Conyers Preparing Contempt Report for Josh Bolton, Harriet Miers
By Nicole Belle Sunday Nov 04, 2007 4:40pm
House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers tells WH Counsel Fred Fielding that Miers and Bolton need to come before Congress and be sworn under oath, or be held in Contempt of Congress. They've ignored eight such attempts in the past. I'd say that was pretty indicative of contempt, wouldn't you?
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how about a few more letters, and dont forget to say please.
I say we give them 10 or 12 more chances and then really get terse!!
Yep, sounds like contempt to me. Can you go to jail for Contempt of Congress, the same as going to jail for Contempt of Court?
Blue Muse @ 3:
na, you'll get the medal of freedumb.
If I thought anything would come of this I would be happy as hell. I sure wish something would.
Good on yer, John, nail the zionist jew, (one of the primary cabal responsible for Iraq), and the zionist evangelical (one of the crazychristians supporting the rapture/zionist dream), to the wall.
Their contempt for the US and it's Constitution is only exceeded by our contempt for them.
"...don't make me raise my voice."
these guys are slow as f*king molasses
That's Bolten, not Bolton but I wish it were Bolton, too.
It's about time.
Hold it! Nothing's happened yet? There only "preparing" a report and making more idle threats? See what happens to a witness that ignores a subpoena from the Justice Department - or a county prosecutor in Podunk - or the Plaintiff's attorney in a minor slip-and-fall.
Sometimes Democrats really are weak.
How could anyone not have contempt for this congress?
I'll believe it when I see it. I don't believe a damned thing these people say anymore.
What is their motivation to appear. Obviously, there are no consequences. Why is this time going to be different?
Preacher Boob @ 6:
F#@* you buddy. That was not legit worry about AIPAC and the Neocons. That was way over the line.
Go democrats! Send more stern letters, then vote for more laws Bush wants, then more stern letters, then beg Bush's attorney general to act, then sit back while everyone ignores you.
The legislative branch has been successfully neutered. Why don't we stop this farce and cross out the legislative powers from the constitution?
Hail King George! (And Queen Hilary?)
Okay, get your numbers here! Get your numbers here! Pick the date and win a prize!
How long until the Dems apologize for "threatening the office of commander in chief in time of war" or some such similar phony outrage?
Five'll get you ten, ten'll get you twenty if you get the right day!
Get your numbers! Get your numbers! Wednesday still plays! Wednesday still plays!
The fascists are asserting their superiority to the law, and specifically to Congress. This is the part where democracies either save themselves by arresting the authoritarians and charging them with the crimes they've committed, or fade away.
Flash @ 12:
It won't, but there are Democrats still gullible enough out there... so why not give them a bone every now and then. You know... to keep hope alive.
The interesting thing about Conyers is that he is very polite to the people running this country down the drain, and yet he has no problem sending people who request he does his job to jail...
We'll see. We've kinda been down this road a few times, wouldn't you say? Seeing is believing...
Eight times? Is there any reason at all to believe that the ninth time will be any different? Or is Conyers just tossing a bone to the bloggers after voting Mukasey?
Cat Atomic @ 16:
The time for action was a while ago, this is coming 4 years too late. Heck, the pile of scandals and constitutional offenses is so high that it may rival the Sears towers by now. And yet the Dem congress can't find an impeachable offense...
This democracy faded long ago, and probably it all can traced to the day when Nixon walked free... at that point it was clear: the political right wing class are our new monarchy. It just takes a while for most people to catch up to that fact...
I'm not Charlie Brown and they aren't Lucy. I'm not going to try to kick that ball again. We all know what is going to happen. Same thing that always happens when we get out hopes up.
I'm told that if they fail to respond to the 15th request they will receive the Spanish Inquisition. I can't wait to see the abject terror in their faces when they are confronted with the fluffy pillow. I guarantee you they won't expect it... nobody ever does.
ProDem @ 18:
How does it go? Fool me once, shame on you... Fool me a few times... stop laughing at me?
Or something like that?
I don't mind Democrats being a bunch of spineless idiots, I can deal with that. What I do mind, is people laughing at our expense. And at this point it starts to be clear that Pelosi et al are more of a comedian troupe brought in to amuse the boy king than a political opposition gang.
Mr. Pelicano @ 22:
NO BODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!!!!!*yawn*
how many of these dem-feints do we have to suffer? the GOP my as well call the dem's bluff everytime, it is a sure bet at this point.
nothing to see here folks, just another "well, you have forced me to write a letter" moment for the weak and pathetic dems.
