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Sarah Ibarruri

(21,043 posts)
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 11:52 AM Apr 2012

Zimmerman's grandfather connected to the CIA - this explains why the murderer is not in jail

Last edited Mon Apr 2, 2012, 02:45 PM - Edit history (1)

R.W. Zimmermann was working for the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley Virginia after his retirement from foreign service diplomacy. George Zimmermann's grandfather diplomatic career allotted travel to many international locations, ending his service as Consulate General in Barcelona.

http://www.reachoutjobsearch.com/

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Zimmerman's grandfather connected to the CIA - this explains why the murderer is not in jail (Original Post) Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 OP
That's one weird ass website you linked too... snooper2 Apr 2012 #1
It certainly goes well together, given that there are almost no jobs in our country anymore, and... Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #2
Well that explains why they spell their last names differently obey Apr 2012 #3
The grandfather's official obituary deleted the last n from his name. mainer Apr 2012 #5
Ah Ha, and Grampa Zimmermann was from Minnesota obey Apr 2012 #20
And I sense a mole, Mr. 51 posts mainer Apr 2012 #33
I never notice things like when posters became active. I guess I should. It might explain behavior Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #52
How's that spook ass taste? Tom Ripley Apr 2012 #40
I'm sure there's a lots more we don't know. nt Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #7
The grandfather died like 20 years ago? HooptieWagon Apr 2012 #4
sshhhh you'll ruin it... belcffub Apr 2012 #6
If this is correct, it would provide an explanation why Zimmerman is being given the VIP treatment Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #8
It means the father could access damaging information mainer Apr 2012 #10
Exactly. And this wouldn't be the first time - nor the last for something like that to happen nt Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #11
So if daddy has this power, why didn't he get Georgie a cushy job? onenote Apr 2012 #13
Because George is a troublemaker and a loser mainer Apr 2012 #14
So daddy can get the PD and SA to risk their careers for this loser but couldn't get him set up onenote Apr 2012 #16
George's life is on the line here. It makes sense this is far more urgent mainer Apr 2012 #17
Exactly. In such circumstances, you call whoever you have to call on and cash in your chips. nt Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #25
I have a 100 favors i can call in if I am in real trouble, but I don't have Job connections.... slampoet Apr 2012 #30
Interesting that you choose to argue via questions in lieu of statements. rhett o rick Apr 2012 #38
Why is it interesting? onenote Apr 2012 #41
1) Because a murderer is running free; 2) Because he's being given VIP treatment; 3) Because the Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #73
I was asking why the poster thought it was interesting that I framed my posts as a question. onenote Apr 2012 #80
Oh ok, sorry. I thought you were wondering why the Zimmerman case was interesting. nt Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #83
Sorry if I misunderstood you. rhett o rick Apr 2012 #139
Risk what? What's to risk? Power has been manipulating everything from early history to the Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #70
I don't think this case is turning out to be a good career move for the police chief or the SA onenote Apr 2012 #71
You're right about that. nt Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #76
You could be right, but isn't it something that Zimmerman is being treated like VIP, and such Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #19
Father was a justice of the peace. Kaleva Apr 2012 #32
Yup. A magistrate judge. nt Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #55
Just "magistrate" not "magistrate judge" onenote Apr 2012 #92
I think that a more important question is was daddyzimmy did PRIOR to becoming a magistrate Ecumenist Apr 2012 #141
I agree. How long has it been since Zimmerman shot the child? And STILL he runs free. nt Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #144
Maybe the three previous closed cases are an example of his ability to pull strings? Baitball Blogger Apr 2012 #59
If so he really is a very very powerful guy. onenote Apr 2012 #69
We have lawyers in the area with 8 DUIs Baitball Blogger Apr 2012 #74
How on earth does the grandfather being in the CIA Travelman Apr 2012 #24
The father is possible CIA also. Recall the 25 year career gap? slampoet Apr 2012 #31
Don't even need a college degree to be one in Virginia Kaleva Apr 2012 #35
That is totally irrelevant to the topic. leveymg Apr 2012 #42
Was he actually a judge? Kaleva Apr 2012 #44
Magistrate judges do the same job as any judge. In 3 of the litigated cases I manage, the Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #57
A judge with no requirement for a law degree? For even a college degree? hack89 Apr 2012 #60
In 24 states across the country, judges don’t need a law degree to serve on certain courts. Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #65
So why do you think being a Virginia magistrate hack89 Apr 2012 #66
Why does power function as power? Because power and money wield power since time Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #68
But you have yet to show he has either power or money. hack89 Apr 2012 #93
Shoeshine person? How low do you dream of making him to make him seem insignficant? Give me an Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #102
He was a magistrate for six years hack89 Apr 2012 #107
Question. I know you're a pro-gun, gun lover. No mystery about that. But would you defend anyone Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #109
I am on record as saying Zimerman broke the law and should be arrested. hack89 Apr 2012 #110
My reply Kaleva Apr 2012 #63
Here's how magistrate is viewed: "A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usa... Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #67
Zimmerman's father was a low level judicial officer... Kaleva Apr 2012 #86
Next thing you know, Zimmerman's father will be said to have fried burgers at McDonald's lol Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #90
Well, you certainly tried hard to make him more then he was. Kaleva Apr 2012 #103
There are 2 of you on this forum who long to make him a server at a local fast food joint, just to Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #104
It is hard to believe that a judicial officer for 6 years... Kaleva Apr 2012 #112
No - we just want you to present some actual facts hack89 Apr 2012 #113
Magistrates in Virginia do not do the same job as any judge onenote Apr 2012 #95
VA Magistrates issue warrants, subpoenas, summonses. They're Judges. leveymg Apr 2012 #97
And any judge in Virginia will tell you that they're not. onenote Apr 2012 #100
What, exactly, is your point? Are you implying that George getting off twice did not have anything leveymg Apr 2012 #108
The only relevance is that some folks are misdescribing what his father's job was. onenote Apr 2012 #115
I haven't seen any evidence that Zimmerman's father's... Kaleva Apr 2012 #118
Wow, way to dodge the question. slampoet Apr 2012 #116
Info on Robert Zimmeran Kaleva Apr 2012 #129
Who says there's a 25 year gap. Kaleva Apr 2012 #120
OK. Why would the CIA protect a cop wanna be HooptieWagon Apr 2012 #43
It isn't the cia it is connection gotten while in their employ. slampoet Apr 2012 #114
Well, I doubt the SA or Chief of Police are ex CIA HooptieWagon Apr 2012 #122
Or they have secrets that Zimmerman's dad dug up on them mainer Apr 2012 #123
and Church and KKK connections are EXACTLY the kind of things a CIA operative collects. slampoet Apr 2012 #125
CIA not allowed to spy domestically. HooptieWagon Apr 2012 #130
Valerie Plame lived in the US mainer Apr 2012 #131
She wasnt carrying out a domestic operation though HooptieWagon Apr 2012 #135
Who said Robert J was carrying out any domestic operations? mainer Apr 2012 #136
The speculation was that he used CIA contacts HooptieWagon Apr 2012 #137
Only when the turds cross the Rubicon to come and float around for a while--before the flush. n/t Horse with no Name Apr 2012 #78
So did Grandpappy Bush Horse with no Name Apr 2012 #82
Grampa Zimmerman supposedly "died" 20 years ago whistler162 Apr 2012 #138
More like 13 years ago. Not speculation, comparing his obit with info that's been released about HiPointDem Apr 2012 #176
No it does not nadinbrzezinski Apr 2012 #9
Zimmerman called Daddy, Daddy made some calls. Amerigo Vespucci Apr 2012 #18
That's what I think. When someone is facing the possibility of capital punishment, why not. Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #21
Yup, that he did nadinbrzezinski Apr 2012 #22
There are 100 different ways Pappy Zim could have made that first call after hearing from Georgie Amerigo Vespucci Apr 2012 #26
Local area connects and developing them is in the CIA handbook. slampoet Apr 2012 #28
I happen to live in an area with a lot of retired CIA folks. mainer Apr 2012 #12
My grandpa worked for the CIA XemaSab Apr 2012 #15
By some peope's logic, yup. nadinbrzezinski Apr 2012 #23
Maybe you could just click "alert" for starters and try the bullet if that fails Amerigo Vespucci Apr 2012 #27
I have a list too Horse with no Name Apr 2012 #85
Where were you when Walt Starr was tomnbstoned? Dr. Strange Apr 2012 #94
Haha joshcryer Apr 2012 #146
I read the link that was posted and deleted EmeraldCityGrl Apr 2012 #29
Interesting info JustAnotherGen Apr 2012 #34
NY Times says grandfather was "Army Intelligence" Justice4allofus Apr 2012 #36
Both might be true. Remember, before there was a CIA it was called Military Intel. slampoet Apr 2012 #37
I had a HS teacher (early 70s) who was a retired army colonel HooptieWagon Apr 2012 #46
I had a similar teacher on loan from the Naval War College. slampoet Apr 2012 #111
My father JustAnotherGen Apr 2012 #98
I think the family was trying to AVOID scrutiny when they got George off mainer Apr 2012 #39
I'm going out on a limb here and proposing a vastly more complicated explanation. Warren Stupidity Apr 2012 #45
+1 onenote Apr 2012 #47
+1000. My God, with all these CIA fantasies COLGATE4 Apr 2012 #89
I think you have it. MineralMan Apr 2012 #91
Bingo HooptieWagon Apr 2012 #132
zimmerman doesn't seem to be especially connected. he worked as a security guard, notoriously HiPointDem Apr 2012 #162
Church, fraternal orgs, chamber of commerce, etc HooptieWagon Apr 2012 #175
Weird coincidence about our Consul General in Barcelona DFW Apr 2012 #48
Thanks, it's interesting. I lived in Spain (not with the military or anything - I was married to a Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #79
Yes, I had been wondering about your Basque name DFW Apr 2012 #117
It sure wasn't! I'm sure you know that nowadays the skeletons of the Franco supporters Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #128
Post removed Post removed Apr 2012 #145
Isn't the color of his skin the more likely reason? nt hack89 Apr 2012 #49
That's the reason the murder took place, for sure. nt Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #50
And why the cops automatically took his side. nt hack89 Apr 2012 #54
Read grandfather's career recollections: in S. America during the "Dirty War" & in Franco's Spain leveymg Apr 2012 #51
great find! n/t librechik Apr 2012 #53
Clear that the grandfather has an intelligence service background onenote Apr 2012 #56
Thanks for pointing this out. He was indeed a "State Dept. spook." I know of at least 2 ex-CIA Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #62
My experience is similar onenote Apr 2012 #72
$35,000? nt Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #75
Salary for magistrates in Virginia onenote Apr 2012 #84
In case you wanted to see his face, here's Zimmerman's father, the "magistrate".... Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #88
Still has that military flattop. Guess it becomes him. leveymg Apr 2012 #99
Not just that. The fact that he won't show his face is very telling. nt Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #101
One could say, if he really believes George is innocent, he'd publicly stand right behind him. leveymg Apr 2012 #105
I think you're probably right. nt Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #106
It's the Grandfather, Robert W appears to have been a State Dept. spook. The father was military - leveymg Apr 2012 #96
I have a extended family member like that... EmeraldCityGrl Apr 2012 #77
Isn't it amazing how far money can stretch with certain connections? nt Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #81
Here's Robert W. Zimmerman - '60 Diplomatic List, Madrid, Zimmerman, Robert W., 1st sec; pol. ofl. leveymg Apr 2012 #119
Post removed Post removed Apr 2012 #58
Because it's not a "theory" that George's grandpa worked intelligence mainer Apr 2012 #61
Post removed Post removed Apr 2012 #64
An astute poster EmeraldCityGrl Apr 2012 #87
Find evidence of Zimmerman's connections influencing the handling of this case and get back to me. Vattel Apr 2012 #121
Find evidence reflecting Cheney the prick's influence over the oil industry and get back to me Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #124
I am not demanding legal proof. Vattel Apr 2012 #133
If there's no legal proof, there's a lot of speculation. In fact, speculation is almost all of what Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #134
Thanks for treating me like your BOY. slampoet Apr 2012 #126
Proof of anything usually starts with a hypothesis mainer Apr 2012 #127
so many assumptions arely staircase Apr 2012 #140
I don't think anyone is thinking the cops were lazy. In fact, I think that's the last supposition Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #143
Post removed Post removed Apr 2012 #147
And you joined Democratic Underground TODAY to post this, huh? nt Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #148
yep kmarx1917 Apr 2012 #151
You didn't realize the day you join DU shows on your profile Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #153
My crystal ball says... NYC_SKP Apr 2012 #154
He joined a few minutes ago, and was clueless he'd be figured out nt Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #155
Very Stealthy! NYC_SKP Apr 2012 #156
Yes! His post is already hidden. I think it's funny. He's not the only one that tried this nt Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #157
And now, PPRed. NYC_SKP Apr 2012 #158
I see that. Why do "they" do this to themselves? A desire to suffer? nt Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #159
Post removed Post removed Apr 2012 #167
Post removed Post removed Apr 2012 #160
I'd also like to know your thoughts on... kmarx1917 Apr 2012 #149
So where do you usually hang out that you had to join DU today to post this? nt Sarah Ibarruri Apr 2012 #150
Post removed Post removed Apr 2012 #152
Post removed Post removed Apr 2012 #168
Post removed Post removed Apr 2012 #170
Post removed Post removed Apr 2012 #171
It appears that Robert W. Zimmerman died in 1999 Kaleva Apr 2012 #142
And I hear some say his great-grandfather was a Pinkerton... cherokeeprogressive Apr 2012 #161
got a link for that? that *would* be interesting. HiPointDem Apr 2012 #163
Nah. It's just what I heard some people saying... cherokeeprogressive Apr 2012 #164
ah, i see. you were joking. zimmerman's grandpa actually was intelligence, though. that's HiPointDem Apr 2012 #165
Yes but as some other posters have pointed out... cherokeeprogressive Apr 2012 #166
a little favoritism fascisthunter Apr 2012 #169
So anyone who had a grandfather in the CIA can kill whoever they want without recourse? ButterflyBlood Apr 2012 #172
I find this post reaching. n/t vaberella Apr 2012 #173
well.... you'd know about reaching fascisthunter Apr 2012 #174
 

