ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º The Connector º º The Voice of Freedom º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ October 1992 Contents ßßßßßßßß 1. War! 2. Operation Self-Defense 3. The Highest Law 4. Self-Defense. Where Does It Begin? 5. To Kill Or Not To Kill 6. Government's Defeat At Ruby Creek 7. Citizen Law Enforcement Teams (CLET's) 8. To Meet A National Need 9. Body of Gordon Kahl Exhumed 10. IRS Trains Tax Cops, Auditors In Poland 11. What Is Democracy? 12. The IRS Audit - A Part Of Voluntary Compliance 13. What Is Their Secret? ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º I. º º War! º ÈÍÍÍÍÍͼ Has the IRS declared war on the Freedom Movement? The Pilot Connection Society had a smashingly successful First Semi- Annual Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada last month. At this meeting we announced that we are preparing a full-page newspaper ad, the headline of which reads: "The IRS Are: Liars, Murderers, Terrorists and Thieves (A Domestic Enemy?)." Our plan calls for getting this ad in all the papers in the country. If we run into a problem doing this, we have a tactic to cut off their advertising (life blood). Now, for the truly exciting news. We have put together a commercial lien. This is exactly the same type of lien that the IRS uses. Therefore, should they find a way to destroy our lien, they would be shooting themselves in the foot. Why? Because, if they destroy our lien, they just destroyed every lien that they have ever used against anyone. Our lien is in the name of Phillip Marsh and 250,000,000 John Does (all U.S. citizens). we are demanding that President Bush stop his headlong plunge in an attempt to take over the U.S. (target date - October 29, 1992) with FEMA troops, which are actively engaged in training exercises all over the U.S. at this moment. Further, we demand that Congress ash-can the New World Order and take back its function to control our money as called for in the U.S. Constitution. We demand that the Federal Reserve Bank dissolve itself and its collection division (IRS). If these politicians fail to act on these demands, We the People will take back our country, remove all of these "public servants" and hold honest elections as provided under the Constitution. At our convention, we passed out two documents. One is called an Independent Declaration, and the other one is called a solemn Recognition of Mixed-War (meaning that we know the government has declared war on its citizens). It is imperative at this time that we flood Congress from all across the nation with thousands of copies of these documents. They are available from the Home Office. I have offered the Independent Declaration free of cost to anyone. You may order more than one copy if you promise to get them filled out. The IRS is misinforming police departments across the nation of our plans and status. Please send all of these documents to your local Police Chief and Sheriff's offices. The Battle is Joined. Let's Give Every One of Them Heck! Phil Marsh ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º II. º º Operation Self-Defense º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ Forfeiture and seizure of private property under pretense of "law," as now practiced by government forces on a massive scale and which was beginning to awaken the sleeping giant of public opinion, was the ultimate outrage, or so we thought. But we were wrong. Government has now committed an atrocity that is so appalling it may begin a trend or a movement for a return to lawful and constitutional government. The atrocity of which we speak is the Weaver incident that took place in northern Idaho in late August of this year in which government forces killed a family dog; killed a fleeing 14-year-old boy with a shot in the back; and killed the boy's mother with a sniper's bullet through the head while she cradled a 10-month-old infant in her arms. The same bullet seriously wounded another member of the household, and another sniper's bullet passed through the arm of the father, but was not a fatal wound. These atrocities did not, however, result in a victory for the 400 cowardly government agents hiding in the bushes with their automatic weapons, backed by armored vehicles. They then showed their true colors when they called in a military helicopter carrying an external fuel tank to be emptied on the cabin in an attempt to incinerate the cabin and the remaining family members holed up inside. However, the incineration of the cabin and family was aborted when the helicopter pilot discovered the action was being videotaped from a nearby hill by a news cameraman. These are the acts of savages, terrorists and criminally insane men who call themselves "government" and claim to represent, and act, in the name of the American people. Did they act in your name? We though the bombing of a Baghdad civilian bomb shelter was reason enough for the American people to hold their government accountable for war crimes. But it didn't happen. Then our forces buried alive 12,000, and later had a "turkey shoot" killing the fleeing (and mostly unarmed) Iraqi soldiers, and still our people did not turn