"stop, or i will say stop again!"
*yawns again*
pissed off patricia @ 21:
Nicely put.
Now I'm not particularly enamored of the Democratic party as a whole........
HOWEVER, were I in their position of having a president who has demonstrated that he will pardon anyone in his administration who gets convicted of a crime, so long as they protect him and his, I just might be somewhat prone to "run out the clock" a bit......so the threat of the criminal justice system actually has some teeth as a trial can be I'm sure dragged out for the remaining 14 months of the chimperors reign
V V
Hey, ninth time's the charm, right?
In the picture at the top, Conyers gavel should be pointing down.
9th time is a charm
You know, when Bolton comes over to your house and takes a crap on the lawn eight times in a row, it really seems well past the time of asking nicely.
I would think that with the whole "Three Strikes You're Out" mentality that the Republicans expect the rest of us to all live under that Bolton etc. should have been found in contempt after the third time he crapped on the lawn.
Although personally I think one chance is more than enough with the Bush Crime Family.
So.... I expect to see Conyers (what the hell happened man? I used to respect you...) prepare another spot of weak tea for these crooks after they have crapped on our lawn for the ninth time.
Disrespect me again and I will send another sternly worded letter! I will! Don't think I won't.
I remember when we thought the beginning of the end of this nightmare would be Conyers with subpoena power. Feh! No so much.
The fact that Bolton and Miers aren't in a Jail cell right now is an outrage.
Mark @ 33:
You or I would be....
More idle threats. Ho Hum, Ho Hum.
fiver @ 13:
If you were educable, I'd suggest you do a little research on John Bolton (& Feith, & Wolfowitz, & Perle, et.al) in The Israel Lobby (and many other sources), and discover why we're in Iraq. Miers, well, she's just a born-again boob, wishing and waiting for the zionist jews to be destroyed so she can be free to fly to 'heaven'.
Of course, to someone like you, this all probably seems reasonable. Enjoy the ignorance to which you are doomed.
Christ, I wish HJC staffers would be reading this comment thread & reporting it back to the guys in the pic above. Can't cut w/a machete C&L readers' disgust re: Conyers' latest please-oh-pretty-please letter to Fielding.
Which he will tell Conyers' to roll up real small & shove it where he shoved the previous ones...
below_me @ 1:
Could Senator Conyers move any slower? Over the years I've seen this Senator interviewed and I must say listening to him is like watching paint dry. The fact that he's let these two continue in their contempt is to be expected.
Contempt? Sure.. But these two are just the tippy tippy top of that iceberg... And Like POP upthread indicates.. Likely nada will come of it.... Probably end up just like somone opined about the Murkasey bullshit of last week of which I will borrow in part... I think it was in regards to Leahy, which I thought was halarious in a darkly humorous way.. This too will mostly be about Conyers who will huff and puff.... and then sit his ass down and shutup when they thumb their noses at congress yet again... Prove me wrong congresman...please.. Because I'm beginning to wonder what the point of your branch of government is..You're suppose to be doing the work of 'the people' yet YOU people can't pass a law that Chimpy doesn't sideskirt with a signing statement or a veto pen.. What is it these days that you people are doing to justify all that money we pay you and all those other frikkin lifetime bennies??? I'd really like to know, because I don't see anything useful coming out of congress these days.. Just a bunch of smoke and mirrors and caving......JD
and....?
the silence from the democratic leadership is deafening....
too late john, you should have signed and approved Kucinich's House Resolution 333 to impeach cheney, and then followed up with impeaching duhbya too while you had the chance, now in 364 days, when the next independent representative from MI replaces your seat, you can join your republican cronies in the unemployment line.
And Yet... @ 37:
"Sir, we have collected comments from some "bloggers" concerning your contempt report, what shall we do with them?"
J.C. - "Is that a cocktail weenie you're eating? Yum!"
Good.
An urgent letter was also prepared by Intelligence, Military, Diplomatic, and Law Enforcement Professionals.
http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2007/11/05/urgent-letter-from-intelligence-...
We are almost to the point where the hundereds of Whistleblowers across the country need to call a press conference and announce that they will advise "the good candidates" and will then help protect them as they travel throughout the United States.
May it be so. WH keeps saying it's a waste of time.
Josh Bolten can tape his collection of pics of Bush's hands to his cell wall
LMAO, Not require them to be under oath. If these pussy can't get these piss ants to show up even with a promise of not swearing them in, then they are not up to the task of taking on Al Qaeda or anyone else.
