Login HereSpeaking of election consequences, a reminder: we have fantastic book salons scheduled this weekend. On Saturday, Free Ride: John McCain and the Media will be discussed at 5 pm ET/2 pm PT. And on Sunday, I'll be tackling the inside scoop on the SCOTUS with Jan Crawford Greenburg's exceptional Supreme Conflict, also at 5 pm ET/2 pm PT. Both will be great discussions, so do mark your calendars.
The NYTimes points to high profile terror cases which may be imperiled due to the destruction of tapes and evidence in the cases by the CIA/Bush Administration. The sheer stupidity involved in thinking you could sustain a long-term cover-up of destruction of evidence is bad enough. That they would try and supress it as a means to end-run fruit of the poison tree arguments on evidence obtained through maltreatment and torture isn't exactly surprising.
The fact that they would so blatantly subvert justice, thumb their noses at the very foundations of a right to confront all the evidence and...well, who am I kidding, it's par for the Bush/Cheney course, isn't it? No wonder they fought so hard to eviscerate habeas with the MCA. No review means a delay in discovery of wrongdoing. Someone ought to ask Lindsey "Joe Lieberman is a national treasure" Graham how he feels about being the Bush/Cheney cover-up point man.
Scott Horton picks apart two cases recently argued before the SCOTUS, and points to the most likely reason there has been a consistent defection of a number of DOJ appeals attorneys from these cases:
The Bush Administration feels that it is entitled to concoct whatever facts suit it and to present them to the Supreme Court as the binding truth. And watching the Bush Justice Department in action on this case, one comes quickly to understand why a large number of attorneys in the Justice Department’s appeals division have refused to accept assignment to craft briefs and arguments in the Administration’s cases dealings with war on terror detainees. I think there’s a simple reason that accounts for this mass desertion under fire: those lawyers take their duty not to lie to the courts seriously–unlike the lawyers who present and argue these cases, who are happy to fabricate whatever absurdities they feel will serve them and then spout them before the Court.
It's been a widespread refusal over quite a while, too. I have been in front of a number of judges in my professional lifetime, and I can tell you that when they catch a lawyer in a lie, it is ugly, swift and angry as a response. Fabricating information before the SCOTUS is beyond anathema to any decent jurist. Lawyers who do so should be shunned -- it is unconscionable and unethical, and a perversion of our system of justice. For shame.
Scott also has an update on the Siegelman case -- where Siegelman's release was ordered by the Appeals Court pending appeal, upcoming testimony before the House is expected, and the questions about the DOJ's inability to self-police for unethical, politicized conduct just keep growing. What a mess.
Marty Lederman breaks down the latest revelations on the FISA/NSA illegal domestic spying fiasco, courtesy of revelations from Eric Lichtblau's new book. Consider this my daily hello to the minions and cronies at Vice President Cheney's office who pushed this illegal dreck on the nation without giving a rats ass about the constitutional implications thereof. Apparently, it makes AG Mukasey verklempt to even talk about it. Marty has further discussion here, dday tackles the issues at Digby's, and bmaz hits this as well at emptywheel.
According to CQ, the GOP is looking for new FISA pressure points because the old ones have turned out to be blatant, factually inaccurate lies not very effective. Now would be a great time to call your Senators and tell them to stand up for liberty and the rule of law, to stand against telecom immunity, and to not fall for inaccurate crap. Senate office numbers can be found here.
(YouTube -- Renee Fleming sings "Song to the moon" from Dvorak's Rusalka.)
UPDATE: KagroX has the latest in GOP Congressional gauntlet throwing...here's hoping the Dem leadership pays attention to the fact that GOP staffers think they are weak-willed ninnies...and then tell them to shove it.
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zed..even after reading?
Wow. A lot to digest here…great work. I remain your humble admirer.
Speaking of Bu’ush misuse of the legal system, ex Guv Siegleman gets out of prison, and the Alabama Gooper organization just has to issue and immediate cold water press release.
Telling, ‘eh?
xeaux !
ps Scott Horton will appear on Abams show tonight
Go Christy!
