Torture Tapes are the Watergate of Our Times

[babylonsister]

Torture Tapes are the Watergate of Our Times
by Brent Budowsky | Dec 19 2007



As I write these words on the morning of Wednesday, Dec. 19, high- and low-level officials of the Bush administration involved in torture, and the destruction of the torture tapes, are consulting their criminal lawyers as The New York Times reports that highest-level lawyers in the administration had discussed the destruction of the tapes.

I predict there will soon be new stories about more torture tapes that were destroyed and new stories about more high-level officials that were either tainted or corrupted by this scandal, and others who opposed this travesty who will ultimately testify about who they approached to attempt to prevent it.

Washington and America will momentarily ask once again: What did the president and vice president know, and when did they know it?

In an administration facing an ocean of scandal on multiple and multiplying fronts, this scandal above all will be the Watergate of our times because it involves extremely probable crimes of torture, extremely probable obstructions of justice, and a steady stream of revelations that will only escalate until the inevitable special prosecutor is named.

Congress should, and I predict ultimately will, take the decisive action of seeking evidence, and if necessary file the great contempt case of the Bush years that will be defined clearly and specifically as follows:

Can executive privilege be claimed to hide acts that would be violations of criminal law?

I predict the answer of this Supreme Court, and any Supreme Court, will be unequivocally “no.”

more...

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/11658

[JFN1]

1. I agree it should be the watergate of our time

but THIS Congress - decisive? Courageous? Willing to put the country first?

I...think...not...

[spanone]

2. it's actually much worse than watergate. no one got tortured in watergate.

[madokie]

6. the crimes this crew has commited is so many they will have to at some point in time

say no more, enough already and let them slide on the remaining charges that could have been. I would say that the chargable crimes suspected of being commited by this cabal would number in the several hundreds at the least. maybe I'm too generous I don't know

[tbyg52]

13. That's part of the problem

It's been like whack-a-mole around here for the last seven years.

I honestly think that part of the plan is the number and blatancy of the crimes. The first keeps you hopping from one to the other, and the second makes you think "come on, this can't be real" - at *first*.

[crim son]

3. Torture tapes are the thirtieth Watergate of our times

and nothing will be done about them, just like nothing has been done about any of the * scandals.

[madokie]

4. I think so too

and this congress be damned if they will ultimately stop this. Americans are seeing the emperor really does have no clothes after all and its only a matter of a little more time until the cry to do something will be too loud for them to ignore. Yes actually the fun has begun, enjoy

[sniffa]

5. seriously

this is a huge, wide open door that can't be "legally" blocked. i only hope we crash through that door, and one can even hope that it leads to other doors. remember, the Clinton investigation wasn't about a blow job.

k&r

[cascadiance]

7. And what was clear to SCOTUS in Nixon's days which we need to remind this one of today...

... is that SCOTUS justices can be impeached too. And that if one tries to enable a criminal falsely using "executive privilege" to cover up other crimes and misdeeds, SCOTUS judges supporting such actions could be found to be committing impeachable crimes of obstruction of justice as well. I think that SCOTUS back in Nixon's days realized that, which is why they shunned Nixon's attempts to try and use executive privilege to protect himself from accountability for his crimes. They realized they had a lot more to lose and could face impeachment if they obstructed justice then. Our present SCOTUS, perhaps as compliant/complicit as they have been on many recent rulings should be made to understand this. Because probably the one last bastion the right wing will have in the coming years that they will want to protect is their majority on the supreme court. If they support Bush on executive privilege, that could go away, and depending on the depth of the crimes that they might be trying to help cover up, they could be also liable to go to prison too if the current administration is found guilty of enough crimes to warrant that. I don't think they want to play their aces here where they might be trumped.

[MasonJar]

8. I have given up getting anything to stick to these crums. How many scandals

does it take? Since some new crime is perpetrated or emerges nearly every day, it is impossible to remember when government was somewhat sane.

[Fire Walk With Me]

9. These people enjoy torture so much that they tape it for later enjoyment.

Isn't this enough to immediately throw them from office into solitary confinement? If not, what is? Do they have to off the Easter Bunny on live TV before they're removed?

[NNN0LHI]

10. Don't think so. What happened to the bodies of over 1 million Iraqis Bush had slaughtered?

When someone starts digging them up watch out.

Don

[Vinca]

11. This is so much worse than Watergate.

King George has finally succeeded in "besting" one president: Nixon.

[ixion]

12. like watergate, but 1000 times WORSE

no one was tortured when a bunch of political hacks broke into the Watergate building.