David Ellis is the founder of the Dave Ellis Group and Delta Partners, LLC, a full-service government relations and public affairs firm located in Orange County, California. He is San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos’ campaign consultant and political advisor.
Not long after Sam Clauder’s arrest on child porn charges, Ellis was at an event where he was overheard saying, “I think we have Clauder right where we want him,” referring to Clauder’s arrest and incarceration. Remember, Sam Clauder was a Democratic operative and vocal opponent of Mike Ramos and other San Bernardino County Republicans.
Exactly why would a campaign consultant be interested in whom his client prosecutes? For that matter, why would a district attorney be discussing a current case with his campaign consultant?
But another interesting twist has come to light. It seems Ellis formerly worked as press secretary to Republican Congressman Bill Dannemeyer. Dannemeyer was one of the most anti-homosexual politicians ever. Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia:
Dannemeyer was an outspoken critic of homosexuality and on June 29, 1989, infamously read a graphic description of gay sex into the Congressional Record entitled “What Homosexuals Do.” In this statement, Dannemeyer said:
“activities peculiar to homosexuality include: Rimming, or one man using his tongue to lick the rectum of another man; golden showers, having one man or men urinate on another man or men; fisting or handballing, which has one man insert his hand and/or part of his arm into another man’s rectum; and using what are euphemistically termed ‘toys’ such as one man inserting dildoes, certain vegetables, or lightbulbs up another man’s rectum.”
He gained national notoriety with his proposals to stop the emerging AIDS epidemic in the late 1980s, such as banning HIV-positive immigrants. He was the only prominent politician to support the LaRouche movement’s Proposition 64 in 1986. A California ballot initiative he backed, Proposition 102, would have mandated widespread testing, tracing of sexual partners by state authorities, and a mandatory quarantine of persons with AIDS. It failed by a considerable margin. He did succeed in pushing hospitals to notify post-1977 recipients of blood transfusions that they were at risk. In 1989 he published Shadow in the Land: Homosexuality in America, attacking the gay rights movement. In 1985, Dannemeyer voiced his concern with AIDS, “[People with AIDS] emit spores that have been known to cause birth defects.”
Now iepolitics has learned that Ellis apparently shares some of his former boss’ concerns. That part is okay as everyone is entitled to their opinion. But one thing that has been repeatedly mentioned about the corruption scandal is Ramos’ use of titillating and salacious details in what should be bland legal documents. The common thought has been that these details were put forth for the purpose of getting headlines in an election year, not bringing about justice. They were meant to incite disdain from those whose beliefs or prejudices would cloud their ability to derive logical conclusions from the evidence, or lack thereof.
Given the ferocity of the District Attorney’s office towards the executive staff of the Assessor’s Office, a couple of whom were openly homosexual, combined with the political-like campaign mounted against defendants in a criminal investigation, one has to wonder who is really calling the shots.
Perhaps that is a question the FBI will answer.
Oh please…..not that there is anything wrong with it!
Sam Clauder’s case was investigated by our High Tech Crimes Detail. Those guys are professionals and have absolutely nothing to do with politics or the DA. I doubt they even knew who he was when they took the case. I would tend not to believe Mr Clauder’s rants of conspiracy theories on everyone manufacturing these charges against him. If he is so innocent, take the case to trial and be done with it.
Hmm, isn’t plain old homosexuality between two consenting adults different from possible child pornography charges? If a person is suspected of such a crime, then he/she should pay the piper.
Political leverage and/or blackmail is another matter totally. Homosexuality is a lifestyle, exploiting and victimizing children/minors is a crime.
I haven’t spoken with Sam since a few days after he was released from jail. But as of that time, he was anxious for his case to go to trial. From what I know of the case, there were a few issues with the evidence.
1. Unlike what Ramos claimed, Sam’s profile was not password protected. There were three accounts on the computer and all three had child porn on them, including his ex-wife’s, and teenaged son’s.
