Taiwan Civil Government junket to Zurich included World Talent Summit

                           A Taiwan Civil Government photo shoot in Zurich, Switzerland                                                                                      (credit: Taiwan Civil Government)

The Taiwan Civil Government junket to Zurich in January to attend the World Web Forum was a prelude to a more prestigious event called the World Talent Summit. Not your ordinary talent show, the Summit did not feature song and dance. Instead, the elite gathering focused on innovations and technological advances in the world economy of the future.

Julian Lin, who led a seven member TCG delegation, accompanied by lobbyists Neil Hare and Shelley Hymes, will not be attending any more conferences in Zurich for a while. Lin is being held in solitary confinement in a Taiwan jail where she is denied bail or visitors. Accused of political fraud, along with her husband Roger Lin, Lin is incommunicado.

The World Talent Summit in Zurich, an annual event, featured “The Future of Work” and was put on by “multi-disciplinary stakeholders from the private sector” including policy and academic participants. The TCG delegation was drawn to the event by one of two ways. The World Wide Forum, a Swiss internet business convention, was sponsored by TCG for $30,156. The Forum in turn sponsored the World Talent Summit. A second connection to the Summit was through host Diplomatic Courier magazine. TCG had bought a full page advertisement in a print edition of the Courier for $25,000. As far as entry to the talent show was concerned, $29,970 bought the way in the door.

The Zurich junket is a departure from TCG’s Washington spending to gain influence in the Trump White House. The apparent strategy of the junket was to gain credibility in the international arena of non-government organizations. By its presence, in the absence of the Republic of China, the group was seeking to position TCG as the voice of Taiwan. Condemned by critics as wasteful spending on a lavish trip with little accomplishment, the payout served other purposes according to TCG supporters citing a “soft power” approach to nation building.

The cost of the Summit, junket, and Forum sponsorship is unknown. TCG lobbyist Neil Hare only reports money which goes through his hands, therefore much of the expense like airfare and hotel, paid in Taiwan, will not be reported to the Justice Department.

Taiwan Civil Government hopes to one day replace the ROC with American assistance and has been lobbying hard to gain influence with Donald Trump. Julian Lin met with Kelleyanne Conway, Counselor to the President, at a POLITICO event in May 2017. Seven decades of unresolved status has left Taiwan’s sovereignty in limbo and TCG has been structuring itself as a shadow government.

One type of talent that Julian Lin and others currently are in need of was not at the World Talent Summit, criminal defense lawyers. Being treated like political prisoners by the ROC leaves Roger and Julian Lin needing the best legal help money can buy.

Taiwan Civil Government entertained Washington securities lawyer Neil Carr

Washington lawyer Neil Carr at Taiwan Civil Government event with Julian and Roger Lin (credit: Taiwan Civil Government)

Neil Carr, a Washington lawyer, took a trip to Taiwan Civil Government headquarters in September 2014 and was entertained by Roger Lin, founder of TCG, with a front row seat at a group event at the Taipei World Trade Center. Carr made the trip with crony Scott Bloch, a disgraced Bush Administration attorney, who keynoted the TCG conference. Carr introduced Bloch, who was touted as a former Justice Department official, but did not tell the audience that Bloch just finished probation following his guilty plea for criminal contempt of Congress.

Carr declined an opportunity to comment on his relationship to the accused mastermind of an elaborate political hoax. Lin and six other TCG leaders were arrested in May 2018 for alleged fraud against members of the group. Republic of China in-exile prosecutors seek to prove that Lin’s plans to oust the ROC from Taiwan were fiction and that TCG was not a government in-waiting but instead a mirage.

While the guilt of Lin is still to be determined in a court of law, Lin and two others are being held in solitary confinement, incommunicado, and denied bail. The Taiwan arrests included a seizure of a large sum of money although news reports vary as to the amount. ROC prosecutors are probing into TCG finances and might be interested in what Carr’s role in the alleged scheme, if any, was. Taiwanese news reports tell of unnamed, unindicted, Washington co-conspirators. Attention has focused on the TCG lobbying team of Neil Hare and Shelley Hymes because of their high-profile roles. Advisers to the group are also candidates for the short list bringing Carr and Bloch to the surface.

There is no known continuing relationship between Carr and Lin after the 2014 get-together and Carr is not talking. Questions remain, what was the trip all about and what advice did Carr give to Lin? A peek at Carr’s background may give a clue.

