Freedom Watch

FREEDOM WATCH FILES CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST IRANIAN GOVERNMENT TYRANTS

admin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:06:48 +0000

Complaint Made in Washington, D.C. Federal Court
OVER TEN TRILLION DOLLARS IN DAMAGES DEMANDED

Freedom Watch To Organize “Freedom Rally” This Thursday at 11 am in Beverly Gardens Park
Beverly Hills, California

(Washington, D.C., July 13, 2009). Today, Freedom Watch, the public interest watchdog that takes strong legal action to further freedom, filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C. The case was randomly assigned to President George W. Bush appointee Judge Rosemary M. Collyer and bears case No.: 09-1289-RMC.

The case was filed on behalf of Akbar Mohammadi, a valiant and brave Iranian freedom fighter who took on the Iranian establishment to bring freedom for his people. As a result, he was imprisoned and then murdered in prison by the Iranian leadership. His sister, also a brave freedom fighter, Nasrin Mohammadi, who lives in Los Angeles, California, where over one million Iranian exiles reside, brought the lawsuit on behalf of not only her brother but all Iranians yearning to be free of this violent and oppressive regime.

This lawsuit is important not only because it represents a direct assault on the Iranian leadership by Iranians in this country and around the world, but also sets an example for President Obama and his administration, and all world leaders, that they need to provide direct assistance to the new Iranian Revolution, not just spew weak, meaningless and ineffective verbal "pronouncements" on its behalf.

"If the Iranian people themselves can stand up legally for their rights, why then can"t the American and other western governments do more to further the end to this despotic regime now that it is "on the ropes"," stated Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman. "If the French had not come to the aid of the United States with military and other support during our Revolutionary War, we would not have succeeded in ridding the colonies of the tyranny of King George III. Now it is time for the United States to intervene and help finish off the radical Islamic despots in Iran, as the advanced and culturally rich Persian culture can accept democracy and allow freedom to flourish for the good of Iranians, the Middle East and all mankind. And, the Iranian people are natural allies of the West and Israel, as opposed to radicalized Palestinians and most of the Arab world," added Klayman.

A "FREEDOM RALLY" WILL BE HELD BETWEEN 11:00 A.M. AND 1:00 P.M. THIS THURSDAY, JULY 16, AT BEVERLY GARDENS PARK AT SANTA MONICA AND BEVERLY DRIVE IN BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA

For more information call 310-595-0800 or 310-651-3005. See www.freedomwatchusa.org for the complaint.

LINK TO COMPLAINT

WAS AIR FRANCE FLIGHT BLOWN UP BY ARAB TERRORISTS?

admin — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:51:31 +0000

WAS AIR FRANCE FLIGHT BLOWN UP BY ARAB TERRORISTS"

PRESIDENT SARKOZY IS HALF JEWISH AND FRANCE HAS MOVED CLOSER TO ISRAEL

Freedom Watch Urges Candid and Truthful Investigation

In Light of Obamaâ""s Increasingly Cozy Relationship with the Arab World

(Washington, D.C., June 2, 2009). Today, Larry Klayman, founder of Freedom Watch, the public interest watchdog that promotes and protects individual liberties and freedom, urged aviation and government authorities, including those in the United States, to conduct a thorough investigation of the apparent explosion of Air France 447, which has mysteriously disappeared over the Atlantic during a flight from Brazil.

â""President Obama is scheduled soon to visit Cairo, Egypt to again â""bow downâ"" to Muslim leaders, of which he is also proudly one, by half, to express his desire for closer U.S. relations to the Arab world. Conversely, the President has been pressuring Israel to forget about its security and give the West Bank to the Palestinians as a so-called â""Second State Solutionâ"".

Once upon a time, in the years leading up to World War II, another world leader had a â""Jewish Solution,â"" which resulted in the death of over 6 million persons. While Obama is no Hitler, his overtures to Arab states, which for centuries have pledged the destruction of the Jewish people, and are hostile as well to Christians, are more than troubling, given his having recently bowed down to the totalitarian King of Saudi Arabia and proudly declared his half Muslim heritage during a speech in Turkey.

