While many Americans are waiting for justice to be imposed on those who we firmly believe were involved in an attempted coup against President Trump, another victim of the Deep State's lawlessness, former congressman Steve Stockman, sits in jail.

A Tea Party–style conservative, Stockman was a highly visible and outspoken critic of Obama, Eric Holder, Lois Lerner, the Clintons, and much of the lawlessness in Washington.  Following his Senate primary loss after challenging incumbent John Cornyn, Steve was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for what the Obama Justice Department claimed was fundraising fraud and campaign finance violations.

At age 63 and with various comorbidities that set other prisoners free during the COVID-19 pandemic, the still imprisoned Stockman was repeatedly denied transfer to home confinement, contracted the virus, and had hydroxychloroquine withheld from him after an emergency room doctor prescribed it for him.

Following an unnecessarily snarky and, in my opinion, legally flawed decision by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upholding his conviction, Stockman has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his appeal, docketed as case 20-103.

The chances of the Supreme Court taking any case are slim.  Arguing the important constitutional and policy issues at stake, however, four different amicus curiae ("friend of the court") briefs have been filed in support of Stockman's petition.

The one I filed was joined by 37 co-amici who include leaders of conservative nonprofit organizations, campaign finance lawyers, and former members of Congress.  The brief argues that the trial and appeals courts made serious errors of law about campaign finance regulation and that Stockman's conviction for nonprofit solicitation fraud was unconstitutional in addition to being factually wrong.

Other briefs urging the Court to take the case were filed by noted constitutional law professor John Eastman on behalf of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence; Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund; and the fourth filed by Joe Miller on behalf of Public Advocate of the United States, The Constitution Party National Committee, Restoring Liberty, and other amici.

Some years back, you may recall, Tea Party–backed Miller narrowly lost a challenge in Alaska against RINO Senator Lisa Murkowski, but only after a controversial recount overturned his initial win.  Joe understands the perils of taking on the GOP establishment, and his brief is especially important.

Miller's brief, which itself reads like an indictment of the Obama Justice Department, notes how "the troubling political context of Stockman's prosecution was completely ignored by the Fifth Circuit" Court of Appeals.  Stockman was targeted "[b]eginning in 2013 [when] it took Obama's DOJ multiple grand juries, with at least three refusing to return a true bill [of indictment] against" him.

Stockman, after all, was "one of the first congressmen to call for President Obama's impeachment," writes Miller, noting that Stockman "also called for Attorney General Eric Holder's impeachment, and led the fight to publicize Lois Lerner's abuse of power as the head of the exempt organizations division of the Internal Revenue Service."

While Stockman's petition and the other three amicus briefs focused on why the conviction was wrong as a matter of law, Joe uses nearly twelve pages of his brief to brilliantly lay out the Obama administration's lawlessness and lawbreaking, which was "the troubling political context" of how Stockman was targeted to be put away and silenced, as political prisoners are.

It is precisely that lawlessness that provides the right context to why the Obama DOJ twisted complex law and intimidated witnesses to confuse the Texas jury into convicting a principled, deeply spiritual conservative.

As Miller writes, "[n]ever before in any of our lifetimes has the public had less confidence that the rule of law is controlling law enforcement decisions of the FBI, the IRS, and DOJ, especially with respect to prosecutions originating in the prior Administration."

The Stockman petition to the Supreme Court is about more than correcting errors of law and freeing a good man innocent of so many tainted charges.  It is a measure of whether our highest court will say enough is enough and take on politicized lawbreaking by our own government.  Joe Miller's brief chronicling that lawbreaking is worth a read.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.