Joseph E. Schmitz

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Joseph E. Schmitz : biography

August 28, 1956 –

Upon graduation from the Naval Academy, Schmitz served in the U.S. Navy for approximately four years, including a stint as an exchange officer with the German Navy. Schmitz left active duty and was in the Naval Reserve until 2001. After leaving active duty, Schmitz attended law school. He clerked with James L. Buckley, Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and was a special assistant to Attorney General Edwin Meese III during the Reagan Administration. Schmitz entered the private sector in 1987, eventually joining the Washington, D.C., firm of Patton Boggs LLP.Scahill, Blackwater, 303. He was an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University in the 1990s.

He founded his own firm, Joseph E. Schmitz, PLLC, in 2008. The company’s domain jespllc.com was registered with Bethesda Hosting on May 22, 2010.

He is a member of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. He is an author of the anti-Islam report, Sharia: The Threat to America.Sharia: The Threat To America, , Center for Security Policy, October 2010 In 2008, he argued for the application of Sharia law in his plea to dismiss the Florida court case against Blackwater regarding Blackwater Flight 61.Bruce Falconer, In Florida Legal Case, Blackwater Demands Taliban Treatment, , Mother Jones, June 19, 2008 This contradiction was first noted by Jeremy Scahill of The Nation.Jeremy Scahill, A Real Sharia Law Promoter for Peter King to Investigate, , The Nation, March 9, 2011

He is known to have a fascination with Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, having installed seals bearing the Von Steuben family motto in the Inspector General’s office during his time there.T. Christian Miller, The Scrutinizer Finds Himself Under Scrutiny, , Los Angeles Times, September 25, 2005

As Inspector General, Schmitz showed an unusual interest in the sex slave trade, investigating involvement of the U.S. military in the sex trade in South Korea, Bosnia, and Kosovo, but found nothing other than petty prostitution.Pentagon Iraq War Intel "Not Illegal": Questions About DoD Inspector General’s Flawed Report,, Daily Kos, Feb 9, 2007 His immediate family has a history of unusual sexual relationships with students. His father, John G. Schmitz, admitted having an affair with German exchange student, Carla Stuckle, whom he taught while a professor at Santa Ana College. He fathered two children by her for which he admitted fatherhood but refused to take responsibility, even after their mother’s death. They ultimately ended in a state orphanage.Denise Noe, Mary Kay Letourneau: The Romance That was a Crime, Crime Library Schmitz’s sister, Mary Kay Letourneau, is a teacher who served 7 years in prison following her 1997 conviction for rape of a sixth grade pupil. After her release from prison, Schmitz’s sister married the pupil and they have since had two children.Blackwaters Top Brass, , The Virginian-Pilot, July 24, 2006

Literature

  • Miller, T. Christian. (2006). Blood Money: Wasted Billions, Lost Lives, and Corporate Greed in Iraq. New York: Little, Brown and Company. See pages 68–69.
  • Scahill, Jeremy. (2007). Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army. New York: Nation Books. See Chapter Seventeen: "Joseph Schmitz: Christian Soldier."