Could Dick Cheney Go to Prison?

[Octafish]

For those interested in seeing Sneering Dick Cheney wear an orange jumpsuit for a long, long time,
some very interesting reading from Mr. Ray McGovern and our friends at ConsortiumNews.com and Alternet.org:

Could Dick Cheney Go to Prison?

By Ray McGovern, Consortium News
Posted on July 18, 2009, Printed on July 20, 2009
http://www.alternet.org/story/141371/

So far, the summer has been mild in the Washington area. But for former Vice President Dick Cheney, the temperature is well over 100 degrees. He is sweating profusely, and it is becoming increasingly clear why.

Cheney has broken openly with former President George W. Bush on one issue of transcendent importance -- to Cheney. For whatever reason, Bush decided not to hand out blanket pardons before they both rode off into the sunset.

Cheney has complained bitterly that his former chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby should have been pardoned, rather than simply having his jail sentence commuted.

SNIP...

It is getting close to history time. You do not need to be a crackerjack analyst to understand that Cheney is feeling betrayed -- that he is thinking not of Libby, but of himself, and fearing that, if our system of justice works, he could be in for some serious, uncommuted jail time.

His situation has grown pathetic. Aside from the man himself, it has fallen almost solely to faithful daughter, Liz, to defend her dad and to start a political backfire to keep him out of prison. She is to be admired for her faithfulness. In the process, though, she has unwittingly given much away.

CONTINUED...

http://www.alternet.org/action/141371/could_dick_cheney_go_to_prison/

People are paying attention: bobthedrummer's requests for the prosecution of Smirk and Sneer is not be in vain.
Nor all the K&Rs from great DUers, evidently.

[JitterbugPerfume]

1. If there is justice in this world

he will pay for his crime

[Octafish]

7. For billowing so much 'law & order' rhetoric...

...Sneer certainly missed the ethics boat.

Cheney War Crimes: Just Look at the Statute

Oh well. He should also make a good case to get his "boss" into the SuperMax.

[gratuitous]

2. No, he's too pretty

Also, he's so pilled up that if the heat starts closing in, he'll just skip his meds for a day, and slip away peacefully into Satan's waiting arms.

[dflprincess]

4. Or just fake and head for South America

his wife will claim the body was cremated immediately and that there was no need for an autopsy.

[Octafish]

9. Kenny Boy's casket was closed at the funeral.

The cremation pretty much stopped any further discussion of how the guy's wife made out with all the ENRON loot.



Paraguay!

[disndat]

48. Believe it!

Also Wm. Casey of Iran Contra whose demise was similar to K. Lay's, and that 9/11 was a Bush/Cheney inside job. Cheney could easily fake a heart attack. They must all have cozy villas in the jungles of Paraguay set up for the rest of their lives.

[Octafish]

8. ''...slip away peacefully into Satan's waiting arms.''

very well stated, gratuitous. Sad that we have to spend time contemplating the idea, an ongoing tragedy that's been the government of the United States under the War Party.

My fear, too, is that the guy will get blamed for all that Bush and his cronies did. Then, when he's about to go under oath, the brain tumor is discovered and the required surgery leaves him unable to speek or otherwise communicate.

Worked during Iran-Contra. DCI Bill Casey was designated fall guy.

[Hydra]

3. I'd love to see Bushco in Gitmo

But I suspect that's as likely as me getting into "The Big Club."

[Octafish]

50. Humanity once considered it impossible to walk on the moon.

Yet, it happened. Perhaps we can make this into our own version of...

"That's one small step for jurisprudence. One giant leap for Justice."

[Echo In Light]

5. Never happen

[Octafish]

56. Were it up to me, Sneer and Smirk would now be answering charges of treason.

From Day 1, Bush and Cheney worked to get what they wanted.
They lied America into two illegal, immoral and unnecessary wars.
They used their offices to profit personally from these wars.

Trying them for lying and leading America into unneeded wars,
IMFO, should be at the top of list for any Congressional and Department of Justice investigations.

Of course, the buttlickers to power at the Federalist Society DEFEND Smirko and Sneering Dick, blaming CIA and the bad intelligence that always seems handy when it comes to the BFEE.

[opihimoimoi]

6. justice requires truth...and if truth reveals crimes..then a price must be paid for said crimes

arrogantly breaking the law for ones own purps is not to be condoned else more crimes often result

much evidence has surfaced supporting the notion of nefarious activities in the bush white house

reality should be accompanied with clarity...we need an investigation...special prosecuter/or/congressional hearings

to clear the air..

we need to take steps to avoid sim sits in the future

[Octafish]

54. Obama's followed the steps needed to keep it from being labeled a ''partisan witch hunt''

On the other side, we must do all we can to ensure that any investigation goes right to the rotting fish head that ordered the torture and so forth -- not just the corporals and CIA contractors carrying out their orders, like good Americans.