snooper2

(30,151 posts)
1. That's one weird ass website you linked too...
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:00 PM
Apr 2012

politics mixed with searches for people who are looking for a job LOL (which is usually apolitical)




Actually, the more I think about it the more sense it makes

Sarah Ibarruri

(21,043 posts)
2. It certainly goes well together, given that there are almost no jobs in our country anymore, and...
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:04 PM
Apr 2012

we have politics to blame for that.

 

obey

(66 posts)
3. Well that explains why they spell their last names differently
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:08 PM
Apr 2012

Kinda covers up the connection.

Sneaky bass turds, clever too.

mainer

(12,022 posts)
5. The grandfather's official obituary deleted the last n from his name.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:10 PM
Apr 2012

Which indicates he did drop the N during his lifetime.

 

obey

(66 posts)
20. Ah Ha, and Grampa Zimmermann was from Minnesota
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:40 PM
Apr 2012

as was Robert Allen Zimmerman who later changed HIS name to Bob Dylan.

I sense a pattern beginning to emerge here.

mainer

(12,022 posts)
33. And I sense a mole, Mr. 51 posts
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 01:01 PM
Apr 2012

"Active since March 24" -- after Trayvon Martin case became well known.

Posting extensively on how the CIA is not connected to the Zimmermans.

Sarah Ibarruri

(21,043 posts)
52. I never notice things like when posters became active. I guess I should. It might explain behavior
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 01:44 PM
Apr 2012

a bit.

