Justice’s Blindness Purely Self-Inflicted Ray Of Hope Thank God For The Boundary County Prosecutor’s Office.

So far, five years after the fact, no one has been found criminally accountable for the Ruby Ridge shootings.

Not Randy Weaver, the paranoid isolationist who dragged his family to a North Idaho mountaintop and into Far Right lore. Not his buddy, Kevin Harris, who may have killed a U.S. marshal in an exchange of gunfire. Not sniper Lon Horiuchi, who was just following orders when he gunned down Vicki Weaver with babe in arms. Not Larry Potts, who, for a short time, was elevated to the FBI’s second in command after presiding over the Waco and Ruby Ridge messes.

A jury acquitted Weaver and Harris of federal murder charges. The Justice Department declared Horiuchi didn’t violate Vicki Weaver’s civil rights when he blew off part of her head with a rifle blast. Now - surprise, surprise - federal prosecutors claim there isn’t enough evidence to prosecute Potts and his deputy, Danny O. Coulson, on criminal charges for their roles in the bloody shootout.

Thank God for the Boundary County Prosecutor’s office.

While the arrogant Justice Department, under Attorney General Janet “Stonewall” Reno, has tried its darnedest to whitewash its fatal blunders on Ruby Ridge, Boundary County prosecutors have pursued the truth. First, Prosecutor Randy Day refused to let go of the case; now his successor, Denise Woodbury, has filed felony charges against Harris (first-degree murder and aggravated assault) and Horiuchi (involuntary manslaughter).

Finally, we may learn who shot first and who OK’d the use of deadly force. Reno’s Justice Department hasn’t found those answers - and has proved it can’t be trusted to prosecute its own.

First, Reno refused for almost a year to release a scathing internal report about government misconduct at Ruby Ridge. Then, the Justice Department absolved its agents of wrongdoing a week before a leaked copy of the report was made public. Afterward, a high-ranking FBI official pleaded guilty to destroying incriminating evidence against Ruby Ridge lawmen. And FBI Director Louis J. Freeh incredibly promoted siege commander Potts to deputy director, until public outrage forced him to withdraw the appointment.

Now, the Justice Department has washed its bloody hands again. How else did you expect a fox in charge of the hen house to act?

, DataTimes MEMO: See opposing view under the headline: A hard call made on the legalities

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