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Yoo hoo, Mr. Holder! Gee, after reading this post by Scott Horton, it seems like Dick Cheney is just asking to be prosecuted - why not give him what he wants?

After he was indicted for the murder of Alexander Hamilton, vice president Aaron Burr fled to South Carolina, to hide out with his daughter. Another vice president, Spiro Agnew, kept completely silent before pleading nolo contendere on corruption charges. Former vice president Dick Cheney, on the other hand, seems proud of his criminal misadventures. On Sunday, he took to the airwaves to brag about them.

“I was a big supporter of waterboarding,” Cheney said in an appearance on ABC’s This Week on Sunday. He went on to explain that Justice Department lawyers had been instructed to write legal opinions to cover the use of this and other torture techniques after the White House had settled on them.

Section 2340A of the federal criminal code makes it an offense to torture or to conspire to torture. Violators are subject to jail terms or to death in appropriate cases, as where death results from the application of torture techniques. Prosecutors have argued that a criminal investigation into torture undertaken with the direction of the Bush White House would raise complex legal issues, and proof would be difficult. But what about cases in which an instigator openly and notoriously brags about his role in torture? Cheney told Jonathan Karl that he used his position within the National Security Council to advocate for the use of waterboarding and other torture techniques. Former CIA agent John Kiriakou and others have confirmed that when waterboarding was administered, it was only after receiving NSC clearance.

Hence, Cheney was not speaking hypothetically but admitting his involvement in the process that led to decisions to waterboard in at least three cases.

Gitmo - the gift that keeps on giving -- that is, if you're trying to inspire a new generation of jihadi terrorists. Via Raw Story:

Four members of a US military intelligence unit assigned to Guantanamo Bay are questioning the government's official version of the deaths of three detainees in the summer of 2006.

The soldiers are offering a very different version of events than the one provided by the official report carried out by the Naval Criminal Investigation Service. Their stories suggest the three inmates may not have killed themselves -- or, at least, not in the way the US military claims.

"All four soldiers say they were ordered by their commanding officer not to speak out, and all four soldiers provide evidence that authorities initiated a cover-up within hours of the prisoners’ deaths," reports Scott Horton at Harper's magazine.

According to the US Navy, Gitmo detainees Salah Ahmed Al-Salami, Mani Shaman Al-Utaybi and Yasser Talal Al-Zahrani were found hanged in their cells on June 9. 2006. The US military initially described their deaths as "asymmetrical warfare" against the United States, before finally declaring that the deaths were suicides that the inmates coordinated among themselves.

But a report from Seton Hall University Law School, released last fall, cast doubt on almost every element of the US military's story. It questioned, for example, how it would have been possible for the three detainees to have stuffed rags down their throats and then, while choking, managed to raise themselves up to a noose and hang themselves.

The report (PDF) stated:

There is no explanation of how each of the detainees, much less all three, could have done the following: braided a noose by tearing up his sheets and/or clothing, made a mannequin of himself so it would appear to the guards he was asleep in his cell, hung sheets to block vision into the cell—a violation of Standard Operating Procedures, tied his feet together, tied his hands together, hung the noose from the metal mesh of the cell wall and/or ceiling, climbed up on to the sink, put the noose around his neck and released his weight to result in death by strangulation, hanged until dead and hung for at least two hours completely unnoticed by guards.

Army Staff Sergeant Joseph Hickman told Harper's magazine that he was made aware of the existence of a secret detention center at Guantanamo, nicknamed by some of the guards "Camp No," because "No, it doesn't exist." According to Hickman, it was generally believed among camp guards that the facility was used by the CIA.

Hickman also said there was a van on site, referred to as the "paddy wagon," which was allowed to come in and out of the main detention area without going through the usual inspection. On the night of the three detainees' deaths, Hickman says he saw the paddy wagon leave the area where the three were being detained and head off in the direction of Camp No. The paddy wagon, which can carry only one prisoner at a time in a cage in the back, reportedly made the trip three times.

Hickman says he saw the paddy wagon return and go directly to the medical center. Shortly after, a senior non-commissioned officer, whose name Hickman didn't know, ordered him to convey a code word to a petty officer. When he did, the petty officer ran off in a panic.

Open Left: A letter, purportedly from an angry Democrat. I'd like to believe that. Does anybody like this deal? Obama doesn't. Call your Senators and Congressional Representative right now.

Beltway Blips: McCain chief of staff/lobbyist was paid $2 million by Fannie and Freddie for access to McCain and to stop regulation of the banking industry

Informed Comment: Baghdad Mayor: US tanks run amok, and there will never be a street named for Bush in Baghdad

Sadly, No!: Shorter Entire Right-Wing Blogosphere

Scott Horton: Justice in the age of Bush

Pancake City: In the wake of an epic financial meltdown that threatens to derail the U.S. economy for years, Barack Obama announced he was ending his run for President of the United States, declaring to a stunned nation, "Man, this is bullshit." (h/t getalife)

Earl Palmer: One of the most recorded, and highly respected drummers in the history of popular American music has passed away. I had the great privilege of touring and recording extensively with this giant, and he was a good friend for over 30 years. He will be greatly missed.

Connecting.the.Dots: Medical question, travel question, legal question, political question, religious question, literary question, beauty contest question, government question

cab drollery: How...Quaint

Scott Horton: Gonzo gets another pass

Facing South: A"giant pile of crashed ships and barges" clogs New Orleans' Industrial Canal one day after Hurricane Gustav, covering the channel's entire width south of the Interstate 10 bridge -- and raising serious questions about the U.S. Coast Guard's vessel mooring requirements.

