The 5th Amendment To The United States Constitution:
“No person shall….be deprived life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”
The fifth-amendment was put into place to protect against abuse of government authority in legal procedures. Not only has this longstanding amendment been the backbone of the United States Justice system since 1791, it’s origins trace all the way back to the Magna Carta in 1215.
Yet FTC attorney, Ronnie Brooke and other FTC members, behave as though this founding principal of our country is meaningless.
Mr. Brooks is attempting to quash a subpoena for a phone recording that was obtained through methods that clearly violated the 5th amendment rights of a man named Jeremy Johnson.
While incarcerated inside Davis County Jail, Jeremy Johnson was approached by cell guards and told that he had a phone call from FTC prosecutor Collot Guerard. However, despite telling the guards that he did not want to take the call without his lawyer present, the guards forced him to take the call, threatening to “punish” Mr. Johnson if he did not.
Fearing for his safety, Mr. Johnson took the call, which was recorded without his consent.
The FTC not only bullied Mr. Johnson, they violated his 5th amendment rights, and any information gained through this violation would be deemed inadmissible in a court of law.
Apparently everyone in the FTC is unaware that the Constitution protects citizens from being threatened and coerced into sharing information.
Commissioner Julie Brill arrogantly praised her staff’s unconstitutional efforts on national television, blatantly disregarding any wrongdoing. And it doesn’t stop there. FTC attorney, Ronnie Brooks, emailed Mr. Johnson directly to tell him that the phone call did not represent any misconduct. (See Ronnie’s Email) And finally, Ms. Guerard, seems to not only be disregarding the Constitution, she seems to be disregarding the truth. In an email to Johnson she states that she did not even want to talk to Mr. Johnson on the phone. (See Email to Johnson) However, this seems to completely contradict the statements in the cover letter of the settlement agreement she sent to Johnson after the phone call. Not only does she say that she wanted more dialog with Johnson, she provides a phone number for him to call her. (See Cover Letter to Settlement Agreement)
One would almost hope that the FTC only hires people if they have no knowledge of how the justice system and the Constitution of this country work. However, the far more unfortunate truth is that the FTC has a longstanding reputation of having a “win at all costs” attitude, regardless of what the constitution says. More FTC Lies
Fortunately, there are those with integrity willing to oppose the bullies at the FTC. Judge David Nuffer sees clear misconduct in the behavior the FTC prosecutor, and has ordered the U.S. Marshals to investigate the matter. (See Nuffer Transcript)
For Jeremy Johnson, the in discrepancies of the FTC are nothing new. He has reason to believe that the FTC Collot Guerard was one of the people who conspired to have him arrested in the first place. But like many others who have faced injustice, Johnson will continue to fight to uphold his and other Americans constitutional rights.
