About a week after the criminal case against me was wholly dismissed (in May, 2018) the Oregon DOJ representative called my attorney and said they would be willing to dismiss THEIR case against me as long as I would just admit that I was guilty… WTF!!!!!
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About a month ago (a week or so after the bogus criminal charges against me were dismissed in their entirety), a representative with the Oregon DOJ called my attorney and said that (and I am paraphrasing)… even after the comprehensive investigative IRS audit was concluded (in my favor) and the bogus criminal charges against me were dismissed (because they had no merit), he was “willing to make a deal”.
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He essentially wanted me to admit I was guilty (admit this by signing something in writing to the DOJ) and when I did that he would drop the DOJ investigation into my nonprofit and my work with my nonprofit.
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Specifically, what he said to my attorney (again still paraphrasing) was that he wanted me “to agree to never work for a nonprofit again” (which would, in essence, be admitting some kind of guilt or wrongdoing), and if I did that, he would drop the investigation. He also strongly suggested (stated? mentioned? threatened?) that if we did not agree to this, we might face additional detailed transaction-by-transaction auditing/investigation into my work with my nonprofit and other allegations related to the case.
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I have worked for nonprofits for more than 33 years (actually, since before I was even 15 years old!) Nonprofit work (helping others) is my calling. I may (at some point in the future) CHOOSE to never work for a nonprofit again of my own accord, but I will be damned if I will be forced in to that choice. Why would I agree to this because of a shakedown by some misguided DOJ cowboy — when I have committed no offense, and so far both the IRS and the criminal court found in my favor? (The IRS by doing a thorough audit that concluded in my favor and the criminal courts by dropping the case because they found the evidence did not support the allegations against me – because the charges were entirely false!)
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My thoughts – in response to the DOJ’s overture were: “FUCK OFF!: & “NO WAY!” “Bring it on motherfuckers!” & “y’know what… go ahead, audit me again!”, I already survived a comprehensive, line by line, transactional audit with the IRS — and the concluding comments from the IRS auditor were that I (again paraphrasing) did a good job running my nonprofit, and the auditor said that if I ever needed help or guidance she would be happy to help me personally in my nonprofit work in the future“!
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- I will not be bullied, or steamrolled.
- I have no reservations about the activity of the nonprofit I founded, nor about the merits and relevance of those activities.
- I am not guilty of the allegations initiated by the anonymous complaint in 2016 (nor of the subsequent related allegations).
- I am not a criminal…
- — and I will not be intimidated by your threats (direct or veiled as they may be)!
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If the DOJ could even come up with a plausible justification on paper to incur yet additional publicly funded expenses to launch yet another audit of me after all that has transpired, I would be quite surprised; if they did try to audit me (again) [or to investigate things on a line by line level] they would actually just be digging an even bigger hole for themselves – clearly demonstrating that their unwarranted persecution and attacks… are now being continued (apparently) for the sole purpose of saving their own skins. Because the ONLY REASON the DOJ would want me to sign off on a statement like this is that they would thereby absolve themselves of some or all liability in my lawsuit against them. If I were to cave in to pressure — and falsely admit some kind of guilt for something I am decidedly not guilty of, then they would have cover for their pursuit of me and my advocacy and their (attempted) destruction of everything I have worked towards over the years would appear somehow warranted.
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So – in the meantime – as I said above, this fight is not over. I continue to fight. I am innocent of their allegations. They have wasted taxpayer money attacking me without cause; the outcome of the inquiries they lazily/sleazily initiated using the IRS and the criminal courts clearly demonstrated that.
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I will not give up. Giving up in this war would be signaling the efficacy of these abusive tactics towards other social justice nonprofits, environmental activists and children’s health advocates as well.
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I had a long talk with a wonderful individual in Senator Merkley’s office this past week. He was amazed (yet also not surprised really) by what had happened to me and he said that yes, we need to change the laws so that this overreach of power doesn’t happen to other citizens doing good (citizens holding industry accountable) and trying to help others.
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I intend to take this fight to the end, to victory, and I expect that will mean getting some people fired (as Andy Fridley and Carole Smith were eventually fired for lying to the public/withholding information about the lead-in-water issue in the Portland Public Schools). It will also mean working to change the laws and the powers of people in government offices to wage unwarranted, free-reign attacks on low-income mothers of disabled children — and other presumed-to-be-easy-to-intimidate citizens.
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In the meantime, can you help me so I can keep fighting this fight?
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Many of my friends (both online and in-real-life) have told me that they like me to repost my request for assistance, where people can donate (my chip-in link) every now and then as a “nudge”.
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Your support in this way makes a difference. These times are very trying. Today we got the reinstatement letter from our mortgage ($13,499.34 needed right now to keep our home, if we can pay by July 3rd) and we are behind in all of our utilities and have very little food for our family. We’re not just “regular broke” (we’ve been there before too), we’re broke (broken?) in a new and profound way because of the two-plus years of political attacks and the tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees that have brought us to this place. A friend I visited with recently hit the nail on the head when she said that we used to have resources and now we have nothing and the contrast is so striking, it’s really the foundation for writing a very good book about the face of poverty in our country today (another project for when I have the time.)
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Today I am specifically asking for folks to chip in because I am trying to cover food for my family and also to cover our water bill before it is shut off. “About to have your water shut off and your home taken away” is where two-plus years of unwarranted persecution at the hands of government agency employees will leave someone, someone who was just trying to make a difference and help other families.
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Just to be clear: every time I ask for help I cringe. I hate being in this position, but those who have been following me for a while know how I came to be here – it is because I am in this fight for the long haul, for the families I help and for all the other advocates. Early on in this battle someone (a lawyer) cynically advised that I just agree to some sort plea bargain — stating, “Tamara, you couldn’t afford to prove your innocence!” Perhaps that person knew that the attacks would keep coming, maybe that’s what she was referring to. At the time I thought that she just meant that we could not afford a good lawyer.
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The attacks have not stopped, and it’s important that you (and everyone) know that.
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There is another chapter to this story
(the shit that went down last week) and I will write that up soon too.
(the shit that went down last week) and I will write that up soon too.
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Here’s my Chip-In Link. Thank you.
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If you are in a position to help with a larger amount of support – a loan (which I will repay with interest when we sell my family farm in Napa – hopefully in the next 6 to 12 months) that would be amazing too.
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These pictures were taken in an attempt to recreate the photo from 9 years ago! [What you can’t see in these pictures is that Charlie was actually hurting me while we took these photos! #DisabledMomLife]
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Here’s the photo of me with my sons 9 years ago!
and today:
the concluding comments from the IRS auditor were that I (again paraphrasing) did a good job running my nonprofit, and the auditor said that if I ever needed help or guidance she would be happy to help me personally in my nonprofit work in the future“!
Is she willing to speak on your behalf to Oregon DOJ.and other persecutors (not a typo)?
Hi Scott! Yes, if we have any kind of a trial she would testify, although – because of her position with the IRS – I think she cannot just write a letter on my behalf. Her support and conclusions (again) re-emphazise why all this is so crazy. People will testify on my behalf. They will be required to, yet these other people keep going after me. There’s another chapter to this “crazy” (the stuff that happened last week) – I will try to write it up today. Thank you (as always) for reading my posts! You two have been so amazing and supportive. It means a lot.