Scott Horton: Bush Six to Be Indicted
Scott Horton says indictments against Gonzales and several associates are very likely this week:
Spanish prosecutors have decided to press forward with a criminal investigation targeting former U.S. attorney general Alberto Gonzales and five top associates over their role in the torture of five Spanish citizens held at Guantánamo, several reliable sources close to the investigation have told The Daily Beast. Their decision is expected to be announced on Tuesday before the Spanish central criminal court, the Audencia Nacional, in Madrid. But the decision is likely to raise concerns with the human rights community on other points: they will seek to have the case referred to a different judge.
Both Washington and Madrid appear determined not to allow the pending criminal investigation to get in the way of improved relations.
The six defendants—in addition to Gonzales, Federal Appeals Court Judge and former Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee, University of California law professor and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo, former Defense Department general counsel and current Chevron lawyer William J. Haynes II, Vice President Cheney’s former chief of staff David Addington and former Under-Secretary of Defense Douglas J. Feith—are accused of having given the green light to the torture and mistreatment of prisoners held in U.S. detention in “the war on terror.”
The case arises in the context of a pending proceeding before the court involving terrorism charges against five Spaniards formerly held at Guantánamo. A group of human rights lawyers originally filed a criminal complaint asking the court to look at the possibility of charges against the six American lawyers. Baltasar Garzón Real, the investigating judge, accepted the complaint and referred it to Spanish prosecutors for a view as to whether they would accept the case and press it forward. “The evidence provided was more than sufficient to justify a more comprehensive investigation,” one of the lawyers associated with the prosecution stated.
But prosecutors will also ask that Judge Garzón, an internationally known figure due to his management of the case against former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and other high profile cases, step aside. The case originally came to Garzón because he presided over efforts to bring terrorism charges against the five Spaniards previously held at Guantánamo. Spanish prosecutors consider it “awkward” for the same judge to have both the case against former U.S. officials based on the possible torture of the five Spaniards at Guantanamo and the case against those very same Spaniards. A source close to the prosecution also noted that there was concern about the reaction to the case in some parts of the U.S. media, where it had been viewed, incorrectly, as a sort of personal frolic of Judge Garzón.
Instead the prosecutors will ask Garzón to transfer the case to Judge Ismail Moreno, who is currently handling an investigation into kidnapping charges surrounding the CIA’s use of facilities as a safe harbor in connection with the seizure of Khalid el-Masri, a German greengrocer who was seized and held at various CIA blacksites for about half a year as a result of mistaken identity. The decision on the transfer will be up to Judge Garzón in the first instance, and he is expected to make a quick ruling. If he denies the request, it may be appealed.
Will they show up for court though?
I'm thinkin no.
Doing the right is something that we gave up in this society long ago. So much for "land of the brave home of the free." We have devolved to the land of the "don't inconvenience me... American Idol is on"
seeing those two little pissants, Gonzales and Feith, discredited will be worth the price of admission.
Neither of those two mental midgets had any business holding the positions they held, much less have the opportunity to make policy.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
Americans want the prize catch; Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Wolfowitz, Limbaugh, FOX Noise in the docket.
planet.
"Gonzo, will you marry me?"
We can honeymoon in Madrid.
Corruption favors the wealthy.
I wish I could feel positive about this but there have been so many times when I thought something was going to be done, only to be sadly disappointed later. I'll just wait and see where this goes.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Will holiday off the mainland US now. Best thing for the rest of us to be brutally honest. It would be great to see them hauled off in handcuffs but the best we have at the moment is the knowledge that six passports and being barbecued today by some very nervous people.
could just rendition their treasonous, war crime committin punk asses to Madrid...
Would NOT hurt my feelins at all.
bar-b-que YOU ahole!
shut up YOU ahole.
the motion.
.
you and i agree on something, libNmod!!
I'll supply the beer!
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
I thought we'd agreed on things before....
we agree on most things -i've just gotten a little snark from you in the past.
no hard feelings tho!!
Meeee. Snarky? Naw!!
No hard feelings here.
Trivial wordsmithing is all that's left with you...pathetic.
Like your man Dan Quayle, i'll spell the word any fooking way l want laddie!!!
Don't take no shit off that troll!