In this context, it is important for the Obama administration and other world aviation investigative authorities to do a thorough and honest investigation of the disappearance of Air France Flight 447, which must have blown up into many small pieces, given the inability of global tracking satellites to thus far affirmatively locate the downed plane.

The President of France, in contrast to Obama, is half Jewish. Franceâ""s Sarkozy is a conservative leader who has been on much friendlier terms with Israel than his predecessors and who has a kinship with the Jewish state. Thus, there is a motive for a possible Arab terrorist attack; to warn France and Europe not to support Israel as Obama pulls the U.S. closer to Arab and Palestinian interests.

While this connection is not yet proven; it is plausible and thus the Obama administration and other government authorities should come clean if investigative facts bear this out, and not cover this tragedy up just to protect Arab interests Obama so desperately is courting, including Hamas and Hebollah, in order to further his â""Two State Jewish Solutionâ"". Israeli security is American security and freedom. Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, our fierce ally, and the only one who shares our Judeo-Christian values, which do not advocate killing the â""infidelsâ"" but instead protecting human life as sacred,â""â" stated Klayman.

For an interview with Mr. Klayman call 310-595-0800.

SOME “CONSERVATIVES” WHORE IT UP TO RAISE CASH BY TRASHING SOTOMAYOR

admin — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:30:27 +0000

SOME “CONSERVATIVES” WHORE IT UP TO RAISE CASH BY TRASHING SOTOMAYOR

Judge May Not Be the Best, But She is Hardly the Worst Pick Either
PRESIDENT HAS RIGHT TO HIS NOMINEE

(Washington, D.C., June 1, 2009). Larry Klayman, founder of Judicial Watch and founder, chairman and general counsel of Freedom Watch, today issued the following statement in response to the week long “racist” bashing of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, by the likes of Newt Gingrich and Karl Rove, two ethically comprised hacks of the conservative movement who do more to harm the movement than help it.
“Ironically, and hypocritically, in calling Supreme Court nominee a “racist,” Newt Gingrich and Karl Rove, two so called Republican icons - ‘morons might be a better name’ - have demonstrated their own racist tendencies.
This labeling is simply a hypocritical use of the race card, played by some conservative interests during the immigration debate - to whip up hatred and a negative reaction toward the Latin community, which has become the nation’s largest minority. Take for example, Judicial Watch, the watchdog which I founded but left in 2003 to run for the U.S. Senate in Florida. Without the so called immigration issue, where, playing on the race card, it was able raise large amounts of cash, it would likely be bankrupt by now, thanks to poor management and ethically challenged ‘leadership.’ (I am currently taking legal action to correct this).
It is a fact that many conservatives and others in the conservative ranks resent the emergence of Latin culture in our society, believing that it will surpass our “Waspish” roots. They show an unnecessary venom when discussing Latin family values, which they see as inferior to Anglo family values.
So no matter what legitimate debate can and should occur over Judge Sotomayor’s judicial record, there is a troubling and nasty undercurrent of racism toward her and all she represents.
Freedom Watch and I firmly believe, deeply, that the Latin culture has contributed greatly to our nation and are proud to support the nomination of Judge Sotomayor. Even Archie Bunker of “All in a Family” would support her; as the show recognized that ethnic differences in our culture are a positive feature of American life. But rather than use the nasty and hateful tactics of a Gingrich and Rove, the show poked fun with humor to make this important point to the American people,” stated Klayman.

For an interview with Mr. Klayman contact 310-595-0800.

FREEDOM WATCH TO INTERVENE TO TRY TO BLOCK GM BANKRUPTCY

admin — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:26:27 +0000

FREEDOM WATCH TO INTERVENE TO TRY TO BLOCK GM BANKRUPTCY
Public Interest Does Not Support Massive Taxpayer Infusion to Save Company

(Washington, D.C.). Larry Klayman, the founder of Judicial Watch and the founder and chairman and general counsel of Freedom Watch, the public interest watchdog that promotes and protects individual liberties and freedom and fights government corruption today issued this statement in response to the announcement that GM, which is slated to obtain billions more of government support, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy:
“As taxpayers, we and our supporters at Freedom Watch do not consent to the use of our monies to again attempt to bail out GM from its severe financial crisis, brought about by poor management decisions and the collapse of our banking system, whereÿ buyers simply cannot get favorable credit to purchase automobiles. And, who is the Obama administration to make the decision to commit tens of billions of dollars more of our hard earned monies to throw down a ’sink hole"’
Already, many economists are predicting that massive government debt will sink our economy in the next few years even if we reemerge from a deep recession by the end of the year. The increased bailout of GM will contribute to this projected second deep recession and I pledge that Freedom Watch will intervene to try to kill this ill conceived Obama plan to rescue GM with taxpayer monies. If there is a restructuring, it should all be done with private money, not the American people’s.”

