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20 OCTOBER 2018SPECIAL EDITION
FIRED GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF HARVEST ISLAND FACES INTERNAL INVESTIGATION, POSSIBLE CRIMINAL CHARGES
International Community Disturbed by Governor-General's Alleged Use of "Excessive Force"
AUTHOR: Anthony Gordon-Brown
EDITOR: Linda Johannson
As the troubles on Harvest Island continue, the protectorate’s former Governor-General, Franklin Simpson, is facing his own problems back home on the Beithen mainland. After being summarily removed from office by the High Council, Mr. Simpson has become the subject of a federal investigation regarding his actions on Tuesday, 16 October 2018.
Tuesday’s confrontation between Beithen marines and protesters initially resulted in 36 fatalities, 64 injuries of varying degree, and more than a hundred arrests. Late yesterday afternoon, a young woman who had been hospitalized following a gunshot wound to the chest died despite the best efforts of surgeons at Harvest Island General Hospital, thereby bringing the number of fatalities to 37 persons.
Governor-General Franklin was removed from office on Tuesday evening by order of the High Council and subsequently requested to report to Capitol City for questioning by the Federal Bureau of Internal Administration’s Office of Special Investigations. After being promptly arrested upon his return to the Beithen mainland on Wednesday afternoon, the former Governor-General spent a day in federal custody before being released on a $500,000 bond.
Mr. Simpson is presently staying in a hotel in Capitol City. The court has restricted him from leaving the city until the disposition of his case has been finalized. Mr. Simpson has relinquished both his passport and driver’s license into the court’s custody. The National Herald has tried repeatedly to contact Mr. Simpson, but he has refused our interview requests.
The Attorney-General’s office has filed charges against Mr. Simpson in the federal Court of Internal Administration for “Misconduct by a Government Official — Unspecified.” Following the completion of the Federal Bureau of Internal Administration’s investigation of Mr. Simpson’s conduct, the court will decide whether to dismiss the charge or whether to escalate the charge as “general misconduct” or “gross misconduct.” General misconduct can be prosecuted as either a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up 6-months imprisonment and up to $1000 in fines, or as a fifth-degree felony, punishable by up to 18-month imprisonment and up to $5000 in fines. Should the court rule that Mr. Simpson be prosecuted for gross misconduct—a “high crime” under federal code and classified as a first-degree felony that may be punishable by life in prison—the case will be bound over to the High Council. Per the Constitution of Beithe, the High Council has sole authority over the adjudication of all high crimes.
Regardless of the severity of the final charges, should he be found guilty of official misconduct, the former Governor-General of Harvest Island will be permanently barred from holding further government offices, denied federal civil servant retirement pay, lose his right to vote in elections, and may be subject to other social and economic ramifications. In exemplary circumstances, government officials found guilty of misconduct have been stripped of Beithen citizenship and deported from the country.
Elias Autumn, a federal senator from Dover, announced on Thursday that he will be representing Mr. Simpson pro bono. Senator Autumn and Simpson are longtime friends who had served together in the Beithe Navy. Before his career in elected office, Autumn had served five years as a federal prosecutor for the Eastern District and three years as a private criminal defense attorney. As a prosecutor, Autumn had twice battled President Ehrich Kemp in the courtroom during the president’s legal career. Senator Autumn currently serves as chairman of the Senate Internal Administration Committee, as well as vice-chairman of the Senate Justice Committee, and he has voluntarily recused himself from these roles until finalization of Simpson’s case.
A pretrial hearing in the case of Federal v. Franklin A. Simpson has been scheduled for Monday 22 October 2018 at 1030.
The ongoing conflict on Harvest Island and the former Governor-General’s alleged use of excessive force has come under international scrutiny. There have been outcries by some foreign governments for the extradition of Franklin Simpson to an international tribunal. President Kemp has publicly refused to extradite Mr. Simpson, stating that such action would “be in direct violation of the constitution (of Beithe), and furthermore would represent not only a spiritual assault against the sovereignty of the Isle of Beithe, but would also be an insult to the competency and integrity of our federal government -- insinuating that Beithe is incapable of managing its internal affairs with efficiency and jurisprudence.” To appease the international community, however, the president has invited foreign delegates to Beithe to participate as independent investigators of Simpson’s conduct. Thus far, only one foreign government, the Liaoist Federation of Stoklomolvi, has accepted President Kemp’s invitation.
The National Herald conducted interviews with random citizens to ascertain the national public’s attitudes towards the Harvest Island affair and the actions of Governor-General Simpson. Most persons interviewed stated that they support the federal investigation but do not believe Mr. Simpson will be found guilty. A notable minority of respondents vocalized not only adamant support for the prosecution of Simpson for government misconduct, but also advocated for manslaughter charges. Roberta Milligan, a prominent freelance blogger and founding-member of the National Association of Single Mothers, spoke to National Herald reporters on her way to drop-off her ten-month old son at daycare. “It’s an outrage!” shouted Ms. Milligan as she tried to console her crying infant. “People should be allowed to protest freely without having to worry about armed soldiers breathing down their neck! That’s not the environment I want my little cupcake to grow up in! Whatever happened to free speech? This country’s turning into more of a police-state every day!” We also interviewed Mr. “Rusty Shackleford" (he refuses to divulge his real name), the lanky, mustachioed man who always adorns sunglasses and a baseball cap and who frequently loiters outside The National Herald’s Capitol City office, waiting to speak with our reporters. As usual, Mr. “Shackleford” had a unique perspective of the Simpson case and described the former Governor-General as a “hero” and a “scapegoat.” Furthermore, “Shackleford” alleged a “conspiracy at highest-echelons of the federal government.”