Neil Carr is a managing partner at Somertons. Carr’s caseload includes business, corporate, finance, securities, mergers, acquisitions, international transactions, and the foreign corrupt practices act. Carr is a securities expert, a money man.

Carr and Bloch did not meet on the trip to Taiwan. The pair have had a longstanding relationship and led Carr to gush a tribute about Bloch. “I have known Scott for long time and I have had the privilege of co-counseling with Scott on a number of complex litigation matters for my clients, including one matter that involved several difficult U.S. constitutional law issues. Without doubt, Scott is one of the finest and most effective lawyers I have worked with.”

Right now, an effective lawyer is what Roger Lin needs. Billed as a financial criminal, a con artist, Lin is being treated like a political prisoner. It is no small coincidence that Lin’s alleged political hoax involved expelling the exiled Chinese government that is prosecuting him.

 

Taiwan Civil Government linked to disgraced Bush Administration lawyer Scott Bloch

Washington lawyer Scott Bloch poses with Roger Lin, Neil Carr and Julian Lin in 2014 visit  (credit: Taiwan Civil Government)

Disgraced Bush Administration lawyer Scott Bloch has come to center stage in the ongoing crime mystery of an alleged political fraud hoax. Taiwan Civil Government founder Roger Lin and six others, including wife Julian, were arrested in May 2018 following midnight raids ordered by prosecutors of the exiled Republic of China.

Lin is accused of masterminding an expensive, sophisticated hoax to deceive his supporters into making larger donations. The scheme purportedly took advantage of naive members by making them think TCG could get the United States to expel the ROC from Taiwan. News reports in Taiwan quote prosecutors claiming millions of dollars were swindled and that 315 complainants have now come forward against Lin. So what has Scott Block got to do with all of that?

Bloch, who headed the Office of Special Counsel at the Justice Department under President George W. Bush, had a stormy five year tenure before being locked out of his office. Bloch was responsible for enforcement of the Hatch Act which prohibits political activity by federal employees, protection of whistleblowers, and preventing discrimination based on gender preference. Bloch managed to stir up controversy in every category of duty which ended up in litigation with his own subordinates. The internal battle spilled over into Congress and Bloch’s office computer files came of interest. Before Congressional staffers could examine Bloch’s computer he had “Geeks on Call” come in and do a seven level swipe.

In May 2008, agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided Bloch’s office at the Justice Department. Bloch’s reign of trouble at the Office of Special Counsel was soon ended. Bloch plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of destruction of government property and was sentenced to one day in jail, a $5,000 fine, 200 hours of community service and probation. Bloch explained the matter in an online post. “This was a result of political disagreements when I ran a government agency in the federal government and had enemies investigating me.”

Bloch finished his probation, which would have complicated his trip to Taiwan, weeks before his triumphant appearance at a Taiwan Civil Government conference. Bloch’s speech entitled “Taiwan Legal System and Government” was delivered to a largely non-English speaking audience. Bloch told the assembled flag-wavers, “The legal line of the Taiwanese Government is completely correct. Please continue to work hard.”

Bloch and Carr rounded out their junket to Taipei with side trips to TCG offices and a strategy roundtable session at TCG headquarters. Exactly what the “Honorable” ex-official told the group leaders is not known. Bloch declines to answer questions or comment on Taiwan Civil Government.

Bloch’s appearance may have been a pep talk in the wake of an unfavorable ruling in Roger Lin v. United States of America. Lin had sought by litigation to obtain American passports for residents of Taiwan. Lin found a sympathetic court but lost because the appellate judges felt the matter was for President Barack Obama to decide not the judiciary. The court did urge Obama to act expeditiously to resolve Taiwan’s status because the stateless island residents live in “political purgatory.” Obama failed to act and left the matter for his successor in the White House.

Roger Lin and two others are being treated like violent terrorists, confined in harsh pre-trial detention, locked in solitary confinement, held incommunicado without visitors, and denied bail. Taiwan news reports quote prosecutors speaking of unnamed, unindicted co-conspirators in Washington. Although attention has focused on TCG lobbyists Neil Hare and Shelley Hymes as likely co-conspirators, Scott Bloch and his sideman Neil Carr also qualify for the short list. Bloch, who regained his law license after suspension, might not wish to rush back to Taiwan to represent Lin unless he wants to risk being locked up in the next cell. There are no jury trials in Taiwan and this ROC investigation may not be a search for truth.