For An interview with Larry Klayman Please call 310-595-0800.

President Obama nominates Sonia Sotomayor for SCOTUS-VIEW MSNBC’s Larry Klayman Interview Video

admin — Wed, 27 May 2009 02:13:28 +0000

President Obama nominates Sonia Sotomayor for SCOTUS

ÿ

President Obama announced his nomination of Federal Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace retiring Supreme Court of the United States Judge David Souter today. ÿ

Sotomayor graduated summa cum lade from Princeton and was editor of the Law Review at Yale University.ÿ She became a Federal judge at the age of 36.ÿ If confirmed, Sotomayor will be the third woman to serve on the Supreme Court and the first Latina.ÿ ÿ Sotomayor has a lot of experience making decisions in the role of judge. ÿ

Sotomayor grew up in the South Bronx in New York City under the watchful eye of her widowed mother who often had to work two jobs to support the family.ÿ Sotomayor attributes her success and motivation to her mother.ÿ President Obama said that Sotomayor’s mother bought the only encylopedia in the neighborhood and sent her children to Catholic school. ÿ

The American Bar Association has rated Sotomayor as a moderate.ÿ Even so, some on the radical right are already criticizing her nomination.ÿ Senator Orrin Hatch said today that Sotomayor may be an “activist judge” and that just because he voted to confirm her to other courts doesn’t mean he will now.

Mitt Romney, possibly thinking ahead to GOP fundraising for a 2012 run for President called Sotomayor’s nomination “a troubling nomination.”ÿ Mike Huckabee, erroneously calling Sotomayor, “Maria Sotomayor” has declared he is against her nomination.ÿ Radio talk show entertainer, Rush Limbaugh called Sotomayor a “racist.”

Some conservatives, however,ÿ like President Obama’s pick to replace Souter.ÿ Conservative Libertarian Larry Klayman of Freedom Watch was interviewed by MSNBC’s Tamron Hall today and had this to say:

ÿ

Janet Murguia, president of LaRaza which is the largest civil rights and advocacy group for Latinos, said in an interview today, “If there’s a perception that Republicans are unfairly attacking her or distorting her record, it could hurt Republicans.ÿ But I think the virtue of this decision by President Obama is based on substance and merit.”

During White House Secretary Robert Gibbs press briefing today, he said that the average length of time between a nomination announcement and the beginning of hearings for confirmation is 19 days.ÿ It took 72 days for Justice Roberts to be approved and there are 74 days before the Congressional fall recess.ÿ President Obama appears confident that Sotomayor will be confirmed before the fall recess.

ARE YESTERDAY’S TERRORIST ARRESTS IN NYC TIED TO BLACK MUSLIM EXTREMISM?

admin — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:43:45 +0000

ARE YESTERDAY’S TERRORIST ARRESTS IN NYC TIED TO BLACK MUSLIM EXTREMISM"

President Obama’s Anti-Israel and Pro-Arabic Policies May Be Inciting Home Grown Terrorists
Freedom Watch to Monitor Closely Unfolding Events

(Washington, D.C.). Larry Klayman, founder, chairman and general counsel made the following observations on the arrests yesterday in the New York City area of four black terrorists who planned to blow up a Jewish synagogue and U.S. military planes with surface to air missiles.

“It may not be politically correct to ask this question, but it needs to be asked" Were the arrests of black terrorists in New York City tied to Black Muslim extremism and traditional hatred of Jews by these domestic groups" The media thus far has sidestepped this likelihood, much like it did in the wake of September 11, when members of the Nation of Islam went on a shooting spree in suburban Washington, D.C., killing many persons, including innocent children.