This morning Joe Scarborough just blew this story off. I guess he started his tea bagging a day early.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Will you stop it with the teabagging!!!
I'm actually starting to get pains in my chest through all the bloody laughing i'm doing since last week!!
...the Left came up with the teabagging jokes IMMEDIATELY after hearing about this idea, but NOBODY on the Right saw this coming? Are they all blissfully unaware of sexual slang? I didn't know what the word "teabagging" meant, but I'd at least HEARD of it.
The rock that I live under is so large that I had never heard of the term and what it meant. I asked here at C&L for the definition. I got it.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Did you see Keith's show last night? David Shuster did a thing about tea bagging that was incredible. It was tears rolling down your cheeks funny.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
you're laughing while we're suffering through the bs taxation without representation. yeah, I know we elected these fools - but it's our kids, grandkids that will be paying for their (politicians) dumb mistakes. maybe if you're laughing - you'd like to make a contribution to our debt.
last week it took all the money the average Joe made by April 15th to pay his taxes ~ today it takes until the end of May.
what are you folks thinking? let's take back the country from these fools cheats and liars that we've elected! and get some sane officials in there!
to the rightwing lies...
And stay on topic or STFU
You're making almost identical points to the ones Glenn Beck made yesterday.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
You mean the one on his head?
In some parts of the Midwest the only good jobs left are concern trolling positions for the GOP. A sad tale really, but rickp et al have to put "food on their families" so I don't take their BS personally.
Beck on the other hand is not doing his shtick out of economic necessity, but rather mental perturbation.
is actually right, though.
why can't we on the left and they on the right team up to take on the real enemy: the banksters?
but until those on the right, pull their heads out of their asses, and can have a rational dialogue with us on the left. Working with them is next to impossible.
LOL!!
You said "rational dialogue" and "those on the right" in the same sentence!
I made a funny!!!
So what you are saying is that you are now suffering after eight years of an administration that bought you :
The Largest Domestic Terrorist Atrocity
Illegal War
Torture
Blacksite Internment Camps
Inprisonment Without Rights
Warrentless Wiretapping
Erosion Of Civil Liberties
Banking Deregulation
Economic Destruction
The Largest Growth in Government Spending
$6 Trillion Deficit from a $260 Billion Surplus
Lowering of respect for the US around the world
Warrents for the Arrests of former US officials for Human Rights offences
A Failed Foriegn Policy
Destruction and selling Off of your Wildlife Reserves
A Presciption Drugs programme that benifits Private Health Insurance and Drug Companies NOT the Patients
Incompetence in High Office
The largest group of Government Officials convicted in Law Courts (with more to come *cough* Abramoff *cough*)
Nepotism
Cronyism
Increased Hate-filled Retoric against Immigrants and Gays
The Outing of an Undercover C.I.A operative
A Failed Education Policy
Christianist Controlled Science
And Joe the fucking plumber
It is NOW that you are "suffering through the bs taxation without representation" even though this tax plan reduces taxes for the majority while increases it for the top earners from 36% to 39% (as it was under Clinton and STILL 10% LESS THAN IT WAS UNDER REAGAN) and that you seem to be a member of the 26% of prissy little faux news/glenn beck/hannity/limbaugh kool-aid (is that right or will you correct that spelling too?) drinkers who didn't complain about the large shit sandwich that bush served up.
CALM. YOUR. FUCKING. SKIN. DOWN.
If you were really that concerned you would have been protesting this crap BEFORE November 5th 2008, but l am pretty sure that if l check on the history on this site your name will be nowhere NEAR any of the posts against the bush crime organisation. Don't have a go at me because a group of sexaully repressed rightwing idiots manage to dilute their moronic politically driven astroturfed message even further with sane rational people by giving it a tagline so easily linked to a homosexual sex act most of them may have actually participated in.
HA! That was awesome!
about ungulate references.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
I also watched far too much Python and Blackadder when growing up. When you have writers like John Cleese, Michael Palin, Ben Elton, Stephen Fry, Douglas Adams and Richard Curtis when your growing up some things stick!!
And I grew up watching those as well...and a LOT of Benny Hill also.
