The Offer
What is at stake when you enter into a plea deal with the government? This is the question we technically have 1 more days to consider. I received the following from our legal team earlier this month.
I write to offer your client, Paul Vaughn, a plea. Your client is currently charged with one count of felony conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 241, and one count of 18 U.S.C. 248, a misdemeanor violation.
Pursuant to this offer, your client would plead guilty to one count of 18 U.S.C. 371 (a class B misdemeanor), and one count of 18 U.S.C. 248(a)(1) and (b)(2) (a class B misdemeanor). The parties would agree to a sentence of no time, and 3 years of probation that includes a condition the mirrors the pretrial release condition – that the defendant must not enter any building in which a facility that provides reproductive health services is located, must not be within 100 feet of any entrance of any such building, and must not be in any parking lot that directly services any such building, without prior approval of probation.
This offer expires on August 1.
The message came in at 4:16 PM, when I saw it the same day at 6:39 PM, I simply replied, “no deal”.
I didn’t take time to review the difference sections of the code, I didn’t talk to my attorney about how this deal stacks up against other deals he has seen. I didn’t ask my wife, my pastor, and others what they thought. I didn’t consider what I would do with my new found life of not spending up to 11 years in jail, why?
I wasn’t being flippant. In deed, I wrote about much of this in a previous article.
So you see, my immediate response, wasn’t because I don’t value good legal counsel or trust the wisdom of those who are important in my life. It wasn’t because I think myself above the law. The reason was simple. The reason is truth.
Quid est veritas
The reason is not because we place a high value on truth, which we do.
The reason is not because truth is important, which it is.
The reason for this is: truth is a person - Jesus Christ.
Jesus said he is the way, the truth, and the life. He directly related his person with the concept and idea of truth. Truth is something that comes from our creator, He defines it. If Christ is Truth you can not compromise it. You can not change it. You can not negotiate with it. The consequences do not alter Truth. It is unmovable. At the end of the day all you can do is be faithful to it or unfaithful to it.
The truth is there are children made in the image of God being killed surgically at every remaining abortion clinic and daily in homes across this land via mail order abortion drugs.
The truth is God said, “Thou shall not murder”.
The truth is we are told as Christians to rescue those being led to slaughter, do not stand back and let them die. (Proverbs 24:11)
The truth is we are told true religion is to care for the widow and the orphan.
The truth is the FACE Act is an unjust and tyrannical law. It was passed to quash the Christian opposition to abortion.
The truth is our government is a bad actor and is not seeking justice.
The truth is our government seeks to put forward a narrative about violence that is a lie.
The truth is I must follow my conscience to remain true to Christ. My conscience is not for sale even in the face of 11 years in jail.
These statements are factual truths. I’m not saying they are the essence of God. They are not truth in the same way Jesus is “The Truth”. But because He is God, these things are true. If there was no God, we would not have objective truth or a way to determine right from wrong. Our ability to discern right from wrong, fact from fiction, and truth from lies is directly tied to who God is.
When you have a government or an individual operating in a governmental capacity who does not believe in God, they see truth as something to be bargained with. In their hands, truth is elastic and can be shaped to support their narrative. As Christian’s we reject that notion all together. We don’t stand against our government, but we stand for the truth. This is a basic Christian understanding and found throughout scripture and the history of the Church. It is required if we are going to have a society that values high minded ideas like freedom and justice. But most of all, it is required, if we are going to be faithful to Christ.
When you have a people seeking to be faithful to Christ, it produces a society who enjoys freedom and justice. Conversely when you have a communistic society where injustice abounds, the foundational root of the issue is not the bad government, the issue is the unfaithful Church. A Church that allows the world to define truth is a harlot and no bride of the King. Because Christ is the Truth. We can not accept a different version of truth and remain loyal and faithful subjects to our King.
But the Government is a Bad Actor
To be clear, the government is a bad actor and is not seeking justice in this case. There are many more cases across the nation from J6, to abortion prosecution, to election fraud, etc… that prove this point. They are putting forward a narrative regarding abortion and the use of the FACE Act that is false. In doing so, they are trying to maintain a narrative that justifies 50 years and over 52,000,000 dead babies they failed to protect.
They abandoned one of the chief purposes of government which is to defend the weak and defenseless.
They are to protect the weak from the strong, instead they are assisting the strong to devour the weak.
They are to punish evil doers, instead they call evil good and good evil.