Albatross @ 19:
You and Kris Moran need to reread your high school government notes. Conyers is a representative, so he doesn't get to advise and consent on Executive branch nominees. On the other hand, as chair of the House Judiciary Committee, he would be instrumental in impeachment proceedings.
Never, ever interrupt Conyers while he's eating his customary bologna on sandwich-style wonder bread.
jr @ 44:
Thanks, I'd almost forgotten about Bolten's fetish for pix of GWB's hands.
What a nut job...
Preacher Boob @ 36:
I'm well aware of the influence of the Israel Lobby and its influence on the Iraq War. I'm also aware of the difference noted by Mersheimer and Walt (among many others) between legitimate criticism of the Lobby and its influence and poorly disguised David Duke style anti-Semitism.
Dr. Who @ 24:
Oh please with the fluffy pillow ... CONYERS MEANS BUSINESS this time ... he's going right for the comfy chair!!!!! Those flithy neocons won't stand a chance!
PreacherBoob @ 36,
Oh, and the subpoena was for Josh Bolten not John Bolton. "Educable" enough?
All talk, no action.
Not a damn thing is gonna happen.
Anyone like to take a bet?
Right on Preacher Bob your correct and so is Mel Gibson, to hell with the AIPAC war mongering Israelis. The jew like to dish it out but can't take it.
IMO, it goes back further, to NSC 68, when Truman, in a time of peace, put our economy on a permanent wartime footing and dependent on arms production.
I don't know about other democrats and American citizens, but I am sick and tired of hearing these words and BS coming from the democrats.
We have been hearing about these charges and republicans to come before the senate and be sworn under oath, or be held in Contempt of Congress.
Just in the "ONE CHARGE" They have ignored eight such attempts in the past.
For Conyers to say "I’d say that was pretty indicative of contempt, wouldn’t you? " I say that this statement happened 6 times ago.
But, of course Bush, republicans and the American citizen knows that our congress is not doing a d... thing to that "ACTION" in order to bring the criminal crimes of Bush, Cheney and this administration and make them pay for their illegal activities.
Personally they should just shut their mouth up and stop looking like an idiot.....
If Bush blocks enforcement of this in Federal Court, will the President be branded, "Just like the Pakistani President"?
If the President will not allow judicial action, nothing is stopping Congress from impeaching. There is no precedent that compels Congress to take something off the table. Sure, it's not normal, but these are not normal times: Don't want to hear, "But they're no longer in government. . ." Doesn't matter: Congress needs to assert its power.
If the President blocks enforcement of this contempt citation, Congress should impeach Miers and Bolton. Doesn't matter that they're no longer in government: Congress has to have teeth.
Good on you fiver@49. What the hell ever happened to the site monitors here at C&L? Lately the threads are sounding more like what you'd expect to find at StormFront, not a Progressive site.
Albatross @ 19:
No kidding.
Thanks for posting the article, C&L, I had no idea they were skipping out on this. Gee, I wish I was a rich asshole, so if I was summoned to congress or, say, a Federal Court, I could just give them the finger and go fishing.
Something tells me if the federal government "politely requested" my appearance at a hearing, after the first or second time bad stuff would happen to me.
* * *
And hey, what the fuck is up with the Jew bashing here. If you can't tell the difference between ALL Jews and SOME people that happen to be Jewish, maybe you just shouldn't post. Because you sound like a racist dipshit, and distract from the fact that there really is a radical right element in America that promotes the interest of Israel over that of the U.S. They do not represent ALL Jews anymore than Charles Manson represents ALL white people. And they have plenty of enablers in the neocon establishment that are not ethnically or religiously Jewish at all. So "teh Jews" is not an accurate or welcome phrase, jerkoff.
Give the bigotry a break -- you are making everyone worried about AIPAC look bad (which last I saw had less than 100,000 members in a country of over 300,000,000). There is reason to be concerned but never to spread irrational hate.
Clue @ 56:
If the Congress refuses to impeach, the State AGs can directly prosecute domestic threats to the US Constitution. Here's how it's done:
Translation: There's a way to enforce the contempt citations against the President's aides: Either through impeachment or prosecutions at the Federal or State level.
fiver @ 49:
Preacher Boob @ 61:
Preacher Boob @ 62:
Falsely charging anti-semitism to those who legitimately challenge the zionist offenses against humanity, human rights, and moral and world law, is the standard credo, the mantra, taught by zionists to distract from their depredations. It's a despicable tactic, as pointed out by Mearsheimer and Walt and many others, more despicable than true anti-semitism, because it is false, and always directed by those of lesser character than their targets.
