Title 18, United States Code, Section 1521 prohibits the knowing filing of false liens or encumbrances against the property of an individual described in 18 U.S.C. Section 1114 [an officer or employee of the United States], "on account of the performance of official duties by that individual." In U.S. v. Pate, the 11th Circuit recently held that the statute did not apply to liens filed against individuals listed in Section 1114 if the individuals were no longer in office when the liens were filed. This was an en banc decision. Appellant, a tax protester, had knowingly filed liens against the respective properties of a former IRS Commissioner and a former Secretary of the Treasury. Pate conceded that he filed the liens on account of the officials' performance of their official duties, but contended that the statute only applied to officials still serving when the liens were filed. A majority of the 11th Circuit judges agreed.

(wisenberg)