Mint's reply to Liberty Dollar's lawsuit is a wonderful hypocrisy

9p ET Monday, July 23, 2007

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

After requiring several delays, the U.S. Mint at last has responded to Liberty Dollar's federal lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that use of Liberty Dollar's metallic disks (we mustn't say "coins") in barter transactions is legal and not the federal crime the Mint claimed it to be last September.

The Mint's legal brief, filed in U.S. District Court in Evansville, Indiana, has been posted at the Liberty Dollar Internet site here:

http://www.libertydollar.org/legal/pdf/7-19-07_support_motion_dismiss.pdf

The Mint's brief is all argument over legal procedure and jurisdiction and never touches the issue underlying the dispute. But the brief does conclude with some wonderful hypocrisy.

Referring to Liberty Dollar's proprietor, Bernard von NotHaus, the Mint writes: "At the core of Von NotHaus' complaint is his desire to anticipate and to circumvent the criminal justice system."

But of course the purpose of the Mint's declaration last September (http://www.usmint.gov/consumer/index.cfm?flash=yes&action=HotItems) that using Liberty Dollars in barter is a federal crime was ITSELF to "circumvent the criminal justice system."

For if the Mint was sincere in its claim of criminality, it could have had von NotHaus or any Liberty Dollar user arrested any time in the last nine months and sought to settle the issue at a criminal trial instead of resorting to mere threat and intimidation.

Indeed, your secretary/treasurer met von NotHaus two days ago to discuss Liberty Dollar's struggle to keep an independent metallic currency available to the American public, and he expressed his willingness to be arrested and even serve a few years in prison if necessary in defense of the individual rights at stake here.

(Some members of GATA's Board of Directors might be willing to stand with von NotHaus in this campaign, having themselves woken up in jail a few times in defense of less specific rights.)

In any case, Liberty Dollar's fight against overbearing and manipulative government seems pretty close to GATA's own fight, so we're happy to publicize it. Note particularly that to raise money for its legal fund Liberty Dollar is offering a 1-ounce silver Liberty Dollar for every legal fund donation of $25. It's a beautiful coi... -- Whoops! Sorry, Attorney General Gonzales! -- metal disk reminiscent of the sort of money a certain great North American republic had before its imperial wars started to get out of hand in 1965.

You can learn about Liberty Dollar's legal fund and obtain defense Liberties here:

http://www.libertydollar.org/ld/legal/legalissues.htm

It's a good cause and probably a good investment too, since in a few months an ounce of silver well may carry a dollar price greater than the price now being charged for defense Liberties.

The more financially able Liberty Dollar is to resist the government's intimidation in court, the less likely the government is to keep picking on Liberty Dollar ... and the rest of us.

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.

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Join GATA at these conferences:

The Silver Summit
Thursday-Friday, September 20-21, 2007
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
http://thesilversummit.com

New Orleans Investment Conference
Sunday-Thursday, October 21-25, 2007
New Orleans, Louisiana
http://www.neworleansconference.com

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