And from what I’ve read of Mukasey’s speech(es?) yesterday, he is still working the lies and cover-up angles.
I.E., “we can’t listen to that “turrist over there in the furren countries when he picks up the phone.”
And, “There’s nothing untoward going on when we disband the public corruption unit in some of the CA USA districts. We are totally committed to rooting out and prosecuting all public corruption (especially if we can pin it on Dems)…”
Reply to cbl2 @149 previous thread:
>>What did Cheney say in Baghdad?
>don’t know we are ever going to know that
>WaPo tried to spin it like he did it without consulting us - yeah whatever
I believe it was an order to Maliki to secure Basra/port for al-Hakim’s party in the October elections
The Post isn’t spinning, though someone is. The question is who knew.
I agree with you that it’s clear Maliki didn’t do this on his own initiative, as the President says. I believe it’s clear Cheney told him to.
I believe the Post has spoken with genuine American sources who knew nothing about the operation. It’s worth noting that American forces had not moved southward prior to the operation, so it seems American commanders didn’t know.
The question is who did know.
Did Cheney do this on his own initiative? That is clearly treason.
Did Bush authorize Cheney to do this, without telling American commanders? That is going to be a difficult sell to the military and to the public.
The prize for Cheney is American control of the oil hub, Basra. With Sadrists in charge there, an Iraqi dictatorship can’t guarantee the contracts. They will always be dependent on compromise with Sadr. Cheney needed Sadr out worse than Maliki did, worse than the Bush administration or the occupation needed it. The cease fire and the status quo wasn’t exactly working, but it was the best possible situation for Republicans, for the American troops. But it didn’t work for Cheney, who needs to lock down the oil contracts by October.
It is possible Cheney cleared this with Bush, but I don’t think so.
I believe this was treason.
From Bush presser: We are withdrawing troops from Iraq. It’s called return on success.
Australia is pulling combat troops from Iraq. Bush calls that success too.
Great summary, Christy. Now we’re beginning to get a more complete picture of the whole illegal mess.
“we are being successful”
Bush/CheneyCo are in the swamp and in the quicksand. Throw a rope anybody? Naw!
When I started putting all of this together and really stood back to look at the totality, it truly is appalling, isn’t it?
The fact that it’s turning out to be a failure militarily is circumstantial evidence that you’re right.
This is only my humble opinion and I mean it as much however I think the WH and Republicans are winning with the help of corporate media and court appointments. They are winning the fight for control of our country because money and power are on their side and ‘the people’ are too weak minded to fight back effectively. The poor are not represented and the middle class have waited too long to respond.
We are bombing Basra this morning and more than 100 people have already died. Nice.
Is it also possible these attorneys feel it’s a no-win position? If they craft appeals honestly, they get ostracized or otherwise demoted, and if they do what the Admin wants, they are forever tagged with the label as a kool-aid drinking Bush acolyte with no regard for truth or the law.
Sometimes the only way to win is to not play.
yummm, thanks for the tasty linkfest for lunch, Christy,
and Dvorak too!
Thanks Christy for a terrific and informative post. How satisfying the hope that there will be justice for all this wrongdoing. And how I would love to see everyone who has benefited by this protracted rape of this country brought to justice - the administration, corrupt members of DOJ, the press, anyone who has helped and tried to profit from this sacking of America. My contempt for them is bottomless.
If there was any legitimacy left on the Supreme Court, none of these strawman defenses would be allowed, let alone acknowledged and held up as precedent.
This is the era of lawlessness. And the only way to have an actual “era” of lawlessness is for lawmakers AND the law enforcers AND the law interpreters to be involved in a not-so-silent conspiracy so broad and far-reaching that the law itself becomes sacrificed to those special interests, who need both to break their own laws with impunity while simultaneously holding their political foes accountable to those laws at the same time (Siegelman?).
Just the sheer hypocrisy of it all is enough to confound those of us with a remnant of hope for democracy. When the lawmakers and enforcers and interpreters are exempt from their own laws, we get exactly what you describe here Christy.
It is by no means the rule of law, it is the new law of the urban jungle.
