January 01, 2008 05:37 PM
Toobin on Mukasey's Criminal probe of the CIA's destroyed tapes...
CNN's Ed Henry talks about the Keane/Hamilton op-ed and Jeffrey Toobin discusses the new criminal probe of the destroyed CIA tapes led by John Durham.
Download | play 
Download | play (videos will be working momentarily)
Toobin: It's a big deal because particularly when you assign one prosecutor to investigate one case, it takes a long time....but the Bush administration is certainly in for the remainder of its tenure dealing with subpoenas, grand jury testimony about a very difficult subject.
OK, who thinks David Addington has more to do with this than has been previously reported? I'm just saying that because he's been behind so much garbage as Cheney's right hand man....Here's a little more on Durham.
Consider the history of the Bush Justice department. This "investigation" will consist of tarring the CIA, now that the Bush administration wants to give them the Joe Wilson treatment for occasionally telling the truth, and carefully insulating anyone in the White House from any hint of involvement.
Do you have any doubts that this is what will transpire?
The BEST we can hope for is that any investigations last beyond 2008 so that which ever low level flunky they pin this on, won't get pardoned.
Maybe just me but the video links don't seem to work
[Thanks for mentioning it. It's not just you. I've let the powerful ones know-Sitemonitor]
Addington is cheney's crooked life support system. He gives cheney ass cover as needed.
It should be interesting to see how they manage to blame the whole thing on Bill Clinton.
Durham, Smurham....
We had a bull-dog on the Scooter Libby trial, and our Monkey-in-Chief
just pissed on the verdict anyway.
Unless it's some low ranking plebe at the CIA the Bushies want to throw under the bus, this will go nowhere.
Addinton is just riding this out, till he can get his job for life over
at the Federalist Society.
Besides, this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
Cheney will scorch every bit of data before he leaves office, not a trace of the myriad and unfathomable crimes he and his minions have wrought will remain anywhere.
Except for the generation of damage done, the virtual destruction of the military, the middle class, and the wholesale transferrence of the wealth of the nation to the top 1%.
With this administrations history, I'll believe in the legitimacy of this investigation when I see indictments/impeachments. Until then, this is nothing more than a publicity stunt attempting to show that they have nothing to hide from the rest of the country.
What I find most amazing -- the same good questions are getting asked. Again. Instead of re-asking the same questions; why not subject the broader cases to a single investigation. Oh, don't they call that an "impeachment investigation". Piecemeal oversight gives us piecemeal evidence. The goal of Congress isn't to gather piecemeal, but to assert power to defend the Constitution.
Frog march the unitary executive theorists
If DoJ botches this investigation, and the new AG "should be" impeached because of the conflicted investigation, what's going to happen? Congress, by taking "impeachment off the table" has removed all incentives on the AG to ensure the investigation is above board; or that the results are different than what we had with the Plame-Libby investigation.
Private action is needed to put pressure on the Speaker to open all the options, and make it clear to the AG: If you botch this, we're coming after you with an impeachment investigation. Speaker needs to face a credible threat of her removal as Speaker; otherwise, there's no reason to expect any different result than what we had with the Plame-Libby investigation: Perjury, obstruction, and no conclusion.
WashStateBlue @ 6:
I thought he already did this a week or two ago?!
links don't work for me either
Repeat after me: "We won't comment on any ongoing investigation."
Of course, the "ongoing investigation" will still be going on when Bush leaves office. Which is the whole idea, right? Run out the clock. Meanwhile Bush and Mukasey get credit for doing the right thing.
Been there, done that.
Was just listening to SR and Wolf asked Cafferty if he thought Bush was a lame duck and Jack responded, "I don't know if he's a lame duck, but I think he's lame."
ROFL!
Robert Lockwood Mills @ 13:
"We don't comment" sounds nice, but is the point: CIA is commenting on the investigation; but WH claims in re Plame-Libby, "we can't say anything."
jr @ 9:
We need a unitary theory of legislative power to check the abuses of the Unitary Executive.
- Where are the Speaker's "enactment" statements, issued after the President signs the law?
- Where are the Majority Leader's "legislative orders" to all American citizens in "how" a law will be overseen, enforced, and prosecuted against the President?
State AG's can open an investigation: Alleged failure of US government to defend the States' right to a Republican Form of Government, one that has an enforcement mechanism.
State AGs can also prosecute a sitting VP and President for breaches of Geneva, outside Congress outside impeachment. If DoJ wants to take its sweet time, then the State AGs can target for prosecution AG failures to enforce the law and states' rights.
Whatever, with Pelosi not sweatin' these mutha fuckers with impeachment and "straight shooters" like Fitzgerald giving people like Rove 4 chances to lie in front of grand jury, I don't see shit happenin'.
Sorry, my fault...Have to redo the mov...
