Chairman Waxman threatens to hold Mukasey in contempt over withholding Cheney's FBI interview about Valerie Plame
By John Amato Thursday Jul 17, 2008 1:30pm
I didn't have a chance to get to this the other day. Mukasey is headed for trouble as outlined by Chairman Waxman in this video. He warns the Attorney General of a Scheduled Contempt Vote over Cheney:
Download | play 
Download | play (rough transcript)
Waxman; ...I have tried to investigate what really happened and the White House has resisted oversight every step of the way.
The committee's inquired has tried to penetrate the cloud surrounding VP Cheney's conduct. But today the President has asserted executive privilege and is withholding from the committee and the American people key evidence about the VP Cheney's actions. During our investigation we have learned that Mr. Libby told the FBI that it was possible that the Vice President instructed him to leak Miss Wilson's identity. That would be an extraordinary breach of trust. There is a key document that could explain what the VP knew and what he did. The report of the VP's interview with officials working from the FBI working for Mr. Fitzgerald. If there is one document that could pierce the cloud hanging over the VP, that is it.
Mr Mukasey decided that a different rule should apply to Republican Presidents than to Democratic Presidents.
The claim of executive privilege is ludicrous.
The President's actions have darkened the cloud over the VP and left important questions unanswered. As the committee considers its next steps, I hope the President and Vice President will also consider theirs. Congress and the American public are entitled to know what role the President and Vice President in the despicable outing of Miss. Wilson
AG Janet Reno provided this committee---the FBI interviews of both President Clinton and VP Gore a decade ago so what's the deal? Waxman is trying to find out what Cheney said to the FBI and is not too happy that Mukasey is blocking access to it. It sure looked like Scooter Libby was getting ready to hang Cheney out to dry unless Bush stepped in and gave him a get of jail card for free. Murray Waas wrote this great article about it a while ago:
Cheney Authorized Leak Of CIA Report, Libby Says
Vice President Dick Cheney directed his then-chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, on July 12, 2003 to leak to the media portions of a then-highly classified CIA report that Cheney hoped would undermine the credibility of former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, a critic of the Bush administration's Iraq policy, according to Libby's grand jury testimony in the CIA leak case and sources who have read the classified report...read on
The Gavel: "Chairman Waxman writes Attorney General Mukasey that the Oversight Committee will vote to hold him in contempt unless the Attorney General produces a copy of the report of the FBI interview of Vice President Cheney in the investigation of the leak of the identity of Valerie Plame Wilson, a covert CIA agent."
Here's the pdf of the letter he wrote Mukasey.
Mr. Fitzgerald removed any doubt about this important point last week. He wrote the Committee that "there were no agreements, conditions, and understandings between the Office of Special Counsel or the Federal Bureau of Investigation and either the President or Vice President regarding the conduct and use of the interview or interviews."
This should get real interesting soon.
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It just takes the cake when congress has to threaten the Lead Law Enforcement Officer of the land with contempt of congress. Goodbye Rule of Law. Nice knowing ya.
Stop with the verbal threats. Fire a couple of rounds at their feet.
Weird, isn't much of the Bush administration already guilty of this and hence liable to arrest?
Did "that week" ............ for the love of god, the persons whole existence is an insult to the living world.
If Congress NEVER actually punishes anyone for their contempt then they deserve it.
Threaten, threaten, threaten!
Talk, talk, talk!
Do nothing, do nothing, do nothing!
This low-life bunch of cowardly democrats makes me sick!
Like Rove's? Quit wasting tax payers money unless you intend to follow through. I'm sick of watching these criminals, Cheney, Mukasey, Rove, et al, thumb thier noses at us. Get em, or shut up and fix a bridge or build a school.
More empty threats from gutless Democrats.
And if these cowards did decide at some point to actually follow through on something, no doubt Barack "The Fraud" Obama and his Corporatist buddies would swoop in with some kind of retroactive immunity for Mukasey, Rove, and the rest of Bush's gang of thugs.
Joe Scarborough was talking about this yesterday morning and he kept referring to Valerie Plame as a "desk jockey". Yet no one else on the show corrected him.