By God’s grace I will not be part of their lies, their narrative, or their injustice against others. The fact that I believe it is all that matters. I don't have to prove it. I don't have to have permission from my government to dissent. If they want to put me in jail for 11 years, I believe these things strong enough to risk that for the sake of truth. Truth is non-negotiable. Isaiah says, when "Truth is fallen in the street, justice stands a far off". So if we want a just society for our children to grow up and thrive in, we can not make deals with those who, at best, don't understand the basic principles of truth and justice and, at worst, are intentionally undermining them for their own agenda.
What happens when we stand for truth? What if we all refuse to live by their lies? Rod Dreher's, Live Not By Lies, is a great book showing the power and duty of individuals to not give in to lies. It calls people to live by truth in every thing they do every day of their life. It highlights the power of developing families that can stand against tyranny and stand for truth.
When I first read Rod's book, I was ecstatic. It resonated deeply with what we have experienced over 30 years of prolife ministry and where we see this nation headed. But I was amazed at how many of my close church friends thought the book rather hum drum. There response was, “MEH, yeah it is a good book about Europe, but this is America”. On reflection, I realized they did not have the context of the prolife legal treatment I have seen over the last few decades. This experience is one of the things I hope to continue to share in this forum. At the same time, I hope the events around this trial will help the church in America take a fresh look at the battle we are in and reassess the tyranny we endure. Our beliefs, and how we act on them, are vital. They are not only vital to our personal sanctification, but to fighting the spiritual battle in our nation. If we want to see a change in our nation, the Church, who is called the pillar and ground of the Truth, must act on our convictions. We must live by the Truth we say we believe.
Truth or Consequences
We must live by truth, not just around the single issue of abortion, but on every subject. It must be personal and we must be willing to bear the consequences of the actions that come out of those beliefs. Jesus did not say true religion is believing the doctrines of grace perfectly. He said, through James, "Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." Caring is an action, not just a belief. It is a belief that has motion. If we truly believe, we are compelled to act. If we act in truth, we don't get to consider the consequences. Being polluted by the world’s version of truth would allow us to coexist with evil. It would cause us to identify with the world, and say that good is evil and evil is good.
It is a stretch to even talk about this case, where we risk going to a white collar federal detention center for 11 years, as persecution compared to church history. We are a soft church in comparison to the ages. I say this in light of the robust history of the church martyrs who have gone before us. One need only to look to the new testament book of Hebrews to find a list worth emulating. In addition, each church tradition has its own stories of heroes of the faith which detail faithful Christians. These men and women stood firm for Christ when truth was attacked by tyrannical rulers through the ages.
Hebrews 11: 32-40 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again.
Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.
And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.
When the culture is in rebellion to its Creator, it is not abnormal for those who seek to reflect the Creator to be persecuted. Indeed, not only is it not abnormal, this is how the victory is won. This is how our testimony stands against the culture that rages. Words are cheep, any one can walk down a church isle one time and say words. A confession is walking back up the isle and every step we take from that moment on. Our public confession is our identity with Christ and His Church on a daily basis. This is our witness with the Truth and our ability to trust God in hard times.
The very Creator of Heaven and Earth came into the fallen world to save man kind from destruction, and they crucified him. Is it any wonder that we might suffer some light and transient persecution as His followers? Here are a few short passages setting expectations for us living in this world.
John 3:19 tells us, “And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.”
Later in John 15:18 Jesus admonishes us, “If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first.” and continuing in verse 20, "Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you;"
Then 2 Timothy 3:11 reminds us, "Those who live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."
Finally in John 16:33 we hear, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Christ overcame the world by picking up his cross and he calls us to do the same thing. Luke 9:23-25 “Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.”
This is our great calling. It is a powerful testimony to the lost and dying world. That we believe in something to the extent that we are willing to be persecuted. The world will look at your testimony and marvel and it will be an aid to their repentance, or a stumbling block of offense, but if you are carrying your cross it will not be neutral.
Examples in History
One small act of truth, can shatter an entire regime built on lies. There are several examples from “Live Not By Lies” that outline this idea. Consider The Green Grocer story Druher relates from Václav Havel’s essay “The Power of the Powerless”. He discusses the truth of the slogan, “Workers of the world unite”. This was not a slogan that most people believed and wanted to be part of. This was communist propaganda that most shops displayed to keep the communist happy and to keep them from persecuting them. What if just one shop owner refused to bow down to that lie and refused to display the sign? Would he be thrown in jail, be beaten, have his shop taken away? Those are all legitimate risks. What if nothing happened and others saw there was no reason to display the propaganda?
