Conflation. That’s a lovely word you should know when reading about Brett Kimberlin and Neal Rauhauser. Conflation is when two or more ideas, events or things are merged together. It’s a nicer way of saying the two of them are compulsive bull shitters.

Kimberlin claims he was a political prisoner. That he, a poor martyr, was put in prison for his political views. That he then took his case before the Supreme Court and was exonerated in a secret deal that also got him a big monetary settlement.

Conflate. Conflating.

The truth is that while in prison already, Kimberlin was put in solitary confinement 3 times for political reasons. Right before the Bush/Dukakis election, Brett claimed he’d sold pot to Dan Quayle and scheduled media interviews. He ended up in solitary instead. Years later Brett filed a lawsuit and finally won a case. His solitary confinement was determined to be politically motivated. So Brett’s narrative is partially true, he just chooses to omit that he was already in prison at the time because of his illegal drug business and the Speedway bombings.

Conflate. Conflated.

As to a secret exoneration, that is highly unlikely. Kimberlin’s chronic litigation, numerous appeals and lawsuits set legal precedents in the justice system but a secret exoneration for domestic terrorism was not one of them.

Conflating. Conflation.

It took 2 judges and 3 trials but Kimberlin was found guilty on 32 assorted counts as a result of his drug dealing and the Speedway bombings.  While I don’t know the political persuasion of the juries involved, I do know both judges were Democrats.

Judge William Elwood Steckler earned his law degree at the Indiana University Law School in 1936. He received his doctorate in law the next year and went into private practice. He was active in the Democratic Party and campaigned for Truman in 1948. He was the first Democrat on the bench in his district in 108 years.

Judge Ellsworth Noland was also active in Democratic politics. Actually, within a month of being sworn into the Indiana bar as a lawyer in 1948 he was in Washington representing Indiana as a United States Congressman.

Judge Nolan presided over Kimberlin’s first trial 35 years after passing the bar. The judge felt  Kimberlin had masqueraded as a respectable businessman, using his business as a front for illegal drug trafficking. His opinion of Kimberlin was that if released, he would likely continue to “spread human misery.”

Judge Nolan was correct.