John Conyers calls for a probe into the Bush Administration
By John Amato Monday Jul 27, 2009 12:15pmOh, if only it were so.
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee has called for both a criminal investigation and a blue-ribbon panel to look into "Bush administration abuses of power and misconduct."
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) told the National Press Club Friday that both avenues should be pursued because a criminal investigation would be done in private, while a blue-ribbon "9/11-type" panel would work publicly and would create a public record of the Bush administration's actions.
Conyers also slammed former Bush administration officials who are refusing to testify before the judiciary committee. He rejected the notion that "executive privilege" prevents Bush White House officials from answering questions before Congressional committees.
"Wait a minute," he said, "you don't know what questions we're going to ask."
"If we ask a question that you think can't be answered, we can set it aside ... but the blanket [notion that] anybody near the White House doesn't have to come to a hearing, that wouldn't wash at my son's freshman class at Moorhouse College in Atlanta much less with me."
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Even sucky old Moorhouse College in ATL wouldn't fall for that crap! lol nice dig there.
My newest hero!
Best of luck with the hearings, Rep. Conyers. And hey, why is it that former administration officials think they have the privilege to NOT answer questions? What do we need to do, put the old boss on trial first? I'm okay with that, aren't you?
Conyers has been pushing for this for years.
He's been spouting this line of crap for years and has NEVER followed through. Watch how he will panic if it even looks like we might get that panel. He will back pedal so fast he will dig a rut in the floor.
I used to think he would do something too. Boy, was I mistaken!
Conyers must need more cash in his coffers. He always spews this stuff followed by the tin cup. I fell for it once...
This guy continually lobs political grenades into the Bush administration, but he NEVER pulls the pins first.
Click, swish, NOTHING.
...wont help we the people one bit
(blue ribbon or not)
right. How about a good old fashioned criminal investigation.
...thought exactly. All a "9/11 type" panel would do is cover up the very worst things they discover.
Who is this Cheney guy that doesn't belong in the Administration but runs the Administration. That has no authority to do anything but has personal control of the Pentagon and the CIA?
Dear DOJ - Investigate! If only because i'm really, really curious to see what cheney is up to, but also to save the country from him.
Cheney's tentacles run deep into the flesh of the government.
Bush-Cheney almost killed America.
If there's a one percent chance Bush-Cheney could ever do this again, or another group in government could do this, then it must be considered as a certainty, and they must be prosecuted. I submit that if left unprosecuted, the chances are much greater than just one percent that Bush-Cheney [2002-2009] will be repeated on a much larger scale!
The criminals are sorry they got found out by the voters, and they believe that the only thing they did 'wrong' was that they didn't go far enough or fast enough with their schemes. [shuddder]
...investigation, you would have to wait 414 days before beginning an investigation in the first place.
appropriate a ridiculously small amount of money to do it with ...then ignore a lot of evidence, and come to a "predetermined" conclusion.
I was wondering what he meant by "9/11 type".
Perhaps along these same lines they can appoint Philip Zelikow (Condi's best friend) to head the Commission...that is after Kissinger is named as Chairman and people protest.....
(You know...one war criminal investigating another war criminal and all).
What is there to probe, we know about the torture, we know about the illegal war based on lies about wmd and mushroom clouds. We have enough to put an end to the Bush Crime Family and the budding Cheney Crime Family. It's past due for the good of the country and the world.
what crime is Conyers gonna look for? where to begin...(oh let us count the ways)
Enron?
9/11
starting a war of agression on false pretenses?
Katrina?
Abu Graib?
Wiretapping?
Plame scandal?
Torture?
Halliburton war profiteering?
...maybe we will finally find out whats in Darth's "man sized safe"!!!???
(not)
Go back and review Dennis Kucinich's 31 articles of impeachment, that corporate media avoided like kryptonite.
Wasn't that about the only thing left after his entire office (and papers) "caught fire"???
Ya. But, I think a criminal 'probe' is exactly what is needed in order to have all of Bush-Cheney's crimes and misdemeanors documented and on the record, in the system [from 2002-2009]. Then the state can put together a case for prosecution.
DOJ!
Sorry, criminal court cases are public knowledge. I don't want a political circus that lets congresspeople hold forth more than the people they're questioning. I want criminal investigations for any crime there is evidence for. And there is plenty of that.