2. Also, in contradiction to what was released to the media, the son failed his polygraph test.
3. Sam had not been in the house for months prior to the discovery of the porn.
4. Sam and his ex-wife were in a bitter divorce where she was attempting to not have to pay him alimony.
I am not suggesting Sam is guilty or innocent. None of us have heard all the facts or seen the evidence yet. What I am saying is that neither his case nor any other case should be used for political fodder until there is a guilty plea or verdict. When the district attorney or attorney general does otherwise, his motives are suspect.
Admin: Yep, no doubt, the DA, many head honchos in the county are suspect. But we knew that all along, didn’t we?
So the ore plausible answer is that Sam’s wife and/or children are looking at child porn? Or his wife is vindictive enough to ruin the life of her children’s father wit a trumped up child porn charge? Wow she sounds like she should work for the BOS!
He is obviously not wanting to get on with the trial or else it would be done. The defendant is the only one who can continue a case and his has been continued for over a year now.
Not always. Postmus and Erwin wanted their cases to trial by now but despite a court order the district attorney has refused to turn over discovery, which is delaying the process.
Why did the investigation stop at the Assessor’s Office? The San Bernardino Superior Court, BOS, County Counsel, Recorder and Tax-Collector must also be investigated for corruption.
I see you recently had a Deputy Sheriff “Sgt” promoting propaganda (aka “the official county line”) about me on this blog while hiding behind an alias. Well, please note, Mr. “Sgt,” I have no problem using my real name for everything I write. Obviously this is another corrupt deputy trying to cover for his corrupt cronies.
I wanted this case done a long time ago but I just don’t have the money to pay $7,500 for the independent expert analyst to complete his investigation and testify. Lawyers and experts don’t work for free, and I will not bargain with my innocence, so I have no choice but to live with the postponements.
I go to court in two days asking the county to pay for the expert. We’ll see what the corrupt asshole Judge Dest does.
In fact, Judge Dest jailed me for 50 days from 1/6 to 2/25 after my bond was revoked merely because I could not afford to pay the $1,500 balance to my first bail bondsman. To arrest me, Dest violated my rights by demanding I appear in court without any attorney. I was released only after my current attorney paid for my current bail bond out of his own pocket.
Fact is, money is the only thing which has kept this case from being concluded long ago. I have not been able to get work since the publicity on my felony case in mid-March of last year. Right now I owe $15,000 for legal costs and I have not paid a cent.
This legal system is not a “justice system,” it is a MONEY system – merely a system for everyone involved to extort money from criminals and victims. Nobody in this money system gives a good goddamn about justice! In fact, crime victims often tell horror stories of being victimized by the system more than they were by the crime committed against them.
The original Asst DA assigned to my case told my first criminal attorney it was “a lousy case and shouldn’t have been filed.” That Asst DA was replaced pretty quickly.
The computer was not in my possession for the three months before it was given to the sheriff and early studies by an independent expert have turned up enough conflicting evidence to dismiss the case at preliminary hearing.
But it doesn’t matter what this Sgt’s “High Tech Crimes Detail” found, or didn’t find. What matters is who and what Ramos wants to prosecute and ignore.
Ramos ignores crimes (including murder) committed by his buddies and law enforcement (i.e, this very “Sgt”?), but he prosecutes his political enemies whether there is evidence or not.
I am proud to have been a very powerful and effective political enemy of Ramos for years before all this, and I promise you all I will continue to be an enemy of Ramos. I will be exonerated, and I will live to see Ramos put behind bars (or six feet under) for his illegal, immoral use of his office and for his own criminal behavior.
Any other county in the state would have put Ramos away long ago for what he’s done. Only in San Bernardino County could someone like Ramos get by with what he’s done, and be re-elected.
If this smartass, corrupt, anonymous “Sgt” posting here gave a damn about justice he wouldn’t be propagating his bullshit on this blog. Is this what this blog is for?
The attitude of this anonymous deputy sheriff “Sgt” is another great example of why San Bernardino County is widely considered the white trash cesspool and political corruption capital of southern California.
Sam H. Clauder II
Political Advocate and Organizer
P.O. Box 253
San Bernardino, CA 92402
Sam.Clauder@gmail.com
P.S. Why don’t you come clean, Mr. “Sgt,” and stand behind your statements like I do — with evidence and your real name — instead of hiding behind a chickenshit alias and repeating what you’re told to say?