If an honest investigation is launched, what will happen, IMFO, is it will reveal Bush and his cronies' phony run up to war. That's not a problem for The Hague. That's a real problem for Washington -- trying a former president for treason.

[jhain]

10. If his wheeel chair has a flat

I volunteer to carry him on my back!

[conscious evolution]

11. I would by a TV

to see his trial.

[H2O Man]

12. Oh, definitely.

He is the most dangerous criminal in American society in the last century. Prosecute him, and let a jury of citizens decide his fate.

[bdamomma]

13. if we had a Congress with some guts to do it.

[H2O Man]

14. Department of Justice.

The Congress can't put anyone in prison. They can investigate, and refer cases to the DoJ. Their ability to have trials is limited to specific civil actions per impeachment.

[bdamomma]

16. oops yes, the DOJ has to do their job.

[Echo In Light]

17. Safe to say there isn't much institutional momentum re ANY accountability

Just the opposite, in fact.

[Rex]

15. No.

I can't see it happening, but I can see him pulling a Kenny Boy.

[TheCoxwain]

18. I'll believe it when I see it .. I dont trust the justice system in this country - especially when

it comes to the rich and the powerful ...


The have all the clout to get the judgement they want ...

[Orsino]

19. I don't think we should risk it.

I am afraid that he would seep into the water table, poisoning who knows how many innocents?

[LeftishBrit]

20. Hope so, but doubt it.

[Maru Kitteh]

21. Does the Pope wear a funny hat? Do bears shit in the woods?

[cbdo2007]

22. he *should* go to prison...now whether he will or not is another story.

[Cleita]

23. Rather than prison, I would rather see him stripped of his

ill-gotten wealth made through the blood money of war. I want to see him make do on Social Security and Medicare out on the mean streets. However, since he probably has most of his wealth stashed away in some bank in Dubai, prison would work for me too.

[bluesmail]

24. Probably not. He's going to be sacrificed. They (who ever is behind the curtain)

will have him silenced. Can't believe he's still around (in human form). By the way, where is he?

[boobooday]

47. He was lurking right outside DC

I think when he goes to jail it should establish a national holiday: Justice Day, or Constitutional Restoration Day . . .

[damntexdem]

25. Here's chance for Dubya and Cheney to reconcile with one another:

that is, if they're housed in the same cell. ;-)

[robertpaulsen]

26. There's still a chance.

House probe of covert CIA program could target Cheney

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3977470

[GeorgeGist]

27. Not if the US Government has any power.

[dysfunctional press]

28. he COULD...he SHOULD...but he WON'T.

[Generator]

29. Yeah and Obama will turn out to be a liberal

KEEP HOPE ALIVE!

[Rebubula]

30. One can hope....

...course, I hope for lots of things...

[indepat]

31. The chance that Cheney will ever spend a day in jail is probably less than the sun

will fail to rise in the east tomorrow. :P

[Initech]

32. Cheney *SHOULD* be in prison.

And by *SHOULD* I mean ----> *SHOULD* <---- be in prison.

[G_j]

33. if you sneer at people enough

maybe they'll hold you accountable?

[Optical.Catalyst]

34. Leon Panetta was a man Dick Cheney had nothing to blackmail him with

Leon Panetta blew the lid off of Cheney's secret CIA programs.

Now if we only had someone of equal resolve working for Eric Holder, the whole Bush crime syndicate would be behind bars before the end of the year.

[gimama]

35. YES! Keep those cards 'n' letters going!!!

...& phone calls & petitions, too!!!
www.congress.org for contact info,& for a few $$, they hand-deliver Your letter.

[Kablooie]

36. NO. There's no way he would ever be held responsible for his crimes. That's not the Ameriken way.

[leftstreet]

37. K&R

[Me.]

38. Don't Think He Will 'Cause * Will Likely Give Him Cover

But bless you for the thought and the accompanying visual

[sutz12]

39. No. He'll use the Goering defense.

He's a coward. I'm sure of it.

[troubledamerican]

40. A plane will crash into the Capitol Dome before any pretense of a Cheney trial

[formercia]

41. I hope so.

I hope he rots there.

[mmonk]

42. Is Ray picking up on something from Holder or this DOJ

I have missed? So far, I haven't seen the difference from Gonzales to Holder.

[peace13]

43. Oh I hope so....n/t

[valerief]

44. He'd pull a Ken Lay before going to prison. nt

[mvd]

45. Yes, he could go, and should go

Will he go? Maybe after the economy gets better and health care is passed, there will be a building movement to investigate, indict, and imprison.

[GOTV]

46. Unfortunately I read the whole article ...

... and didn't find one reason to believe Cheney's in any danger whatsoever. The article only lays out reasons why Cheney should be held accountable.