Is being a criminal or having criminal intentions a requirement for serving in the bush administration?
Yes it could become interesting but based on past events, I doubt that it will be. I wish I had more faith but it's all been used up when it comes to this administration being held responsible for anything they have done.
It should get interesting, but it won't. I'm sick of reading strongly worded letters that allude to (but do not actually exercise) Congressional powers.
I have lost all respect for Conyers and Waxman. Every time I read that they are going to hold someone in contempt I just laugh. I think I'll go re-register as an Independent.
word I'll believe it when I see it. it would help if these got more press coverage. a lot of "regular people" don't even know who Don Siegelman is or what happened to him. a lot of "regular people" don't even know Rove was subpoenead.
pissed off patricia @ 9:
Be careful. Joe Scarborough is a 'liberal darling.'
Yea, I robbed you, shot your dog, fucked your sister, so? I am above the law, I have " executive privledge" which I made up so I could do what I please. How long would this bull-shit work if a common citizen tried it. &#%^(**-CEO
They. Will. Do. Nothing.
Is it letter writing time again?
Enough already, stop the talking and starting holding this administration accountable for something already. Gosh Waxman, Conyers you have every right to hold them accountable. Please make us happy and show you have balls.
This just in: Democrats in Congress to forward another sternly written letter to a current/former Bush official. Official to file letter with all the rest in the circular file cabinet in the corner with the big smiley face on it.
Threats? How about some action. This is all just a game. No one is going to jail over this. And W will just pardon them anyway even if congress does decide to ever take action instead of sitting around finger pointing at their "opponents" across the aisle and then going out for dinner and drinks with them as best buddies later.
This happened five years ago and these morons are still pissing around. Our country is a joke. Maybe congress will get to it after the next president is inaugurated. Maybe they'll get around to impeaching W by next August too. Hahaha!
how do i filez inherent contempts??
Maybe they'll make Cheney sit in The Comfy Chair.
Dale @ 21:
And poke him with the Fluffy Pillow. :-p.
Waxman says, "we will also be determined." Hahahahaha! Determined to do....as little as possible.
Another prime example of the need to IMPEACH! Congress has been unwilling/unable to exercise their oversight responsibility from the day they ceded that responsibility and gave Bush the green light to take us into war. Shit or get off the pot!
You think this will get interesting soon? Really? I'm not quite so optrimistic. If I read one more headline that says, "[Democrat] Threatens [Republican Crook] with [Action]," I think I'm seriously gonna hurl. You know what talking a good fight to bullies achieves? That's right . . . jack sh*t, which sums up the achievements of our supposed opposition Congress to a T -- "T" standing for "threat," natch.
Actually, "contempt" is exactly what the spineless, cowardly, piece-of-shit Democraps in Congress have earned.
Stop F*cking threatening these CRIMINALS and F*CKING JUST DO IT!!!!!!!!!!
Waxman's 'actions' will be about as effective as 'looking back the runner' on first base in baseball. You know he's going to steal.
John McCain has had a very colorful life and often tells stories that are not politically correct, for instance; he used to often joke that when in high school he was in a club and since they were so horny all the time they use to vote with their dicks instead of raising their hands, whether it was for what movie to see or who would be the leader. He also likes to tell stories about the time that he was held prisoner, especially about football players he thought about during his interrogations. While John McCain was being tortured in Viet Nam, the other prisoners could not take his constant complaining about how they were being treated better than him so they decided as punishment to anally rape him to show him how much worse it could be. So they tied him up and then got in line. After the first guy finished, McCain defiantly asked "Is that all you got?" After the next guy finished McCain grimaced but again asked "Is that all you got?" The next guy was really big and just as he finishes, McCain has a body trembling orgasm and says "My friends, I would like to thank you for electing me your leader."
I say waterboard Cheney since he claims its not torture. We'll get some confessions then railroad them with a military tribunal. Its the republican way of dealing with enemies.
Yes, but pelosi states that impeachment is off the table - makes everything okey dokey
Ooooh...what's Waxman gonna do next? Use harsh language?
McCain the Liar @ 30:
Even if he doesn't confess. We'll have fun.