...the rhetoric against going after the Bush Administration is going to be positively deranged. Mr. O'Reilly already said in one of his columns a few weeks ago that the Bush Administration will be put through witchhunts simply to distract Americans from the economy.
to which the Spaniards responded "Bill who?"
Nor should he.
You know what Spain does to mass producers of bullshit.
http://the-billablog.blogspot.com/
I was in Vegas two weeks ago partying with several friends. My younger brother, who lives in Vegas, and one of his friends, who lives in Vancouver, where we went to high school, tagged along. At breakfast on Saturday morning, my brother's friend, Jay, related to me his first-hand experience.
Jay is originally from Fiji and a non-practicing Muslim. Additionally, he's about the most-harmless guy you might ever meet -- he likes to have a good time, to say the least, at doesn't take his religion seriously, except that he's turned off by the hypocrisy of organized religion overall. Anyway, he was in Scotland back in 2001, trying to learn the oil and gas industry from a relative. Two days after 9-11, while sitting in a cafe, he was approached by four armed men in suits who pulled him out of the cafe and took him off to prison. Apparently, Jay's VISA indicated that he had travelled "too many" times to "too many" places, i.e., Canada, Fiji, Scotland, within too short a period. He was arrested, interrogated, isolated in solitary confinement for 30 days and held for 6 months without a phone call. The only thing that saved him was the warden, who questioned him independent of the interrogators, and eventually believed his story enough for him to convince the interrogators that he should be permitted a phone call. He called his parents, who called the Canadian Embassy, and so forth, and he was thereafter released. He was taken to his condo in Glasgow (which had been ransacked), told he had 20 minutes to collect whatever clothes he could, and put on a place back to Germany, and then to Toronto. The authorities cleaned out the bank account he maintained in Scotland, etc. The authorities in Canada told him to let it go, and there was nothing they could do.
Notwithstanding my liberal leanings, I'm about as mainstream establishment as it gets. And this is a good kid -- I'd trust him with my 3-year old son. Somebody should have to pay for our overzealousness.
Wow. Scary story. Thanks for sharing it.
And your young friend is one of the lucky ones. How many never got to make that phone call and ended up in Guantanamo, or a black jail in some unknown country? How many innocents "disappeared" or are still being held?
That's disgusting!
Someone should indeed pay for that!
Who should pay exactly? The problem with a Gulag system such as the one that was set up after 9/11 is that there is nobody directly responsible.
CIA? MI6? The British Government?
Unless, of course, you consider Bush and Cheney directly responsible for all the chaos that ensued.
Definitely not my area of expertise for sure.
But yeah...I do consider those two responsible...but indirectly.
All it means is that these malefactors can NEVER leave the Country.
I cannot imagine that anybody would send an "Eichmann" team to abduct 'em to Madrid for trial, more's the pity...
Thanks a LOT, Spain!
I can understand how these are NOT good news.
When will someone indicte Darth Cheney?
if the hand of Obama is in this.
Remember, BHO is the strategist who made Limbaugh the de facto head of the GOP.
To what end? I dunno. Maybe I'm just hoping that there is some convoluted plot evolving.
I'm not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Okay; I'm a eejit. But.
Is there something more to this than can readily be explained?
Or just wishful thinking on my part...
Maybe its his way of a back-door, out-sourced prosecution of the evil doers of the Bush admin? That wascaly wabbit!
No. Doubtful Obama would let the US cooperate with any investigation.
Why cant the Spanish just look forward?
Unfortunately.
After the investigations determine that they are indeed criminals and arrest warrants are issued for them if they step on Spanish soil:
The people of this country need to round them up as ‘enemy combatants’ and ’secretly’ under the cloak of night, fly their a$$es over there and dump them in the middle of Madrid.
In their jammies.
Spain is part of the European Union.
This means that if there is a warrent out for your arrest in one country then the other 21 countries will honour that warrent which means that you cannot fly to ANY of the main Western European countries as you will be arrested immediatly you set foot on the ground and extrodited to Spain
if we just gave Guantanamo back to the Spanish from whom we stole it.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
It's Cuba, not Spain, but I think I understand your sentiments.
like ys to figure out when the deed was transferred, but if it wasn't for some damn Spanish queen there would not be a U.S. so its all Spain's fault in the end.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
Cuba would still be one of the Confederate States of America.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
Guess it depends on exactly how devout you are to leg-humping nationalism to think that's a good thing. It's not some set-in-stone rule that any country would be better off if the United States found some way to annex it. Colonialism should have been put down years ago, but unfortunately we as Americans seem to like to think that we can mettle in any part of the world in which we see fit to do so.