The Obama administration thus far also appears to be avoiding this issue, most likely because of President Obama’s ties toward Reverend Wright and Louis Farrahkan, as well as his declaration recently in Turkey that he is a proud half Muslim. In addition, earlier this week, despite the obvious security implications, Obama pressured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a ‘two state’ solution on the West Bank with the Palestinians, who over the last decades have seen their hatred of Israel, Jews and Christians become rabid, resulting in the election of the terrorist group Hamas as their leader. Hamas is admittedly dedicated to the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people - nothing new in the Middle East; itâ""s been the case for thousands of years.
One can only wonder whether President Obama’s kinship and love of “all things Muslim and Arab”, and his obvious rebuke of Israel for holding fast, has given a signal to Muslim extremists that it is now open season to attack Jews and U.S. military installations, even in our own country. While President Obama surely did not intend this result, it isÿ likely, in my opinion, that this is the consequence of his policies toward Israel and his enthusiastic embrace of the Muslim/Arab world, which has always been anti-Jewish and anti-Christian, no matter how much, to boost oil revenues, they pretend otherwise from time to time,” stated Klayman.
“Freedom Watch will monitor this alarming situation as it develops and take strong legal action when appropriate,” added Klayman.

FOR AN INTERVIEW WITH MR.ÿ KLAYMAN CALL 310-595-0800.

CITGO added to lawsuit targeting Chavez

admin — Thu, 14 May 2009 13:02:06 +0000

LAW OF THE LAND

CITGO added to lawsuit targeting Chavez

Oil revenues allegedly used to support dictator’s terrorism

——————————————————————————–
Posted: May 13, 2009
11:25 pm Eastern
By Bob Unruh
ÿ© 2009 WorldNetDaily

A lawsuit filed on behalf of a class of torture victims in Venezuela now has been expanded to add the CITGO corporation as a defendant, a move the attorney for the plaintiffs said will provide a source of damage payments.

The case originally was filed against Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez by Larry Klayman, founder of the government watchdog group Freedom Watch, seeking damages for “assault, supporting terrorism, crimes against humanity, violations of civil and human rights, torture” and other crimes.

Chavez, however, was amused when he heard about the claims, according to Fox News.
“Lawsuit filed in the United States against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and all his friend,” Chavez said. The report said he was laughing at the time.

But Klayman, who previously won a nearly $2 million unpaid judgment against Cuban interests in 1996 over the shooting down of an airplane, said he’s serious about the claims and his pursuit of them.

The case was filed on behalf of a class of victims in Venezuela who allegedly were subjected to torture, threats and massive rights violations by the defendants “and their agents, and also acting in concert with, aiding, abetting, facilitating, soliciting, directing, orchestrating and conspiring with the Colombian paramilitary group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), al-Qaida and the Taliban, and other terrorist groups, nation states and their collaborators in those atrocities.”

Klayman now has announced the addition of CITGO as a defendant.

CITGO, Venezuela’s oil company that sells, among other products, gasoline in the United States, provides revenues for Chavez and his comrades “to not only support terrorism, but torture and continue to violate the human rights of his own people,” Klayman said.

“Use of oil revenues, directly and indirectly, to support terrorism ironically was discussed by former Senator Gary Hart, a terrorism expert, on â"¦ ‘Washington Journal‘ on C-Span,” Klayman said. “It is widely known and accepted that Chavez supports the Colombian FARC and several Middle Eastern terrorist states and groups, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, in his world wide quest to spread his communist dogma and influence.”

The class action lawsuit seeks more than $1 billion in damages for the victims, as well as punitive damages.

A spokesman for CITGO declined WND’s request for a comment.

“By joining CITGO as a defendant, payment of the eventual judgment will be assured, as its revenue sources flow through U.S. commerce,” Klayman’s announcement said. “In addition, the amended complaint seeks to have CITGO enjoined from further activities in support of terrorist causes and requests a full audit, paid for by CITGO but through independent accountants, of its financial books and records, both in this country and in Venezuela.”