One of the valuable lessons from this article is the opposition does not want you to simply not disagree with them, they want you to acknowledge their version of the truth. They want you to bow your knee and confess they are right. This is another reason we can not make a deal with the devil. He doesn’t keep his bargains. He wants your whole soul and will not be content until he owns you. If we allow them to get away with this sham of a trial now, what will they be emboldened to do next? What price will the next generation pay if we don’t stand in our day?
Many of the sources referenced by Druher are available online and well worth the read. I have several and perhaps I’ll share a little something on each of them at a later date. But related to this plea deal I think the most helpful piece is the story of Silvester Krcmery MD from his book, “Breakpoint: A True Account of Brainwashing and the Greater Power of the Gospel”
In this fabulous book examining the psychology behind communistic dictators and the down stream effect on those that serve on behalf of repressive governments, Dr. Krcmery wrote about events that tool place in Czechoslovakia from 1951 to 1965. He spent these 14 years in prison for his participation in a Catholic organization that opposed communism.
Not only was he a Doctor with an undergrad in psychology, Dr. Krcmery also represented himself in the trial. So his book, has a great mix of personal day to day stories of prison life, the psychology of communist prison camps, and his legal documents from his trial.
One of the short trial documents that stuck out to me was the rejection of an early release after serving 13 years because it would give credence to the false charges he was serving time for. I love the humility he espouses as he outlines his motivation for rejecting this offer. This is someone who clearly understand the value and identity of Truth. May we all find the faith and the strength to stand humbly, but surely, in our own trials as Christ has shown us the way.
Sylvester Krcmery MD, forward by Michael Novak
Break Point, A true account of Brainwashing and the Greater Power of the Gospel.
Crossroad Publishing 1996,PAGE 180. Quoting document number 22
Hornf Slavkov October 21 1964
Convict Kirche Mary SylvesterStatement concerning the hearing of conditional release.
An order that my point of view concerning the hearing from my conditional release may not be presented in a distorted or inaccurate form, submitting a written statement.
I have not requested conditional release and I do not even know how it came about that this question should be discussed at all. I've never applied in any way for mitigation of the punishment assigned to me and I've rejected the possibility for one reason: in my opinion, a condition for the fulfillment of the legal criteria for conditional release from prison is that the convicted person has broken the law and that his deserved punishment has affected a reformation and rehabilitation.
As, however, I never committed treason and the punishment of 14 years in prison to which I was sentenced lacks any legal basis whatsoever. I've had no opportunity to "reform myself" and begin to live the "proper life of a working man", because I've never stopped living such a life, as all the testimonials submitted to the court by my superiors and colleagues have confirmed. For this reason I have always considered the verdict declared against me as one of illegal expression of high handedness so typical of the era of the so called "personality cult".
I must therefore regard the conversion of the remaining part of my sentence to a conditional one as an attempt to put the whole matter of such a light that my conviction would appear to have something in common with the law.
However, for the past 13 years and more that I've been in prison, I've been trying in vain to get an objective and disinterested reexamination, according to the valid laws, of the charge of treason brought against me! And the fact that I've rejected any mitigation of the sentence or personal privileges is perhaps also proof that I never committed treason, and then even after so many bitter experiences, I've not learned to pay lip service, to hide my thoughts, or pretend, and that even after all that, I have not ceased to believe in truth and justice.
Acceptance of conditional release could therefore, from my point of view, be understood as an acknowledgment of the justification for and legality of the verdict, and for this reason I reject this hearing and I will not accept conditional release.
At the same time, I stress that as a Christian I have no feeling of being insulted, of bitterness or hate. I have long since forgiven all those who have trespassed against me at any time and in any way. My standpoint is not based on any feelings of superiority or personal perfection, on dramatic holiness, heroism, or desire for flamboyant martyrdom. As a person, I am no doubt full of faults and sins, to a far greater extent than many others.
The attitude this attitude does not originate from hostility or blind fanaticism. But rather from the fact that I consider in my human and civic duty to protest against lawlessness, and to fight with every legal means available for the strict observance and strengthening of law in the spirit of the Constitution, without regard to nationality, race, or religion.
At the same time, I urge that there be a reexamination of my detailed complaints about infringement of the law, which I submitted to the Supreme court through the Ministry of Justice in June this year, and which, in themselves, are for more than enough evidence for the invalidation of the verdict of my case.