on their government. Now, we add the Weaver incident to our national shame and the image of the "ugly American" becomes even more vial in the eyes of people throughout the world. When are Americans going to reclaim their national honor? We think NOW is the time to make that goal a NATIONAL PRIORITY, and Operation Self-Defense is the safe and sane methodology by which to regain our national and international self-respect. The American government today represents only itself, so it has become an "outlaw" organization or syndicate (even recognized by much of the world as such) that has NO "lawful" RIGHT TO EXIST IN ITS PRESENT FORM. Rather than refer to it as a "government" we need to start referring to it by its proper name, a CRIME ENFORCEMENT SYNDICATE (CES). The Weaver incident is the perfect example of how "CRIME" is enforced to put the fear of CES into the rest of us. ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º III. º º The Highest Law º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ Our subject matter for this article is nature's highest law, the law of self-defense, and how it should be used and can be used, offensively for ultimate effect. We will be dealing with some hard truths here and they may tend to be a bit scary for some, but they are truths, nonetheless, so they have to be examined so we can choose the self-defense methods best suited to achieve our overall national goals. To begin this study, we quote directly from the legal definition of self-defense taken from Black's Law Dictionary, 5th Edition: Self Defense. The protection of one's person or property against some injury attempted by another. The right of such protection. An excuse for the use of force in resisting an attack on the person, and especially for killing an assailant. The right of a man to repel force by force even to the taking of life in defense of his person, property or habitation, or of a member of his family, against any one who manifests, intends, attempts or endeavors by violence or surprise to commit a forcible felony. Essential elements of "self-defense" are that defendant does not provoke difficulty and that there must be impending peril without convenient or reasonable mode of escape. The law of "self-defense" justifies an act done in the reasonable belief of immediate danger, and if an injury was done by defendant in justifiable self- defense, he can never be punished criminally nor held responsible for damages in a civil action. (Baltimore Transit Co. v Faulkner, 179 Md.598, 20A.2d 485, 487.) A person is justified in the use of force against an aggressor when to the extent it appears to him and he reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to defend himself or another against such aggressor's imminent use of unlawful force. One who is not the aggressor in an encounter is justified in using a reasonable amount of force against his adversary when he reasonable believes: (a) that he is in immediate danger of unlawful bodily harm from his adversary, and (b) that the use of such force is necessary to avoid this danger. It may be reasonable to use non-deadly force against the adversary's non-deadly attack (i.e., one threatening only bodily harm), and to use deadly force against his deadly attack (an attack threatening death or seriously bodily harm), but it is never reasonable to use deadly force against his non- deadly attack. We must remember that this definition is the current legal definition of "self-defense" but one written by a lawyer so it is not totally in tune with the "common law." Articles 9 and 10 in the Bill of Rights retain for "the people" or the individual the final right to decide matters of "self-defense," for it is almost always a decision made under extreme conditions and "reasonable force" varies considerably from person to person and is dependent upon many factors in any given time frame. And, we must remember also that the meaning of "liberty" entails the right to the use of self-defense in any given situation. There can be no liberty where self-defense is regulated by statute. The life of a nation and the quality of life in that nation is almost totally dependent upon at what stage the people begin to exercise the natural right of self-defense against their government. Self-defense can be as simple as saying NO to any particular edict of government, or it can be expressed through the ballot box. There are the milder forms of self-defense and if not exercised decisively at these levels, the price goes up very quickly. People are not prone to think of self-defense until it becomes a life- threatening situation. But life itself is a constant trade-off on that very issue. So, let's take a deeper look at the mechanics of self-defense. ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º IV. º º Self-Defense, Where Does It Begin? º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ Self-Defense, being nature's highest law, begins at the moment of birth, and we live with it from the cradle to the grave. Keep in mind that in this study we are dealing with self-defense in our relationship with CES. Bookkeepers begin their careers by learning how to balance the books through debits and credits and start off with a blank page on day one. In like manner, public servants begin their careers using their sworn oath as their STANDARD by which to conduct their official affairs and balance the books in accordance with THAT STANDARD. As long as they conduct their affairs by the sworn "standard," the people have a responsibility to recognize them as acting in the official capacity of "government." However, at the first violation of that standard, that public servant has committed a breach of contract. At this stage, such a violation is not a major offense. Once the violation is pointed out and the public servant refuses to correct it, he has then created, and affirmed, that A STATE OF WAR EXISTS BETWEEN HIMSELF AND THE PEOPLE. This is a dishonorable act of a dishonorable person and the "immunity" - assumed until tested - now MUST BE FORFEITED! Once forfeited, and he remains in the position of a public servant, he has become a TREAT to life, liberty and property, and has ACTIVATED THE NATURAL LAW OF SELF-DEFENSE. This was a conscious "choice" on his part so that public servant now must accept the responsibility for any acts of violence used against him. Here, we have broken it down to the individual public servant, but in dealing with so-called "government" forces today, we are up against several million public servants who have ALL ACTIVATED THE LAW OF SELF-DEFENSE by violating their agreed-upon "standards" by choice, and now wonder why the public has become so hostile to their crime enforcement syndicate (CES). We have learned from the record, time and time again, that once a "government" converts to a CES it is NOT REFORMABLE BY BALLOT BOX, LOGIC OR PERSUASION. The record proves, conclusively, that only "self-defense" - exercised by individuals or by groups or by society as a whole - is the answer to the problem. Such situations always devolve into revolutions over time for CES is constantly FORCED to invoke more stringent controls on the people to cover its former wrongdoing. There is no escape and no honorable or sensible method to avoid disaster for once the lie is sold and upheld as public policy, it is destined to self-destruct, for that is natural law just as self-defense is natural law. So here we have a meeting of two natural laws that bodes ill for all of us. Hence, we must deal with this problem as a NATIONAL PRIORITY. Our cause, however, is not hopeless for there is a solution if we but use it. That solution is called Operation Self-Defense. ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º V. º º To Kill Or Not To Kill º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ The ultimate option in any self-defense situation is to kill or not to kill. Men are inclined not to kill while evils are sufferable, but many times that option is taken from them by the actions or conduct of the other party. In America today, we suffer greatly from government abuse as we did not exercise self-defense at a much earlier stage when a simple rebuker a firm NO would have been sufficient deterrent to defend liberty. Now we must risk both liberty AND life even to say no. Tomorrow, the only option will be the gun. The lesson to be learned here is that as decay worsens, the killing will have to begin. So we can create a simple maxim which says; trusting government to defend your liberty is the surest way to lose it. Or, put it another way, the result of remaining uninvolved in the political process, will eventually lead to taking up arms against your government. Or, to lay it on even heavier, we could say, doing nothing NOW to defend liberty, will force you to KILL later. Taking all of the above as a simple lesson in logic we can see how very important is the art of self-defense when dealing with governments. It could be fatal not to hone our political self-defense skills since the fate of the nation hangs in the balance. With these few revelations in mind we can see that the future of "liberty" is merely a matter of self-defense, pure and simple, and choosing to do nothing to save it is the worst possible choice of all. It's a worse case scenario in procrastination for it HAS TO END IN BLOOD-LETTING AT SOME FUTURE DATE. Tyranny comes early to a people who trade liberty for "peace in my day," but tyranny can never take root where self-defense is the law of the land. ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º VI. º º Government's Defeat at Ruby Creek º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ Knowing the worst case scenario leaves us with some choices to make. But, the choices will be much easier this month than they were last month, for now the Weaver incident has galvanized at least a million patriots who are ready to take some concerted action, if they only knew what to do. And, strange as it may seem, the best course of action is to now take the "law" into our own hands and become "law" ENFORCERS ourselves. This may seem like a bold and irresponsible statement, but it is the most practical solution at this time, for a very public and very popular "precedent" has now been set that makes it possible to do that very thing. We refer to the "citizen's arrest" warrants that were issued