Addington is up to his arse in this. He is a criminal.
AG Mukasey is the judge who kept the audiotapes of the informant in the 1993 world trade center bombing under wraps. the informant secretly made the tapes unbeknownst to his FBI handlers.
the tapes that exposed the FBI as having much more operational involvement in the plot, and their insistence on using live explosives instead of dummy powder that the informant suggested switching out.
In response to the remark above that Congress has taken impeachment off the table- I believe it was Nancy Pelosi who took impeachment off the table.
Perhaps it's time to take Nancy Pelosi off the table.
Swashbuckler @ 14:
LOL! Wonder what Wolfie Blitzkrieg thought about that!
Friends, this torture tape scandal is not just about torture.
It's also about 9/11 and the administration's version of the "truth".
These "confessions" are the heart of the official meme of 9/11.
There's more going on here.
...
Might as well ask if the sun will rise tomorrow.
I don't think Addington is Cheney's anything. I think Cheney is pivotal to assembling a group of neocons that share the same philosophy of invading the world to allow powerful American's to control everything. And if personal rights of US citizens get in the way they just don't understand.
The real problem is that they've been able to send out tendrils in many key political appointee positions that are now converting to civil service. It will take decades to get rid of the one sided influence
All Mukasey is doing is compartmentalizing the problem so they can try and push it into another closet and hope people will forget about it at least through November.
Oooh, oooh, another investigation! Can't wait for the strongly worded letters to the administration. That always seem to work doesn't it? Addington has nothing to sweat. He will leave his position as Cheney's go to guy and will land on his feet with a high six figure, maybe even 7, salary as a lobbyist/consultant. That's how America works these days. It's a corropt and totally amoral collection of hicksters.
SadButTrue @ 5:
Haven't you heard??? Bill Clinton taped over the episode of Lost where Sayid tortures Sawyer and c-mon, that's practically the same thing as the CIA destroying tapes of their torture!
Gotugye @ 26:
I hear ya...isn't it sad that this is what we can expect of America now? I mean for any Republican lurker our there you should be proud (and I bet your dumb ass is) that your party has ruined America to the point that the American people don't believe we will ever restore it...and to a Republican, they don't want to restore it...they like America broke.
Why did Wolf Panzer even interview Toobin? His role appears to be to embellish everything that Toobin says with bits of information that most 6 year olds have already grasped. Shut up Wolf Panzer! Time to go back to Journalism junior college!
Go after these American lawyers like the US went after Nazi lawyers at Nuremberg.
I can be rest assured, and am already assured, that this will go nowhere. There will be committees, sub-committees devoted to this, and it will turns up nothing. More importantly, there will be significant events happening in this year, that will deviate the DOJ's focus away from this on to other more "important" stuff.
DJ, Arlington Group
CNN expert qualified the special attorney as "no nonsense" . . . does this mean that there are "some nonsense" federal prosecutors or perhaps even "all nonsense" prosecutors.
Why does no one ask these questions that are screaming in my mind?
Anonymous @ 17:
I guess that is our only hope, since the Washington bigshots are all in it together & can do nothing about it. President Bush & his cronies are so far above the law that no one can get them.
Fitzgerald as one of the non-fired USA's did his political duty and protected Cheney.
Mukassey wont be any different.
Bush will walk - as usual.
Looks like John Amato is smelling something funny about the torture tapes and the truth about 9/11. I tseems that he is leading a fact based approach.
He may just get credit for breaking the biggist story in history- the truth, 9/11 and literally all that jazz. Songs will be written and played about this.
Congratulations!
Everything after 9/11 was a complete lie . . . . hmmm . . . wonder what they could be covering up . . . . what could be so terrible?
Toobin actually told the truth about the Libby case...why am I amazed?
The first Democratic candidate to sign a pledge to prosecute BushCo for all their crimes will get my money.
Not a cent until then.
What a disgrace Bush and Cheney are. Year after year more outrages are presented to the USA. This country is a laughing stock to the world because our leaders are so dishonest and corrupt. Since the election of 2000, we have been living in a "nightmare democracy." The interesting thing to me regarding the Cheney/Bush problem is that it can be solved with a courageous and decent court and legislature. Our courts and congress actually have the power to impeach these elected officials for not honoring the constitution of the USA and convict them as the war criminals for crimes they continue to commit. Looks like we have been 0 for 3 with our executive branch, our justice department, and our legislative bodies since the year 2000 when it comes to vision, expertise, self awareness, and trustworthiness. Bob Dylan was right, "the answer is blowing in the wind." Speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi, wake up and act. Let congress vote to impeach. Investigations of this tape eraser scandal need not run out the clock on these criminal leaders. Work overtime on this problem. Justice can be swift. Your nation needs your best and speediest effort. Save the USA from these disgraceful leaders -- do the right things and win this case for the decency it can promote.
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