Rauhauser helped push Barrett over the edge. And there are those who have long suspected that Rauhauser wasn’t just bragging about having FBI connections. If you had a conspiratorial worldview (as many Anonymous members do), and you knew about that unindicted co-conspirator (“another person known the grand jury“), wouldn’t you be tempted to suspect maybe Rauhauser was part of some kind of elaborate set-up, an agent provocateur who helped the feds bust Barrett?

Not that I believe that myself, you understand. But if some crazy paranoid Anonymous types believed it, who could really blame them? Because why has the unindicted co-conspirator not been indicted?

 

Category: Barrett Brown

Comments

16 Responses to “Barrett Brown Trial Pushed Back to September, at His Lawyer’s Request”

  1. DaveO
    March 9th, 2013 @ 8:31 pm

    So, you’re conceding offense for a womanm whereas guys get the ban-hammer. Lovely. Weakness noted, TheOtherMcCain neutered in any future reports.

  2. rmnixondeceased
    March 9th, 2013 @ 9:06 pm

    “… wouldn’t you be tempted to suspect maybe Rauhauser was part of some kind of elaborate set-up, an agent provocateur …” Hmmm, I think Neal is more of an Agent de-asshattery though …

  3. Adjoran
    March 9th, 2013 @ 9:28 pm

    We should find out how much Brown’s bond is, raise the money, spend it all on a big party, and send him pictures.

    Reason #11,526 why you shouldn’t go around being an arrogant, obnoxious ass to everyone you meet: someday you may need someone to go your bail.

  4. Charles
    March 9th, 2013 @ 9:42 pm

    Perhaps they do mean to let him cop a plea for time served, but the prosecutor wants at least a year. Then they don’t have to burn their cooperating witness by putting him or her on the stand, Brown being too dumb to figure out who it was that ratted him out.

  5. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    March 9th, 2013 @ 9:44 pm

    Okay, this is my guess: (A twist on what Charles said) it is intentional. Brown is the Government’s snitch. The time in jail will be traded off for the deal that is coming if he cooperate.

  6. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    March 9th, 2013 @ 9:46 pm

    An Agent of de-snitchery too. In an attempt to avoid prison and facing being an Agent of de-bitchery butt-hurtery.

  7. rmnixondeceased
    March 9th, 2013 @ 10:02 pm

    Heh. I knew there was a reason I like you!

  8. robertstacymccain
    March 10th, 2013 @ 12:03 am

    What? What? Wombat is the troll-hammer guy.

  9. Bob Belvedere
    March 10th, 2013 @ 1:21 am

    She is good, ain’t she.

  10. ThomasD
    March 10th, 2013 @ 8:10 am

    “Evaluating the evidence” actually means ‘stalling for time in the hope that the current prosecuting attorney moves on and the new one is not such a hard ass.’

  11. Quartermaster
    March 10th, 2013 @ 8:22 am

    You aren’t in charge? I seem to remember something about orders to the Wombat.

    I do, however, commend Wombat. He seems not to be quite so knee jerk about it as he used to be.

  12. Wombat_socho
    March 10th, 2013 @ 11:24 am

    Since it’s tax season, I can’t hang out here 24×7 smiting the unworthy. I am, however, an equal opportunity crusher, contra DaveO, supra

  13. Wombat_socho
    March 10th, 2013 @ 11:24 am

    Dave, are you off your meds again? WTF are you talking about?

  14. Quartermaster
    March 10th, 2013 @ 6:21 pm

    Tax Season is over for me. Did them on Feb 1 and had everything back 2 weeks ago.

    But then I ain’t doing them for half the county either. Glad I is an Engineer and Surveyor and not a CPA.

  15. rmnixondeceased
    March 10th, 2013 @ 8:44 pm

    And she follows me on Twitter (like you do Bob – Thanks!)

  16. Jonny Commenter
    March 13th, 2013 @ 3:33 am

    Why all the talk of bail when there is none, it hasn’t been granted? Check your reporting fools.