Survival of the fattest…
I hope the 111th doesn’t forget to clean up the mess that the 110th has ignored.
Only shunned? How about disbarred? There’s been far too little of that going on amongst these people. How does a man like John Yoo not only survive his tenure as our main torture enabler, but go on to a sinecure at one of the nation’s top law schools? What’s up with your profession, Christy?
It’s an extension of social Darwinism, except it’s legal access Darwinism on so many levels. Which is appalling and horrifying…and utterly infuriating.
Equal justice under the law subordinated openly to the concept of “it’s who you know.”
Well, they do get disbarred per ethics rules in most places. See, e.g., Libby, Scooter… But it takes a provable action — not just implications of problems. If there is a provable false statement, then it can result in law license sanction.
Yes.
This has been another edition . . .
After this administration, we’re going to need Tutu and Mandela to come here and help us set up a Truth and Reconciliation committee just to get this whole mess sorted.
he is the definition of smarrmy
My impression of the Roberts court is that it likes being lied to and is quite capable of doing a considerable amount of lying on its own.
I see the MCA as the first salvo in an Administration campaign to legalize, immunize, and hide its criminal activities before leaving office. On other major issues like Iraq, Afghanistan, and the economy, they also have a game plan. It is to kick these failures down the road and dump them on President Obama.
Since we are discussing justice, or lack of it, this morning, this passing is noteworthy.
From the LA Times
Before or after Truth and Reconciliation in Iraq?
and he said,times a wasting,like Lady MacBeth….just “get it done”
Considering that you are pointing out only a tip of the Bush/Cheney iceberg, the potential legal implications are overwhelming, if justice is ever actually served up.
“How do I prosecute thee… let me count the ways…”
saw it the other day,and Tracys speech on JUSTICE…wiped a tear from my eye
Christy, do you have any take on the Supremes’ 6-3 ruling the other day that Bu’ush could not order TX to obey the Vienna Conventions? (e.g. was it really a Kabuki dance?)
I actually slogged through the text of the decision, and I gotta say, whatever one thinks of the ideological bent of a given Court, these cats do in fact do their homework. I have also slogged through dozens, maybe hundreds of online shoot-from-the-lip one line/paragraph reactions pro and con, all of them hopelessly simplistic (w/ a lot of tinfoil haberdashery in evidence).
And how long until many of our media elites are washing out the BBQ stains, crying as they scrub, “out damned spot, out I say…”
hey collateral damage…we NEED that oil ya know
It seemed like a pretty straight-forward “state’s rights” argument to me, but I haven’t really had time to read it in depth. It was definitely a “my way or the highway” slapdown for Bush, though. *g*
I can’t wait to see them all on trial, Chalabi, Rumsfeld, Bush, Cheney to start….
ifin i could photoshop it…it would be perfect,cept,i dont think hed have the out damn spot inclanations….just biz as usual…hard to take…ugh!!!
BTW Glenn Greenwald is going after low hanging fruit today taking on David Brooks and his goopy adulation of John McCain.
That Scott Horton piece in the post above is quite something. I generally avoid Dan Abrams, but I might possibly have to reconsider that policy.
Nouri al Miliki just blinked, BTW. BBC reports that he’s graciously “extended” his turn-in-your-weapons-or-else order for an additional 10 days, with cash awards available for those who do.
Jeesh…
after Frontline the other night,the length and depth of it was stunning
You people just don’t unnerstand. The terrists wann kill yer children.
-Chimpolean
Never again use the words “low hanging” and “David Brooks” in the same sentence. *shudder*
I still am re-watching the segments from it. everybody should watch it at least twice.
at 5′7 that will be McBush methinks,but they could be twins separated at birth”g”
hahahahahahahahaa
i was flabergasted at David Kay( corporate contractor) candor,a puke with ethics,it exists
and isnt Renee Flemming …just gorgeous
uye
is there anything cheney has done that’s not treason?
Bobo,of course is another extremely height chalenged Rambo,like Gen Patreus
They’re gonna follow our troops home if we leave.
