
U.S. Senator Questions Attorney General about Aaron Swartz - danso
http://www.cornyn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=InNews&ContentRecord_id=b026c108-ff4c-4ff9-a771-7307c72e14c5&ContentType_id=b94acc28-404a-4fc6-b143-a9e15bf92da4&f6c645c7-9e4a-4947-8464-a94cacb4ca65&Group_id=bf378025-1557-49c1-8f08-c5df1c4313a4
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tptacek
This is the same hyperpartisan Senator who was at the forefront of the effort
to deny habeas rights to Guantanamo inmates; he was also involved in the Bush
wiretapping scandal.

Expect to see lots of superficial genuflection from Republicans towards the
Swartz case; the GOP is in a constant low-grade conflict with the Democratic
DoJ.

Here, let me put it this way: what do you honestly think Aaron Swartz would
think about this clown using his name to score political points?

~~~
michael_nielsen
Cornyn has for many years been a leader on open access to science. Together
with Joe Lieberman he introduced the Federal Research Public Access Act
(FRPAA) into Congress in 2006. This Act would, if passed, make almost all
scientific publications funded by the US Govt openly accessible within 6
months of publication:

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Research_Public_Access_...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Research_Public_Access_Act)

The act has not yet passed. It was re-proposed in 2010 and 2012, each time
with increased support from a bi-partisan group of sponsors, in both Houses.
Cornyn is still a sponsor.

My understanding is that Cornyn was instrumental in the passage of the 2008
NIH public access policy, which makes NIH-funded research available within 6
months of publication:

<http://publicaccess.nih.gov/>

This is by far the largest victory for open access to date. It would, however,
be eclipsed by FRPAA, should it pass.

Given all this, I believe it is natural that Cornyn has an interest in the
case, and questions.

~~~
tptacek
John Cornyn and science get along great, as long as the science doesn't
involve stem cell research (which he has casted Senate votes to ban) or
climate change.

~~~
JumpCrisscross
A discussion, let alone a democracy, cannot function if one requires everyone
to agree with them on every sub-point of every item related to the topic of
question.

~~~
tptacek
I agree completely. I'm not suggesting that people can't applaud overtures
towards open science or open access or an accountable DOJ. I'd just hope to
maybe shape and direct the applause, so we're clear what its real target is.

I like Richard Posner, for instance, but I'm disquieted by how quickly the
Reddit/HN crowd decided to lionize him once he came to a conclusion they liked
regarding patents. Posner for SCOTUS! from people who understand the abstract
from _one case_ he worked on. Sheesh!

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TWAndrews
Regardless of eventual outcome, I think it's probably safe to say that Ortiz's
post-Justice department political career is probably done.

I don't see how she could win a democratic primary in Massachusetts anymore--
too many other ambitious Dems who'd have field day with this, and Republican
opposition will keep her from being appointed to anything requiring
confirmation.

It's a lot less than she deserves, but there's some gratification in the
thought that the over-aggressive prosecution which was most likely designed to
advance her political career will prevent it.

~~~
MtotheThird
I wouldn't be so sure of that. Try reading the comments on any Boston globe
article about this affair. Ortiz has strong support from law-and-order voters
and many people in Massachusetts outside of tech; in addition to Swartz, she's
been very aggressive in her prosecution of corruption and misconduct in the
state government. She has a compelling back story and (at least before this)
was blessed by Deval Patrick.

I think she could definitely replace Martha Coakley as state Attorney General,
at minimum (Coakley also did many odious things as a prosecutor and has never,
to my knowledge, paid a political price for it). And a decade from now, long
after Aaron has disappeared from the press cycle, she'll make a run for Senate
or Governor and his prosecution will likely be nothing more than a subsection
of her Wikipedia bio. These are the sad realities of politics in
Massachusetts.

~~~
crag
"These are the sad realities of politics in Massachusetts."

This is the sad reality of America. But the trouble is us (the people). The
average American has the attention span of a gnat.

~~~
vicks711
"This is the sad reality of America" This is the sad reality of a democratic
system. People have short memories.

------
politician
"Finally, the U.S. Attorney has blamed the “severe punishments authorized by
Congress” for the apparent harshness of the charges Mr. Swartz faced. Does the
Department of Justice give U.S. Attorneys discretion to charge defendants (or
not charge them) with crimes consistent with their view of the gravity of the
wrongdoing in a specific case?"

Interesting game of "hot potato" going on. Nonetheless, I applaud Sen. Cornyn
for asking these questions.

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msandford
I don't care if this is blatant pandering or not; At least he's asking some of
the tough questions. It's good to see someone other than Lessig saying "I'm
not sure this was appropriate"

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honu
The good news is that some good questions have been asked, and the reply will
be available for scrutiny.

I'm not sure Cornyn was the best member of Congress to write this sort of
letter. Yes, he is on the Committee of the Judiciary, but his political
leanings might result in posturing that obfuscates the issues we care about.
That being said, I'm glad someone asked.