BAGnewsNotes: The press as instrument of the State

The Evangelical Panderfest: The Political Carnival, Corrente, Romenesko

TBogg: Easily the top Christianist pander. This is film script material a la those old Victor Mature, Chuck Heston sandal and shield flicks.

Prometheus 6: Krugman joins the chorus

gin and tacos: We're Number One!

Scott Horton: Military judge finds political manipulation in Gitmo - again

OK, see if you can wrap your head around the concept of this blog! In the linked post, he's still upset with those cheese-eating surrender monkeys. As J.C. Watts' father famously remarked, "a black person voting Republican is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders."

Scott Horton: Inside the Pakistan-Taliban relationship: Six questions for Ahmed Rashid, author of "Descent Into Chaos."

Things Younger Than John McCain: The Top 25 Posts

Street Prophets: Religious progressives say the darndest things

Helena Cobban: Defining 'winning'

David E's Fablog: In which he explains why Barack Obama is more like Keanu Reeves than Paris Hilton and why John McCain is So F*cking Pathetic.

The Satirical Political Report: Bush's 'Mission Accomplished' finally achieved: Iraq in Better Shape Than US

I did a podcast at Skewz.com recently. We discussed MBRU and the tired myth of the 'liberal media.' Also, congratulations to "Mad" Kane, winner of the 2008 Robert Benchley Society Award for Humor Award

SteveAudio: I eat alone in the desert, with skulls for my pets.

The Other McCain: Botched raid in Iraq.

James Wolcott: It appears that once again Washington Post journalist and social arbiter Sally Quinn has created a stir by opening her brassy mouth.

Amygdala: ...if it aint got that swing

The Existentialist Cowboy: Carlin: "We can bomb the sh*t outta your country."

Listen to the entire broadcast of the House Judiciary Committee Hearings on Torture, with comments from Scott Horton, as well as interviews with The New Yorker's Jane Mayer, Newsweek's Michael Isikoff, The New York Review of Books contributor Mark Danner, Torture Team author Philippe Sands, American University Professor Stephen I. Vladeck, and other guests

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On his new show, Verdict, Dan Abrams celebrates the court reversal on hearing Don Siegelman's appeal and his subsequent release from prison in Alabama on Friday.

Showing that he is undaunted by his time in prison, Siegelman apparently spoke to Dan Abrams by cell phone on his drive home and fingered Karl Rove as the man behind this political hit job. This appeal should be something to watch to see if Bush's Brain actually gets held accountable.

C&L Contributer Heather has put a longer version of Abrams' segment on Siegelman, with Rep. Artur Davis and journalist Scott Horton of Harper's up on YouTube.

Legal Schnauzer (h/t Scarce) brings up a point that should convince you of the power of the larger blogging community and grassroots efforts to effect change:

Siegelman's release is a testament to the power of alternative media. Without the work of blogger/journalists like Scott Horton of Harper's, Glynn Wilson of Locust Fork News, and Larisa Alexandrovna of at-Largely/Raw Story/Huffington Post/Hustler, Siegelman would have little hope of being released any time soon. Without the work of Pam Miles and her e-mail listees, Siegelman would have remained in prison for the foreseeable future. It's impossible to overstate the impact of CBS and its 60 Minutes story on the Siegelman case. But that "old media" story would not have happened without the work of folks working in the "new media."

Happy Saint Patricks Day! You could celebrate with an Irish seven-course meal, (a six pack and a potato), or this.

Unqualified Offerings: The good news from Iraq has been relocated

Greg Mankiw's Blog: BUSHCO rushes to the aid of reckless rich guys.

Just World News: The plan hatched by Condi Rice and Elliott Abrams to train up a Palestinian 'Contras'-style force under the auspices of Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) has fallen into a significant degree of chaos.

Scott Horton: The gathering storm at the Department of Justice

OFF THE BEATEN PATH: dangerblond, Common Nonsense, Buffalo Wings and Toasted Ravioli, Anderson Brown's Political Blog

Maybe because I've been following the Don Siegelman case closely, but when I heard about Elliot Spitzer's pending indictment, something just didn't past the smell test. While he's admitted to involvement with a prostitution ring and I'm by no means absolving him or trying to diminish the charges, there are more than a few unresolved aspects of this that keep me from calling for his resignation.

Jane Hamsher has summed up these little niggling questions very well:

1. Why would the bank tell the IRS and not Spitzer himself if there was a suspicious transfer? Spitzer is a longtime client, a rich guy and the governor. We're talking thousands of dollars here, not millions. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense that they spotted a "suspicious transfer" made by the governor, and that this is how things began. It's possible it was just ordinary paperwork the bank had to file with the government whenever some particular flag was raised, but if that's the case, why did the DoJ go to DefCon 3?

2. What is a USA doing prosecuting a prostitution case? This isn't normally what the feds spend their time with.

3. Mike Garcia is a Chertoff crony. Sources familiar with the investigation say that he sent a prosecution memo to DC two months ago asking for authority to indict a public figure (Spitzer). Which means they had their case made long before the wire tap of February 13. Why did they then include this line from that conversation in the complaint?

LEWIS continued that from what she had been told "he" (believed to be a reference to Client-9) "would ask you to do things that, like, you might not think were safe -- you know -- I mean that...very basic things...."Kristen" responded: "I have a way of dealing with that...I'd be like listen dude, you really want the sex?...You know what I mean."

This salacious detail does not seem like it's necessary to make their case, and appears to be added for no other purpose than to destroy Spitzer's career.

Scott Horton (who covers the Siegelman case extensively) and Digby have similar questions, while Glenn Greenwald notes the double standard between the breathless media coverage of Spitzer's scandal and David Vitter. And Will Bunch looks at the incredible history of the Mann act.