Like they fucking don’t have Mapquest.
Mapquest and a huge navy, doncha know.
If it weren’t so tragic with civilians bearing the brunt of the air assult, it would read like a Marxs Brothers skit. al-Miliki has about as much control over this splintered part of the civil war as I do. I guest they figured they paid the Sunni’s to stop so it may work here. Ha! This is like scorpions fighting to the death sting.
i believe he has that condition called pumpbrain,which causes changes in the brain after heart surgery
Boy, that is a frightening if inadvertent image.
Necessary.
haahahaahahaha
Booooooooooooooosh the history major from Yale (snicker) forgot that the Brits followed us home in…. 1 8 1 2…and burnt down the capitol
From Judgement of Nuremberg -
We stand for justice, truth, and the value of a single human
Equal justice under the law subordinated openly to the concept of “it’s who you know.”
Best example? Scooter Libby…
There’s one the revisionistas won’t be able to change in the future, it is just too blatant a subordination to be re-spun by even the deftest of history-twisters.
Some of the more subtle examples are yet to be exposed, if the 110th gets a chance to go after Rove on the Siegelman issue, we may see another pardon-me moment unfold before our very eyes.
I’m still waiting for Bush to generate that “get out of jail free” card, that blanket pardon to all his minions that says, like Ford did for Nixon, “ALL is forgiven, regardless of it’s pernicious impact…”
Bush may be able to protect his bubbas right now, considering the patent impotence of the 110th, but he won’t be around to hand out commutations and pardons in the 111th. And unless I am mistaken, the statute of limitations is still a law of the land.
How’s that song go? “Ti-i-i-ime is on our side…”
Yes it is…
Who will try them? Their pardons are already signed.
Get serious. Rowboats can be dangerous ;D
They’ve been building landing ships in Iran.
it feels like Scooter Libby is still writing his speeches,that is just a hunch
oh you found it……………………tear
I would just really like to know if they’re just trying to get beyond a statute of limitations, perhaps. I mean, WTF?!!
From Raw Story
Definately a different definition.
I don’t think BushCo wants to be reminded by this.
But wait! There’s more!
Yeah, George, “defining moment” perhaps, but likely not in the way you intend.
“…criminal elements or people who think they can live outside the law…”
Uhhhh…the differentiation being???
Not to mention they’re great snorkelers!
and Spence…is just the greatest…..thank you ive bookmarked it
Well, you have to admit that Bush is an expert on living outside the law.
“Basra has been a place where criminality has thrived,” Bush said. “They are fighting some pretty tough characters… and yes, there’s going to be violence
———
Darth?
“turn-in-your-weapons-or-else order for an additional 10 days, with cash awards available for those who do…”
Wonder if they will make any money reselling those weapons to the Afghanis?
Surely they can find a couple 20-year-old dupes to make the deal for them…
Exactly what I was thinking!!!
The Big Five have been lying on the law for so long, what’s a little lying on the facts?
allow me a moment to adjust my tinfoil burnoose . . .
there is anecdotal reporting in the Arabic Language press that Pres. ‘Najad’s visit to Iraq was to meet with JCOS Chair Admiral Mullen (who was there at the same time as Najad ) and US State Crocker to
‘you get rid of Moqtada, who afterall, negoiated with Sunnis, give our Agent al-Hakim Basra and the South and we’ll give you a 2 year moratorium on centrifugal activities and a few other goodies’ - his warm reception was used as a point to show how calm things could be when Tehran wants them to be
further, it is reported this has the Israelis panties in a twist and that’s why Tel Aviv sent for McIdiot
pls recall I said anecdotal reporting - I do not speak or read arabic and for all I know I’m reading their Rich Lowry - but it does have a slight ring of plausibility to it - and it wouldn’t be the first time Team Cheney did some back channel negotiating with Tehran -
oy
when standing for something is MOST difficult
OT - Don Siegelman Freed From Prison
Shiiite….now i need a Bloody Mary
Oh Chucky….you could have done sometin to stop this
crickets
I marvel at the continuing dialog on the legal problems. They are not legal problems when you control the DOJ, can tell Congress something in private that has them all wet their pants, and subvert justice for 7 years.