 

HooptieWagon

(17,064 posts)
4. The grandfather died like 20 years ago?
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:09 PM
Apr 2012

Im just not convinced of the connection between CIA and SPD/SA. Why would the CIA have an intrest in protecting a murderer in Sanford? Even if Zimmys father is CIA, which is still speculation, what does that have to do with a local PD?

Sarah Ibarruri

(21,043 posts)
8. If this is correct, it would provide an explanation why Zimmerman is being given the VIP treatment
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:17 PM
Apr 2012

and has been from the moment he murdered a 17 year old boy to the present.

mainer

(12,022 posts)
10. It means the father could access damaging information
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:21 PM
Apr 2012

Which could be used to bring pressure to bear on certain law enforcement officers and prosecutors.

Or it could mean his retired intelligence buddies will step in to help an old pal's troublesome son.

Something caused law enforcement and the prosecutor's office to back off. Big time.

onenote

(42,700 posts)
13. So if daddy has this power, why didn't he get Georgie a cushy job?
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:27 PM
Apr 2012

It just doesn't add up that daddy has the ability to force the PD and state's attorney to risk their careers, but daddy doesn't pull a few strings to get Georgie a nice desk job where he sits around and does nothing for a weekly paycheck.

I still think that the Sanford PD and State's attorney were perfectly capable of mucking this up on their own.

mainer

(12,022 posts)
14. Because George is a troublemaker and a loser
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:30 PM
Apr 2012

who got kicked out of a previous security job after going bonkers and injuring a woman.

onenote

(42,700 posts)
16. So daddy can get the PD and SA to risk their careers for this loser but couldn't get him set up
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:34 PM
Apr 2012

in a job -- not necessarily one that required a security clearance? Does that make sense?

mainer

(12,022 posts)
17. George's life is on the line here. It makes sense this is far more urgent
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:35 PM
Apr 2012

than getting him a job he wouldn't be able to hold anyway.

If your kid faces prison for possible murder charge, you'll call in all your chits.

slampoet

(5,032 posts)
30. I have a 100 favors i can call in if I am in real trouble, but I don't have Job connections....
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:57 PM
Apr 2012

...this is somewhat typical.

 

rhett o rick

(55,981 posts)
38. Interesting that you choose to argue via questions in lieu of statements.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 01:15 PM
Apr 2012

If you have some thing to say, spit it out.

Sarah Ibarruri

(21,043 posts)
73. 1) Because a murderer is running free; 2) Because he's being given VIP treatment; 3) Because the
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 02:11 PM
Apr 2012

murderer's grandpappy was CIA, and his dad was a magistrate judge; 4) Because the supporters of the murderer are making the deceased victim out to be the perp; 5) Because the murderer was a psychotic, violent loser and he's receiving treatment as if he had been Mother Teresa; 6: Because the murderer's pals and supporters are lying through their ass ever more profusely, and it's becoming evident; 7) Because the population of the U.S. is clearly seeing through the bullshit.

Want me to name more reasons why it's interesting?

onenote

(42,700 posts)
80. I was asking why the poster thought it was interesting that I framed my posts as a question.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 02:16 PM
Apr 2012

Sorry you misunderstood the context of my comment.

 

rhett o rick

(55,981 posts)
139. Sorry if I misunderstood you.
Tue Apr 3, 2012, 12:09 AM
Apr 2012

But I equate arguing by question to the right-wing tactics. "Is Obama a Muslim?" Well is he? If he was would you ask the question?

If you dont agree with what someone says, state your view. Give your case.

That's just me. Do what you need to do.

Sarah Ibarruri

(21,043 posts)
70. Risk what? What's to risk? Power has been manipulating everything from early history to the
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 02:07 PM
Apr 2012

present. With what risk?

Sarah Ibarruri

(21,043 posts)
19. You could be right, but isn't it something that Zimmerman is being treated like VIP, and such
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:38 PM
Apr 2012

a coincidence that his grandpappy was in the CIA and his dad was a magistrate judge.

Kaleva

(36,298 posts)
32. Father was a justice of the peace.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:59 PM
Apr 2012

According to hack89's post in another thread. Looking at the excerpt he posted there, one didn't even need a college degree to be one prior to 2008.

"§ 19.2-33. Office of magistrate.

The office of magistrate shall be vested with all the authority, duties and obligations previously vested in the office of justice of the peace prior to January 1, 1974."

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+19.2-33

onenote

(42,700 posts)
92. Just "magistrate" not "magistrate judge"
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 02:47 PM
Apr 2012

The term "magistrate judge" is not used in Virginia and the official description posted by the Office of the Virginia magistrate states that magistrates are not judges with trial jurisdiction but rather are "judicial officers." You will not find any official reference to the term "magistrate judge" in Virginia law.

Ecumenist

(6,086 posts)
141. I think that a more important question is was daddyzimmy did PRIOR to becoming a magistrate
Tue Apr 3, 2012, 05:03 AM
Apr 2012

I cannot believe that he coasted and suddenly got that post as a magistrate in Virginia. What did he do before that time especially since he was in an area where there are many suspect departments, (Langley, Quantico-all within spitting distance). This goes deeper than even grandpappy.

onenote

(42,700 posts)
69. If so he really is a very very powerful guy.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 02:07 PM
Apr 2012

Some if not all of those cases arose in a different jurisdiction. I'm not saying it couldn't have happened, just that if you've had to bail your kid out repeatedly, and you have those kinds of connections, you might consider pulling those strings to get him set up somewhere that he can stay out of trouble.

I still think this is a simple case of a racist, incompetent police department and a racist cop wannabe.

Travelman

(708 posts)
24. How on earth does the grandfather being in the CIA
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:45 PM
Apr 2012

macigally translate into the father somehow having some sort of access to some sort of damaging information?


That makes absolutely no sense at all. And besides that, the CIA is VASTLY more descrete. If the Agency were actually involved, no one would ever have heard of Trayvon Martin.



This is all highly irrelevand and ludicrously speculative bullshit. Sorry.

slampoet

(5,032 posts)
31. The father is possible CIA also. Recall the 25 year career gap?
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:58 PM
Apr 2012

Could YOU get a magistrate job with even a 6 month gap in your resume?

Kaleva

(36,298 posts)
35. Don't even need a college degree to be one in Virginia
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 01:05 PM
Apr 2012

At least before 2008

"§ 19.2-33. Office of magistrate.

The office of magistrate shall be vested with all the authority, duties and obligations previously vested in the office of justice of the peace prior to January 1, 1974."

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+19.2-33

leveymg

(36,418 posts)
42. That is totally irrelevant to the topic.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 01:23 PM
Apr 2012

He was Judge, whether you call it a judge or a magistrate, whether it requiried a JD or BA.

Kaleva

(36,298 posts)
44. Was he actually a judge?
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 01:28 PM
Apr 2012

Or was he simply a justice of the peace for which one didn't even need a college degree (prior to 2008) to be.

Sarah Ibarruri

(21,043 posts)
57. Magistrate judges do the same job as any judge. In 3 of the litigated cases I manage, the
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 01:47 PM
Apr 2012

presiding judge is a magistrate judge. Often they oversee smaller cases, or are assigned to certain hearings, etc. etc. They make determinations on the case. In my cases, the magistrate judges make determinations, then these determinations are reviewed by the judge.

hack89

(39,171 posts)
60. A judge with no requirement for a law degree? For even a college degree?
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 01:52 PM
Apr 2012

can't imagine anyone lower on the legal totem pole.

Why do you think being a magistrate in Virginia translates into power and influence in Florida?