Ya, blue-ribbon panels are for non-criminal issues.
DOJ, we are looking in your direction...
Put me down for Cheney in the library with the lead pipe.
The US Government is a lying sack of shit.
Check out Hadifia in Iraq to see what a joke we can make out Justice. after a rape and murder spree.
After a run of Torture/ Murder/ Treason it's time to crank up the Nuremburg 2.0 tribunals.
Hey, if they did nothing wrong they will prove beyond a doubt the ends justify any means as long as you control the legitimization of who is dehumanized.
Hang um out to dry,now.
And if they're found guilty by an International Tribunal, strip them of all their worldly possessions, their US citizenship and lock them up in Abu Ghraib, for life, to listen to the ghostly screams. Let them serve as an example of how we handle traitors to the human race.
..of punishment for the guilty (and we know who they are).
..is clearing brush on a federal prison work detail in an orange jumpsuit, then it works for me.
it's about f-ing time these thieves were investigated.
We need Special Prosecutors.--> Subpeonas.--> Jail time for not obeying.--> Investigations.--> Indictments.--> Trials.--> Convictions. --> Incarcerations.
you forgot:--> Executions.
For High Treason.
Check this out...
1/2 way off topic...?
Conyers Sees No Point in Members Reading 1,000-Page Health Care Bill--Unless They Have 2 Lawyers to Interpret It for Them
Monday, July 27, 2009
By Nicholas Ballasy, Video Reporter
(CNSNews.com) - During his speech at a National Press Club luncheon, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Democratic Congressman John Conyers (D-Mich.), questioned the point of lawmakers reading the health care bill.
http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article...
Conyers gets paid alotta money and gets a lotta vacation time and better fucking read it...
of the 1000 page draft health care legislation?
That always worked for me.
If you are no longer the executive how can you declare "executive privilege"?
OR do you mean the office is above the law, also?
blue-ribbon panel: the legislative practice of appearing to do something, while ensuring that nothing happens.
Then he'll go back to sitting on his hands and do nothing. He needs to retire. But then I think they all need to retire and we need to outlaw lobbying to make sure they go home.
And I agree with all the other posts saying the same thing: Conyers has been making noise like this for years now. He never follows through.
Conyers has talked the talk for years.
If only he would walk the walk...
He has talk this shit so many times before that I have enough fertilizer to last a lifetime! These people have NO intentions what so ever of up holding their oath of office. It would mean the executions of the top elite ... and we all know an elite life is way more important than that of a peasant. Watch and see ... nothing will be done as usual. Mr. Conyers ... congress ... many of us already know who's interest you hold. May you all rot in hell along with the war criminals you support, defend and protect.
doesn't want to offend his "good friends" on the other side of the aisle
Reminds me of the haunting sight of Obama slapping Bush on the back like a good buddy the day of the Inauguration. Made me want to puke.
Never the less, have you noticed how the MSM is starting to become painfully dated? While the populace has come to a higher consciousness, the MSM has become antiquated.
...eclipsed by the bloggosphere!
2 different worlds...
one is real the other, ...not!
...oh yes indeed...I'll volunteer to help administer it.
Bend over, boys.
That's what you get for "stovepiping" intelligence.
(Warning...this is a sign of what may be coming to a neighborhood near you...):
http://gizmodo.com/5322387/police-sodomize-ma...
Generate a bunch of press by calling for hearings that...ultimately go nowhere and result in practically nothing.
What happened when Conyers called for an investigation into Ashcroft's role in the CIA leak case?
What happened when Conyers called for a Special Counsel on the US Attorneys [firings] report?
- ok that effort seemed to shed a great deal of light on that abuse of power ya?
Did you know he also called for an investigation into Acorn because he saw the bulls**t accusations against them as a "a pretty serious matter"?
He also, back in late 2005, called for a select committee to study impeachment.
Conyers called for hearings into bogus letter linking Hussein to al-Qaeda.
Conyers called for hearings on the Jena six.
Conyers called for an investigation when the DOJ suppressed a Racial Profiling Report.
Conyers called for investigating into GOP phone jamming.
Conyers also called for saner drug sentencing policies.