against the public officials in charge of the Weaver incident and responsible for the atrocities committed. Bo Gritz and Jack McLamb, who issued those warrants against those officials at the scene, were making no progress whatsoever UNTIL those warrants were written up and served. Within the hour, the balance of power shifted from "crime enforcement" back to "law enforcement." Why? For two major reasons. One, the Weaver incident had become too visible and too public and there was little chance to carry out a successful cover-up. Two, everyone present on the government side was sworn to honor the "law" and to keep the public peace. However, the warrants pinpointed and detailed the "lawbreaking" that was taking place. And since there was no place to hide, and no courts to be used as a buffer for their lawbreaking, the officials involved were FORCED to concert from "terrorists" to lawmen. If they had continued their "lawbreaking" after the service of the warrants, it would have been an OFFICIAL admission that they were indeed terrorists, and chose to be so. From that point on they would have been fair game for anyone who could sight them in. For they would have PUBLICLY forfeited their "immunity" of color of law. So, in all truth, we owe a great debt to those who formulated, wrote up, and served the arrest warrants for this was the legal technique, a legal breakthrough - at least in this case - that put both venue and jurisdiction back into the hands of the people and that fact was recognized by the crime enforcers on the scene. More than anything else, it amounted to a showdown on the issue of the "law" which resulted in a victory for the "law." That "precedent" has NOW become a public precedent without benefit of a supreme court decision, for it revealed to the people that "law" still has some clout over raw power when it is used in a highly public situation. The serving of those warrants did carry great risks for many trigger fingers got very itchy during the encounter according to accounts. However, "law" DID prevail to a degree, so we now need to seize upon this "precedent" while it is still fresh in the minds of the public. That brings us to the mechanics of Operation Self-Defense. ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º VII. º º Citizen Law Enforcement Teams º º (CLET's) º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ What we have learned in this short study is that if we are to save ourselves, and our country, - and the lives of the public servants, now at war with us - we MUST, WITHOUT FAIL, practice some form of self-defense on an organized and national scale. Law is the most practical form of self-defense as it is acceptable to all parties with the exception of the professional criminal who still must live under color of law in his daily business affairs among the rest of us. The Weaver incident has taught us that we citizens need some means of law enforcement of our own. For everywhere we turn, we see that government has become the biggest and the best organized crime machine now among us. Government now enforces "crime" rather than "law" and we can no longer tolerate such criminal behavior from those who are supposed to be acting on our behalf. We are now FORCED by their criminal acts, to hold them accountable to the law, now; or to kill them later. The answer to that challenge is the forming of Citizen law Enforcement Teams (CLET's) with the emphasis on TEAMS. Their job will be to march on city Halls, Statehouses and Federal enclaves, armed with citizen arrest warrants, state and federal constitutions, the Nelson report, Public Notice of Treason and other like documents. They will also carry video cameras, tape recorders and portable phones or CB radios. NO FIREARMS OR VIOLENCE WILL BE NECESSARY. They will issue press releases, post public notices and hand out flyers on a regular basis against those they choose to hold accountable and will hold periodic or regular public meetings on their activities. They will be highly visible within their own communities. Law enforcement of public servants will be their specialty, not physical confrontations, but using public relations techniques to keep CES on the hotseat as long as it continues its lawbreaking. Such teams would not have been practical before the Weaver incident, but now they become mandatory under the law of self-defense. The Weaver incident has raised up several million new freedom fighters who can and will back up those patriots who have been holding the line for all these years. ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º VIII. º º To Meet A National Need º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ Patriot organizations already have the documents and the know-how to make these CLET teams work so there need be little delay in getting them on line. For starters, we will offer a $15.00 CLET packet which includes the Nelson Report as its legal centerpiece. This packet includes a Citizen's Arrest Warrant and a Public Notice of Treason, both of which are in wide use at the present time and very effective wherever used. For the CLET packet, write: CLET P.O. Box 441 Morongo Valley, CA 92256 Cash or Postal Money Order ONLY. NO Personal checks, please. To conclude, we must remember that CES "enforces" all of its statutes and administrative rules. The PEOPLE have no legal mechanism to "ENFORCE" their laws. Petition and redress of grievances is the national joke. Therefore, CLET teams meet the criteria to fill a great national need that is going unaddressed except for the efforts of a few individual patriots, who have slowed, but not stopped the tyrannies of CES. The Weaver incident and the formation of a vast network of CLET teams nationwide, might put the balance of power back where it belongs, in the hands of the people. Do the people have the courage and the honor to ENFORCE their laws? CLET now provides the opportunity, and that may just be enough incentive to generate the courage and the honor needed to make Operation Self- Defense a national success. ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º IX. º º Body of Gordon Kahl Exhumed º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ Another incident of great interest recently took place and we want our readers to know about it as there are many similarities to what took place in the Weaver incident in northern Idaho. Jack McLamb, the retired police officer who helped to lead the surviving members of the Weaver family to safety, finally succeeded in his effort to have the body of Gordon Kahl exhumed. You may remember that Gordon was brutally murdered in a backwoods home in Arkansas some years back by a local swat team headed up by the FBI. To take Gordon, the local sheriff had led an armed team into the house. Some shooting occurred in which the sheriff and Kahl were both killed. Shortly thereafter, a flammable fluid was poured down the chimney by the swat team and the house set ablaze. The official record of the incident is full of irregularities and conflicting testimony and the physical evidence left behind is contrary to the official record. Because the facts don't match the testimony, many now believe the officials present took part in criminal activities and then falsified the record to create an official cover-up. It is believed by some that the Sheriff was killed by the FBI because he would not go along with the cover-up. The obvious wrongdoing has infuriated many lawmen and they have called to reopen the case to get at the truth so the guilty can be exposed and convicted. New evidence is the key to reopening the case. Hence, the long effort to raise the private funds to have the body exhumed and examined by a private medical investigator so the findings cannot be altered by government officials. We can now reveal that the body was exhumed from its resting place in North Dakota, taken to California, the medical examination made, and the body then returned and buried. The medical report is not yet complete, but a significant finding was reported which might help to reopen the case. Jack deserves our thanks for his dedication to the truth. This effort took about five years in which over $20,000 had to be raised to get the job done - a justice may yet triumph. Thank you Jack! Jack's address: P.O. Box 8787, Phoenix, AZ 85066 ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º X. º º IRS Trains Tax Cops, º º Auditors in Poland º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ Poland is revamping its post-communist tax system. Its new personal income tax went into effect in 1992. The personal income tax replaced a wage tax that used to be levied on state-owned companies, based on their labor forces. For two years the IRS has been helping the Polish Finance Ministry to improve its collection system. Recently, IRS representative held training sessions for Polish investigators and auditors. One hurdle the Polish government faces is the average taxpayer's attitude. During the communist era, people looked at tax dodging as a way to show independence. Thus, Poland has widespread nonpayment of income taxes and a large underground economy. It will be a challenge to get people to regard paying taxes as a voluntary public duty. Another obstacle for tax investigators is the Polish government's inability to trace bank records, which unlike U.S. bank records, are considered private. The IRS plans to continue offering training in Poland, and has also held seminars in Russia, the Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. Source: CPA Client Bulletin, June 1992 ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º XI. º º What is Democracy? º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ Democracy is a fraudulent term, used often by ignorant persons, but no less often by intellectual fakers, to describe an infamous mixture of socialism, miscegenation, graft, confiscation of private property and denial of personal rights to individuals whose virtuous principles make them offensive. -Westbrook Pegler A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves money out of the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that democracy always collapses over a loose fiscal policy always to be followed by a dictatorship. -(Written two centuries ago by Professor Alesander Tyler when writing on the decline and fall of the Athenian Republic over two thousand