Joe Sandler (sandler@sandlerreiff.com) of the Washington law firm Sandler, Reiff, and Young just had a very bad week. It started with his failed attempt to help a group of Consistently Arrogant Islamic Radicals (CAIR) threaten and intimidate leaders of the Young America’s Foundation (YAF) into relinquishing their First Amendment Rights.
Specifically, Sandler failed in his efforts to stop YAF speaker Robert Spencer, author of “The Truth about Muhammad,” from publicly criticizing CAIR at an annual conference for students in Washington, D.C. After publicly displaying his shortcomings – as an attorney and as an American - Sandler is now threatening me with federal criminal prosecution. I received this letter from him a couple of days ago:
"Mr. Adams: As a result of your specific request posted on Town Hall and/or your website (www.DrAdams.org), we have received hundreds of phone calls and emails, many of which are virulently racist and/or obscene and several of which are threatening. This afternoon in specific response to your request, an anonymous individual has jammed our phones, i.e., set a recording to send thousands of repeat calls to our telephone number. You are undoubtedly aware that the latter is a federal criminal offense. We are turning this matter over to the authorities. I request that you immediately pull down from your site the specific request that individuals make harassing phone calls, send harassing faxes and send harassing e-mails to this law firm."
Joe Sandler knows I never made a “specific request” that anyone jam his phone lines with repeat calls. Nor did I ask people to make “virulently racist,” “obscene,” or “threatening” phone calls. I did, however, make the following suggestions to my readers in a recent column:
1. Write Joseph E. Sandler (sandler@sandlerreiff.com) and tell him to stop helping Muslim extremists wage a Jihad against the First Amendment in the United States of America.
2. Call Joseph E. Sandler (202-479-1111) and tell him to stop helping Muslim extremists wage a Jihad against the First Amendment in the United States of America.
3. Fax a Xerox copy of the First Amendment to Sandler, Reiff & Young at (202) 479-1115.
4. Fax a Xerox copy of your extended middle finger to Sandler, Reiff & Young at (202) 479-1115.
Because my readers are not Democrat lawyers or Islamic Fascists (like many of the members of CAIR) they understood that #4 was a joke. That is why Sandler has been unable to report a single instance of birdies faxed to (202) 479-1115. Nonetheless, he sent me a second letter asserting that I could be prosecuted a federal statute (47 USCS § 223) dealing with “Obscene or harassing telephone calls in the District of Columbia or in interstate or foreign communications.”
The “relevant” portions of the statute are reproduced below:
“(a) Prohibited acts generally. Whoever--
(1) in interstate or foreign communications--
(A) by means of a telecommunications device knowingly--
(i) makes, creates, or solicits, and
(ii) initiates the transmission of, any comment, request,
suggestion, proposal, image, or other communication which is obscene
or child pornography, with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass
another person;
…
(D) makes or causes the telephone of another repeatedly or
continuously to ring, with intent to harass any person at the called
number; or
…
shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not
more than two years, or both. Continued... |