[Octafish]

49. This'll help...FBI files indict Bush, Cheney and Co. as war criminals

From World Socialist Web Site, this article includes more than a few specifics from the government's own files in making the case better than anything I could put into words:

FBI files indict Bush, Cheney and Co. as war criminals

By Bill Van Auken
wsws.org
23 May 2008

The most stunning revelation in a 370-page Justice US Department Inspector General’s report released this week was that agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation had formally opened a “War Crimes” file, documenting torture they had witnessed at the Guantánamo Bay US prison camp, before being ordered by the administration to stop writing their reports.

The World Socialist Web Site, together with human rights groups and other opponents of US militarism and repression, has long insisted that the actions of the Bush administration—the launching of wars of aggression, assassinations, the abduction and detention of civilians without trial and, most repugnant of all, torture—constitute war crimes under any legitimate interpretation of longstanding international statutes and treaties.

To have this assessment confirmed, however, by the IG of the Justice Department, the only senior official there not answerable directly to the White House, and by agents of the FBI, an agency not known for its sensitivity to questions of democratic rights, is an indication of the rampant character of these crimes as well as the crisis they have engendered within the US government and America’s ruling elite as a whole.

The report makes it absolutely clear that torture was ordered and planned in detail at the highest levels of the government—including the White House, the National Security Council, the Pentagon and the Justice Department. Attempts to stop it on legal or pragmatic grounds by individuals within the government were systematically suppressed, and evidence of this criminal activity covered up.

CONTINUED...

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/may2008/fbi-m23.shtml

As a citizen of the United States, what mosts infuriates me is that more than a million innocent men, women and children have died as a result of Cheney and his smirking boss's warmongering.

Next, though, on the list of war crimes is the torture of children in ordre to make their parents "talk." Children. America tortured innocent children. So that Cheney and Bush and their War Party pals could make money and consolidate power.

[MissDeeds]

51. Could he? Sure

Will he? Not in a million years.

[ejbr]

52. +1 n/t

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

53. Does anyone remember Obama/Biden saying

we will know in 4 to 6 months what we are going to do regarding investigations? I am paraphrasing but they did say words to this effect.

The Senate and House Intelligence Committees are doing investigations, Judicial Committees are having important hearings.

There are some of those members who, when I watch them talk about their purpose, are passion filled with the idea of Justice.
We complained all they ever did was have Hearings, Nothing ever happens. There was Perjury in some. As the Facts are revealed there is only one way the Bush Administration can go and it is Down.








:redbox: :tv:


:kick:

[defendandprotect]

55. Not sure about this ... because Cheney can implicate Bush . . .

and I doubt that Bush was that shortsighted in his own interests?

OTOH, Nixon didn't go to prison -- because he was pardoned.

Maybe that tells us we have a better shot at this.

But, I'd also like Obama to be making some open statements to the military that

TORTURE is over -- and I think the message of prosecuting the higher up's would

make that clear.

We have now killed 1.3 millio Iraqi citizens in an "illegal war" which Democrats

are still funding. Where is the grace, the courage, the kharma, the intelligence

in any of this? How would we ever begin to make amends? And when do we start?

It starts when American citizens gain control over the own government!

And when they begin to use the options our founders left us with --

"the consent of the ruled" and only with that consent!

It is corporations which are controlling a "people's" government now --

We've known this for 30-40-years and all that has happened in the interim is that

corporations have become wealthier and more powerful and their tenacles on government

have become tighter.

In order to hear any thoughts on democracy we have to go back decades -- or have long

memories. The handful in Congress who speak for democratic ideals are not going to be

able to overturn things for us.

The handful in our corporate-press who speak of our outrage are not going to be able to

overturn things for us.

Indeed -- what we have left is a CIA-press . . .

and let's not forget that the beginning of the 2000 coup -- the stealing of the election -

began with John Ellis/Fox News and moved thru a GOP fascist rally to stop the vote counting

in Miami Dade County without police interference with the mob -- and finally on to the

right-wing Supremes. We've had decades of questionable elections -- think about it!


One must understand that mainstream figures like Dan Rather and Keith Olbermann are not going to voice our outrage against the current regime. They will pretend to fight George Bush, Barack Samebama, John McLame, and all of these other frontmen so that we don't look to the men behind the curtain. One way to keep us from being pesky and fighting these folks is to make us think that "heroes" like Dan Rather are already doing it for us. Evil genius, huh?

Cheer as you might -- but they are not going to deliver you from fascism -- wake up, folks!

[defendandprotect]

57. Only if we keep hammering OBAMA and DOJ on this . . .

and Congress --

[Javaman]

58. Never ever going to happen. Why?

because our government is to tightly controlled by special interests which prevents them from having a spine.

Nixon should have gone, but nope.

That single moment of not holding crooked prez accountable set precedent for all future crooks.

never happen.