Therefore, one can regard your charges of anti-semitism as of
1. No Moment, or
2. Much more adversely revelatory of your mental and moral deficiency, or
3. Both
My money still is on "nothing will happen". The democrats are cowards! They don't have what it takes and the republicans know it. Just watch!
It's easy to tell the difference between a legitimate critic of Israeli policies or AIPAC from a full on anti-semite. For the anti-semite, all roads lead to an International Zionist conspiracy. This thread is about the politicization of the Justice Department, it has nothing whatsoever to do with Zionism, middle east policy, the war in Iraq or the imperialist objectives of the neoconservative movement (which I would argue is US centric and has more to do with the control of natural resources, the suppression of national powers that might pose as rivals to US interests and the perpetuation of the Military Industrial Complex than it does with Zionism). It does have to do the domestic totalitarianism of the Republican party. The interjection of Zionism into this thread can only be the result of paranoid, knee-jerk anti-semitism. It's irrelevant to this thread.
BTW, I doubt if AIPAC gives a flying f*ck about whether the Democrats or the Republicans are running the show in the US. Israel still gets the broad support of both parties either way.
Bush the Liar @ 52:
You are gonna have to give me some serious odds, Dude.
Jeesh! Good for you snowball, I was about to jot down the same, thanks.
Lets keep our eye on the ball, that is the Dems having another hissy fit before caving in a day or two....
Ummm... Can't they just shoot the bastards at this point? OH - SORRY, right... That's Larry Craig's job - to "shoot" his constituency in the face with his manly, repugnican, man-juice.
Thank jesus for clarity!
swarmofkillermonkeys @ 59:
Thank you for this comment. I had wanted to object to this racist rant, but you said it much more ably than I could have.
bob @ 10:
Ain't that the truth...
Let's watch this committee hold its collective breath.
hooooooold it . . .
Turning blue yet? good.
Conyers is a stuffed shirt. Does anyone actually believe him? He's a liar. Why do progressives continue to hang on to these liars or even report what he has to say?
Preacher Boob @ 6:
fiver @ 13:
Preacher Boob @ 36:
fiver @ 49:
fiver @ 51:
Preacher Boob @ 63:
Lawrence Finkelstein, Mearsheimer and Walt, Noam Chomsky, and others have been the recipients of false charges of anti-Semitism. Preacher Boob? Not so much.
How do you tell the difference? One suggestion might be to identify those wanting to "nail the zionist jew."
BTW, my purpose @ 72 was not to continue this repulsive dialog, but to clarify. Preacher Boob was playing pretty fast and loose with who said what @ 61-63, and I wanted to make it clear. I've come out fairly strongly against AIPAC/Israeli influence in U.S. foreign affairs on this site (though usually when it's relevant to the thread), yet I don't in any way wish to be associated with the type of attack I tried to counter tonight.
Until Bush is impeached and/or put on trial for crimes against humanity he is going to tell Conyers and others to kiss off. At this point the congress is irrelevant and Bush knows it.
fiver @ 72:
fiver @ 51:
Preacher Boob @ 63:
Lawrence Finkelstein, Mearsheimer and Walt, Noam Chomsky, and others have been the recipients of false charges of anti-Semitism. Preacher Boob? Not so much.
How do you tell the difference? One suggestion might be to identify those wanting to "nail the zionist jew."
'Nail the zionist jew', is an anti-zionist statement, you illiterate oaf, directed specifically at Bolton, who is about as despicable a zionist as one is likely to find. BTW, FYI, I survived for years in the SoCal film industry, which would be impossible for an anti-semite.
Many jews are not rabid zionists, but aside from the crazychristianrapturefreaks, I know of no rabid zionists who are not jews.
Because of the knee-jerk response of the zionists to charge their detractors with being anti-semites (as you do), it is up to the non-zionist jews to stop the desecrations and depredations of the zionists. False charges of prejudice are despicable, and zionists are some of the most prejudiced people on earth.
Many folks are prejudiced against others, zionists are prejudiced for their 'chosen' selves, and against all others. Since they are far less numerous than the groups they exclude, by definition, they are prejudiced against a vast majority of the earth's populace.
