Bush Authorized Torture

Hey Truth and Reconciliation Commission, get a load of this. It turns out that the once great and mighty leader, a.k.a. George W. Bush, had indeed approved of torture and knowingly broke the law. The information about this has been out there for quite some time, but leave it to the blogosphere to take notice of it and make it news.

From The Public Record:

A senior FBI agent stationed in Iraq in 2004 claimed in an e-mail that President George W. Bush signed an executive order approving the use of military dogs, sleep deprivation and other harsh tactics to intimidate Iraqi detainees.

The FBI e-mail -- dated May 22, 2004 -- followed disclosures about abuse of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison and sought guidance on whether FBI agents in Iraq were obligated to report the U.S. military’s harsh interrogation of inmates when that treatment violated FBI standards but fit within the guidelines of a presidential executive order.

According to the e-mail, Bush’s alleged executive order authorized interrogators to use military dogs, “stress positions,” sleep “management,” loud music and “sensory deprivation through the use of hoods, etc.” to extract information from detainees in Iraq, which is considered a violation of the Geneva Conventions ban against cruel and unusual punishments.

Well Senator Leahy, there you go. On the record proof that George Bush willingly broke the law. He thumbed his nose at the rule of law and the rest of the country so that he could be "tough" with Iraqi detainees. Now, we know there's damning proof to at the very least indict Bush for war crimes, but I'm not holding my breath on account of Leahy's ability to actually make ex-President Bush accountable for his crimes.

Rep. Conyers Does What Sen. Leahy Was Too Afraid Of

This past week a group of Vermont citizens found out that their senior senator had failed them in seeking out justice and accountability for the crimes committed by the Bush Administration. Not only did Leahy not demand those accused to be tried in court, he couldn't muster the courage to call for a phony "Truth Commission" that would air out all the dirty laundry of the past eight years. Thankfully though we have a fighter in House that is willing to go above and beyond Vermont's weak-kneed senator.

From The Public Record:

On Thursday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers quietly released the final draft of an extensive report he first unveiled in January documenting the Bush administration’s “unreviewable war powers” and the possible crimes committed in implementing those policies.

In order to determine whether Bush officials broke laws, Conyers has recommended that Attorney General Eric Holder appoint a special prosecutor to launch a criminal inquiry to investigate, among other things, whether “enhanced interrogation techniques” used against alleged terrorist detainees violated international and federal laws against torture.

“The Attorney General should appoint a Special Counsel to determine whether there were criminal violations committed pursuant to Bush Administration policies that were undertaken under unreviewable war powers, including enhanced interrogation, extraordinary rendition, and warrantless domestic surveillance,” Conyers’s report says. “In this regard, the report firmly rejects the notion that we should move on from these matters.” An earlier draft of the report contained a similar recommendation, but the final version includes additional evidence that has surfaced since January to support Conyers's reasoning s for a special prosecutor. The updated version “highlights significant source materials and Judiciary Committee accomplishments, and accounts for the final days of the Bush Administration.”

Now the ball is in Attorney General Holder's court. Far from the Bush sycophant that former A.G. Mukasey was, Holder has a much higher regard for the rule of law. Of course he still actually has to go through with appointing a prosecutor, so he has to prove he's worthy in the eyes of the law. Hopefully Obama and his top man at the Justice Department will have the agency live up to its' name for the first time in over eight year.

Leahy's "Truth Commission" Fails (As Expected)

Not that this is too surprising, but Senator Leahy's much-touted "Truth Commission" has failed to get off the ground. The senator from Vermont had promised us some sort of closure for the many injustices committed by members of the Bush Administration since 2001 but apparently that isn't going to happen. Many people on the left had called for prosecutions of the various criminals (from Bush and Cheney on down) but Leahy couldn't even get that far. Now his "compromise" solution won't even go anywhere.