Aside from the Acorn stumble, this is all worthwhile stuff he is pursuing, but in the end, what is the result? New law? Anything worthwhile or unique that an elected Representative could achieve in that position? I checked his site in the interest of follow-up, but it is inactive at the moment, including the 'active legislation' link. An admittedly quickie perusal of google news yields lots of "Conyers calling for investigation into" links, but scant follow-up of the results of those investigations.
Conyers and his perennial crying wolf and litany of "strong worded letters" are nothing but wastes of time. Either do something about it, already Mr. Conyers, or just shut the f*ck up already.
Anyone who is married to this gal, can't be taken seriously when it comes to politics, the Conyers are quite the "class act"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqOSNI7l0bQ
We will never know what really happened, or what was in Cheney's safe. Even if there is an investigation, even the mildy dirty bits will be kept from public view. The really dirty stuff will be classified so high even God won't be able to see it.
And this is really too bad, because without knowing there is no way to prevent it from happening again.
Again? Now if Conyers happened to be Rethuglican, all these calls for probes that he does, could probably be explained. He seems to call for lots of probing, but very little REAL inquiries. Great actor though. Loved him in the movie Mr. Chips Lies to Washington.
you can count on conyers to call for a probe every few months....and then go absolutely nowhere with it
this is not news
the man is a blowhard
call me when he actually starts hearings and forces cheney, bush, rummy, et al to testify publically
Interesting. Never a dull moment in as the Washington Turns...stay tuned next week, when Conyers will issue a sternly worded letter, followed by dead air and a test of the emergency television pattern.
... ol' Spinless Harry to jump all over Conyers, but the lame-ass 'Majority Leader' can't be arsed to bring the Blue Dogs to heel.
So we can forget about that -- unless it is closed door and Arlin Specter gets called across the building for some consulting work on the "single Saddam theory" about how Saddam forced Chimpie to declare war and torture the Iraqis.
So what do people figure will be Holder's excuse?
and white wash the Bush Crimes just as that panel white washed the 9-11 crimes.
No thanks. How about a trial at the International Court in the Hague. That might work out better.
He 'discovered' what a lot of drug law reformers had known for years, that the Office of National Drug Control Policy had been politicized and used to stump for Republican candidates who were losing in their particular Districts. He had all the facts...and did what?
(Crickets chirping)
So many elephants in the living room from 8 years he could play darts blindfolded and still hit a bull's-eye, and it's not being done.
but now I agree with the skeptics: this call for a Congressional investigation and a criminal investigation is exactly how and why Ollie North and . . . wait for it, Robert Gates, Bush's Defense Secretary, got out of Iran/Contra. I know Conyers said a blue-ribbon panel, not even Congress, would investigate, but this is what yielded the b.s. 9/11 report. The only answer is massive restructuring of America, which includes ending the wars, emasculating the US military, restricting the rights of corporations and massive recapture of wealth for the People. It all starts with health care and the public option. It must not be allowed to be defeated by criminals like Baucus, Reid and probably the rest of the Senate (with the possible exception of Russ) and the rest of elected government. It really is beyond restoration, at least if the ruling class really had an intention to alleviate the nation's ills.
Conyers portrayed himself as the the leading advocate of Impeachment in the US House, but stonewalled impeachment for years and kept Rep. Kucinich's Bush-Cheney Impeachment Bills from ever being seriously debated or voted on in his House Committee.
Conyers accepted Impeachment Petition signed by 1.1 Million Voters but ignored it and had those bringing it Arrested.
Conyers broke a promise to voters to hold impeachment hearings after 08 election.
He is on the board of Progressive Democrats of America but even they couldn't get him to stop blocking impeachment.
If Conyers had started impeachment hearings shortly after he took the HJC Chairmanship, a few thousand US Soldiers who were killed or maimed in Iraq would still be alive and whole. Conyers owes their families an apology.
Now Conyers is the Champion of of Single Payer health care.
Given his poor performance on impeachment
is Single Payer
Dead On Arrival?
SIGN THE PETITIONS
Demanding
both a Commission of Inquiry
and a Special Prosecutor
For All Their Crimes
at ANGRYVOTERS.ORG
http://ANGRYVOTERS.ORG
.
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