And they hate. Boy, do they hate. Some would argue they have a 'right to hate', because of the nazies. But wisdom would argue that it's dangerous to hate, because you fall into the trap of becoming what you hate.
And that has become the fate of the zionists. As witness their strategy and tactics in Palestine.
fiver @ 73:
A grievous error on my part. I misread the subpoena and thought they were going to nail that miserable SOB John Bolton.
whatever... time to move to OZ
What a pathetic bunch of whiners the commenter here tend to be.
How wonderful to feel superior to the Democrats at every turn. How marvelous to treat Chairman Conyers with disdain, when it is the Republicans who are worthy of all that disdain -- but it's just not the fun of savaging the Dems, eh?
As if the Chairman wasn't working his fingers to the bone trying to reverse the destruction of our democracy, documenting the crimes, outing the criminals, working hard to force the resignations of something like 20 cronies by now, including Gonzales and Rove, resignations that the Chairman was almost singlehandedly responsible for.
You really ought to see yourselves, whining and pouring so much USELESS energy into calling the Democrats weak, as if they were the problem, when it is CLEAR who the problem is. But disaffiliated leftists are clinically unable to attack Republicans. Republicans are like weather, ignored, allowed to continue their actions with only trivial resistance from the left.
And because they are ignored and understood as evil, the only people there are to attack are the people who are actually not at fault for these circumstances. And it makes you feel so good to feel so bad about the Dems -- it's a wonder you don't see how pathetic that is.
And meanwhile,
http://judiciary.house.gov/Media/PDFS/Contempt-Report071105.pdf
the filing documents the US Attorney scandal.
The repeated attempts to get the White House to comply satisfy any Congressional critic on the other side, so that's not wasted effort. And this effort will expose the US Attorney of D.C. Jeffrey A. Taylor -- who is a crony -- to the subpoena power of the Congress as well, when he fails to comply. Since that was coming anyhow, I'm glad we are now at that point.
Looks like most of the heroes here just dumped off their snarks and split, rather than actually discuss or read the complaint, rather than actually contribute something that takes ten minutes of effort.
sadly now when i hear a dem committee chairperson speak, in particular when they offer yet another threat of long overdue action, all i am hearing is that sound we all heard on charlie brown holiday soecials, you know the sound when a teacher or other adult talked to the peanuts gang. the trombone waap waap wapp sounds. for the sake of our country, SHUT UP A DO SOMETHING. stop pussy footing around with this administration and get busy with all the power and authority you have been given by us, remember us, the American people. I know all about the slim margin and how a few repubes can still block certain actions. but in this case and many others you have the power to act, so grow a spine a do it.
willie @ 80:
You and many others completely miss the point.
Chairman Conyers' EIGHT HUNDRED AND FIFTY-EIGHT PAGE subpoena filing documents in great detail the U.S. Attorney Firing Scandal.
You've taken the small end of the stick, which is a habit with a lot of people. By putting this extensive documentation into the subpoena, the Chairman has made a fact offering that is going to be the basis of a significant call for special prosecutors after the U.S. Attorney in DC refuses to act on this subpoena.
Is it slow? Yes it is. But the Chairman can in no way be accused of having jumped to conclusions. He has put the facts into a document the entire legal community will read. And that is not a weak or otherwise inadequate accomplishment, since in case you've not noticed, the magic wand is broken.
Doesn't mean a thing if he doesn't have them hauled before him in shackles.
That's a filthy picture.
Paul @ 82:
H'yeah. It absolutely means nothing to put the evidence of multiple felonies for which Gonzales is about to go on trial into the Federal Register in a major legal case which every lawyer in the country will read.
Only singlehandedly wrestling angels on the steps of the Capitol will satisfy the redhots, who do NOTHING, except feel superior.
Paul in LA @ 78:
Boy, you're right. Because the Democrats have accomplished so much in the last year. They stopped the war. Brought impeachment proceedings against both the president and the vice president. They prosecuted the Haliburton and Black Water war profiteers and put the company heads in jail. They reversed the tax cut for the richest 1% and used that money to give us universal not-for-profit health care.
Dude, pull your head out of your ass. This isn't a fucking football game where you root for your team no matter how many touch downs they score for the other team. This is reality. When the people you elect to do all the things I mentioned do absolutely nothing, thats when you open your eyes and realize the game is rigged. They met before the opening kick off and decided exactly how the game was going to be played. This is nothing but professional wrestling, except trillions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of lives hang in the balance.
Now put on your red, white and blue donkey and go kiss some DNC ass somewhere else.
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