Nationalism is akin to racism or primitive tribalism.
We took Cuba from Spain. Teddy Roosevelt allowed independence, but we kept a lease on Gitmo (I think it was the Platt amendment, but I'm not sure).
Corruption favors the wealthy.
Spain stole Cuba.
Or was it America. I know it was the Italian sailors and all, but it was their money.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
They didn't FIND Cuba...they DISCOVERED it! ;)
Much like their cuisine, Italians tend to take from other people sans asking :-)
Columbus first landed on the island which today is the Dominican Republic/Haiti. So technically, he never discovered the continental America until his last voyage I believe...
I don't think any person living in a country like the US of A, which is literally stolen from other people, can throw theft as an accusation to anyone else...
Bravo Spain!
don't want to do.
Why is Spain doing this?????
Now, BillO the Clown will boycott that country! Boo, hoo, hoo!
legacy of torture in the Phillipines that helped shape the worldview of Michelle Malkin.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
trance zombifying the American public?
Thousands of Americans will stalk sitff legged with arms outstretched toward the Tapas bars muttering "Paella....paella."
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
Nope...it's Flan!
Don't you mean Freedom Flan?
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Perhaps Freedom Fly?
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
Patriot Pizza? No, wait. That's Italy. Nevermind. Rushthugliklans will come out with that one after Italy indicts them for their crimes.
in search of such nourishment. After a good meal of paella.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
ya can't swing a dead cat in this town without hittin a Cuban restaurant.
Which is a gift AND a curse...
Spanish and Cuban cuisines are very very very different...
I have limited experience with Spanish Cuisine...but I could bore you to tears with my knowledge of Cuban Cuisine.
bored with it.
That being said, Spanish shares some traits with certain Cuban dishes, but as a cuisine it is in its own league. It truly is a shame it does not have the same recognition in this country as French or Italian cuisines. Some of the best meals I have ever had happened mostly in the Iberian peninsula, bar none.
swindle in a long time that came out yesterday.
Still sleepwalking . . Land of the walking dead.
This is probably the best we can hope for. If Obama were to prosecute the felons, as he most likely wants to do, the next four years would be a free for all of finger pointing and political
mud wrestling. As with the Clinton administration during the unending impeachment hearings, nothing substantive would be accomplished for the people.
By having a presumably impartial third party prosecute the villains, the damning information can come out without making it appear to be political vendtta. Obama can then focus on health care, the economy and other serious issues without being drawn into the fray.
Candideinnc
ricky @ 7:44
Exactly when was Cuba part of the Confederate States of America? Can you give me a date?
The world is not ready yet for ricky's particular brand of humor.
But I like his sense o' humor.
believe in the Lost Cause, often fantacize about what would have happened if the South had won. One of their biggest fantasies was the liberation and annexation of Cuba.
I'll have to credit old Tyler on this one. It was a pretty obscure reference.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
I jes' larnt me sumthin!
I was not aware of that.
jest what are sheep squeezins. Are they edible or are they what Aggies without a date kiss after touchdowns?
(Planer Ricky to Tyler, that is an obscure Texas joke)
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
refer to as sheep shit...
It's a southernism from my neck of the woods...and indeed, "squeezins" is quite the versatile phrase...which I don't want to go into detail here, as we would be straying quite a bit off topic.
or A&M love interests.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
to both, lol!!!
Put all those crooked, Reslug bastards in prison and many more to come.
No wonder Republicans hate and demonize our European allies. They are the only ones holding them accountable for their crimes. We certainly aren't. Obama says no one is above the law in this country. Apparently not the case from what I've seen thus far.
We gotta get a some Republican financier who wants access to Obama (not that there seems to be a problem getting that) to turn. Next time when Alberto needs a ride on a company jet we just get the pilot to take him to Spain. "Just a little headwind Mr. Gonzales, sorry for the delay."