I did not read the entire article but was unable to continue reading it after I read this statement, “They were meant to incite disdain from those whose beliefs or prejudices would cloud their ability to derive logical conclusions from the evidence, or lack thereof” I’d like to rephrase this statement, “They were meant to incite disdain from those whose belief in God’s unchanging and holy word would righteously direct their ability to derive at the only logical conclusions from the evidence.” The Lord call’s these practices an abomination to any society. The Lord say’s this it is by such things that entire nations are defiled. Can we see any evidence of that happening in our nation and the world?
A Concerned Mother: All I can say is “Amen”. You hit the nail on the head.
I would like a congressman to read the goings on in a few episode of two and a half men.
Whips, toys, handcuffs, pearl necklaces, girls dressed as Nazis, leather, multiple partners, bodily fluids on the the ceiling, filming yourself, spanking, fantasy. Perhaps congress should make it all illegal?
Abolish politicians and put in a monarch…
us
up the system ! … free the political prisoners and end the unjust prosecutions ! —– where transparency isn’t seen, blow a hole in the wall.
Personally what I find more appalling is that a man, or a woman, can be tried through the beliefs and opinions of others without his day in court–regardless of the reason he hasn’t been in court. In a reasonable society there should be equal access to the law. Much of the insinuations here are just that–unreasonable and jumping to conclusion. The need to uphold an authority figure’s statement at any cost is blind loyalty. Just one example of where it can go wrong. The term “forensic” expert hasn’t been holding a lot of credibility lately. We’ve seen national cases where a man convicted and killed for murdering his own children in a fire in Texas was simply railroaded based upon a community’s emotional sentiments. Rather medieval. We’ve seen other cases where “experts” have turned out to be stressed, lowly educated, or otherwise corrupt individuals and made conclusions on murders and deaths based on how much time they had to give the situation–not on professionalism.
As someone who works in programming, and has experienced behind the scenes corruption in public figures, I know well how relatively easy it would be to manufacture such evidence–even so it would pass the normal and most advanced forensic evidence tests. It isn’t rocket science these days.
Plus even the light weight logic doesn’t hold up. Mr. Clauder is the natural suspect because he is an adult male. Yet we have seen many cases where women are also involved in child trafficking and porn. There were three adults in the household and maybe many guests–if the evidence wasn’t maliciously planted in the first place. There has been no statement on whether those discussion boards were accessed following Mr. Clauder’s departure. Breaking into a profile is as easy as one, two, three. My teens at home used to do it all the time for me when I couldn’t remember my password.
When we have a society where access to law is based on ability to pay, men are demons and culpable based as much on biology as evidence, and power is held in wrought-iron fists and commonly levied from either a state of paranoia or misguided, corrupt, allegiance to a political agenda–we, the public, do not have a democracy we have a fascist state.
I do not know what happened in that house and I do not know what happened in the public relations meeting for the public officials. Nor am I privy to an evidence report. But I am wise enough to know that were I in the same situation I’d certainly want to be able to be innocent until proven guilty. It is why authority figures have a mandate of professionalism to protect and serve the public interest because the power of authority outshadows the power of the individual when once it’s net has been cast. To brand someone based on emotions, limited evidence, and distant perceptions is more akin to the Taliban, a Theocracy, and Shari Law than it is to a democracy. We are citizens of an incredible nation built on the tenants of the Rule of Law, yet, as demonstrated on this blog, many have only the capacity to act like animals–and hence is it so surprising they would conclude that others have acted the same.
One other closing thought. Based on the underlying premise of our criminal (note there is a difference between civil and criminal systems) legal system which binds us all together and which we have heartily endorsed for a very long time– It is not Mr. Clauder’s responsibility to prove himself innocent. It is the State’s responsibility to prove him guilty. One could question why the State doesn’t appear anxious to do so. On the other hand one can easily surmise why Mr. Clauder is being forced to continue pursuing clearing his name however.