Apr 25 2008

On Creating Justice For Bushco….A Pregnant Pause

Our nation and the world is now officially pregnant!

It is just about nine months until Jan. 20, 2009 when we give birth to a new, post Bush, America!!! Ceegars all around, by gum and by golly!

Though the next nine months will be in some ways an insufferable waiting period, it is also an opportunity. As I wrote yesterday, the Dems are stymied by Bushco control of the DOJ. Even if they wanted to impeach him, (which they don’t, for risk averse political reasons) their subpoenas would not be enforced by the DOJ. They would get NO witnesses to testify from the administration. When they chose not to impeach AG Gonzales for blatantly lying to Congress, they ceded their opportunity to purge and take back the politicized and corrupted DOJ…..and thus to impeach or even remotely hold accountable any member of the administration. That, in hindsight, is where we lost the battle for any sort of justice for Bushco’s crimes by the hand of American law.

At this point, all we can effectively do (besides reminding Congress of how they have failed in their duty to the U.S. and their oaths to the Constitution and to the concept of justice) is prepare for when Bush leaves office and is no longer protected from civil and international law. We have nine months. Here are some options, some initial ideas to consider, none of them, of course easy or quick. Note, I am not a lawyer, it would be great to have one weigh in, though!

Civil suits, to punish Buschco co-conspirators financially, but more importantly, to have evidence formally discovered and presented in an actual court of law! There would have to be a plaintiff that has been damaged, say Omar Khadr, the child who was seized six years ago and has grown up in Guantanamo…or one of the may other torture victims…or the family of one of the torture victims who was murdered while being tortured. Unfortunately there are many to choose from. And a top team of lawyers, probably working pro bono, since this will be a long, long process. Some sort of foundation to pay for the expenses of the case would need to be established to raise the millions of dollars needed to fight through Bushco’s undoubtedly slimy defense tactics …over the years and years it would take.

Some candidates? Over 1000 Attorneys Demand Investigation Into Unconstitutional Action By Bush

Next

Pressuring the candidates. Two goals, to get them to commit to investigating once they are in office, as Obama has at least half-heartedly done, in politico-speak…

“I can’t prejudge that because we don’t have access to all the material right now,” Obama continued. “I think that you are right, if crimes have been committed, they should be investigated.”

However, the Illinois senator left himself an out, suggesting he would weigh evidence of Bush’s guilt against the potential political fallout from prosecuting a former President.

“I would not want my first term consumed by what was perceived on the part of Republicans as a partisan witch hunt because I think we’ve got too many problems we’ve got to solve,” Obama said. “So this is an area where I would want to exercise judgment – I would want to find out directly from my Attorney General – having pursued, having looked at what’s out there right now – are there possibilities of genuine crimes as opposed to really bad policies.”

I was unable to find any Clinton statements on the same subject, does anyone know of one?

Pinning them down and getting them FIRMLY on the record is imperative. As is getting them to promise to rejoin the International Criminal Court.

Unless the US is a signatory to the treaty, Bush is NOT accountable to the ICC.

And finally, the most intriguing from my viewpoint, since we here in the blogosphere would be essential….

Building an international coalition. From the grass roots up, in every country of the world, to demand Bushco be tried for War Crimes. Start a organization and work hard to spread it around the blogosphere and around the world. Align with other orgs. Create a presence, create a consensus, create noise. In essence…do PR and pressure the worlds governments to pass resolutions etc, in support of trying Bushco when they leave office. But most importantly….to not let what they have done be forgotten

Ad that is the main thing we need to think about, both making sure that we keep the illegal invasion, torture, War Profiteering, the Plame Treason…Politicizing the DOJ to provide them immunity…and all of the other too numerous to mention Bushco crimes in the publice eye.

So that when they leave office, this incredible, heinous list of War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity, and plain old theft and corruption are NOT forgotten, are prosecuted….and most importantly…..that they NEVER AGAIN are allowed to happen.

These are just preliminary thoughts, please share yours. And let’s keep talking about what can be done to create justice, and how we can help do it.

38 comments

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  1. Photobucket

  2. … but I was thinking earlier today about Bush pardoning everyone before he leaves office.

    Of course he can’t pardon anyone if they haven’t yet been charged, indicted or convicted of a crime.

    So perhaps that’s one silver lining in the fact no one in his administration (other than dear Scooter) has yet been charged with anything.

    Tho “silver lining” is probably way overstating it.

  3. won’t be able to do its job until we have an Attorney General that loves the law more than he/she loves their power.  I would be encouraged to see John Edwards in that position, if for no other reason than to watch the Republicans cringe in the same fear they tried to instill in us.  

  4. Another slow tubes day por moi 🙁

    I probably won’t be posting much.

    Does anyone want to guest host Funkalicious Friday tonight? Trying to get Youtubes to load will be well nigh impossible. Here is your chance to get on the FP ad subject teh blog to your musical tastes!