*yawn* (directed at the notion that the democratic congress provides any oversight)
pssst, congressional democrats: your "threats" would be MUCH more effective if you actually--EVER--made good on them.
like shampoo directions, the dem congress' modus operandi:
1 watch as america gets screwed
2 waste time, suck up
3 get guilted into acting by grassroots effort
4 talk semi-critically of admin
5 issue threat/write letter to admin
6 back down and give admin everything it wants, plus a nice basket of bon-bons
7 repeat if necessary
We can all thank Franky Feinstein and Upchuck Schumer.
What the heck happened to Scott McClennan? Talk about a splash in the pan.
Uh huh, yea, right... blah blah blah... Beautiful speechifying there Hank.... Near perfect synopsis decribing why Bush, Cheney and all the rest of them should already be behind bars....But you know what?? IT'S STALE, OLD.. Just shut the fuck up, I'm sick of hearing this bullshit! If you useless fucks ever do more than grandstand and make empty threats about holding assholes in contempt or issue sophoenas noone pays attention to.. If you pathetic asses ever got up off the dime and actually had even one of these bastards hauled off in cuffs till they decided to tell the goddamned truth, it would be more than impressive.. It would be a fucking miracle!!!!! Don't hold your breath folks... I sure as hell ain't holding mine waiting on that kind of action......JD
Stevo @ 6:
Waxman and Conyers...both are inept and incompetent to serve in our U.S. Congress.
Do either really believe that by making verbal threats and/or sending numerous "threating/demanding/strongly worded letters" to H. Miers/J.Bolton/Rove and
now Muskay, are really accomplishing anything??? I think not, they are just playing
the usual and cusomary political BS games in hopes that the dumbed down portion of
the American public will support and vote for them.
Mukasey has perhaps grown aspen roots.
There's a good reason why Congress is held in less esteem than Bush. Our congressional leaders are an embarrassment - to the country and themselves. Again, Waxman & Conyers should be going after all the underlings first and *really* threaten them with contempt and jail and they'll flip fasting than a pile 'o flapjacks. Don't these "lawyers" understand the theory of "building a case"?
Sheesh.
Legalize @ 15:
You talk about Conyers and Waxman, well what the hell happened to Leahy? Mr. Huff and Puff where are you? We Democrats are truly screwed. Look at the cream of Demo leadership, Pelosi, Reid, Hoyer, Schumer, Feinstein, and on and on to Mr. Big Change himself Obama. The repubs have labeled all this appropriately.....a dog and pony show. Yea I know we should be calm and wait till the election is over. Fuck that.
Ya ya blah blah I'm sure they'll hold them in contempt, that's what they say every time...
Steve E @ 41:
Schumer and Feinstein twisted a lot of arms to get Mukasey nominated.
Bunch of enablers, the whole pack of em.
jazzcat @ 31:
Know anyone in San Fran?
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=1020
It's a pretty good living for doing nothing-- or worse than nothing.
.
Has anyone ever informed CONgress that they CAN enforce the Rule of Law, themselves...
Anyone... Hello? Lawmakers!?
Or they can choose to fall victim to being impotent!
.
What's new here? The Bush Regime are CIA outing traitors? That's nothing new.
More tongue lashings, sternly worded letters and empty threats from the Democrats? Nothing new here either.
Move along...
Please, please, dem congress, grow a pair, and follow through, puh-leeez!!
Ooooo! Another empty threat punishing contempt from an empty congress.
Keep talking and doing nothing about the criminal Bush regime, maybe the Democratic congress poll numbers will be down to 15% by the end of next week.
http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/46082-don-siegelman-enough-of-the-cover-up...
i would like to see justice for the plame case but also
the siegelman case....something is very fishy their...
siegelman beat the (R) and they didn't like it they had him in jail....he got pretty fast when this getting media traction
Ugh!
Another useless threat?
A note to whomever prepared this video clip -
The audio sounds like it's out of phase.
pathetic.... threats.... ooooo, yea I am sure the AG will get right on finding those docs....
I have seen single celled organisms that had more courage than democrats....
http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/46082-don-siegelman-enough-of-the-cover-up...