Black Panther prisoner Edward Poindexter serving life without parole in Nebraska prison

Edward Poindexer pictured the day of his arrest and in 2016 in prison where he still remains (credits: Omaha Police Department/Mary Loan)

Edward Poindexter was born November 1, 1944 at the Logan Fontenelle housing project in Omaha, Nebraska. Living a segregated childhood, Ed rarely ventured outside of the Near-Northside. Poindexter volunteered for the Army within months of graduating from North High School where he was active on sports teams.

“I went to basic training at Fort Leonard Wood and my next duty station was Frankfurt, Germany, and then I came back to the States and I re-enlisted….I went to another school at Fort Lee, Virginia. And from there to Fort Lewis, Washington, for a couple of months and then to Vietnam.” Ed became politically conscious while serving in Vietnam where he spent time in the stockade for fighting.

Ed received an honorable discharge from the Army, found a job, lost his wife, and moved, all in a short period of time as he made his transition to civilian life. “Following my discharge from the Army I took a job for a few months at the post office in Atlanta, Georgia. Gloria had agreed to join me later after I got settled in. It never happened, as she began accusing me of having affairs and spending my money on drugs. She was right and we separated. I was at a crossroads in my life.”

Ed’s sister mailed him an article on the Black Panther Party while he was in the Army and he was intrigued at the time. Suddenly events in his life provided Poindexter an opportunity to explore Black Panther activism in his hometown. “After hearing about a Black Panther Party chapter in Omaha, I decided it was time that I made my life count for something.”

“From the first Panther meeting I attended, I knew it was my calling to become a revolutionary black militant, because I never felt more of a sense of belonging or a sense of kinship with any real organization before. It’s difficult to explain, but I just knew I belonged.”

“I attended a Panther meeting…and instantly fell in love with the concept of the Black Revolutionary Marxist, socialism and everything associated with it.”

“One of the important lessons I learned during my work with the Black Panther Party was how to communicate with people and how to resolve problems in a creative, intelligent manner. I was proud of myself, as I’d come a long way from the days when I’d bust someone in the mouth first, then talk later.”

Despite Poindexter’s new communication skills he was a target of a harassment campaign by the Omaha Police Department and the clandestine COINTELPRO operation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Joining the competing police rivalry to get Poindexter off the streets was agent Thomas Sledge of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Division. Convicted after a controversial trial that was marred with conflicting testimony, false testimony, withheld evidence, and planted evidence, Poindexter is serving a life without parole sentence for the August 17, 1970 murder of Omaha policeman Larry Minard.

Poindexter’s co-defendant, Wopashitwe Mondo Eyen we Langa, then David Rice, was also sentenced to life without parole and died at the maximum-security Nebraska State Penitentiary in March 2016.

Ed Poindexter has never wavered in his steadfast denial of any guilt or role in the Minard murder and continues to maintain his innocence. “I was unjustly accused of a crime I did not commit.”

The story of Ed Poindexter, the flawed investigation, prosecution, and trial is now available in my new book, FRAMED: J. Edgar Hoover, COINTELPRO & the Omaha Two story, in print edition at Amazon and in ebook format at Kindle. Portions of the book may also be read free online at NorthOmahaHistory.com.

Julian Lin met with Trent Lott at Taiwan Civil Government sponsored Roll Call Live show

Trent Lott lectures Taiwan Civil Government delegation led by Julian Lin at Roll Call Live event (credit: Taiwan Civil Government)

Twenty thousand dollars will buy you a reserved seat at the table at a Congressional Quarterly Roll Call Live event. Julian Lin of Taiwan Civil Government learned that a sponsorship also lets you talk to people you wouldn’t otherwise meet, like Trent Lott.

Lin, now facing political fraud allegations in Taiwan and being held incommunicado, in solitary confinement and without bail, has been vocal in her efforts to expel the exiled Republic of China ruling Taiwan. Lott, on the other hand, is a former registered Foreign Agent of the ROC. How is it these two seeming foes suddenly got friendly? Lott has moved on and apparently was only in it for the money, a charge now being leveled at Lin by ROC prosecutors.

Trent Lott is a former United States Senator and Republican leader who rather unceremoniously departed the Senate in 2007 to take up a career as a lobbyist. Lott’s work for the ROC, although lucrative, is curious. Not once in all the Foreign Agent disclosure forms on file with the Justice Department did Lott mention the Republic of China in-exile. At times Lott said he worked for the Government of Taiwan and other times he was an agent of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office.