From ThinkProgress:

In a meeting on Monday with Vermont citizens, Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) admitted that the truth commission he has advocated to examine Bush administration crimes like torture most likely won’t happen. Reporter Charlotte Dennett writes that Leahy said political opposition was too strong to overcome:

Halfway through the allotted 30 minute meeting (with him taking up much of the time explaining why he was not generally opposed to prosecution, since he had been a DA for eight years and had the highest conviction rate in Vermont), he told us that his truth commission had failed to get the broad support it needed in Congress, and since he couldn’t get one Republican to come behind the plan, “it’s not going to happen.”

But Leahy didn't like that there was so much negative press following his statement, so he retorted with this:

Emphasizing that Leahy takes seriously his commitment to defend the Constitution, Leahy’s aide Chip Ross told the group, “He’s all you’ve got.” However, Leahy’s office sent an e-mail to reporters today objecting to “reports circulating on the internet” and claiming Leahy is “continuing to explore” the idea of a truth commission:

In contrast to reports circulating on the Internet, Leahy said he is continuing to explore the proposal.

“I am not interested in a panel comprised of partisans intent on advancing partisan conclusions,” Leahy said. “I regret that Senate Republicans have approached this matter to date as partisans. That was not my intent or focus. Indeed, it will take bipartisan support in order to move this forward. I continue to talk about this prospect with others in Congress, and with outside groups and experts. I continue to call on Republicans to recognize that this is not about partisan politics. It is about being honest with ourselves as a country. We need to move forward together.”

This sounds like a standard cop out for being yet another weak-kneed Democrat. Leahy fails (willingly or not) to recognize that he will never get a Republican to support him on anything that would resemble any form of accountability or dare I mention justice for the criminals inside the Bush Administration. Ain't. Gonna. Happen.

The only way we move forward together is if we put the rule of law above individual people who just so happen to be Republicans. It really is simple as that. And if Leahy doesn't want a group of partisans to exact justice on the accused, then he should have all of them brought before an international court. Don't worry Senator, the courts outside our borders would love to try them for all the damage they've done to the world.

Center For Constitutional Rights Blasts Leahy's "Whitewash" Commission

Senator Patrick Leahy got a stinging rebuke from Michael Ratner at the Center for Constitutional Rights yesterday. Ratner's fear, which is shared by many, is that the Truth Commission that the Senator wants to go through is nothing a "whitewash" and will only provide an easy way for criminals within the Bush Administration, including Bush himself. Ratner is pissed and you know what, so am I.

From RawStory:

"We’re talking about a whitewash with Leahy. Are we some Latin American country where we don’t have a democracy robust enough to try people?" Ratner said. “[Leahy’s] essentially diffusing the issue so there’s not as much pressure on prosecution. It’s not really going to go far. [The commission is] going to divert us for a few years and we’re never going to see something come out of it.”

Ratner said he and the Center for Constitutional Rights want to see criminal prosecutions of officials at the highest level of the Bush administration, the so-called “principals” who were the architects of controversial polices and signed off on them.

“Cheney has openly said that he approved the water boarding memo and that he would do it again,” Ratner said, adding, “My view is you absolutely have to have prosecutions to have deterrents [for future executive power abuses].”

Ratner is right. Our democratic (notice the small d) soundness is at stake here and Leahy is about to show that we don't have much of those principles behind what we claim to be. Now Leahy has been talking tough and that "nothing should be swept under the rug" but this Commission is exactly what that will do. If we want to get to the bottom of what happened, then what we need is a Judge and Jury.

Senator Leahy Tells Clinton To Drop Out

In one of the harshest comments from the Democratic establishment to date, Senator Leahy (an Obama supporter) unequivocally told the fellow Northeastern Senator to drop out of the race. He talked about the reality of the race between the two Dems and the way that is playing with the eventual contest with McCain.

