For the Denver Three, the wheels of justice have turned like tires on a vehicle mired in mud. But slowly, the trio thrown out of a White House Social Security forum in Denver last year are moving closer to exposing the Bush administration’s repressive and perhaps unconstitutional handling of the president’s political opponents.
On Monday, federal Judge Wiley Daniel ruled that lawyers for Leslie Weise and Alex Young may question under oath two men involved in their forced removal before a presidential visit to Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum in March 2005.
Mike Casper and Jay Bob Klinkerman claimed immunity from a lawsuit brought by Young and Weise because the men operated under orders from federal officials. Daniel’s order stands to answer just who those officials were and why they decided Weise, Young and a colleague, Karen Bauer, could not see the president at a taxpayer-financed forum which they did not disrupt and for which they had proper tickets.
“This will let the case move forward,” said Martha Tierney, a lawyer for Weise and Young.
It also seems likely to identify other defendants. Right now, Weise and Young are suing Casper, Klinkerman and “John/Jane Does 1-5.” When she finishes questioning Casper and Klinkerman, Tierney expects to have the real names of at least some of the Does.
Meanwhile, the court will have done what the White House refused to do. A parade of presidential spokespersons, as well as the Secret Service, have denied involvement in ejecting Weise, Young and Bauer after they arrived at the president’s Denver forum in a car with a bumper sticker that said “No More Blood For Oil.”
Although they wore T-shirts under their clothes that said “Stop the Lies,” none of the three showed the message or acted disruptive. Yet Klinkerman detained them at the door and, later, a man acting like a Secret Service agent ordered them out, a man they say was Casper.
In his order, Daniel refused to throw out suits against Casper and Klinkerman. Both men argued that they were entitled to individual immunity because they were just following directions and policies of federal officials.
Daniel said that decision can’t be made without letting Tierney question Casper and Klinkerman under oath.
Casper’s lawyer, Sean Gallagher, said he hasn’t decided whether to appeal Daniel’s ruling.
In a May 2005 interview, Casper swore to me that he wasn’t the person who threw Weise, Young and Bauer out of the presidential forum. I wonder how his story will change when court officials swear him in for a deposition.
“Resolution …,” Daniel wrote, “turns on whether [d]efendants Casper and Klinkerman were acting as federal officials or whether they were private parties acting at the direction of federal officials, and whether they were closely supervised.”
This legalese could lead to revelations of intimidation and suppression that reach higher in the political power structure than anyone has yet admitted. Daniel’s decision could expose lies of omission by players up to and including George W. Bush’s former press secretary, Scott McClelland.
For 19 months, the Bush administration and the Republican Party have stonewalled and tried to paint Casper and Klinkerman as rogue volunteers. But government documents show the “event staff” forced Weise, Young and Bauer out, and in the parking lot a Secret Service agent reportedly told the trio to leave or be arrested.
After their depositions, Casper and Klinkerman likely will refile motions to dismiss the case based on claims of immunity, Gallagher explained.
Even if they succeed, some erstwhile John and Jane Does should still have to answer.
That’s good news.
Political repression is rarely the sole responsibility of foot soldiers. Now, thanks to a federal judge, Americans might finally find out how far up the chain of command this garbage goes.
Jim Spencer’s column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Reach him at 303-954-1771 or jspencer@denverpost.com.