Lott charged a hefty $35,000 per month purportedly to help the ROC in Washington. Lott signed an agreement that while working for TECRO he would not represent that People’s Republic of China. Lott’s duties were to arrange introductions with senior officials of the Executive branch and arrange meetings with Members of Congress. Lott also offered to make recommendations on how to improve relations between Taiwan and the United States.

Lott charged the ROC an additional $4,350 for unspecified legal expenses and amended his Foreign Agent disclosure form to include making arrangements for Ma Ying-jeou’s stopover in San Francisco. Lott worked on phone calls between Ma and Senators Roger Wicker, Ben Nelson, and John McCain. Lott also set up meetings between TECRO representatives and Senators Jon Kyl and Lamar Alexander.

All told, Lott’s work for the “Government of Taiwan” was pretty thin for $35,000 per month and his contract with TECRO was terminated in May 2010 after less than a year. With that kind of a track record it is not clear what advice Lott would have been able to share with Lin during their time together at the Roll Call Live event. Looking at Julian Lin’s rapid rise in Washington media and political inner circles perhaps Lin should have been giving Lott advice.

Full page New York Times advertisement was part of alleged political fraud

New York Times advertisement of September 18, 2017 urging Taiwan’s admission to United Nations
(credit: Taiwan Civil Government)

In an emerging story unique in the annals of crime, prosecutors of the exiled Republic of China claim that Roger Lin, founder of Taiwan Civil Government, is the mastermind of an expensive and elaborate political hoax to deceive his supporters into donating money. Lin, who was arrested with his wife Julian and five others in May 2018, has been charged with fraud for claiming the United States will help expel the ROC from Taiwan.

TCG’s efforts to influence American policy makers since the election in 2016 of Donald Trump have been considerable and involved the expenditure of lots of money. The spending has all the appearances of a group pursuing a political agenda rather than a crime ring seeking to trick supporters as ROC prosecutors would have us believe. One example is a full-page ad in the New York Times.

The advertisement, timed for the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly, urged Taiwan’s membership in the international organization. TCG shelled out $114,437 to the newspaper for the space and another $3,525 to a pricey public relations firm for the ad design, for a total cost of $117,962.

Perhaps the money was not well spent, that could be a matter of debate, but poor fiscal decisions are not a necessarily a crime. While it is not good to waste money, it is not the same as stealing money. The question becomes one of intent. Was TCG trying to get Taiwan into the United Nations or were the group leaders trying to hoodwink members into larger donations?

The New York Times, the nation’s leading newspaper, was eager to take TCG money for the advertising revenue it brought in. However, editors have made sure the transaction was kept in the sales division and not transferred to a news desk. The Times has failed to print a single word about the arrests of its advertisers or the still being revealed story of TCG lobbying in Washington which scored a White House connection with Kellyanne Conway.

The newspaper’s silence on the ROC prosecution of TCG leaders is getting to be a pattern as they join POLITICO, Foreign Policy, Congressional Quarterly Roll Call Live, and The McLaughlin Group in failing to report on the fraud arrests despite the fact their sponsors languish in solitary confinement, incommunicado, and without bail. The embarrassment of the news organizations should not prevent them from doing their job.

Seven decades of unresolved status has left everyone confused about the island’s future as Taiwan, once known as Formosa, is moving steadily toward being known as Chinese Taipei. In the lawsuit Roger Lin v. United States, the District of Columbia federal appellate court declared the Taiwanese to be stateless people and said they live in “political purgatory.” Roger Lin is learning first hand just how unpleasant that purgatory can be.

Angela Davis renews call for release of Ed Poindexter, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and Leonard Pelteir

Angela Davis was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list (credit: Federal Bureau of Investigation)

Speaking to the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression recently, Angela Davis renewed her call to release black prisoners she says were convicted for their political beliefs, not because they were guilty. The event was a rally to welcome home fifty people from prison who had been wrongfully convicted.

Davis spoke about the need for international solidarity opposing institutionalized police violence against those engaged in political conduct around the world. Davis said, “Anti-Muslim racism, Islamophobia has to be understood as intersecting with and reinvigorating anti-Black, anti-Asian, anti-Latinos racism.”

Davis has her own history with oppression. A Communist leader, Davis was charged in August 1970 with supplying weaponry used in a fatal jailbreak attempt at the Marin County Courthouse in California. A fugitive for six months, while on the Ten Most Wanted list of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Davis served eighteen months in pre-trial detention before she was acquitted in June 1972. The United Committee to Free Angela Davis grew into the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

The events in California that put Davis on the run were days before the August 17, 1970 bombing murder of Omaha Patrolman Larry Minard. The crime was pinned on the Black Panthers and Edward Poindexter and David Rice (later Wopashitwe Mondo Eyen we Langa) were convicted in April 1971. Davis spoke of the Nebraska prisoners. “Mondo we Langa died. Ed Poindexter is still in prison.”