From ABC News:

In an interview on Vermont Public Radio, said "There is no way that Senator Clinton is going to win enough delegates to get the nomination. She ought to withdraw and she ought to be backing Senator Obama. Now, obviously that's a decision that only she can make frankly I feel that she would have a tremendous career in the Senate."

Leahy said he was fretting about the impact of the protracted Democratic race.

"I am very concerned," he said. "John McCain, who has been making one gaffe after another, is getting a free ride on it because Senator Obama and Senator Clinton have to fight with each other. I think that her criticism is hurting him more than anything John McCain has said. I think that's unfortunate."

It is unfortunate Senator Leahy. Clinton responds that she wants the voters to vote first and I think that is all well and good. People should vote and exercise their opinion on who should face McCain this fall. On the other hand, Senator Clinton is no dummy, and she knows she isn't going to win the popular vote, the pledged delegates or the amount of state contests. The only way for her to win is by fiat with superdelegates, so for her to claim that the voters can somehow prove her to be the popularly elected candidate is ridiculous. It is more than ridiculous, it is unfortunate.

Schumer Bought Mukasey's Bridge, Passes Costs To The Constitution

Mr. "I'll follow the laws you pass" Mukasey is already a busy man in his new job. In just his first week as Attorney General, he is recommending to the President that he veto any legislation that does not let telecom companies off the hook for violating the Constitution. Of course Schumer got confidence to vote Mukasey after he said he'd follow laws regarding waterboarding, even though they were already passed and ignored two years ago. Now how does anyone expect to trust Mukasey regarding any law the Congress might try to enact?

From CNN:

In a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., on the eve of crucial committee votes to update the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), Mukasey was adamant in opposing Leahy's plan for changing the law.

Mukasey and Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell co-signed the letter released Wednesday night by the Justice Department.

"We strongly oppose the proposed substitute amendment. If the substitute is part of a bill that is presented to the president, we and the president's other senior advisers will recommend that he veto the bill," they said.

We know they are against it, they are against accountability, justice and protecting the Constitution. If they served the people, they'd have to get rid of their boss. Knowing George Bush and anyone who has worked for him, how does anyone think that the Administration would follow any law that is to their detriment. You'd have to be pretty naive to buy that...oh wait, maybe Schumer thinks he owns the bridge that leads towards his fancy Park Slope address.

FBI Goes Independent In Iraq

When yesterday's news hit that the FBI would be investigating Blackwater's activities while being guarded by the enterprise under scrutiny many people got suspicious. Thankfully the FBI understood the obvious problem and get this, they fixed it. It is amazing that something can work in any department under the Federal government but alas, it can actually happen.

From RawStory:

"The FBI team deployed from Washington to assist the State Department in the investigation of the events of Sept. 16 will have any additional security needs provided by U.S. government personnel," Miller added.

"The plan had been for Blackwater to fill this role," an official briefed on the FBI mission told the News.

Yesterday, a senior official said, "What happens when the FBI team decides to go visit the crime scene? Blackwater is going to have to take them there."

Senate Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy (D-VT) also wrote the bureau a letter deriding their decision to have Blackwater guard their own investigation. Dropping the firm, he said, "would help alleviate the appearance of a conflict of interest and hopefully contribute to the credibility of this investigation in the eyes of the Iraqi people."

With a little prodding from the Congress and using common sense, we can have accountability in our government. It may be hard to do at first since there has been zero accountability in recent years, but we can still reach for ideal situations to counter the ridiculous and criminal behavior that has been fostered under the Bush Administration.

Does Anyone Hear The Screams?

Would you try to help someone that was being victimized by a criminal? Someone that was being robbed, raped or about to be murdered? Would the Good Samaritan in you prevail or the apathetic "its not me" take over? I would like to think that I would be the Good Samaritan, but no one really knows until you are placed in that situation.

One time when I was working for Kerry/Edwards I saw a friend run over by a truck while crossing the street with a "Walk" sign during a sign-waving rally. The people in the car were yelling and screaming obscenities at us and didn't pay attention to their driving. Once she was struck, they sped off, committing hit and run in addition to assault with a deadly weapon.