Has he gotten a job yet?
it's a sad day indeed when the spaniards are doing what most of the world (including at least half of us in america) has known needs to be done for a VERY LONG TIME.
i wanted to believe my country, america was so inherently great, we could fix this "in-house".
i wanted to believe the candidate i campaigned for, obama, would take care of this himself. but, no -he's the empty suit we were all warned about.
a very sad day indeed.
But I'm much happier with the concept of rendition than I was yesterday.
Corruption favors the wealthy.
bullfrog!
Two accords in one day?
... willing to do the right thing, there is no reason for sadness.
It is a human thing, not just an American issue. Sometimes, other people f up and we;re there to do the right thing. Other times, we f up... and other people rise up to correct us. No body is perfect, we all need each other. The sooner we are comfortable with that notion the better off we will all be.
this will make the slightest difference.
The US may have people guilty of warcrimes on its soil, but it's an aggressive hyper-power. If a country like Spain tried to arrest an "important" American citizen like the ones above, they'd be invaded sharpish.
I think it's overly optimistic to assume one can invade one's way out of any situation.
a lunatic plan.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
Spain isn't going to come the US and arrest anybody. That's not how it works.
Gonzales, Yoo, et al could spend years fighting extradition to Spain to face criminal charges. If they travel anywhere in Europe, they would probably be arrested - just as Gen. Pinochet was arrested in 1998 in Britain on charges of illegal detention, torture and murder of Spanish citizens. Pinochet was held under house arrest in the UK for 18 months before being released for medical reasons. When he returned to Chile, the Chileans then charged him with kidnapping, torture, murder, tax evasion and money laundering.
I don't think the people named in the current case are anywhere near as "important" as you seem to believe.
in defense of suspected war criminals?
Yeah...okaaay...
Uncle Sam only invades puny Third World countries -and not very well, I might add.
n/t
They ought to start with DICK Cheney. Stuff his ass with assorted candy, string him up by his testicles and beat like he's a pinata!
...and interesting idea.
"Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of Stupidity" - Frank Leahy
You've hit the nail right on the head there! Where Clinton DID lie to the Grand Jury....it's so damn disgusting that even the STUPID Democrats (with a few - VERY few - notable exceptions) just want to 'move forward'...um, sure didn't see THAT (just want to move forward)during the '98/'99 time frame.
Really sad that another country has to do our work for us. Is it possible that Nuremburg was just a 'waste of time' after all?
from the nearest yardarm!!!
And hang Cheney too!!
We shoot pirates, not salute them. (Especially if they are dumb kids in tow)
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
We shoot pirates, not salute them. (Especially if they are dumb kids in tow)
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
It'll be interesting to see how Berkeley reacts to having one of its tenured, full-professors indicted as a war criminal. Talk about bringing disrepute to the university. Maybe Yoo can be bribed to move to Pepperdine where he'll fit in with such luminaries as Ken Starr.
Churchill had to be purged for what, exactly? But Yoo still has his job.
PLEASE write your Rep. and Senators STONGLY urging them to acknowledge and commend Judge Garzón's efforts to defend justice and the rule of law! Also send your letters that you send them to the White House, DOJ, State Department, Spainish Consulate, and Spanish Embassy. They won't know how we feel if we don't tell them in the strongest words possible!!
private bounties are legal in the USA. i am currently supporting one that will reward whomever lets us know who our local spray paint artist is.
how can it be illegal to support a private bounty in another country? when will the international bounty on this bunch of crooks be issued? how do i support it? if they open a paypal account, i will happily give them $50 a week and build the pot until somebody snatches them off the street and ships them to spain for the reward money.
i wonder how long Gonzo and feith will be walking the streets with a million dolar bounty hanging on them? i hear blackwater has laid off hundreds of US mercenaries. this should get interesting.
Dog the Bounty Hunter. I did like the show with Steve McQueen better though.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
As Detective McGarrett would say.
I like the sound of that.
if he's ever around anybody who speaks Spanish. I'll take that commie anarchist Tommy Franks at his word that Feith is "the fucking stupidest guy on the face of the earth" so maybe the guy's maid and gardener will drive him paranoid psychotic.
..."you have the right to remain silent" in Spanish? People should make it a point to say that to these creeps every time they appear in public.
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