As a layman who is not an attorney, it would seem to me that this accusation against the National Bloggers Club ("NBC") should fail in short order, as Kimberlin does not have legal standing to sue for this, unless he himself has donated material sums of money to the National Bloggers Club based on his belief that the contributions are tax deductible. Attorneys, correct me if I'm wrong, but Kimberlin cannot sue for other donors who donated under this scenario, because, (1) Kimberlin is not an attorney, (2) none of these donors have hired him to represent them in such a suit, and (3) Kimberlin does not know who these donors are, how much they donated, or their reasons for doing so. Further, the NBC is under no legal obligation to disprove these allegations, it is up to BK to prove them, which on its face, appears impossible.
After reading through the legal briefs, claims and counter-claims, it seems that Brett Kimberlin wants these things, and they are the reasons for his lawsuits:
1. To be given a clean slate in public opinion, and no longer have his past crimes held against him, on the grounds that he has served his time; to erase his criminal past from the collective mind of polite society, so that it does not work against his current projects and ability to earn income.
2. To stop online and public discussion of his prior crimes, to help erase them from public memory, in order to facilitate the clean slate that he seeks;
3. To redeem himself in the eyes of donors to his non profit organizations, which employed him, i.e. "Justice Through Music" and "Velvet Revolution." If Kimberlin were successful in proving that the defendants "defamed" him through discussion of his past crimes, it might substantially restore his credibility with such donors and restore donations to his organizations.
4. To be seen as a hero to his liberal donors, by seriously punishing prominent conservative bloggers and pundits, like Michelle Malkin and Glenn Beck, both of whom are defendants in the federal lawsuit. Also, the National Bloggers Club has a membership of conservative bloggers and pundits, and winning a lawsuit against the NBC would punish a whole mass of conservatives in a single blow, by implicating their organization in wrong-doing and unlawful activity -- and allow Kimberlin to receive damages to replenish his cash reserves.
5. To relieve him of suspicion of unsolved crimes of which he is suspected (rightly or wrongly), such as the murder of Julia Scyphers and the dangerous SWATting episodes against various conservative bloggers.
6. To exonerate himself as a "vexatious litigant," someone who abuses the court system to file frivolous lawsuits to punish political opponents with expensive legal fees, mental anguish, and many hours of time lost to more productive purposes. Indeed, should Kimberlin lose these lawsuits, some of the defendants are determined to have Kimberlin declared a "vexatious litigant," thereby curtailing his filing of such lawsuits in the future.
IN MY HUMBLE OPINION,
- Brett Kimberlin's "Scarlet Letter" of his past crimes cannot be erased, and that is simply one of the consequences of having been convicted of those crimes.
- There is no legal or moral requirement to grant Kimberlin a "clean slate" in public opinion. He could improve his reputation, however, by sincerely forswearing illegal or unethical practices now and in the future, and by refraining from filing frivolous lawsuits, which appear to be vindictive and vengeful and not supported by any legitimate claims for redress of valid grievances.
- Kimberlin could further improve his lot in life by assuming a lower profile: getting a job in a trade, like auto mechanics, landscaping, carpentry, etc, where earning money depends on producing a real product of economic value, and is not dependent on getting donations from the public.
- Become involved in nonpartisan charitable work, e.g., seeking to prevent youth crimes, help the poor, or assist ex-felons to reintegrate themselves into society as productive citizens. In other words, seek to provide value to society, rather than seeking dubious ways to acquire money through manipulating people or the system, as he appears to be doing now.