In the confusion I tried to write down the license plate of the rapidly disappearing vehicle, only being able to call the police and give a description of what it looked like. I felt bad that I couldn't write that plate number down, because it would have brought the driver to justice, who ultimately got away despite the best efforts of the Tucson Police Department.

Thankfully, miraculously, she survived the impact. Even with bruises all over her body and a serious concussion, the paramedics and the doctors at the hospital helped to save her life. Truly a miracle. Even though we lost that election four days later, knowing she was on the road to recovery made up for the sadness of Bush's re-election.

Well now Bush has had almost another three years in office since that late October night. The President and his men are continuing their assault on our country. They are committing murder in a way. By leaving our troops in Iraq, by keeping a despicable foreign policy
and by stabbing our democracy to death with their disrespect of the constitution and the separation of powers.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy is threatening to hold Bush in contempt, shouting loudly at the press. They hear him, and they dutifully report it to their publications, just as they dutifully report Bush's statements verbatim. Then the pundits go at it, conservatives dismiss it as political theater, while the liberals decry Bush's continuing assault.

Yet despite all of that, who is really listening? Most Americans frankly do not give a shit. 23/6.com lays it out perfectly at Huffington Post, with a neat little graph that makes it easy to see what the public cares about. So while Lindsay Lohan, Amy Winehouse and whatever other celebrity fucks their lives up, the media writes down the details of their sexcapades, drug usage and alcoholic binges in order to keep the masses glued for the next round, and the masses hear the screams of our nation in the background, pretending that....."at least its not me."

America needs to wake up, and in a hurry.

Leahy To Rove: Its Not Over Yet Big Boy

I know this is third post today on Karl Rove, but it is a big news day on Bush's Brain. If Karl thinks he is going to get out of his legal/constitutional/congressional trouble with his resignation this month, he has another thing coming. Patrick Leahy made a statement today that shows he has no interest in stopping Congress' investigation of the most hated (admired by some too) political advisers Washington has ever seen.

From Senator Leahy:

Earlier this month, Karl Rove failed to comply with the Judiciary Committee’s subpoena to testify about the mass firings of United States Attorneys. Despite evidence that he played a central role in these firings, just as he did in the Libby case involving the outing of an undercover CIA agent and improper political briefings at over 20 government agencies, Mr. Rove acted as if he was above the law. That is wrong. Now that he is leaving the White House while under subpoena, I continue to ask what Mr. Rove and others at the White House are so desperate to hide. Mr. Rove’s apparent attempts to manipulate elections and push out prosecutors citing bogus claims of voter fraud shows corruption of federal law enforcement for partisan political purposes, and the Senate Judiciary Committee will continue its investigation into this serious issue.

The list of senior White House and Justice Department officials who have resigned during the course of these congressional investigations continues to grow, and today, Mr. Rove added his name to that list. There is a cloud over this White House, and a gathering storm. A similar cloud envelopes Mr. Rove, even as he leaves the White House.

I do not doubt Leahy's pursuit of Rove, but how far will it actually go? Like many other White House officials that have information about the evil deeds of the Bush Administration, Bush will most likely cite "Executive Privilege" to protect Rove's ass and his own. For this investigation and others to bear fruit, there will have to be serious willpower exhibited by Leahy and others in the Congress to ensure that we have accountability for our government.

FOIA: By The People, For The People....Blocked By GOP

The Freedom of Information Act was created to make our government more honest, open and accountable. Of course it is hard to make every bill work exactly how you want it, and with the FOIA there are still snags that prevent people from accessing information about governmental agencies and what not. Unfortunately a bill that seeks to remedy the problems is being blocked by the party that wants the most repressive and closed government this nation has ever seen. Which party might that be....well you already know.