Over the long years that have passed, Davis has made regular pilgrimages to the Nebraska State Penitentiary to visit the Omaha Two, as Poindexter and Mondo were called before Mondo’s 2016 death at the prison infirmary of respiratory failure. Davis has repeatedly called for release saying the two men were framed during COINTELPRO counterintelligence operations.

“Leonard Pelteir, one of the longest held political prisoners, is still behind bars and we really need to bring Leonard home.” Peltier, a leader of the American Indian Movement, was convicted after a controversial trial for the murder of two FBI agents during a shootout at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

Davis also spoke in behalf of Mumia Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther, convicted for the 1981 murder of a Philadelphia police officer. After years on Pennsylvania’s death row, Mumia is now in the regular inmate population, still serving a life sentence despite revelations of a flawed trial.

The last trip Davis made to Omaha was in 2016 to speak at a memorial service for Mondo. Davis noted that although Mondo suffered inhumane conditions he never lost his humanity.

The Omaha Two are the subject of my new book FRAMED: J. Edgar Hoover, COINTELPRO & the Omaha Two story which details FBI Director Hoover’s tactics to break the local Black Panthers and the manipulation of the murder trial.

 

Republic of China prosecutors say the Black Bear squad is a hoax to deceive donors

Roger Lin drills the Black Bear squad at Taiwan Civil Government’s heliport        (credit: Taiwan Civil Government)

The May 2018 arrest of Roger Lin and six other leaders of Taiwan Civil Government, ordered by prosecutors of the exiled Republic of China, for political fraud has brought renewed interest about the activities of TCG. One of the attention-grabbers of the group is its paramilitary Black Bear squad which trains at the heliport at TCG headquarters.

The formidable looking unit, dressed in gear suitable for Star Wars troopers, makes an exciting contribution to TCG parades, but is it really a paramilitary unit? Some say the squad are sheep posing in wolves’ clothing.

Over the years Taiwan has a history of shadowy groups at the edges of Taiwan independence activity. In the bad old days there were political hit squads from organized criminal gangs like the Bamboo Gang. Mysterious men in black shirts have long hounded pro-independence groups, one time moving against the famous Su Beng at the airport on a return to Taiwan.

Over time the groups and tactics would change. In the early 1990’s an underground Taiwan organization set up its “blue bandannas group” and did battle with police in the frequent demonstrations of that period. One example was the movement against the military general Hau Bo-tsun being appointed Premier in 1990. A rambunctious group threw a few Molotov cocktails but they never had actual uniforms.

When Chen Shui-bian was president of the Republic of China in-exile he was hounded by organized provocateurs wearing red shirts and was harassed in the courtroom at his trial during recesses by persons dressed in red.

The Black Bear squad brings a new look to old traditions and appears to mean business. Impressive at a parade, can the squad do anything besides stand at attention and march? One observer, Toby Openshaw, saw TCG’s massive June 2017 parade outside the Presidential Palace in Taipei and described the Black Bears in less than flattering terms. “I actually happened to be at the indigenous protest on the day, and saw this huge parade of old dudes in storm trooper gear marching with jeeps and banners… It was pretty bizarre.”

Photos of Black Bear training sessions suggest the emphasis was on crowd control, making the squad appear more like a private police force than a paramilitary unit. Photos of individual Bears, when studied closely, reveal them to be wearing dress shirts and ties underneath all the body armor. Of course there is nothing wrong with well dressed storm troopers, but what if all the battle gear is merely to deceive TCG members into donating more money? ROC prosecutors think there is a lot wrong with the Black Bears, although the squad has not been yet singled out as fraudulent. Roger Lin and his wife Julian remain in harsh pre-trial detention, imprisoned in solitary confinement, without visitors, and denied bail. Perhaps prosecutors who sought the lockdown order were afraid if he was not kept incommunicado, Lin might order a jailbreak by the Black Bears.