Sarah Ibarruri

(21,043 posts)
65. In 24 states across the country, judges don’t need a law degree to serve on certain courts.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 01:57 PM
Apr 2012

.In 24 states across the country, judges don’t need a law degree to serve on certain courts. And, despite the questionable appearance of having nonlawyer judges oversee certain cases, recent legislative efforts to require judges to hold a JD have produced mixed results.


http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/is_there_a_lawyer_in_the_court/

hack89

(39,171 posts)
66. So why do you think being a Virginia magistrate
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 02:01 PM
Apr 2012

translates into influence and power in Florida? Is he rich? Is he politically active? Why does being a justice of the peace for 6 years mean so much?

hack89

(39,171 posts)
93. But you have yet to show he has either power or money.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 02:47 PM
Apr 2012

What did he do for living that would give him either?

Sarah Ibarruri

(21,043 posts)
102. Shoeshine person? How low do you dream of making him to make him seem insignficant? Give me an
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 03:08 PM
Apr 2012

idea of how low you wish to make him seem in importance. I'm curious.

hack89

(39,171 posts)
107. He was a magistrate for six years
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 03:20 PM
Apr 2012

Six years as a justice of the peace is not the route to power and money - so tell me just how he gained all this power and influence? What did he do previously? Is he wealthy? Politically active?

What evidence do you have that he is influential in Florida? That's all I am asking.

Sarah Ibarruri

(21,043 posts)
109. Question. I know you're a pro-gun, gun lover. No mystery about that. But would you defend anyone
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 03:29 PM
Apr 2012

who shoots and pretends he was defending himself? What are you going to do if and when Zimmerman is arrested and his ass thrown in the slammer? STILL defend him to your last, dying breath?

hack89

(39,171 posts)
110. I am on record as saying Zimerman broke the law and should be arrested.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 03:34 PM
Apr 2012

he is guilty of manslaughter at a minimum - murder charges are certainly possible.

What he did was not self defense.

He was not arrested due to the racism of the police department.

So where were we - oh yes, tell me more about this great power and influence his father wields in Florida. Do you have any real facts?

Kaleva

(36,298 posts)
63. My reply
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 01:55 PM
Apr 2012

“Robert J. Zimmerman served as a full-time magistrate from 2000-2006. Please be advised that in Virginia magistrates are judicial officers, but they are not considered "judges" and do not possess trial jurisdiction. More detailed information on the role of the magistrate in Virginia is available on Virginia's Judicial System Website .”

http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/crime/zimmerman-dad-worked-as-magistrate

I think to keep referring to Zimmerman's father as a magistrate judge is misleading. In Virgina, a magistrate was formerly know as a justice of the peace.

Sarah Ibarruri

(21,043 posts)
67. Here's how magistrate is viewed: "A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usa...
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 02:03 PM
Apr 2012

A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge.

The term "magistrate" is often used (chiefly in judicial opinions) as a generic term for any independent judge who is capable of issuing warrants, reviewing arrests, etc.[5][6] When used in this way it does not denote a judge with a particular office. Instead, it denotes (somewhat circularly) a judge or judicial officer who is capable of hearing and deciding a particular matter. That capability is defined by statute or by common law.

In Virginia, for example, the Constitution of 1971 created the office of magistrate to replace the use in cities and counties of the justice of the peace, which is common in many states for this function.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magistrate


Kaleva

(36,298 posts)
86. Zimmerman's father was a low level judicial officer...
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 02:26 PM
Apr 2012

and not a magistrate judge. In Virginia, Zimmerman's father held the job of "magistrate" and not "magistrate judge". Referring to him as a "magistrate judge" isn't accurate.

"Magistrates will try to assist you by providing general information, but they are generally not attorneys and cannot give legal advice."

http://www.bvso.net/Documents/The%20Office%20of%20The%20Virginia%20Magistrate.pdf


Sarah Ibarruri

(21,043 posts)
90. Next thing you know, Zimmerman's father will be said to have fried burgers at McDonald's lol
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 02:32 PM
Apr 2012

Every time I hear it he's a lower, lower, and lower level magistrate. How low can they make him go? Should be interesting.

Kaleva

(36,298 posts)
103. Well, you certainly tried hard to make him more then he was.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 03:08 PM
Apr 2012

In an earlier post, you said:

"Magistrate judges do the same job as any judge."

While I take your word that magistrate judges do the same job as any judge, Zimmerman's father wasn't one. In Virginia there are "Chief magistrates" and "magistrates" but no "magistrate judges". Zimmerman's dad was a magistrate; a judicial official.

Sarah Ibarruri

(21,043 posts)
104. There are 2 of you on this forum who long to make him a server at a local fast food joint, just to
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 03:10 PM
Apr 2012

have him seem positively helpless.

Kaleva

(36,298 posts)
112. It is hard to believe that a judicial officer for 6 years...
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 03:36 PM
Apr 2012

would be able to build a network of connections and have considerable influence in other states.

“Robert J. Zimmerman served as a full-time magistrate from 2000-2006. Please be advised that in Virginia magistrates are judicial officers, but they are not considered "judges" and do not possess trial jurisdiction. More detailed information on the role of the magistrate in Virginia is available on Virginia's Judicial System Website .”

http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/crime/zimmerman-dad-worked-as-magistrate

Magistrates in Virginia have the power to:

"to issue arrest warrants
to issue search warrants
to admit to bail or commit to jail
to issue warrants or subpoenas
to issue civil warrants
to administer oaths and take acknowledgements
to act as conservator of the peace
to accept prepayment for traffic and certain minor misdemeanor offenses
to issue temporary detention orders"

http://www.bvso.net/Documents/The%20Office%20of%20The%20Virginia%20Magistrate.pdf




hack89

(39,171 posts)
113. No - we just want you to present some actual facts
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 03:36 PM
Apr 2012

that show his father had real power, money and influence. What did he do for a living, for example?

onenote

(42,700 posts)
95. Magistrates in Virginia do not do the same job as any judge
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 02:51 PM
Apr 2012

Indeed, the state is specific in describing them as not being judges with trial jurisdiction. Indeed, during the time Zimmerman's dad was a magistrate (2002-2006, I believe), magistrates couldn't even accept payment for traffic tickets. That power was only given to them in 2008 as part of an "upgrade" in the position of magistrate.

http://valawyersweekly.com/2008/04/07/magistrate-system-is-upgraded-pay-is-not/

leveymg

(36,418 posts)
97. VA Magistrates issue warrants, subpoenas, summonses. They're Judges.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 03:02 PM
Apr 2012

They just don't do trial cases

onenote

(42,700 posts)
100. And any judge in Virginia will tell you that they're not.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 03:07 PM
Apr 2012

Among other things, they're not subject to the same code of ethical responsibility as judges. They are paid a fraction of what judges are paid in Virginia.

I've lived in Virginia most of my life. While my legal practice is in DC, I have a good friend that I grew up with who served for several year's as an assistant state's attorney. According to him, no one thinks of magistrates as "judges" -- they don't even refer to them as "your honor" (just sir or ma'am).

Do you have first hand experience to the contrary?

leveymg

(36,418 posts)
108. What, exactly, is your point? Are you implying that George getting off twice did not have anything
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 03:22 PM
Apr 2012

to do with the father? Or, that the father's apparent connections with the criminal justice system -- whatever they might have been -- didn't have anything to do with the extreme leniency shown George in 2005 and on the night of the shooting?

If not that, what's the relevance of the issue you raise?

onenote

(42,700 posts)
115. The only relevance is that some folks are misdescribing what his father's job was.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 03:39 PM
Apr 2012

It seems to me that nothing good comes out of people being misinformed as to what his father's job was. I'm not the one that raised the fact he was a magistrate. I'm just trying to help clarify what that position is, and isn't.

Kaleva

(36,298 posts)
118. I haven't seen any evidence that Zimmerman's father's...
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 03:49 PM
Apr 2012

six year stint as a magistrate in the state of Virginia somehow gave him the pull and influence in the state of Florida to insure that extreme leniency was shown to his son in that state. Some here keep referring to Zimmerman's father as a "magistrate judge" even though there is no such thing in Virginia.