years before.) A "democracy" is a government of the masses. Authority is derived through mass meetings or any other form of "direct" expression. Results in mobocracy. Attitude towards property is communistic, negating property rights. Attitude toward law is that the will of the majority shall regulate, rather it be based on deliberation or governed by passion, prejudice, and impulse without restraint or regards to consequences. Results in demagogism, license, agitation, discontent, anarchy. Democracy is the direct rule of the people and has been repeatedly tried without success. -Thomas Jefferson Democracy, Socialism, and Communism are all one and the same. America can NEVER be free while democracy rules the land. ********************************* Joke of the Month: "Trust me to know what's best for America." -George Bush Do you know the difference between being involved and being committed? Take bacon and eggs for an example: The pig is committed. The chicken is involved **************************** Does the state own YOUR car? The 1993 license plate sticker for California is dark blue. When photocopied the dark blue is penetrated and the hidden words, "Official Use Only" are revealed in the background. Does this mean that you are renting your car from the state? Is this evidence of a conspiracy to defraud? Interesting questions! ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º XII. º º The IRS Audit º º A Part of Voluntary Compliance º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ The reason you cannot be required to submit to an IRS audit is that an audit is also part of "voluntary" compliance. The government cannot use compelled testimony against you, so if the government requires you to turn over your books and records to the IRS, it cannot use any of that information against you - not even in matters relating to income tax evasion, levying of fines and penalties, or criminal offenses related to taxes. The IRS conducts audits to get information about anything you're doing that might be illegal - so it can have the Justice Department prosecute you. BUT TO DO THAT, THE MATERIAL MUST BE OBTAINED VOLUNTARILY!! Do you want to volunteer to submit to an audit? Look at this excerpt from the IRS Handbook for Special Agents: An individual may refuse to exhibit his books and records for examination on the ground that compelling him to do so might violate his right against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment and constitute an illegal search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment. Submitting to an audit means waiving your Constitutional rights! You may think that even if you submitted to an audit, you'd be able to claim your right not to be a witness against yourself later, at a trial perhaps. Think again! The IRS Handbook for Special Agents goes on to say: The privilege against self-incrimination must be specifically claimed or it will be considered to have been waived. In the Nicola case, the taxpayer permitted a revenue agent to examine his books and records. The taxpayer was indicted for income tax evasion and invoked his constitutional rights under the Fifth Amendment for the first time at the trial, by objecting to the revenue agent's testimony concerning his findings. But the court said "it was necessary for him to claim immunity before the government agent and refuse to produce his books. After the government agent had gotten possession of the information with his consent, it was too late for him to claim constitutional immunity. Nicola was indicted for income tax evasion and "objected for the first time" at his trial. He had submitted to an IRS audit, thinking it was mandatory. When the agent started to use the information he got in the audit as part of the testimony against Nicola, Nicola claimed the protection of the Fifth Amendment - his own records were being used as testimony against him, and he thought that this could not happen unless he agreed to give up his rights - which he believed he did not do! The Judge disagreed... The court denied Nicola's claims on the grounds that Nicola SHOULD have raised the question of the Fifth Amendment rights AT HIS AUDIT, and should have refused at that time to turn over his books. But once he gave up his books to the IRS, it was too late to prevent the information from being used against him - the audit constituted a waiver of your rights! ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» º XIII. º º What is Their Secret? º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ In the Handbook for Special Agents used by the IRS in their training program, the IRS Commissioner is quoted prominently on the first cover, as follows: "AGENTS...Our tax system is based on individual self assessment and voluntary compliance...the material contained in this handbook is confidential in character. It must not under any circumstances by made available to persons outside the service." One secret they would rather you didn't know is explained in section 342.12 of that Handbook, which states that "An individual taxpayer may refuse to exhibit his books and records for examination" during an audit, as explained in the above article. EOF