“The people of Venezuela and the world have been terrorized by Chavez and his communist/terrorist henchmen for too long,” Klayman said. “Recently, political adversaries have been indicted for no reason, books about freedom and capitalism destroyed in public libraries in Venezuela and other measures intended to cement Chavez as the ‘Maximum Leader’ for his lifetime.

“All the while he continues, through oil revenues and other means, to support terrorist countries and groups bent on destroying capitalism and the West in general,” Klayman said.

Klayman noted that the case is to be heard by Judge Cecilia Maria Altonaga, the first Cuban-American woman to be appointed as a federal judge in the U.S. She serves in the U.S. District Court in Florida.

The case explains lead plaintiff Ricardo Guanipa is a Venezuelan who was granted political asylum in the U.S. in 2005. He was a radio journalist in Venezuela before being forced to flee for his life, the case said.

Guanipa reported in the case that he witnessed live ammunition fired at anti-Chavez protesters, including women and children, during a peaceful march in Caracas. Many reporters who reported on such cases later were shot, beaten or arrested, the legal complaint claims.

He said FARC, which has been classified by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization, has used mines and car bombs in its “guerrilla warfare campaign” against its enemies in the region.

Guanipa said he had evidence in the form of documents, spreadsheets, e-mail texts and other files about the “cooperation between the Venezuelan government, obviously under the direction of the defendants, and the FARC rebel group.”

The evidence, however, was confiscated by the government, the case claims.

WND recently reported on a new book about Chavez. In “The Threat Closer to Home: Hugo Chavez and the War Against America,” Douglas E. Schoen and Michael Rowan say the U.S. is oblivious to Chavez’s intentions to use oil as an asymmetric weapon of war, as well as terrorism, in attacks that could rival 9/11 in their impact on the economy and infrastructure of the nation.

Venezuela’s oil reserves are second only to Saudi Arabia’s, they point out, and Chavez has demonstrated a willingness and the ability to manipulate the foreign import market.

“Prior to the summer of 2008, Chavez personally shorted the oil market of 3 million barrels a day,” Schoen and Rowan write. “Leading OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries), he had every producing nation but Saudi Arabia following suit.”

They blame Chavez for worsening the economic downturn last year “which may be the worst since the Great Depression.”

“Hugo Chavez is implementing a sophisticated oil war against the United States,” the authors write. “To understand this, you have to look back to 1999, when he asked the Venezuelan Congress for emergency powers and got them, whereupon he consolidated government power to his advantage.”

Chavez took full control of the national oil company, replacing its directors with military and political loyalists.

In addition, through his support of guerrillas in FARC, he has worked to maximize cocaine sales to the U.S. as a means of undermining the cohesiveness of the American culture, critics say.

CROOKED REPUBLICAN SENATORIAL COMMITTEE BACKS CRIST FOR SENATE

admin — Wed, 13 May 2009 18:30:38 +0000

CROOKED REPUBLICAN SENATORIAL COMMITTEE BACKS CRIST FOR SENATE

Freedom Watch To Investigate Failure to Allow for Competition

Fix is In to Use Republican Monies to Elect Establishment Candidate

(Washington, D.C., May 13, 2009). Today, Larry Klayman, founder, chairman and general counsel of Freedom Watch, a non-profit government watchdog that promotes and protects freedom and liberty at home and around the world, issued the following statement on the immediate endorsement by the Republican National Senatorial Committee (RNSC) of Charlie Crist, the current Governor of Florida, to be the next Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010. While Freedom Watch does not support any candidate, it will insure that competition is allowed to occur in the next election cycle, so it is fair to all. Previously, Larry Klayman played an instrumental non-partisan role in opening up the ballots in the 2000 elections, where the Supreme Court effectively ruled that President George W.ÿ Bush had won. The reason for this was not to have Bush elected, but to insure a fair election process and in fact Larry Klayman filed many lawsuits against Bush and Cheney over the next years in order to allow for transparency in government and to guard against warrantless wiretaps and other abuses of our system, just as Klayman had sued the Clinton administration on many occasions for its myriad of scandals and outright criminality in the Chinagate/Filegate cases.