It’s over Christy. You can’t justify anything by law any longer. The laws have all been replaced with the requirements of the new kind of law, martial law. The Mahdi are taking back the country, and now everyone is going to fight them and the required fix is in. We have a completely corrupt supreme court, every public agency is a political wing of the GOP, people are disappearing to jails and even when a federal court orders them released, they aren’t.
Folks are too comfortable still. No one has realized that it will remain so right to the end. Wake up.
Gosh, you are so right. I’ll just roll over and quit trying then…thats what the nation’s Founders did when the King threatened them with death by hanging if they declared independence and all, just gave up and enjoyed the submissiveness.
I am usually really hard on the NYT but the original article by Chivers et al was a great piece of journalism. It makes me wonder how things might have been different these last 7 years if this kind of work had been the norm and not the extremely rare exception.
Actually, considering Christy’s original post, the Siegelman situation isn’t OT by any means..
Like I said earlier, if Rove is held accountable for JUST the Siegelman intrigue while Bush is President, we will see another example of the overt lawlessness that makes up this maelstrom.
Bush will protect his brain, even if it has gone awol… althought I do agree with sadlyyess at 62 that Scooter (and Rove) are still players, behind the scenes, both in Bush’s ongoing catastrophe, and in McCain’s “Manchurian Surrogate” campaign.
Maybe so for the Dollar Daze cohort, but not here.
What’s the alternative? Become like the Bu’ushies? Fight fire with fire?
picture Darth as Lady McBeth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....re=related
MacBeth oopsie
Keep it coming. It is witness and a record that cannot hide. Their planted myth will not go down as fact. The people’s word is more powerful when they stand up to twisted power.
There goes Hagel’s shot at being McCain’s VP. Not that he particularly seemed anxious to get it . . .
Thanks for putting some light on the darkness. Sometimes life does imitate art.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YeQ.....t&f=b
You can’t justify anything by law any longer
——————-
one big exception,…us 99% non elite…laws and taxes are for the little people
The VP may be Joe Lieberman since he’s hanging around McCain so much. However, the Bush family may insist that it be Jeb.
What do you mean, “they aren’t”
Did someone in the system refuse to release Siegelman? Hadn’t heard that one yet… please, a link?
And sorry for hoping, but this latest round of survival of the fattest is the abberation, not the laws they have navigated.
I do have that one abiding hope, that we are always moving away from our dark nature, as our better angels wait patiently for us in the future, while we civilize ourselves one election at a time.
Bush was no doubt two steps backwards in that one-step process, now we must find a way to make up that loss. But I refuse to abandon all hope, largely because it is one of the results “they” want from their misdeeds.
or Kindasleazy….as it was revealed in the Frontline,piece…she ia big fan of BLOOD and GUTS…….other peeps,natch
i pray so too
The idea of giving up is not okay with me. This is my country and my party and they can’t have either one.
i did fall in love with both those men in 1994
This is a far better way than war and invasion. It produces a better society than broken people with broken spirits resulting from war. We need Chavez to transport as much of his successes as he can bear to America. This is way superior to the Kagan war and economic policies.
Gustavo Dudamel of Venezuela conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The Venezuelan system provides a place in an orchestra for children, no matter how poor or troubled their backgrounds, throughout the country. And the results have been astonishing.
Henry Kisinger, you are so wrong!
Cheney has pumpbrain…Henry the K just Abbey Normal ..evil brain
correction @97: I left an “s” out of kiss. Please do mental insert. Henry doesn’t use it anyway.
Updated above with a link to something fresh from Kagro on FISA.
they just never,never,never…give up…sheesh they are worse than pitbulls hanging from the rope,by their teeth
Like Richard Perle’s descriptive term by his evil peers - the prince of darkness. These guys really love to challenge themselves on who can be the most evil. Does evil have a bottom? I don’t think so. After it destroys everything I think it slithers back to the slime to reemerge some later eon.
okay lunchtime…love yall to pieces/peaces