From RawStory:

"The Republican obstructionism continues in the Senate and the latest casualty is Americans’ access to their government," Senator Leahy said. "I am deeply disappointed that Republicans continue to block attempts to pass the Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act” (“OPEN Government Act”).

In Senate floor action on July 26, Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) held up passage of Leahy's legislation.

"It is my understanding that there are ongoing discussions with both sides of the aisle as well as the administration to come up with bipartisan consensual language on this issue and that we are unable to get clear the agreement at this time," Cochran said in his floor statement.

He then objected to the bill on behalf of himself and 'several Republican Senators,' preventing the legislation from being adopted by 'unanimous consent.

Sometimes the rules of the Senate really piss me off. They helped us when we were in the minority, but now that the tables have changed and the Senate is trying to do some good in this nation instead of continually setting it back, it is kind of a pain. Wouldn't it be great to have 60 Democratic Senators one day so that we can skip this crap and reform our government for the better?

Gonzales Can't Keep His Story Straight

Even a liar at the caliber of Alberto Gonzales is eventually prone to screwing himself over. After a while, all the false stories weave together and inadvertently paint a picture of the truth that lies below the surface of Alberto's skin. The more lies he tells, the less anyone will believe him and his reputation will continue to slither down into the recesses of society. He had a chance to come clean today at the Senate Judiciary Committee, but you know Alberto doesn't have much in the way of a conscience.

From ThinkProgress:

SPECTER: Let me move quickly through a series of questions there’s a lot to cover. Starting with the issue Mr. Comey raises, you said “there has not been any disagreement about the program.” Mr. Comey’s testimony was that “Mrs. Gonzales began to discuss why they were there to seek approval” and he then says “I was very upset, I was angry, I thought I had just witnessed an effort to take advantage of a very sick man.”

GONZALES: The disagreement that occurred was about other intelligence activities and the reason for the visit to the hospital was about other intelligence activities. It was not about the terrorist surveillance program that the president announced to the american people.

SPECTER: Mr. Attorney General, do you expect us to believe that?

I don't believe anything that comes out of that bastard's mouth. Of course Specter talks tough to him and so do most Democrats, but the solution is impeaching him. If it doesn't work the first time, try again, and again and again until we rid our nation of one of the worst Attorney Generals that have served under the worst President of all time.

Cheney Was Afraid Of Leahy's Gay Cooties

The mystery of Cheney's "Go Phuck Yourself" episode with Senator Leahy has finally been solved. Dick voiced his concerns about what happened that day, saying that Leahy was moving too close to him in the Senate chamber. I almost feel like this is a story worthy of The Onion, but alas, we are talking about Dick Cheney. But the question must be asked, is he even telling the truth?

From ThinkProgress:

In the new biography of the Vice President by Stephen Hayes, Cheney claims that the reason he shouted the expletive was because Leahy had been too “close” to him:

Leahy came over and put his arm around me. And he didn’t kiss me but it was close to it. So I flashed and I told him — I dropped the F-bomb on him. … It was heartfelt.

Leahy was not “close” to kissing Cheney; all he did was try to shake his hand. One congressional source with knowledge of the event explained what happened to ThinkProgress:

There were several witnesses from both parties. Leahy walked over in a friendly way and said the Vice President should feel free to come over on the other side of the aisle too, that Democrats won’t bite, and he held out his hand. The Vice President started to stick out his hand in response and then drew it back, and that’s when he unloaded his expletive.

Hmmm. Who would you believe? A distrustful and sinister Vice-President or independent bystanders, thats a tough one. I'd believe a car salesman before I would ever trust Dick Cheney.

"Nixonian"

Sen. Patrick Leahy was on Press The Meat yesterday and slammed the Bush Administration for stonewalling the investigation of the Justice Department. Not only did he bark at them, but threatened to bite by taking the matter to the courts if the White House does not comply by the beginning of next week.