â""As a former Republican U.S. Senate candidate in 2004, where the Republican National Senatorial Committee did the same thing in supporting, with huge amounts of cash, its hand pickedÿ establishment â""darling,â" Mel Martinez â"" because the Bush administration thought it would get more Latin votes during the concurrent presidential election â"" the RNSC has again put the fix in by declaring its support for Charlie Crist, freezing out all other competition, given its obvious commitment to buy the election for Crist. While Crist is a decent and good man, he is not the â""saviorâ" of the Republican Party, now a bankrupt shell of has beens and losers, all bent on furthering their establishment positions and power bases. The huge defeat of the Republican Party under Bush in 2008, brought about by its very poor performance, has created a neurotic reaction among the populace during a time of economic crisis, giving the Obama administration what is in effect a license to socialize our country, contrary to the ideals of our founding fathers and our people, past and present.

As a former Justice Department antitrust lawyer who helped break up the monopolistic telephone company, AT&T, as a young man, Freedom Watch and I, my having experienced the same treatment when I ran for U.S. Senate in Florida, will do whatever is in our power legally and ethically to insure an open and free election in 2010. The establishments of both majorÿ political parties need to be taught a lesson; they will not be allowed to decide for the people by throwing money at â""theirâ" candidate, no matter how much they try to buy elections to perpetuate their failed ideas and power,â" stated Klayman.

For an interview of Mr. Klayman call 310-595-0800.ÿ Mr. Klayman will not run for Senate in 2010 in Florida.

US Antitrust Chief Signals Tough Enforcement Ahead

admin — Wed, 13 May 2009 11:56:49 +0000

US Antitrust Chief Signals Tough Enforcement Ahead

By Erika Morphy
E-Commerce Times
05/11/09 2:40 PM PT

President Obama’s antitrust enforcement policy will be an about-face from the Bush-era practice of letting the market decide, suggested Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney in a speech on Monday. The news may cause more than a few jitters in the tech industry, where giants like Microsoft, Google and Intel dominate their markets.

The Obama Administration is making good on a campaign promise to step up antitrust enforcement. The Justice department’s top antitrust enforcement official, Christine Varney, said in a speech Monday morning that the DoJ would be setting aside a policy interpretation developed in the previous Bush Administration.

The interpretation was set out last September in a report that directed the government to avoid interfering in “the rough and tumble of beneficial competition.” Rather, regulatory authorities would have to find that a certain business practice’s harm to competition was “substantially disproportionate to any associated pro-competitive” benefit.

Speaking at an event sponsored by the Center for American Progress, Varney said the Obama administration’s approach to antitrust will be based on the understanding that the marketplace alone should not dictate what is fair competition.

Nor should the courts use this Bush-era policy as support for its opinions, she added.

Varney took pains not to single out any particular company in her speech; however, she suggested that the financial crisis of 2008 might have been averted if antitrust enforcement had been more rigorous.

Despite the lack of specifics, top players in all industries are no doubt privately assessing which behaviors and actions might come under DoJ scrutiny.

Already Started

In the tech sector, those top players include industry behemoths Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) , Don M. Tellock, a partner with SchiffHardin, told the E-Commerce times.

“The Obama Justice Department is putting tech industry leaders on notice that the era of relaxed antitrust enforcement under the previous administration is officially over,” Tellock said.

For Google and others, it means actions that could “decrease market competition, create barriers to market entry, impact pricing, or otherwise could be considered monopolistic will be scrutinized much more closely than in the recent past,” he added.

Indeed, the tech industry has already gotten a taste of this approach; the Obama administration recently opened antitrust inquiries concerning Google on two fronts. One is a Department of Justice inquiry into a settlement Google recently negotiated with representatives of book publishers and authors to make their works available online. The other is an FTC inquiry into whether Google and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) violated the Clayton Act by seating the same two people — Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Genentech CEO Arthur Levinson — on both of their boards of directors.

More Private Suits

The DoJ’s new position will embolden private plaintiffs and their lawyers to bring more lawsuits, Tellock noted.

We can “expect an uptick of smaller companies bringing their complaints to the Justice Department with allegations of improper activities by the larger tech companies — who, even though quite careful in their dealings, will find themselves hauled into court,” said Raymond Van Dyke, a partner with Merchant & Gould.