Whatever, nothing will come from it or this cave in congress
I'ts all an illusion. This is like some endless stage play
that we all know will not have the right ending or a
happy one so the players drag it out as long as they can.
Waxman, what a fluffer. Send off a stearnly worded letter, then hold your breath till you turn blue. That ought to scare 'em.....
Stop "threatening" with gentle letters, and INDICT, IMPEACH! The American populace now hates these scumbags-- by continuing to protect their pals, the Demos will soon be (if they aren't already) as widely hated.
Progressives need to elect a government that will actually represent them. Democrats are pussies and so are the American people for putting up with this...this...whatever it is...one thing it isn't is representative government. You know and they know this is not why they were elected to a majority. They have represented their lobbyists quite well. Too bad about the American people...they just foot the bill...but that doesn't matter apparently.
Is Obama superman?? We'll see. Think about the power he is up against. America is owned by the one percent at the top. If they can't buy him they will own him in other ways. In other words I have little confidence that Obama will change much. The next Republican however has his table set by G.W. Bush. They will take the Imperial presidency to the next level I am sure. Americans are ripe for total fascism.
I am out of the ability to think these dems can/will do anything of legal substance.
MEMO TO DEMS: Stop using angry words and sternly worded letter of protest and...
F*CKING DO SOMETHING CONCRETE!!!...even Waxman is disappointing me these days.
And Nancy Pelosi's remarks yesterday about Bush were good but...GODDAMNIT IT NANCY-PUT IMPEACHMENT BACK ON THE TABLE!!!
What does it take for Dems to grow a spine and actually turn their words into deeds?
Threats are useless.
If they're not going to do something about it NOW, then they are just wasting our tax dollars, chasing after Dick Cheney, when we ALL know that he gets a blanket pardon in January. And maybe the point of the exercise is the distraction, for the sake of the distraction.
You see, some of you people out there actually thinks that your government is RESPONDING with these hearings, when nothing could be further from the truth. It's just misdirection.
A cynical man might say that all this pussy-footing, and tap-dancing that you're now seeing was all part of the original plan. To some extent, they were ALL in on it from the beginning, and any "opposition" that you see, or have seen, was INSTALLED by the very architects of the plan.
Including the media.
Go ahead. Put Dick Cheney in prison... that won't demolish a single "temporary base" that we've built in Iraq.
We've spent a trillion dollars to secure thirty trillion dollars worth of oil, and there's NO WAY that the Democrats are going to just WALK AWAY from it...
...but don't worry... history will forgive us... because after all, WE'LL BE THE ONES WRITING IT!
Ron Paul 2008
WTH @ 54:
A great comment, better then the rants of myself and others here...thanks!
groucho @ 7:
Thank you. We all know (and so do they) what being held in contempt will get you.
Sh*t or get off the pot, people.
Although neither are expressly in the Constitution
Executive Priviledge and Congressional Oversight are linked.
EP is only for the Chief Executive, not the whole freaking branch.
And you can't claim executive priviledge and not acknowledge Congressional Oversight.
Waxman threatened Muckasey with a letter, hahaha.
The sternly worded letter writing campaing has worked so well why stop now.
NUTS!
Yeah yeah yeah we've heard THAT before.
Mukasey could get up on Waxman's desk and take a leak and congress would laugh!
wagonjak @ 62:
Evolution?
wagonjak @ 62:
I used to listen to these clips but I have since tuned these people out. I didn't even bother to listen to this clip. More of the same blah, blah, blah, empty threat. Blah, blah, blah empty threat. When I hear a member of the Bush regime has been held in contempt and frog marched before congress then I'll listen, not until.
I wish these Dems wouldn't try and swing he d!*&*'s they don't have. Mr Chairman, enough with the TV shows. We need some action.
kscitydude @ 11:
Welcome.
