The biggest victory of the year for Greenspan:
m1.mny.co.za
By: Tim Wood
Posted: 2002/04/01 Mon 18:00 EST | © Miningweb 1997-2002
PRINCETON, NJ -- Reg Howe's audacious case against the "gold cabal" has been dismissed in Federal Court before it could proceed to the all important discovery stage which had everyone licking their chops about what might be revealed in individual depositions.
The nub of Boston District Judge Reginald Lindsay's ruling was that Howe is an "inappropriate plaintiff". It is an ironic conclusion given that justice is supposedly blind to status and means; but never let hope get in the way of cynicism.
An unintended consequence of the dismissal is that it will embolden Treasury and Fed officials to invoke sovereign immunity when they "manage markets". This will be especially critical as the central bankers move toward running national reserves as fully fledged commercial portfolios.
If you are a conspiracist, you will take solace in the fact that Howe lost on shameless technicalities. If you have no care for the gold cabal, then you will delight in the fact that the defendants did not even bother themselves with the accusations, but zeroed in on Howe's "lack of standing." Yes, law always triumphs over justice.
The Judge agreed with the defendants that Howe could only claim injury if he dealt directly in the gold market. Being a shareholder is not good enough, being a share issuer (such as a gold producer) is though.
Simply put, the Judge thinks Howe is being privately melodramatic in the absence of support from gold mining companies: "…there are many participants in the gold and gold derivatives markets who could allege a more direct injury than does the plaintiff. For example, there are many gold mining companies and private investors in gold (not to mention those central banks with gold reserves) that the plaintiff does not allege to be involved in the conspiracy. All of these persons or entities would be more directly injured than the plaintiff by a scheme of the kind he alleges."
Judge Lindsay dismissed the attempt to sue government officials in their individual capacities, citing a clutch of previous circuit court rulings. The implication is that government officials can be certain that virtually any decision of theirs is going to be backed up in court with taxpayer funds. It is a powerful disincentive for future lawsuits since it confirms that the government itself must be sued. As Microsoft discovered, the U.S. Department of Justice spares no expense once it embarks on a crusade.
Is it any wonder that power inevitable accumulates in a central government when it is afforded such legal latitude (and can sweep away any offensive challenge at a penstroke)? You're on strike before you leave the dugout.
Judge Lindsay had sympathy with the defendants, based on clauses in the United States Code, that Federal Reserve officials and the Secretary of the Treasury are fully entitled to trade in gold. Howe would have had a mountain to climb to prove that such trade was wrongful, assuming he could prove beyond all doubt that it even took place.
"This [qualified executive] immunity shields "government officials performing discretionary functions ... from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known." Government officials are held to a low standard; they must merely assert that they "believe their actions lawful" for it to be so.
The rest of the judgement is taken up with the details of the allegations against the Bank for International Settlements, which were also rejected.
With Howe's case dead in the water, Gata's profile is likely to founder. It has already turned its back on the American media after failing to secure mainstream coverage, and has alienated the corporations that hold the key to taking over Howe's case.
Gata critics have also been handed a huge club with which to beat conspiracists about the ears with. The organisation's most passionate supporters have been eagerly spreading the message that Howe's case would "blow the lid off the gold conspiracy" and send the price of gold soaring. It is a harsh anti-climax and Gata must restrain its supporters from resorting to the cheapest and easiest trick – accusing the judge of being a party to the conspiracy. |
