Charges Against Turner Should Be Dropped Says Green-Rainbow Party. Party Calls For Investigation Of FBI Targeting.

Today the Green-Rainbow Party called for Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner's committee chairmanships to be restored and for the FBI bribery charges against Turner to be dropped. The Party also called for an investigation into the targeting practices of the FBI to determine if the powers of the FBI have been used for political ends. The statement released by the Party's incoming co-chairs follows.

Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, December 2, 2008

Contacts: Incoming co-chairs: Jill Stein, 781-674-1377, jillstein1@gmail.com and Eli Beckerman, 617-821-1453, elibeck@gmail.com

Created by eli_beckerman. Last modified on 2008-12-05 14:39:24

STATEMENT

• The 11-page FBI affidavit filed against Chuck Turner is a flawed document putting forth an entirely unconvincing, dubious case against Councilor Turner. It describes a crime committed by an FBI informant without any solicitation on the part of Councilor Turner. The so-called "damning" evidence on the videotape is merely a snippet showing the FBI informant, Ron Wilburn, shoving an unsolicited wad of bills into Councilor Turner's hands. This much "evidence" could be collected against any office holder the FBI chooses to target. The FBI's case is further undermined by the admission that for some time Councilor Turner had been assisting Wilburn without seeking any cash donation in return. The affidavit cites an encounter between Councilor Turner and Wilburn in which Wilburn says he is so grateful that he will do "anything" for Councilor Turner. Turner then suggests that the informant talk to his campaign manager about participating in a totally legal fundraiser. In the second meeting, the FBI informant fails to get Turner to cooperate in receiving a second cash payment. Putting aside speculative FBI innuendo, the affidavit actually undermines the FBI assertion that Councilor Turner was engaged in any effort to secure illegal cash donations.

• Chuck Turner's right to represent his constituents, and the right of those constituents to select their city councilor should not be revoked as a result of questionable FBI accusations and leaked snippets of video tape. We call upon Boston City Council President Maureen Feeney to restore Chuck Turner's committee chairmanships immediately. The Boston City Council should take no further punitive actions against Turner as a result of information released so far by the FBI.

In releasing the statement, Eli Beckerman, incoming co-chair of the Green-Rainbow Party noted, "Chuck Turner is a public servant with a 42-year record of honesty and extraordinary service that is seldom seen in Massachusetts politics. He has repeatedly stood up for his community and turned down chances to curry favor from the wealthy interests that typically fund political careers. And he is one of the few political figures that have been openly critical of FBI infringement upon civil liberties. This raises serious questions about whether the FBI targeting of Councilor Turner represents an abuse of their powers of investigation. The selective leakage of supposedly incriminating information, in the media-friendly form of a video tape, even prior to seeking an indictment, appears to be a deliberate attempt by the FBI to destroy Turner's political career. This in itself raises questions whether the FBI was motivated by legitimate law enforcement considerations."

Incoming co-chair, Jill Stein, added, "Because the FBI's case is short on evidence and long on potential political targeting, we call for the FBI charges against Councilor Turner to be dropped. We urge the Boston media to rediscover fundamental journalistic standards, to address the weak nature of the actual evidence, and to cease asserting that a snippet of FBI videotape "tells the story". We urge the media to ask probing questions of the FBI and of those who seek to punish Councilor Turner based on incomplete and dubious evidence. However, we applaud any journalistic attention given to the immense and very real problem of private money in Massachusetts politics."

Incoming communications director Lloyd Smith added, "Protection of our democracy requires that we protect public officials with a history of principled service from character assassination based on FBI-created crimes. The FBI targeting process should be investigated to determine if civil rights violations occurred or if political motivations guided the targeting."