… These are not just the philosophical musings of a new attorney general. Holder, 58, may be on the verge of asserting his independence in a profound way. Four knowledgeable sources tell NEWSWEEK that he is now leaning toward appointing a prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration’s brutal interrogation practices, something the president has been reluctant to do. While no final decision has been made, an announcement could come in a matter of weeks, say these sources, who decline to be identified discussing a sensitive law-enforcement matter. Such a decision would roil the country, would likely plunge Washington into a new round of partisan warfare, and could even imperil Obama’s domestic priorities, including health care and energy reform. Holder knows all this, and he has been wrestling with the question for months. "I hope that whatever decision I make would not have a negative impact on the president’s agenda," he says. "But that can’t be a part of my decision"…
But in late June Holder asked an aide for a copy of the CIA inspector general’s thick classified report on interrogation abuses. He cleared his schedule and, over two days, holed up alone in his Justice Depart ment office, immersed himself in what Dick Cheney once referred to as "the dark side." He read the report twice, the first time as a lawyer, looking for evidence and instances of transgressions that might call for prosecution. The second time, he started to absorb what he was reading at a more emotional level. He was "shocked and saddened," he told a friend, by what government servants were alleged to have done in America’s name. When he was done he stood at his window for a long time, staring at Constitution Avenue.
The Bush Administration actually set up the situation themselves. In the outing of Valerie Plame, they denied everything about it until the couldn’t deny it any more. Then they openly said "if you can’t charge us with a crime, leave us alone." And the crime, outing a covert agent and knowing it, couldn’t be proved. With the torture program, they did a lot of very shady things. They controlled their own legal advice. They instituted the program before they got it authorized. They suspended habeas corpus, right to trial, and human decency. Did they break the Law? That’s for a Special Prosecutor, a Grand Jury, a Judge, and a Jury to decide.
I hope your right. I almost spilled my coffee this morning when I read that President Obama personally approved secret service for Cheney. Cheney got himself into this mess by going to the “Dark Side”( his words) on Meet the Press after 911 and he should pay for his own security. He could ask his old buddies at Haliburtan.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told NBC’s “Meet the Press” he doesn’t know the details of the situation, but suggested Cheney should respond since the accusations are aimed squarely at him. He added that while it’s too early for him to reach any conclusion on the claims, he’s certain he’ll hear more about it soon.
“If I know Washington, this is the beginning of a pretty involved and detailed story,” he said.
Remember when dubya assured us that whoever outed Valerie Plame would be found out and prosecuted for violation of law and it never happened because it would have required the resignation of the sitting VP? Those days are over…we are a country of laws and the Attorney General of the US has no choice in the matter of doing his job short of resigning himself and letting somebody else deal with it (unlikely). I’m thinking back on Cheney’s outrageous behavior in the past couple of months….taunting people to declassify memos that he said would show how many thousands of lives he saved…wtf? Anyone with a brain would have advised him to keep his yap shut and return to his safe and secure location – but, it would appear, his unbridled arrogance and twisted views have finally taken him as far as can. I’m reminded of the photo of Saddam blowing a shotgun in the air from a balcony…Cheney is smarter than Saddam but then there is this problem with what you do with your intelligence…the differences in the ignorant (to ignore) manifestation of their defiance in the face of realities is exactly the same.
My advice to democrats in the House and Senate would also be to keep their yaps shut at this point while the system determines how it is going to proceed against its obvious accountabilities.
“My advice to democrats in the House and Senate would also be to keep their yaps shut at this point while the system determines how it is going to proceed against its obvious accountabilities.”
That would be nice. I doubt it will happen because of the fear that something going silent to let the wheels of justice turn sounds the same as something being ignored. But I’ll try to take your advice myself. We’re getting beyond howl-at-the-top-of-our-lungs period and nearer to the day-of-reckoning time [if it’s ever going to come].