“Similar to the Clinton years, we can expect a slew of market dominance lawsuits against all of the biggest tech companies, and we have recently seen other saber-rattling in the Federal Trade Commissionÿ about interlocking Boards,” he told the E-Commerce Times.

“Based on Ms. Varney’s pronouncements, in this policy shift, Section 2 of the Sherman Act will be retooled to attack companies that engage in any anticompetitive behavior to attain or retain market dominance,” said Van Dyke.

With respect to pending litigation, the DoJ’s new stance may not be as apparent. The Supreme Court has made a number of antitrust rulings that lower courts must follow, noted Stacey Anne Mahoney, a litigation partner with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s antitrust and trade regulation practice group in New York.

“These have come out in favor in the defense position and narrowed liability,” Mahoney told the E-Commerce Times.

The practical — and most immediate — impact will be on the inquiries and investigations that DoJ and the Federal Trade Commission decide to launch.

“It is likely there will be more merger deals challenged,” said Mahoney, adding that Varney “specifically referenced vertical arrangements.”

Political Angles

More than likely, the Obama Administration’s new approach to antitrust enforcement and interpretation is going to draw the scrutiny of political opponents.

The Obama administration is right to step up and reinvigorate antitrust enforcement, said Larry Klayman, former trial attorney in the antitrust division of the DoJ and founder of Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch.

“Under the Bushes and even Clinton, it was allowed to wane,” he told the E-Commerce Times.

However, the new antitrust approach is at odds with certain other Obama economic policies, noted Klayman.

“If you are going to support free markets and competition,” he said, policymakers have to be consistent.”

ÿ

CHAVEZ CLASS ACTION AMENDED TO ADD CITGO AS DEFENDANT

admin — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:57:14 +0000

CHAVEZ CLASS ACTION AMENDED TO ADD CITGO AS DEFENDANT

Freedom Watch Turns Up the Heat As Chavez Continues to Terrorize Adversaries and Populace

PRESS CONFERENCE

10:30 A.M. Tuesday, May 12, 2009

OUTSIDE THE VENEZUELAN CONSULATE

11O1 Brickell Avenue

Miami, Florida

(Miami, Florida, May 11, 2009). Larry Klayman, founder, general counsel and chairman of Freedom Watch, the public interest group that promotes and protects freedom and liberty, today announced that it is amending its class action complaint against Hugo Chavez to not only add more victims as lead plaintiffs, but also add the oil company CITGO, as a defendant.

CITGO, Venezuelaâ""s oil company that sells, among other things, gasoline in the United States, provides revenues for Hugo Chavez and his comrades to not only support terrorism, but torture and continue to violate the human rights of his own people. Use of oil revenues, directly and indirectly, to support terrorism ironically was discussed by former Senator Gary Hart, a terrorism expert, on yesterdayâ""s edition of â""Washington Journalâ" on C-Span. It is widely known and accepted that Chavez supports the Colombian FARC and several Middle Eastern terrorist states and groups, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, in his world wide quest to spread his communist dogma and influence.

The class action suit filed by Freedom Watch seeks over $1 Billion Dollars in damages for the victims, as well as punitive damages. By joining CITGO as a defendant, payment of the eventual judgment will be assured, as its revenue sources flow through U.S. commerce. In addition, the amended complaint seeks to have CITGO enjoined from further activities in support of terrorist causes and requests a full audit, paid for by CITGO but through independent accountants, of its financial books and records, both in this country and in Venezuela.

â""The people of Venezuela and the world have been terrorized by Chavez and his communist/terrorist henchmen for too long. Recently, political adversaries have been indicted for no reason, books about freedom and capitalism destroyed in public libraries in Venezuela and other measures intended to cement Chavez as the â""Maximum Leaderâ" for his life time. All the while he continues, through oil revenues and other means, to support terrorist countries and groups bent on destroying capitalism and the West in general. Freedom Watch will not naively shake Mr. Chavezâ""s hand, or give him pats on the back and smile; we will not rest until he is put out of business as one of the most dangerous and inhuman dictators in the world; he isÿ a threat to the freedom of not only his own people but all peoples,â" stated Larry Klayman.ÿ CLICK HERE to view amended complaint.

FOR AN INTERVIEW WITH MR. KLAYMAN CALL 310-595-0800.