It's amazing the depressing sea change I've seen in the Democratic rank-and-file since the days we were all eagerly awaiting "Fitzmas" a while back. Bush and Cheney have thumbed their nose at the justice system and the very notion of checks and balances, with the willing complicity of guilty (Pelosi, Hoyer, etc.) or powerless (Waxman) Democrats. I'm completely jaded when I hear Democratic pols threaten accountability for the criminals in the Bush Administration, and judging by the cynicism rampant on this thread I'm not alone. I still have to remember how the Republicans cooked a blow job into a "Constitutional crisis" and impeachment. Now with the most corrupt administration in my lifetime, all the Dems can muster is miffed protests and impotent demands which Bush laughingly ignores. President Obama will no doubt drop most or all of the remaining investigations (those not stopped by Bush pardons) in the interest of "looking ahead." Man I could use a drink.
blah, blah, blah.
Save our republic before it's too late.
Vote out all incumbents in 2008!
It's time to throw the bums out of Congress and start over with people who believe in defending our Constitution.
MarktheSpark @ 59:
I have never voted and will never vote for a Republican for any elected office. I have voted for many Democrats, but I have to say that I now find them on the whole more despicable even than the Republicans. Didn't think that was possible, actually, but the Democraps have managed to pull it off. The FISA vote last Wednesday, maybe the most gutless thing I've seen them do (and that's saying something), really put them over the top.
Here's a letter for ya Waxman, "I".
As in...
Impeach, Indict, and Incarcerate the IDIOT!
ITS PRETTY SIMPLE, GUYS!
1) Vote on Inherent Contempt
2) Train the Capitol Police to act like county sherriffs and how to operate guns and handcuffs
3) Crash a couple of Washington dinner parties on a Saturday night.
4) Put the handcuffs on Muckasey and Rove.
5) Detain them in the Capitol basement all weekend -- let 'em stare at Washington's statue so they can see what a "real" President looks like
6) Hold your hearings on Monday and force them to either talk or invoke their 5th amentment rights
7) Public has wool lifted from eyes about what crooks have been running their government, and that Congress finally has balls.
Yawn. I'll wake up when you actually do something.
kali yuga @ 77:
Yeah, but what about YOUR representative?
Bullshit. Waxman will bluster and talk tough, but at the end of the day, he's a Democrat... he'll fold and whimper until January.
ysbaddaden @ 66:
I agree, but if the claim to "executive privilege" granted to each of these assholes
(Miers/Bolten/Rove/Mukasey) by bush-lite did not work, then I feel rather sure he'd try the "national security" BS maneuver.
I already hold Mukasey in contempt. Same with Cheney, Perino, Rice, Rove, Gonzales, Chertoff ...
displssd @ 81:
My Democrap Senator and Democrap Member of the House both voted to gut my Fourth Amendment protections. They don't represent me. Fuck them.
So?
Half the Bush Admin is now in contempt aren't they???
WOW! After reading these comments I'd say that most people are sick of hearing this BULLSHIT out of Waxman and the rest of the spineless in Washington. How many minutes of solid laughing takes place when any member of this administration get threatened with contempt or a subpoena from these gutless wonders in the congress? 2, 3, maybe 5. I'll guarantee you that they don't get very concerned.
If the only thing that stood between us and right wing fascism in the 1940's was the Nancy Pelosi/Harry Reid congress, we would all be goose stepping right about now and Hitler would have a desk drawer full of sternly worded letters.
Watch it, my Democatic colleagues/pussies in Congress- you've cried Wolf so often I think- no, I know - the country has more contempt for your weaknesses than they do for those that tell Congress to F*** Off.
Dennis Kucinich , Ron Paul, Russ Feingold, Gore all showed guts and the country loved and respected them.
This is all big joke now, just to help you stay in your seats.
We get it now.
And we're all ashamed. Still.
*yawn* I'm sure they'll get to that after the vote on Rove.
You know, I sometimes wonder why Reagan never asserted Executive Privilege over the Iran/Contra scandal, and refused to let Poindexter, McFarlane, North, Abrahams and the other rogues gallery testify before Congress. And, better yet, doesn't the fact that they DID testify before Congress in the Iran/Contra scandal serve as a precedent that Executive Privilege doesn't apply to this kind of thing? I don't know, I'm not an expert, but somebody here might know. It's probably one of two things: either a precedent that Executive Privilege doesn't apply to think kind of situation, OR that Reagan never asserted it, and therefore it'd not a precedent.