I will very, very rarely say anything positive about the loonies over at the Democratic Underground, but today is one of those days. Generally, I think DU is a vile, self-serving, abomination of idiocy and mental incompetence… but you know what they say about blind squirrels.
Apparently a few of their users allegedly made threats against members of the Bush Administration using the forums. The Secret Service, as you might guess, would like to talk to these two individuals. The DU is keeping their mouth shut.
After talking with the Secret Service — who were polite and professional throughout — we immediately contacted our lawyer to get his advice (as we always do whenever a legal issue arises). We will continue to consult with him throughout this situation so we can ensure that our rights and your rights are protected. On the advice of our lawyer, we have declined to voluntarily hand over any information about the two individuals in question. That is where matters stand at this point.
The Secret Service has informed us that they intend to get subpoenas in order to compel us to hand over the information. If and when they do, we will consult with our lawyer before we do anything.
I would’ve certainly been happy had they just handed the info over, but I don’t see anything wrong with requiring the government to meet their burdens of proof and/or production before coughing up information which may be sensitive or private.
That said, when the Secret Service finally does get that subpoena, I would hope that the DU would comply willingly with the investigation to the degree required. They may be nutjobs, but they have rights just like we normal people — that’s what makes America great.
[ via Wizbang. ]
