utah-desert.thumbnail.jpgRemember Tim DeChristopher? He’s the University of Utah student who gave us all an early Christmas present when he wrapped up 22,000 acres of our Federal land, thus protecting it from Bushie auction to Big Carbon. Last December, Tim showed up at Bush’s "last great gift to oil and gas," the Bureau of Land Management’s giveaway auction in Utah, where he entered the high bid on almost one-sixth of the public land at risk. Tim upset the cozy energy interests when he bid so actively he widely drove up auction prices, thus bringing in more money for taxpayers—unheard of behavior among the cartel usually bidding at BLM auctions. This obvious breach of the usual custom upset Federal officials, who halted the auction and hauled Tim in front of "officials" for questioning. The land grab Tim disrupted was itself so questionable that in January 2009, US District Court Judge Urbina halted the leasing process, granting the NRDC and others a temporary injunction. In February, Obama’s Interior Secretary Salazar outright canceled the Bush-era leases, citing the BLM’s failed pre-leasing review process.

Last Wednesday, US Attorney and Bush lackey, Brett Tolman, indicted Tim on two Federal counts carrying up to ten years in prison. Yep, you got that straight. The leases were so bogus, a Federal Judge wouldn’t even let BLM cash the auction checks, and the new Interior Secretary canceled the whole scam — yet USA Tolman wants to put a non-violent student who stood up to the con job away for ten years.

Is this what "looking forward" means to Obama’s DOJ?

And, speaking of prison. . . Brett Tolman is Orrin Hatch’s protegé. He’s also the attorney who betrayed his client when, as Senate Judiciary Committee counsel, he secretly inserted language in the Patriot Act reauthorization that "basically removed Senate oversight and approval of US Attorneys." He also betrayed his boss, Arlen Specter. (Don’t feel special, Haggis, Brett betrayed the Constitution, too.)

To "punish" Brett’s treachery, the Bush Administration appointed him—and the Senate confirmed him—as US Attorney for Utah. Yes, Utah. That’s where Orrin Hatch serves his sponsors in oil, coal, mining, et al. And invests with his sponsors in oil, coal, mining, et al. And reads his sooty sponsors’ script as frontman for their astorturf group.

In choosing to prosecute Tim DeChristopher, is US Attorney Tolman following the chain of command from President Obama through Attorney General Holder, or is Tolman once again perverting Federal office to serve Orrin Hatch’s pals?

Team Obama can find the time to look around for loopholes though which to push banksters’ bonuses and look backward to prosecute Tim DeChristopher, yet can’t find the time to look backward and prosecute high-level officials complicit in torture. Who is Obama serving? And why?

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