Posted on 07/12/2009 5:30:26 AM PDT by reaganaut1
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. is considering assigning a prosecutor to investigate whether government personnel tortured terrorism suspects after the attacks of Sept. 11, a Justice Department official said Saturday.
The official, who spoke anonymously because the decision had not yet been made, confirmed accounts by Newsweek and The Washington Post, posted on their Web sites on Saturday, adding that while President Obama had said he wanted to look ahead rather than back at past interrogation practices in the campaign against terrorism, he had also said that his administration would adhere strictly to legal standards in addressing the questions that have continued to arise about how prisoners were treated by the Central Intelligence Agency.
“The Department of Justice will follow the facts and the law with respect to any matter,” the department said in a statement released Saturday. “We have made no decisions on investigations or prosecutions, including whether to appoint a prosecutor to conduct further inquiry. As the attorney general has made clear, it would be unfair to prosecute any official who acted in good faith based on legal guidance from the Justice Department.”
The department is expected to complete an ethics report about Bush administration officials who drafted memos, since discredited, granting leeway for harsh interrogation standards. Mr. Holder’s decision on a possible criminal inquiry could come around the same time.
The Justice Department official who confirmed the likelihood of an inquiry said it was not likely to focus on those legal opinions, the lawyers who wrote them or anyone who acted within the boundaries they set, even though the ground rules for interrogations have shifted.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
After Harry Truman won Japan's surrender in WWII by dropping the atomic bombs, he was not prosecuted a few years later for killing tens of thousands of civillians. America was not stupid and suicidal back then. Unless that has changed, Obama's legal harassment of the Bush administration will explode in his face.
The Kenyan is facing 11% unemployment for Christmas and 12% unemployment by Easter. He needs a distraction.
Eric Holder must be put on trial for treason once we regain control of the government. He, above all, wants to politicize everything ~ including national defense ~ so he must be punished for his false beliefs.
When things aren’t going well for Dems....go back to Bush Bashing. Pretty hard to separate ALL the Dems out from anything going on back then...
As Obama’s poll numbers fall, expect more news coverage of Sarah Palin and Bush/Cheney.
All smoke an mirrors because his numbers are dropping.+
“The Kenyan is facing 11% unemployment for Christmas and 12% unemployment by Easter. He needs a distraction.”
You beat me to it! :)
I’ll tell you what, I’m going to start discouraging young folks from serving in the military or any other security agency if all these communists are going to do is trump up “war crimes” prosecution. It’s not worth it.
But what else did we expect? The enemy is within and needs to be dealt with first.
I don’t think this will blow up in their faces. But if you set out to destroy the Constitution, you’d better finish it off. If they create new powers — such as prosecution of past Administrations — then they’d better make sure that we are a one-party state from this point on. Which is the goal.
That way they don’t have to worry about someone other than Fred Barnes pointing out their corruption.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/695beqni.asp
It's the Dems Orwellian "Emmanuel Goldstein" strategy.
I think you’re right. Back to the original playbook - blame former President Bush. I think obama needs a distraction. Maybe we should march on Washington DC.
Ask Jack Bauer...
“I think you’re right. Back to the original playbook - blame former President Bush. I think obama needs a distraction......”
___________________________________________________________
Bush and Cheney should fire right back at these bastards. Bush recently replied and Cheney has done it several times now. The American people are on the side of Bush/Cheney on this issue and stiff rebuttals from them will only make Hussein/Holder look like tratorious fools.
I'm still wondering what the tipping point will be. Probably something similar to Lexington common circa 1775.
5.56mm
How prisoners were treated by the Central Intelligence Agency is a non issue.
Americans will still know they're unemployed and the economy is in the tank.
“He needs a distraction.”
Exactly. obama understands his supporters very well and he knows that by invoking the names of Bush and Cheney they will jump up and down and scream, just as he wants them to.
You know what I think?I think America is like a big, fancy house...
and we're the Doberman pinschers.
A guy hears a noise downstairs, he's really happy to have his big, ugly dog, huh?
But... the next day when his friends come around, he locks up the dog.
Why? 'Cause he's embarrassed.
But that night, he unlocks the dog to protect his fancy house.
If some guy comes and the dog doesn't bite his ass, he's gonna smack him in the f#$%ing mouth. Yeah, it's like that.
Sean Connery the Persidio
“Now that the threat of terrorist attacks in the U.S. is less imminent, Eric Holder wants to prosecute them.”
The problem is that there isn’t any evidence that attacks are “less imminent.” They attacked in ‘93, ‘99, and ‘01. AQ has shown that they are patient. While we release all the GITMO detainees and apologize to the world, AQ is using this as fodder for recruitment.
These prosecutions would have nothing to do with strict legal enforcement, it is pure political maneuvering to castrate future moves to defend the nation. Of course they have given themselves just enough rope to hang themselves politically, as the next attack will have been missed because of our lack of vigilance.
This truly is a Jimmy Carter/Ramsey Clark cocktail we have in office right now.
So far the House and, espcially, the Senate, pubbies have been notably reluctant to look into the qualification issue regarding the Usurper. If Holder goes forward with this monstrosity, they ought to have a good reason to get started looking.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.