On March 7, 1985, George
and Marion House were indicted on seven counts of tax evasion
in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7201, and seven counts of
failure to file income tax returns in violation of 26 U.S.C.
§ 7203. A review of the decision rendered by the United
States District Court For The Western District Of Michigan,
may be enough to dispositively resolve even the most obtuse
Client’s questions and reservations.
On April 12, 1985, George and Marion House filed a motion
to dismiss the indictment claiming that the Sixteenth Amendment
which grants Congress the power to lay taxes was never properly
ratified, and that as a result, all laws that have been passed
pursuant to the authority granted by the Sixteenth Amendment
are null and void.
On Saturday, May 25, 1985, a hearing was held in which George
and Marion House introduced the testimony of William Benson,
coauthor of the book, The Law That Never Was. Benson
testified that he had researched the legislative history of
the sixteenth amendment and had discovered that the Sixteenth
Amendment was never properly ratified. In support thereof,
the defendants introduced a voluminous collection of paperwork
that Benson testified were certified documents he had obtained
from the National Archives in Washington, D.C. and various
states he visited during his research.
The Court certified that,
“The matter of the ratification of the sixteenth
amendment as set forth by the defendants is one of first
impression. It has never been before any appellate court
of our nation.”
The Court cited a US Supreme Court case, Leser v. Garnett,
258 U.S. 130, 66 L. Ed. 505, 42 S. Ct. 217 (1922), involving
an attempt to contest the ratification of a Constitutional
Amendment in which the Supreme Court held:
“As the legislatures of Tennessee and of West
Virginia had power to adopt the resolutions of ratification,
official notice to the Secretary, duly authenticated, that
they had done so was conclusive upon him, and, being certified
to by his proclamation, is conclusive upon the courts.”
The Court went on to say,
“Because the sixteenth amendment was duly certified
by the Secretary of State, because defendants have not alleged
that the minor variations in capitalization, punctuation
and wording of the various state resolutions are materially
different in purpose or effect from the language of the
congressional joint resolution proposing adoption of the
sixteenth amendment, and because the sixteenth amendment
has been recognized and acted upon since 1913, the Court
rejects defendants' argument that the sixteenth amendment
is not a part of the United States Constitution.”
On June 7, 1985, according to clear, unequivocal and undeniable
public record, William J. Benson was given an opportunity
to personally testify, and afforded an opportunity to personally
produce and explain his documents and research. After hearing
what Benson had to say, and in the face of all the documentary
evidence that Benson personally presented and explained, the
United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan
squarely addressed his facts, evidence and issues but found
it non persuasive.
Nevertheless, William J. Benson continues to claim that no
court has ever addressed his evidence.
Rather than expect your Clients to accept your word for it,
you can let them read the Decision and Order for themselves.
See Exhibit.
I welcome
your comments,
questions and suggestions.
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