For giggles, I looked up the duties of a magistrate in my home state of Michigan and they are much more extensive then they are in Virginia and the qualifications to be one here are much higher.

Kaleva

(36,298 posts)
129. Info on Robert Zimmeran
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 05:36 PM
Apr 2012

Read one article giving his age as 64 and another saying he retired from the military. Doing some calculations, Robert may have enlisted or was drafted around 1966 or later. If he stayed in for the standard 20 years, he would have retired somewhere around 1986. Now we have something like a 14 year gap.

"Meanwhile, a report in The Washington Post revealed new details about Zimmerman’s upbringing in Manassas, Va. Neighbors told the Post that Zimmerman’s family was “very Catholic...very religious,” and his father, Robert Zimmerman, a retired military man who could be strict."


http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-03-23/news/os-trayvon-martin-george-zimmerman-job-20120323_1_robert-zimmerman-source-new-details

Kaleva

(36,298 posts)
120. Who says there's a 25 year gap.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 04:02 PM
Apr 2012

Just because we don't know in detail what Zimmerman's father's employment history is, that doesn't mean that a gap exists.

 

HooptieWagon

(17,064 posts)
43. OK. Why would the CIA protect a cop wanna be
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 01:25 PM
Apr 2012

From murder charges? Dont they have more important things to do? Whats next... fixing traffic tickets?

slampoet

(5,032 posts)
114. It isn't the cia it is connection gotten while in their employ.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 03:38 PM
Apr 2012

The CIA handbook talks about cultivating this kind of contact network as a necessary asset for every operative even Non-field agents.

 

HooptieWagon

(17,064 posts)
122. Well, I doubt the SA or Chief of Police are ex CIA
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 04:36 PM
Apr 2012

So I fail to see what the CIA connection is. More than likely they all go to the same church or belong to the same KKK club or something.

mainer

(12,022 posts)
123. Or they have secrets that Zimmerman's dad dug up on them
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 04:38 PM
Apr 2012

and were thus vulnerable to being manipulated.

It's interesting to note that Wolfinger (like Robert J Zimmerman) is also a Vietnam vet, and some veterans boards note that he comes from the same area in eastern PA that Zimmerman came from.

slampoet

(5,032 posts)
125. and Church and KKK connections are EXACTLY the kind of things a CIA operative collects.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 05:02 PM
Apr 2012

I really don't know how much plainer I can put it.

 

HooptieWagon

(17,064 posts)
130. CIA not allowed to spy domestically.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 05:37 PM
Apr 2012

Not that they dont, but theyre not going to risk knowledge of such activity getting out in order to help some loser beat a murder rap. They have bigger fish to fry. More than likely SA and Zimmdad go to the same church or some other local interest in common. Not a CIA connection.

 

HooptieWagon

(17,064 posts)
135. She wasnt carrying out a domestic operation though
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 06:05 PM
Apr 2012

She was investigating international arms shipments. Domestic operations fall under the FBI.

mainer

(12,022 posts)
136. Who said Robert J was carrying out any domestic operations?
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 06:07 PM
Apr 2012

He was just living in Manassas, VA. There's no information whatsoever on his activities there.

 

HooptieWagon

(17,064 posts)
137. The speculation was that he used CIA contacts
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 07:11 PM
Apr 2012

To dig up dirt on the SA, and then used that info as leverage to get his loser kid free of charges. Seems quite far fetched to me.

 

whistler162

(11,155 posts)
138. Grampa Zimmerman supposedly "died" 20 years ago
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 08:52 PM
Apr 2012

but you know the CIA<hint hint wink wink>.

They are out in force 4 days early!

 

HiPointDem

(20,729 posts)
176. More like 13 years ago. Not speculation, comparing his obit with info that's been released about
Mon Apr 9, 2012, 03:40 AM
Apr 2012

the family makes it pretty certain it's the grandpa.

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/george-zimmerman?before=1333458622


United States. Dept. of State, United States. Dept. of State - 1999 - Snippet view
Robert Walter Zimmermann, 80, died on March 5 in Washington, DC, of a heart attack. During his Foreign Service career as a ... The grave site, on a wooded hillside, offers a clear view of the State Department's diplomatic entrance...

Sarah Ibarruri

(21,043 posts)
21. That's what I think. When someone is facing the possibility of capital punishment, why not.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:40 PM
Apr 2012

When people are in serious trouble, they'll call for help from any source, and what better sources than a grandpappy that was in the CIA and had pals, and a pappy that was a magistrate judge.

 

nadinbrzezinski

(154,021 posts)
22. Yup, that he did
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:41 PM
Apr 2012

To the local power structure...they are well plugged in.

CIA twenty years after grand dad passed hardly.

Amerigo Vespucci

(30,885 posts)
26. There are 100 different ways Pappy Zim could have made that first call after hearing from Georgie
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:50 PM
Apr 2012

1). He could have called someone in the "local power structure" directly

2). He could have called a peer with influence on the "local power structure"

At this point there's no way of knowing the full chain of events, but I am 100% convinced that the first two steps were that Zimmerman called Daddy, and Daddy made a call.

And I agree...there was no reason to reach out to the CIA or anyone associated with it. Pappy Zim didn;t have to lean on Grandpappy Zim's "legacy."

He just had to make one phone call, identify himself to the person on the other end, and the dominoes fell. The "local power structure" fell into lock-step and reported for duty.

slampoet

(5,032 posts)
28. Local area connects and developing them is in the CIA handbook.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:54 PM
Apr 2012

ALSO we still have a 25 year career gap for the Robert Zimmerman who is still alive.

mainer

(12,022 posts)
12. I happen to live in an area with a lot of retired CIA folks.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:23 PM
Apr 2012

And they all know each other. So my antennae are up on this particular topic.

I suspect the same may be true in that Florida town as well.

XemaSab

(60,212 posts)
15. My grandpa worked for the CIA
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:31 PM
Apr 2012

Does that mean that I can go around capping people?

(Please let me know. There's some people I know deserve a bullet.)

EmeraldCityGrl

(4,310 posts)
29. I read the link that was posted and deleted
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 12:54 PM
Apr 2012

yesterday. The format was one of an interview with R.W. Zimmermann giving
a very detailed account of his career. This was a man that served under several
presidents beginning with I believe Nixon. He was present in several countries
during the time of revolution and great upheaval. His wife Gladys, was the the
daughter of the second person in charge of the Cuban Embassy.

People with long careers such as his, make connections that last a lifetime.
Those connections can very well be available to their children and grandchildren.

For anyone to have read this interview and believe that this family is not "special"
in how they are treated in the criminal justice system are in denial of how this
country and this system works for the privileged few.

JustAnotherGen

(31,819 posts)
34. Interesting info
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 01:03 PM
Apr 2012

But Zimmerman is getting away with this not because of any connections - but because Martin was black.

It's that simple. Had it been a 'connected' black guy shooting a white 17 year old - it wouldn't matter HOW far and long connected he was . . . . he would have already been tried, convicted and electrocuted because that's what happens when black people kill white people in Florida.

Truthfully - lets not gild the lily and make this some right wing wingnut conspiracy.

The only conspiracy here is the long standing one that's been going on since 1865.

Black Americans just got reminded to keep our sons in check/in place - that's all. It's that simple. Same old conspiracy different day.

 

Justice4allofus

(72 posts)
36. NY Times says grandfather was "Army Intelligence"
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 01:09 PM
Apr 2012

I'm not going to contradict your claim that he was CIA, but the NY Times says Army Intelligence. Still, NYT did not say he was not CIA, whichi is possible. The thing is the man was a spy.

http://nyti.ms/HhHuGY

slampoet

(5,032 posts)
37. Both might be true. Remember, before there was a CIA it was called Military Intel.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 01:15 PM
Apr 2012

Before 1947 it was called the The Office of Strategic Services (OSS)

Prior to the formation of the OSS during WWII, American intelligence had been conducted on an ad-hoc basis by the various departments of the executive branch, including the State, Treasury, Navy, and War Departments.