    • Edger on April 25, 2008 at 20:43
    • #

    I couldn’t resist!

    How about we maybe also try to convince people to not vote out of fear for promises they know will be empty anymore but just for results, and instead lets everybody get connected, gang up, and put the fear of gawd in the politicians for a change?

    I have to kick this can around occasionally, you know? 😉

    • brobin on April 25, 2008 at 20:44
    • #

    of the incoming administration in order to ferret out all of the stealing, lying, etc.  

    I would like to see the USA join the re-join the International Criminal Court first and foremost.  This would allow the entire world to weigh in right away as to their reasons for wanting to talk to BushCo and allow us to not stand alone on investigating and trying these criminals.  The United States of America has suffered greatly because of this rouge administration, but the rest of the world has been extremely negatively effected as well.  They should be allowed to be a party to this party.

    Once the criminals are called out by the international community, including our Congress, then we can begin the investigations and trials and sentencing.

    Damn that sounds good in this case.

  7. I think there’s a lot to be said for folks of a similar mind on issues coming together across territorial borders to speak out.

    I think this is how progressive politics should be done in the future…

  8. Let’s make it happen.

  9. set the precedent at the Nuremburg Trial procedings. If they had the same balls now as they did then, they would understand that it doesn’t really matter whether or not we were signatories to the ICC. All it would take is another country that is pissed off enough and has the cajones to put these peeps on trial. Reference

    ICC provides the jurisdiction which in a judicial manner provides the “clarification” which some would like Congress to do. Whether the US wants to assent to these terms is a separate matter; there is still the precedent of Nuremburg and The Hague.

    –snip–

    The American legal community has no vote in how the laws are or are not debated: The debate is over once the Congress in 1929 and 1949 passed the Geneva Conventions. The only lawful legislative debate is the means by which those requirements are fully implemented, not the requirements and definitions themselves. To accomplish this objective, the courts, not Congress must turn to the precedents of international law. Congress has no role in interpretation, only in overseeing the Executive in ensuring the treaty obligations are fully implemented and respected. Conversely, if the Supreme Court asserts that international law is not applicable, then the Supreme Court has failed to fully implement the Geneva Conventions and has committed a violation of Article 82, subjecting them to lawful sanctions at an international tribunal.

    Where the treaty is “unclear”, there is ample precedent from Nuremburg, Ludwigsburg, and international law to define what is or is not a war crime. It is legal fiction for any American lawyer to assert that “there is no international law” or that the Geneva conventions are “quaint” or “unclear.” They are simply creating the illusion of ambiguity, despite the thousands of war crime convictions offering ample clarity as to what is not permitted: Torture, abuse, and mistreatment of prisoners of war.

    Where there is uncertainty, the responsibility of the legal community is to ensure the law is complied with, not explained away. The job of the legal advisor is to provide lawful solutions, not excuses to ignore the law. To do otherwise puts them in bed with the those threatening international peace, order, and stability.

    There in no magic bubble that precludes American war criminals from being extradited to any other nation on earth – all nations have jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute war crimes.

    –snip–

    Question: In those cases where the US is bound by the Geneva conventions, but refuses to assent to the court that has jurisdiction over the matters, what is to be done?

    Answer: An international tribunal, after Germany and Japan were forced to assent to external military power, tried the defendants.

    Unless the United States wakes up, and internally complies with the “reasonable interpretations” of the treaty (as promulgated under the ICC), then the US subjects itself to world counter strikes, attacks, and military intervention. Congress has no power to “interpret” a treaty, this is a judicial function, something — by not “falling under the ICC” — the Executive and Legislature incorrectly asserts, “Makes us immune.”

    You are only immune to the law if you have bigger weapons that those who are attempting to enforce the law.

    Precedent was again set when years afterwards Adolf Eichmann (See comment #15) was captured, tried, and finally hung in 1961.

    There was another statement in Defence Counsel’s speech regarding expiation which calls for a reply from me. If I understood him correctly, he said: Germany has in fact already atoned. You have received reparations. What more do you want? I want to stress with all the emphasis at my command that the Reparations Agreement did not seek to atone, did not seek to cause us to forgive or to forget. For such crimes there is no expiation, there is no forgiveness or forgetting. We can only hope and believe that the new generation will be different from the fathers and that future generations will arise and that the sons will not pay for the sins of their forbears. But for those who perpetrated the crimes – there can be no pardon, no forgiveness, no atonement for them. The Jewish people remembers for over two thousand years someone who once tried to commit genocide, possibly for the first time in history – Haman the Agagite. It will never forget the one who succeeded partly, in committing this crime.

    1. If he gets John “torture” Yoo to write a memo….

      But seriously, he will at least try for some sort of blanket pardon….Nixon was ever charged either, remember. That is one of the reasons the ICC is vital, his pardons would hold no weight there.

    2. did BushCo ever bother with legal niceties?  Trust them to come up with a way to pardon themselves prophylactically, a fitting term if ever there were one.

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