He told you he would fuck the constitution if he could...

[catnhatnh]

and then you elected him Vice President twice...

TWENTY years ago this week, Lt. Col. Oliver North testified for six days before a special joint House and Senate investigating committee. Permitted by the Democratic majority to appear in his bemedaled Marine uniform, and disastrously granted immunity, Colonel North freely admitted that he had shredded documents, lied to Congress and falsified official records. (snip)

But there were dissenters. A number of House Republicans on the committee cheered Colonel North on. One who led the way was Dick Cheney of Wyoming, who praised Colonel North as “the most effective and impressive witness certainly this committee has heard.”

The minority report stressed the charge that the inquiry was a sham, calling the majority report’s allegations of serious White House abuses of power “hysterical.” The minority admitted that mistakes were made in the Iran-contra affair but laid the blame for them chiefly on a Congress that failed to give consistent aid to the Nicaraguan contras and then overstepped its bounds by trying to restrain the White House.(snip)

And Mr. North was eventually convicted of three federal felonies — receiving an illegal payment, obstruction of a Congressional inquiry and destroying official documents, although an appellate court held that his testimony delivered under Congressional immunity may have affected jurors and reversed one conviction. (Prosecutors gave up on the other two.)Snip


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/09/opinion/09wilentz.html


This is what happens when you allow a outlaw mindset flourish and return to power. He is a republican who defended felons lying to congress and republicans returned him to power.

[Historic NY]

1. Its not lying when Repugs do it. They hold him up as a hero when he is a felon.

[Mind_your_head]

3. It IS LYING and I very much resent the fact that people like you (inadvertantly?)....

...I'll give you the benefit of the doubt here, REINFORCE that it's okay when repubs 'do it'.

IT'S NEVER OKAY.....EVER, BY ANYONE.

Oliver North is a felon. I don't care that deluded or greedy people hold him up as a hero, they're deluded and greedy! Let us (mostly) sane people remember/think about the damage that Oliver North and the Iran Contra scandal did to allow/open the door wide open to what we have just suffered through in the last 8 * shrub years! ....and will continue to suffer through, for G_d only knows how long b/c President Obama (nor anyone) can't quick fix this HUGE MESS....that has a LOT OF ROOTS in ollie north/iran-contra.

[Historic NY]

5. I guess i should have put the lable.

:sarcasm: Republicans always get a pass how many died when * lied. And nothing was done. The leadership allows them the pass. Justice is preverted.

Elliott Abrams -- Pleaded guilty October 7, 1991, to two misdemeanor charges of withholding information from Congress about secret government efforts to support the Nicaraguan contra rebels during a ban on such aid. He was sentenced on November 15, 1991 to two years probation and 100 hours community service. Pardoned.

The second President Bush appointed Abrams as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director on the National Security Council for Near East and North African Affairs.

Alan D. Fiers, Jr. -- Pleaded guilty July 9, 1991, to two misdemeanor counts of withholding information from Congress about secret efforts to aid the Nicaraguan contras. He was sentenced on January 31, 1992 to one year probation and 100 hours community service. Pardoned.

Clair E. George -- Indicted September 6, 1991, on 10 counts of perjury, false statements and obstruction in connection with congressional and Grand Jury investigations. George's trial on nine counts ended in a mistrial on August 26, 1992. Following a second trial on seven counts, George was found guilty December 9, 1992, of two felony charges of false statements and perjury before Congress. His sentencing hearing was February 18, 1993. Pardoned before sentencing occurred.

Robert C. McFarlane -- Pleaded guilty March 11, 1988, to four misdemeanor counts of withholding information from Congress. He was sentenced on March 3, 1989, to two years probation, $20,000 in fines and 200 hours community service. Pardoned.

Pre-trial Pardons
Duane R. Clarridge -- Indicted November 26, 1991, on seven counts of perjury and false statements about a secret shipment of U.S. HAWK missiles to Iran. The maximum penalty for each count was five years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Trial date set for March 15, 1993. Pardoned.

Caspar W. Weinberger -- Indicted June 16, 1992, on five counts of obstruction, perjury and false statements in connection with congressional and Independent Counsel investigations of Iran/ contra. On September 29, the obstruction count was dismissed. On October 30, a second indictment was issued, charging one false statement count. The second indictment was dismissed December 11, leaving four counts remaining. The maximum penalty for each count was five years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Trial date set for January 5, 1993, trial date. Pardoned.

[catnhatnh]

6. Yep....

...We are way past the time for accountability....My new deal-I'm gonna name names on every crooked bastard convicted or allowed to slide...

[chollybocker]

2. Well, I sure as hell didn't vote for him. Twice.

I wonder if America really is dumb, or just a little slow on the up-take. Either way, people need to pay more attention.

[underpants]

4. Jeffrey Toobin's "Opening Arguements" highly advised reading

Toobin's first job out of law school was working for Walsh's special prosecutor office.
the lengths they went to to avoid reading about North's testimony was absurd but they did exactly as they were told. They even brought in a Republican to watch them.

The instructions for Walsh's office came from the three person court headed by Lawrence Silberman. His court then used the impossible to comply with (but were complied with) directives to Walsh's office as the excuse to free North from his conviction. Silberman later was in charge of the "investigation" that found that the White House did nothing wrong in citing/using WMD's in the run up to war in Iraq.

[Mind_your_head]

7. Let me quess.....Siberman has dual American/Israeli citizenship too? n/t