Taiwan Civil Government held meeting with Washington lobbyists in wake of fraud arrests

Neil Hare and Shelley Hymes are presented gold lapel pins with Taiwan Civil Government logo (credit: Taiwan Civil Government)

When investigating financial crimes the rule is to follow the money. In the curious case of Taiwan Civil Government the paper trail leads from Taiwan to Washington in perhaps the most ambitious swindle ever perpetrated if you believe prosecutors of the exiled Republic of China. Roger Lin and six others were arrested in May 2018 and charged with political fraud. According to Taiwanese news reports, ROC prosecutors claim $25 million was deceptively obtained from donors by Lin, founder of TCG, with false claims of future events, including American assistance expelling the ROC from Taiwan.

Two weeks after midnight raids and arrests in Taiwan, an eighteen member delegation of Taiwan Civil Government traveled to Washington for a round of meetings and TCG sponsored media events. The first meeting was with group lobbyist Neil Hare. The president of Global Vision Communications, a registered Foreign Agent, Hare brought along sidekick Shelley Hymes, head of public relations firm Angel Enterprises. In 2017, the pair were paid over a half-million dollars for their efforts to advance TCG in the world of Washington insiders.

The meeting to assure that Hare and Hymes would not jump ship was billed as a response to “ROC oppression” and included a presentation of gold lapel pins to signify unity. Taiwanese news sources say that prosecutors are looking at an unspecified number of unnamed, unindicted Washington co-conspirators. Hare and Hymes oversaw hefty TCG spending in Washington since the election of Donald Trump in a bid to buy influence within the White House and would be on a short list of suspected co-conspirators along with several Washington attorneys.

Confused yet? The whole scenario arises from Taiwan’s seven decades of unresolved international status commonly called a strategic ambiguity. The United States installed Republic of China troops on Formosa, as Taiwan was then called, at the end of World War II. However, sovereignty of the former Japanese territory was left undermined at the 1952 San Francisco Peace Treaty. The ROC claims to be the legitimate government of the island but is not recognized by the United States or most of the world’s nations. The murky situation has spawned a multitude of groups in Taiwan seeking a future without the ROC in control. Taiwan Civil Government, formed in 2008, is one of the most vocal and well funded advocacy groups.

The claims of the ROC in turn lead to claims by the People’s Republic of China for control of Taiwan. Taiwan’s unresolved status has created instability in the region with both the PRC and ROC laying claim to that which neither ever had sovereignty over. President Obama was urged by the District of Columbia federal appellate court to end Taiwan’s “political purgatory” and resolve the status as expeditiously as possible. Obama never acted. President Donald Trump could be the game changer.

The election of Trump saw a sharp increase in TCG spending hosting inauguration events, POLITCO receptions, Congressional Quarterly Roll Call Live shows, a Foreign Policy think-tank luncheon, a Heritage Foundation event, The McLaughlin Group show, advertising, junkets and consultant fees. Hare’s job was to coordinate the Washington campaign and everything was go until the fraud arrests, which included Julian Lin, wife of Roger. Three days after the lapel pin presentation the TCG delegation started to feel the repercussions of the arrests. Secretary of Commerce Wilber Ross abruptly dropped out of a TCG sponsored Heritage Foundation event just minutes before the start. Elsewhere in Washington, Roll Call Live canceled a scheduled Congressional panel on Asia after two Representatives pulled out after learning of the arrests.

Hare’s new contract with TCG, for $560,000, would turn his attention away from Washington and instead work the embassies of G7 countries for international recognition. Hare claims he remains on course and will complete his 2018 duties, business as usual. Hymes is more elusive. As Hymes works as a consultant to Hare her contract with TCG is not subject to disclosure under the Foreign Agent Registration Act and details of her involvement are not available. Neither Hare or Hymes are willing to discuss the fraud arrests.

Hymes, a longtime friend of Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway, was able to see Julian Lin and Conway connected in May 2017 at the POLITCO Powerlist reception, funded by TCG, which honored Conway as one of Washington’s most powerful players. Within weeks of the POLITICO session with Conway, a massive parade was staged in Taipei by TCG in an apparent effort to signal to Trump the pro-American slant to the group.

Was the United States ever going to expel the ROC? One clue might be if Roger Lin is able to gain freedom or continue to remain in strict pre-trial detention in solitary confinement, incommunicado and without bail. Innocent until proven guilty does not seem to be a concept that applies in this case as harsh punishment has already begun. If Lin really does have friends in high places, now is the time for them to act.

Correction Notice

The above content has been corrected.   Neil Hare was reported to be tardy filing a disclosure reportson spending.  Instead, Hare made a timely report and it was the Justice Department that was tardy releasing Hare’s report.  I regret the error.