Committing perjury is a serious offense.
Ok, sadly, I do acknowledge that this assertion is less and less true in what is now post-legal America.
Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is well on the way to zero consequence for multiple instances (and multiple other crimes).
And, sadly, this laxity is not just a recent phenomenon. Clinton’s husband, then-President Bill, committed perjury (and multiple other crimes) – and went on to finish his two terms. Twenty years ago.
But we still like to at least keep up appearances. That we have a legal system, that it works – and that adhering to it matters.
So we say things like “committing perjury is a serious offense.” And hope it is occasionally true.
Which brings us to the ridiculous lawsuit filed to block the already-approved-and-started Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s has approved most of the final permits necessary to construct the Dakota Access pipeline project….’We can now move forward with construction in all areas as quickly as possible in order to limit construction activities to one growing season and be in service by the end of this year,’ Lisa Dillinger, a spokeswoman for the project, said in an email.’
“Construction of the DAPL is now underway. So that’s that, right? Of course not.
“Enter the environmental radicals. Specifically global-radical-George-Soros-funded EarthJustice. As if being environmental radicals wasn’t bad enough – EarthJustice consists largely of trial lawyer environmental radicals. Terrorists with Doctorates of Jurisprudence.”
But the environmental radical trial lawyers need a plaintiff. Enter the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
Standing Rock Tribe Files Lawsuit over Dakota Access Pipeline: “Represented by EarthJustice, the tribe filed the lawsuit Thursday in federal court in Washington D.C.”
The Tribe and their radical cohorts are now committing lots of crimes.
Standing Rock Tribal Members & Allies Block Entrance to Pipeline Construction Site: “Standing Rock members and allies blocking passage to the construction site….”
Arrests Made as Citizens Block Dakota Access Pipeline Construction: “Nearly a dozen arrests have been made as Indigenous tribal members and allies stand firm in their attempt to block the Dakota Access Pipeline from being built.”
Land Defenders Storm Construction Site: “(C)onstruction was halted after a group of tribal women led tribal protesters and allies onto the Dakota Access Pipeline site.”
Including, it would appear, perjury. Or the Tribe is on the verge of committing it.
Despite the Facts, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Continues to Spread Falsities: “In a lawsuit filed by the radical environmental group EarthJustice on behalf of the SRST claims that, ‘Neither [Dakota Access] nor the Corps ever consulted with the Tribe…or had invited their participation as the Tribe had repeatedly requested.’ The Chairman of SRST, David Archambault, wrote in the New York Times last week that, ‘permits for the project were approved and construction began without meaningful consultation.’
“While this narrative might play well in the media, it could not be further from the truth. A basic examination of documents provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and state utility boards, as well as filings by the Corps of Engineers and Dakota Access in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia shows the SRST and environmental allies met with regulators multiple times, and filed over a hundred comments throughout state and federal review periods. Filings also show that Dakota Access made seven attempts to meet with the tribe directly but were rejected every time.” (Emphasis ours.)
Filing false statements with a court is…highly problematic. Is it perjury…yet? I’m not a lawyer – let’s check:
“A crime that occurs when an individual willfully makes a false statement during a judicial proceeding, after he or she has taken an oath to speak the truth.”
So perhaps the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe hasn’t yet added perjury to its list of environmental-radical-induced charges. Unless you swear the oath as a precursor to even filing, in which case – hello, perjury. Perhaps. Again, I’m not a lawyer.
But Will Rogers’ timeless wisdom applies here:
“If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging.”
The environmental radicals are still using earth movers – digging ever downward.
There’s no reason for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to remain joined at their increasingly-subterranean hip.
They should get out now.
[Originally Published at Red State]
Seton Motley is the president of Less Government, a DC-based non-profit organization dedicated to reducing the power of government and protecting the First Amendment from governmental assault.