 

HooptieWagon

(17,064 posts)
46. I had a HS teacher (early 70s) who was a retired army colonel
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 01:36 PM
Apr 2012

But really he was ex CIA. He said his job at CIA was to go to cocktail parties and chat up wives of foreign diplomats. I'm guessing thats about 99% of what the CIA does... cloak and dagger secret agent probably very minimal.

JustAnotherGen

(31,819 posts)
98. My father
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 03:05 PM
Apr 2012

Was in the first 'class' of Green Berets. He was considered "Intelligence".

It doesn't give me the right to shoot someone in cold blood.

mainer

(12,022 posts)
39. I think the family was trying to AVOID scrutiny when they got George off
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 01:17 PM
Apr 2012

If George was charged and went to trial, it would drag the family -- and their past -- into the spotlight. They thought they could make it go away and the press wouldn't do any digging. Instead, by manipulating things and trying to make it go away, it all blew up in their faces. It became a bigger story than it ever would have.

The coverup BECAME the story.

If I had a job that required secrecy, I would want to avoid my kid going on trial, too. I would want to avoid the press's attention.

 

Warren Stupidity

(48,181 posts)
45. I'm going out on a limb here and proposing a vastly more complicated explanation.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 01:35 PM
Apr 2012

1. SYG laws like the one in Florida enable sociopathic murderers to get away with murdering people by making a claim of self defense.

2. Racist police departments like Sanford's aid and abet sociopathic murderers, see (1).

COLGATE4

(14,732 posts)
89. +1000. My God, with all these CIA fantasies
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 02:31 PM
Apr 2012

on these boards you'd think it was something from Rim Job's board instead.

MineralMan

(146,288 posts)
91. I think you have it.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 02:45 PM
Apr 2012

We rarely agree, but in this case we do.

There's nothing more usual than the killing of a black youth by a white man going unprosecuted in Florida or several other southern states. No connections are required, although I suppose the father could be in the same fraternal organization with the chief of police. Now, that wouldn't surprise me. Which fraternal organization? Doesn't matter that much, really. Could even one that wears costumes with pointy hats.

 

HiPointDem

(20,729 posts)
162. zimmerman doesn't seem to be especially connected. he worked as a security guard, notoriously
Sat Apr 7, 2012, 05:02 PM
Apr 2012

low-wage job for the risk involved. and he got canned.

his dad came to florida at retirement. why would he have a lot of local connections in florida?

DFW

(54,370 posts)
48. Weird coincidence about our Consul General in Barcelona
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 01:41 PM
Apr 2012

Does this post always go to some right wing tool?

I was living there in the late sixties, knew the Consul General then. He was a Nixon-cheering, Franco-loving
pro-fascist, made no bones about it. In the Nixon era, it was our government's policy to lick Franco's fascist
ass as long as he let us have free rein with our military installations in Spain. Agnew even visited Franco on
July 18th. JULY 18TH for Pete's sake!! That would have been the equivalent of FDR sending his VP to visit
Hitler in the anniversary of the Kristallnacht.

Some history to explain my comment:
July 18th was the official date of the start of the fascist uprising that started the Spanish Civil War. In some
accounts, it was the 17th, but the fascists celebrated the 18th. The Caudillo ("Führer&quot was supposed to be
General Sanjurjo, who was in exile in Portugal, but Sanjurjo insisted that his plane be overloaded with
fancy dress uniforms. His pilot warned that the plane was overweight for safe flight. Sanjurjo, an egotistical
bastard, overruled his pilot. The plane took off, crashed, and Sanjurjo did not survive the crash. At least the
pilot did survive. Franco became Caudillo due to his superior's fatal vanity.

Sarah Ibarruri

(21,043 posts)
79. Thanks, it's interesting. I lived in Spain (not with the military or anything - I was married to a
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 02:15 PM
Apr 2012

Spaniard), and found out a lot of what went on during Franco.

Fascist assholes were provided nice lifestyles and free homes, and their descendants live rather nicely nowadays, having inherited all that.

DFW

(54,370 posts)
117. Yes, I had been wondering about your Basque name
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 03:41 PM
Apr 2012

I was there in the later part of Franco's reign, when things were already starting to loosen up a little.
In the early years, Spain was not a pleasant place to be if you were not "in with the in crowd."

Sarah Ibarruri

(21,043 posts)
128. It sure wasn't! I'm sure you know that nowadays the skeletons of the Franco supporters
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 05:26 PM
Apr 2012

remains alive and well inside the PP (Partido Popular) political party, which was established by avid Franquista Manuel Fraga back in the 70s, of which Mariano Rajoy is a member. He's barely in Spain long as prime minister, and already he's highly unpopular, wanting to cut every imaginable social program. This, in a country which LOVES its social programs. I can't stand the man.

Of course, Spain in in dire straits like the U.S. Same thing that corporations, the wealthy, and politicians did here, they did likewise in Spain. Still, life does not get as precarious in Spain as it does here. Cities and towns there are made for walking, not riding, so everything is close by and there's a very low reliance on petrol and more on feet, people socialize almost daily, and a tremendous amount of that is done at home, and families look after one another. It's different and much easier to bear than here. However, Spaniards will not tolerate their programs being cut much. They will strike and protest at the drop of a hat and bring the entire country to a halt.

We'll see what happens. My brother is currently living in Spain and keeping me posted on everything. People are really p-o'd.

Response to Sarah Ibarruri (Reply #79)

leveymg

(36,418 posts)
51. Read grandfather's career recollections: in S. America during the "Dirty War" & in Franco's Spain
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 01:43 PM
Apr 2012

Last edited Mon Apr 2, 2012, 02:25 PM - Edit history (1)

Here's his end of career interview with the Foreign Affairs Oral History project in the National Archives. http://international.loc.gov/service/mss/mssmisc/mfdip/2005%20txt%20files/2004zim01.txt

He was what might be described as a typical State Dept. spook during the Cold War, except that Zimmerman was posted in Spain and ended up in Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil during the "Dirty War." Early in the interview, he talks matter of factly about the Fascists he dealt with routinely in Spain and Portugal. His observations about Carter's attention to Human Rights are also notable for their ambivalence.

If George Zimmerman had Right-wing authoritarian attitudes (and the interview below is indeed with George's grandfather), he may have gotten them through his father who was reportedly Military Intelligence in Vietnam from his Grandfather, who was either CIA under diplomatic cover posted in some of the worst human rights violations in the world or was a career State Dept. guy in those posts who went over to CIA as a contractor at the end of his State Dept. posting. More specifically, he moved over to the "HUMINT Office of the old Intelligence Committee Staff" posted at Langley. At the very end of the interview he sums up his later career (1985-91) as being with the ARA (DOS Bureau of Inter-American Affairs). He appears to have been part of an "Inspection Corps," which may have been attached to the State Department, or that may have been his cover. But, there is no question about that he was a spook posted in some of the nastiest Spanish-speaking posts during the Cold War:


Q: Then you came back in 1974 to serve in ARA for five years.

ZIMMERMANN: That is right. I really didn't have an assignment when I came back. I had interviews with the Inspection Corps, with Ken Young and also with Bill Bowdler in ARA. Bill said, "We want you to take over Brazilian affairs. You have Portuguese and we think it will be great." It looked pretty good to me, I didn't see anything else on the horizon at that point. I had not ever been in Brazil before, and I had to do my homework fast. There was an excellent Ambassador at the other end, John Crimmins. It was a great assignment and I really enjoyed it. There were many problems and it was a very busy time.
It became even busier when the office became responsible for all East Coast Affairs including Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. We were having problems over nuclear facilities in Brazil and the military agreements were going a little sour because of friction on nuclear matters. They also wanted a lot more military aid than we were prepared to give them at that point. Also, as I say the dirty war was going on in Argentina and Uruguay.