Not A Grilling, A "Reconfirmation Hearing"

Today the Attorney General finally got to face the music at the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting meant to examine his role in the political power play that is the U.S. Attorney scandal. Gonzales took fire from all sides, regardless of party affiliation Everyone from Jeff Sessions to Patrick Leahy accused him of being dishonest in his testimony and that his story did not add up with the facts.

From The Associated Press:

WASHINGTON — His job in jeopardy, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales insisted Thursday he played only a minor role in the dismissal of eight federal prosecutors. Skeptical senators reacted with disbelief.

"We have to evaluate whether you are really being forthright," Sen. Arlen Specter bluntly informed the nation's chief law enforcement officer.

The Pennsylvania Republican said Gonzales' description was "significantly if not totally at variance with the facts."

In a long turn in the witness chair, Gonzales said that despite initial administration claims that the prosecutors had been fired for inadequate performance, he approved their dismissals without looking at their job evaluations.

The facts are that Gonzales was heavily involved in the process as the memos note, particularly the one where he attended a meeting in November about the matter. Then there is that thing about Monica Goodling. If she pled the fifth and ended her political career, there must be something to hide that not only protects her but the people she worked with in the White House and the Attorney General's office.

No matter how many lies the principals in the scandal tell, the facts will come together to paint a vivid picture of what actually happened. It is only a matter of time, what with the media frenzy and commitment of the investigating Senators who want to get to the bottom of this.

Leahy Uses The "L" Word On The White House

I am proud to say that Senator Patrick Leahy is fighting on our side. Today on the floor of the Senate he slammed the Bush Administration over 'lost' emails and made it crystal clear what Bush and his friends are up to at 1600 Pennsylvania.

From RawStory:

The top Senate Democrat leading investigations into the dismissal of 8 U.S. Attorneys by the Justice Department is comparing e-mails lost by the Republican National Committee to President Richard Nixon's famous "18-minute gap" in White House tape recordings.

"Now we are learning that the 'off book' communications they were having about these actions, by using Republican political email addresses, have not been preserved," Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said on the Senate floor.

He added, "Like the famous 18-minute gap in the Nixon White House tapes, it appears likely that key documentation has been erased or misplaced. This sounds like the Administration's version of 'the dog ate my homework.'

Too bad Barney the dog wasn't around to eat all those emails. He couldn't chew on that vile taste of lies and decceipt regardless. So here we have another stark comparison to Richard Nixon. As tricky Dick oversaw the last half of the Vietnam War, Bush is presiding over the disastrous mess in Iraq. Nixon lied and covered up many things and so does George. As Nixon went, so must George Bush.

Leahy To Go After Gonzales

Finally the day has come where the checks and balances in our government are being put back into place. After Gonzales denied and testified under oath to Congress that there was no politics involved when the DoJ fired 8 attorneys, it seems there will be payback. That payback will be in the form of Congressional oversight and subpoenas from the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

From Senator Leahy:

“The White House and the Attorney General have dodged Congress’s questions and ducked accountability as if they still were dealing with a rubberstamp Congress. They are discovering that those days are gone.

“I am outraged that the Attorney General was less than forthcoming with the Senate while under oath before the Judiciary Committee. It is deeply disturbing that this plan appears to have originated from high-ranking officials at the White House and executed in secret with a complicit Department of Justice.

“This is not how justice is served, nor is it how our system of checks and balances is designed to work. It is an abuse of power committed in secret to steer certain outcomes in our justice system, and then to dust over the tracks. The President of the United States and the Attorney General are responsible for setting the moral standard for this Administration. Apparently this matter does not bother them but it does bother me, and we will summon whoever we need in our hearings to get to the bottom of this.”

That is exactly what we need to hear from the Democratic majority. You know that Arlen Specter would have never acted in such a diligent matter and it is only because the Democrats are back in charge that we are seeing the possibility of justice being served on Gonzales and the Department of Justice.