February 20, 2009 archive

And states it well.

So what is to be done about the abuses of the Bush years? Some say do nothing, and a few Senators even tried to make Attorney General Eric Holder promise in his confirmation hearings to launch no prosecutions for Bush-era lawbreaking. At the opposite end of the spectrum, others say that even if it takes many years and divides the country and distracts from the urgent priority of fixing the economy, we must prosecute Bush Administration officials to lay down a marker. The courts are already considering congressional subpoenas that were issued earlier as well as claims of privilege and legal immunities. Those cases will stretch out for some time, as would prosecutions–taking even a decade or longer. Moreover, it is easier for prosecutors to net those far down the ladder than those at the top, who set the tone and the policies.

There is another option, a middle ground whose overarching goal is to find the truth: we need to get to the bottom of what happened–and why–to make sure it never happens again.

I would love to ask Leahy were he pulled the “taking even a decade or longer” idea out of, though. I find that a little …ahem…prejudicial…in arguing his case.

Another slight problem…

One path to that goal is to appoint a truth-finding panel. We could develop and authorize a person or group of people universally recognized as fair-minded and without an ax to grind.

Senator, who in the world would the current batch of bi-partisan (hahahahahahaha) Republicans recognize as being fair-minded and without an axe to grind? My guess, Jesus, Santa Claus or Reagan’s zombie corpse. Let me use my crystal ball as to who the Repubs would suggest for the panel. Newt Gingrich, Tom DeLay and the RNC employee who just got off scott free for conspiracy ratfucking of the Rhode Island Senate race.

He also asks and answers his own question…

Most of all, we need to see whether the American people are ready to take this path.

In the meantime, Congress will work with the Obama Administration to fix those parts of our government that went off course. But to repair the damage of the past eight years and restore America’s reputation and standing in the world, we should not simply turn the page without being able first to read it. A recent USA Today/Gallup poll showed that more than 60% of Americans agree that investigating the failed national-security policies of the past eight years should be considered.

I hope he is listening to himself!

There is also a really really good article in the Washington Independent that lays out both sides well, I have bookmarked it for future reference when talking to folks who may not be up to speed on the complex ins and outs. It seems to be pretty balanced, here is part of the section rebutting the idea of a TC.

Truth Commission Talk Sparks Conflict

But that “middle ground,” as he called it, may be problematic. Many legal experts believe that eschewing prosecution is not an option: criminal prosecution is required under international law.

“The only reason to have a commission of this kind is to avoid doing what we’re obligated to do under a treaty,” George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley told Keith Olbermann on MSNBC last week. “It is shameful that we would be calling for this type of commission,” he added. “We’re obligated to investigate. It’s not up to President Obama. It’s not up to Sen. Leahy.”

Margaret Satterthwaite, director of the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at NYU School of Law, agrees. “Under the [international] torture convention we are obligated to investigate and then prosecute where there’s evidence of torture,” she said.

Other articles of note…

The doings in the UK:

Publish secret ‘torture’ documents, MPs tell Obama

And the latest from Sen. Whitehouse

Two articles from Raw Story today paint the picture. A picture of justice not determined by facts, but by political orientation, class, and influence.

Let us compare and contrast.

Criminalizing dissent? RNC protesters face felony terrorism charges is a short blurb mainly pointing to an interview between Amy Goodman and ….

Luce Guillen-Givins who is one of the first people ever to be charged under the 2002 Minnesota version of the federal PATRIOT Act. Guillen-Givins and 7 other members of the group RNC Welcoming Committee – also known as the “RNC 8” – were formally charged with conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism.

However, criminal complaints filed reportedly do not allege that members of the RNC 8 personally engaged in any act of violence or damage to property.

From the interview…

AMY GOODMAN: And what are you exactly charged with?

LUCE GUILLEN-GIVINS: I have four felony counts that I’m facing: conspiracy to commit a riot in furtherance of terrorism, conspiracy to commit riot, conspiracy to commit criminal damage to property in furtherance of terrorism, and conspiracy to commit criminal damage to property.

AMY GOODMAN: Luce, what were you doing at the Republican convention?

LUCE GUILLEN-GIVINS: Well, at the convention, I was in jail. I had been in jail since the Saturday before.

Just to state it plainly, he is facing charges of being a terrorist….for a political protest, in the United States of America. I think it is safe to say that Luce Guillen-Givins is not a Republican.

But from the IOKIYAR side of the two tiered justice system….

Former RNC director convicted in phone jamming case gets off without penalty

The Republican National Committee employee convicted of a plot to jam the phone banks of Democratic get-out-the-vote efforts in New Hampshire in 2002 has escaped penalty in his case, after a federal judge ruled that new charges against him could not be brought.

The latest charges against James Tobin, whose at least $722,000 dollars in legal fees were paid for by the Republican National Committee, were nixed by a federal judge on Thursday.

Tobin was convicted in December 2005 by a New Hampshire jury of being part of a conspiracy to jam Democratic phone banks led by Democrats and a nonpartisan firefighters union on Election Day 2002.

A paid political operative of the Republican National Committee, whose dirty tricks (ratfucking to use Segretti’s term) almost undoubtedly affected the Senatorial election in which John Sununu narrowly defeated Democratic Gov. Jeann Sheehean.

Terrorism charges for organizing a political protest.

No legal penalty for being convicted of rigging an Senatorial election. And the Republican National Committee even paid this ratfuckers legal fees. Paid to defend a person who was part of a conspiracy to fix elections in their favor.

We don’t have a justice system, we have a patronage and persecution system.

And just for good measure, the terrorism charges are the result of an FBI mole….and perhaps agent provocateur…who is facing his own criminal charges!

AMY GOODMAN: And, Jordan Kushner, the latest information about an FBI informant within the RNC Welcoming Committee that has just come out?

JORDAN KUSHNER: That’s right. He was an FBI informant and actually was an FBI informant in that Molotov cocktail case, too, although he wasn’t called because of the criminal charges of his own that he’s facing. He was arrested for some violent burglary charges in January, where he broke into someone’s house, assaulted two people. And so, he’s facing felony charges right now in Hennepin County over that. He was the most-he’s the principal informant in the RNC 8 case, the main person they’re relying on to accuse them of planning the destruction of property.

An official in Egypt’s aviation authority says fivecrew members of a Ukrainian cargo aircraft have been killed as fire swept through their plane on the tarmac in the southern city of Luxor.