~~~
veridies
Perhaps, but this letter was focused and, on the whole, loaded with serious
and important questions. It looks like his political posturing on this one is
going to be aligned with our politics.

~~~
olefoo
Just keep telling yourself that politics is a branch of biology, not of
physics. It's messy, unclear, somewhat random and does not operate by simply
observable rational rules.

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danso
It's worth noting that Cornyn, though not an official PIPA co-sponsor, wasn't
someone who was much against it either (until after the blackout)
<http://projects.propublica.org/sopa/C001056>

~~~
LiveTheDream
This seems like a good thing, no? A Senator listening to his constituents.

~~~
tptacek
His constituents also wanted him to try to ban the NYC "ground zero mosque".
He was happy to oblige.

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greesil
I'm sure this senator is doing this for political points (+10 points for
Gryffindor), but we can still be glad for the pressure applied to the DOJ.

~~~
rhizome
Politics helped get us into this mess, we're going to need it to get out.

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smogzer
Puppets, strings, now it's calling for it's right of FOIA ? Can't they just
recognize they should not have the right to mess with individuals, specially
if no harm is done.

These prosecutors jobs is a dream job for psycopaths, jack the ripper would
exceed in a job like this.

We need the hacker news party.

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kh1411
I would like them to question her why after 2 yrs of holding this over Aaron's
head, depleting his finances, that they didn't think a plea deal for a
misdemeanor instead of felony counts would be sufficient deterrent? When I
read below Fri. Jan18th, I was incensed even more at how they treated Aaron:

"Last Friday, on the same day that Swartz hanged himself in his Brooklyn,
N.Y., apartment, prosecutors from Ortiz’s office stood in a Boston courtroom
and allowed a former state representative named ­Stephen “Stat” Smith to plead
guilty to a misdemeanor for rigging absentee ballots in three elections.
Swartz’s lawyers asked for the same consideration, that Swartz be allowed to
plead guilty to a misdemeanor. Prosecutors refused.

So, given that Ortiz will not explain herself, we’ll just have to presume she
believes that illegally manipulating the outcome of elections, which are the
essence of our democracy, is less serious an ­offense than downloading an
online archive of obscure academic articles." (Excerpt fm article by Kevin
Cullen, Boston Globe). [http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/01/18/taking-
heat/L1rfSF47...](http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/01/18/taking-
heat/L1rfSF472wEPsGX5PWfu5I/story.html)

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jimfl
Cornyn has been gunning for Holder for a little while, asking for his
resignation earlier last year.

<http://www.google.com/search?q=cornyn+holder>

Edit: spelling

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denzil_correa
IF Only, this was done earlier. Any system which requires a health check when
the water rises above your head is a bad system.

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mitchi
Decent letter, I'm glad someone from the Senate stepped up. I would add this :

Seventh, really? 35 years for a kid who learned his lesson and didn't do
something horrible in the first place? Some decency and common sense people.

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stox
There is nothing new about this behavior, Len Rose went through much the same
20 years ago. Maybe we are finally getting a clue that the system is, in fact,
broken.

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quahada
Regardless of where you stand on Cornyn's politics, it's important that
someone with authority is trying to find answers to this situation in a public
forum.

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ChristianMarks
Holder will reply that the prosecution had nothing whatsoever to do with the
FOIA.

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d0m
These school baby killers should watch and listen more to politics; maybe
they'd find a better target for their suicidal idiosyncrasies.

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joering2
I couldn't read beyond: "The Honorable Eric Holder". Seriously now? This
should sound like an insult even to Eric himself.

[http://www.westernjournalism.com/polls-and-
petitions/impeach...](http://www.westernjournalism.com/polls-and-
petitions/impeach-holder/)

[http://www.policymic.com/articles/9602/eric-holder-should-
re...](http://www.policymic.com/articles/9602/eric-holder-should-resign-or-
else-congress-should-impeach-him)

<http://www.metnews.com/articles/2012/snip081712.htm>

~~~
rhizome
It's a salutation based on his position, not an award.