Q: The dirty war being?

ZIMMERMANN: The dirty war was referred to the atrocities committed by both the military government and the opposition. There were hidden massacres and burials at night that nobody knew about. People were abducted and never heard from again. People were dropped out of planes over the river. It was a very dirty war.
At one point Robert Hill was Ambassador there. I stayed with him usually when I went to Buenos Aires. I remember riding with him with four lead cars and two behind. It was that bad in terms of threats against Americans who were accused of being too sympathetic with the "opposition". It was a very dirty problem. Obviously the human rights organizations here were very much up in the air, and, of course, we were too. The Carter administration properly placed great emphasis on human rights. There was great pressure from the White House on these things.

Q: Basically you had military governments in all three countries.

ZIMMERMANN: That is true, and Stroessner had been in Paraguay since 1955.

Q: And Uruguay had a military government?

ZIMMERMANN: Yes.

Q: I think it is very interesting to look at the impact of the human rights policy during Carter on the Foreign Service and its almost visceral reaction about how this sort of upsets all sorts of other things. I think we have learned to live with it. But this was the beginning. Did you and your colleagues have trouble adjusting to this major emphasis on something... ?

ZIMMERMANN: I don't think any of us held any objection to this being a real goal in our foreign policy. I think what gave many of us problems was that it became almost the only goal in some ways. It certainly became a predominant goal and other means of achieving ends were sort of left in limbo.

Q: Did you find yourself going head-to-head with Pat Derian, head of the Human Rights office, or others in her office?

ZIMMERMANN: No, you didn't go head-to-head with Pat Derian. Our Assistant Secretary was very careful on this score. We followed his lead. Fred Rondon, who was my Argentine Desk officer and later my deputy, had the most contact with Pat Derian. In fact he accompanied her on a trip down to Argentina. He was a good man for it and was bilingual in Spanish and could help out a great deal with Pat. He also had good rapport with her, I think, given the circumstances. We took our lead from the Assistant Secretary really on how to play this.

Q: How did this translate with relations? Was it one of these things where we would go up and say you have to be more human rightish and then go on our way and nothing would happen but we had made our bid?

ZIMMERMANN: My opinion is that our representations seldom led anywhere in Uruguay or Argentina, certainly not in Argentina. In Argentina, one feels half out of the real world. There is a feeling of being isolated from world events. Certainly, they, in their own activities felt that; they didn't give a damn about opinion elsewhere.

Q: They can live off their own resources.

ZIMMERMANN: Exactly. We tried hard. I mean the violations were so egregious that it wasn't hard to be in support of human rights, believe me. The violations were incredible, including by the Tupamaros in Uruguay. We may have had a slightly restraining role in Uruguay in some cases, but not a great success.

Q: How about with Brazil and human rights?

ZIMMERMANN: Human rights was a factor in Brazil...the death squads and so forth. But violations had tapered off as an issue in some way versus what it had been earlier, and certainly Brazil in this respect was way over-shadowed by Uruguay and Argentina. But there were still problems. We got wind of violations less than we did in Argentina. Information came from interviews with people who had been released from prison some time later. Also, we had other fish to fry in Brazil, including the nuclear issue, because they were by far the most advanced in nuclear research, etc., and were dickering with the Germans.

Q: What was the issue on the nuclear side that got us so involved?

ZIMMERMANN: Well, the issue was basically what their ultimate intentions were. We discouraged the production of enriched uranium, which we tried to keep away from most countries. Were their goals just nuclear power and research or were they intent on developing military uses?
We had a similar problem with the Argentines. We were very concerned. They would not let us see their reactors except from a distance. But the issue didn't come up as sharply as it did in Brazil because Brazil was dickering with German firms for plutonium enrichment equipment and processes. In the end, the German processes did not prove very successful as I remember. I think they were systems that had not really been proved in themselves and as far as I know, did not prove to be very useful to the Brazilians either. It cost a lot of money and time and plus bad relations for a while.

Q: Brazil, unlike most of the other Latin American countries, hasn't really fought any wars with anybody for a long time. Why would it want a bomb?

ZIMMERMANN: Well, Brazil sent troops to fight with us in World War II and were the only Latin Americans that did.

Q: Yes, and they fought the Italian campaign. But you don't have a feeling that the Brazilians are after slices of territory. What would they use a bomb for?

ZIMMERMANN: Argentina. This was the big rival on the continent and they were aware that the Argentines were also pursuing nuclear development.

Q: Was it the feeling that the Argentines are messing around with nuclear things so we better have one ourselves?

ZIMMERMANN: That was the feeling on both sides, absolutely.

Q: You look at the map and you would say that you would have a real hard time making much of...they abut on each other in a relatively small area of little consequence.

ZIMMERMANN: Uruguay was established as a buffer state. I think in Brazil's case it was a little more than that, however. In Brazil it was a question of being a big power. They always wanted to be considered a big power, particularly by the US, and pointed at us and said we didn't treat them as a big power. The nuclear aspect was the mark of a big power and therefore they wanted to develop this. I think that was a very major part of the consideration.

Q: How did you evaluate our Embassies? Were we well represented in those countries?

ZIMMERMANN: Well, I think under John Crimmins the Embassy was very strong in Brazil. He was a top professional to my mind. In Uruguay, Larry Pezzulo, who was Ambassador when I left ARA, was excellent and worked very hard. His predecessor was not under the same pressures, so I think a comparison might be unfair.
In Paraguay Landau did a very good job for a number of years. I visited there twice. I flew back with the body of the Ambassador who died here and saw Stroessner a couple of times. It was a very low key operation compared with events in neighboring countries.
I think Hill did a good job in Argentina although I know he was controversial. I was never that closely involved with Raul Castro ...from Arizona I believe. I took him through his paces here before he went down, but I did not have that much of a feeling later.

Q: Carter did speak some Spanish. Was there more interest in ARA during his administration?

ZIMMERMANN: I don't know. Obviously Kennedy had an interest with his Alliance for Progress program. I think Johnson was so involved in the Vietnam business that he probably didn't have a whole lot of time for it, at least as far as I remember...I was on the Far East side at that point. I think Carter had a genuine interest in Latin America. He had Bob Pastor as his NSC guy for Latin America affairs.

Q: Did Rosalynn Carter make a trip to Latin America?

ZIMMERMANN: Yes, she went to Brazil for an inauguration that the President could not attend. I don't think the Brazilians appreciated her visit properly. I think that was unfair, but again it was the old Latin machismo. She got very involved in human rights down there too, which didn't endear her to the government.

Q: You retired when?

ZIMMERMANN: In February 1979.

Q: What have you been doing since?

ZIMMERMANN: That fall they were setting up the new FOI (Freedom of Information) office and I started working with the first team. After about a year and a half or so, Larry Pickering wanted me to join the historic document review center...it was sort of a Bangkok mafia. So I moved down there and am still working down there insofar as the salary cap permits me.
But aside from that, most of my work during the past five years has been with the Intelligence Community Staff on the HUMINT committee. That was broken up as of July under Gates. My contract is being kept alive until they decide how this settles down, whether they even want any contractors back. The HUMINT office is being moved out to Langley and the other divisions of the old Intelligence Community Staff are being parceled out elsewhere. I did mostly projects that had to do with Latin American and the Iberian Peninsula.

Q: Okay. I want to thank you very much.

onenote

(42,700 posts)
56. Clear that the grandfather has an intelligence service background
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 01:47 PM
Apr 2012

and while it may be that the father went into the same line of work, has that actually been "reported" anywhere?

Sarah Ibarruri

(21,043 posts)
62. Thanks for pointing this out. He was indeed a "State Dept. spook." I know of at least 2 ex-CIA
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 01:54 PM
Apr 2012

agents. (I think they're ex - or maybe one is never an ex-CIA??) They live in Miami.

These people are very nicely $et up financially, don't hold down a job that I know of, and have good friends among authority, from a mayor to ordinary police officers.

onenote

(42,700 posts)
72. My experience is similar
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 02:11 PM
Apr 2012

I know a lot of folks here in the DC area that worked in various aspects of the intelligence community. For the most part, they have landed very well paying "consultant" type jobs with defense contractors, private security firms, etc etc. Ending up as a $35K per year low level magistrate? That's not the typical career path of someone who is well connected.

onenote

(42,700 posts)
84. Salary for magistrates in Virginia
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 02:19 PM
Apr 2012

Pay scale is from $35K to $50K depending on education and experience. A magistrate getting hired today with a law degree (not required) can get $50K. Admittedly, I'm assuming that Zimmerman's daddy doesn't have a law degree and, by the time he retired as a magistrate, he might have been making more than $35K, but not much more.

leveymg

(36,418 posts)
99. Still has that military flattop. Guess it becomes him.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 03:06 PM
Apr 2012

That doesn't make him a bad person, of course. But, it's a visual clue of the image he projects to the world.

leveymg

(36,418 posts)
105. One could say, if he really believes George is innocent, he'd publicly stand right behind him.
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 03:13 PM
Apr 2012

Plus, a lot of stuff that's come from the family --including (I recall) the father's statement that George's head was being pounded into the concrete and he had a broken nose and stitches -- has proven to be total BS.

Frankly, if I were the Dad and I had gotten my son off 4 violence charges, including felony assault on a police officer, in 2005 -- and my son went on to commit a crime like this, I wouldn't show my face, either.

leveymg

(36,418 posts)
96. It's the Grandfather, Robert W appears to have been a State Dept. spook. The father was military -
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 02:54 PM
Apr 2012

it's still not clear what the father did except that he was in Vietnam. The father, Robert J. Zimmerman, had a military pension, and the fact that the Magistrate's job didn't pay that much doesn't mean that he wasn't part of a larger network.

This is all circumstantial, anyway. But, it does go to George's attitudes toward things like politics and violence.

EmeraldCityGrl

(4,310 posts)
77. I have a extended family member like that...
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 02:14 PM
Apr 2012

Two homes overseas, several properties here, travel extensively and all this from
a career teaching first grade often in overseas schools.

Amazing what one can do with a teachers salary.

Response to Sarah Ibarruri (Original post)

mainer

(12,022 posts)
61. Because it's not a "theory" that George's grandpa worked intelligence
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 01:53 PM
Apr 2012

It appeared in the NYT yesterday.

The speculation is whether George's dad is also intelligence (a missing 25-year occupational gap not yet explained), and may have asked his circle of friends to quash any charges against his son.

Response to mainer (Reply #61)

EmeraldCityGrl

(4,310 posts)
87. An astute poster
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 02:26 PM
Apr 2012

stated yesterday that Trayvon's case would never go to trial if family connections
existed and were used to override the lead investigators recommendation that
George Zimmerman be charged with manslaughter.

I feel just the opposite. If responsible journalists are able to expose that a black
teenagers murder was committed by a racist that already knew he had special privilege
from previous arrests, there would be an argument for pre-meditated murder.

Sarah Ibarruri

(21,043 posts)
124. Find evidence reflecting Cheney the prick's influence over the oil industry and get back to me
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 04:48 PM
Apr 2012

Your assumption that legal proof must be had before any assumptions can be made, would bring life on this planet to a complete halt.

Sarah Ibarruri

(21,043 posts)
134. If there's no legal proof, there's a lot of speculation. In fact, speculation is almost all of what
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 06:02 PM
Apr 2012

people do on this planet.

mainer

(12,022 posts)
127. Proof of anything usually starts with a hypothesis
Mon Apr 2, 2012, 05:18 PM
Apr 2012

Which is what is being developed and investigated.

arely staircase

(12,482 posts)
140. so many assumptions
Tue Apr 3, 2012, 12:20 AM
Apr 2012

like the grandfather immediately got dirt on the local.cops and was able to blackmail them into not pressing charges

As opposed to

some lazy racist outback law enforcement goobers just blew it off and didn't do their jobs.

occum's thingy

Sarah Ibarruri

(21,043 posts)
143. I don't think anyone is thinking the cops were lazy. In fact, I think that's the last supposition
Tue Apr 3, 2012, 11:20 AM
Apr 2012

anyone has. I think racism is the issue in this. That, and perhaps other issues we don't quite know. Zimmerman is being treated like some VIP, and I, for one, want to know the reason.

Response to Sarah Ibarruri (Reply #143)

 

NYC_SKP

(68,644 posts)
154. My crystal ball says...
Fri Apr 6, 2012, 09:22 PM
Apr 2012

...that the post will be hidden.

But I wonder if a person who doesn't know that their post count is visible to anyone could be an intruder, or if they're just inexperienced.

 

NYC_SKP

(68,644 posts)
156. Very Stealthy!
Fri Apr 6, 2012, 09:26 PM
Apr 2012

And that username, kmarx1917....

No one would ever suspect with a name like that....



PS, post hidden, but still and active member....

Response to Sarah Ibarruri (Reply #159)

Response to Sarah Ibarruri (Reply #155)

 

kmarx1917

(4 posts)
149. I'd also like to know your thoughts on...
Fri Apr 6, 2012, 09:08 PM
Apr 2012

Who killed JFK?

Where was the fake moon landing filmed at? I bet you access to this information!

Sarah Ibarruri

(21,043 posts)
150. So where do you usually hang out that you had to join DU today to post this? nt
Fri Apr 6, 2012, 09:09 PM
Apr 2012

Or should I take a guess?

Response to Sarah Ibarruri (Reply #150)

Response to Sarah Ibarruri (Reply #150)

Response to Sarah Ibarruri (Reply #150)

Response to Post removed (Reply #170)

Kaleva

(36,298 posts)
142. It appears that Robert W. Zimmerman died in 1999
Tue Apr 3, 2012, 09:25 AM
Apr 2012

A post by HiPointDem:

"ZIMMERMANN, ROBERT WALTER, fgn. service officer; b. Chgo., Feb. 5, 1919; s. Clémence Robert and Meu (Becker)


and he died in 1999.

United States. Dept. of State, United States. Dept. of State - 1999 - Snippet view
Robert Walter Zimmermann, 80, died on March 5 in Washington, DC, of a heart attack. During his Foreign Service career as a ... The grave site, on a wooded hillside, offers a clear view of the State Department's diplomatic entrance..."

https://cgi.marquiswhoswho.com/OnDemand/Default.aspx?last_name=Zimmermann&first_name=Robert"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=507926
 

cherokeeprogressive

(24,853 posts)
164. Nah. It's just what I heard some people saying...
Sat Apr 7, 2012, 05:07 PM
Apr 2012

I also heard them say Z's GREAT-great-grandfather was a 33rd level Mason.

This guy's so connected I see him in the Oval Office shortly after his 35th birthday.

 

HiPointDem

(20,729 posts)
165. ah, i see. you were joking. zimmerman's grandpa actually was intelligence, though. that's
Sat Apr 7, 2012, 05:11 PM
Apr 2012

confirmed by cross-referencing his obit with the info on the robert z. at state.

and he wasn't just a grunt, either.

 

cherokeeprogressive

(24,853 posts)
166. Yes but as some other posters have pointed out...
Sat Apr 7, 2012, 05:20 PM
Apr 2012

I'm not sure how a dead man's past converts to political pressure in a current murder case.

I thought when you died your favor checkbook died with you.

ButterflyBlood

(12,644 posts)
172. So anyone who had a grandfather in the CIA can kill whoever they want without recourse?
Sun Apr 8, 2012, 01:13 AM
Apr 2012

Because if this was the case I'm sure we'd be hearing about abuses of this "loophole" for decades rather than just brought to light now.

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