Posted on 01/13/2002 7:21:33 AM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
No one can say President Bush hasn't tried.
As part of his campaign pledge to move the country beyond eight years of partisan squabbling over Clinton-era corruption, he never mentioned Whitewater or Monicagate or any other of the dozen or so gates that metastasized during the 1990's.
After he was elected, Bush gave his silent approval when, the day before he took office, Independent Counsel Robert Ray announced he wouldn't prosecute President Clinton for blatant and repeated instances of perjury before a federal grand jury and a federal judge.
Days later his Justice Department quietly removed the noose from around the neck of Chinagate kingpin James Riady, allowing the Clinton benefactor to walk away from the most serious scandal in American history in exchange for a token fine and community service that Riady was permitted to perform on the honor system back home in Indonesia.
Bush has kept the prosecutorial dogs muzzled in the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York, as dueling grand juries heard evidence all summer implicating Bill, Hillary and even former first brother Roger Clinton in a pardons-for-cash scam where a fugitive billionaire, a major cocaine dealer and even a Mafia don got White House shakedowns.
It got so bad that when outgoing Clinton staffers vandalized the White House and Air Force One stewards reported items missing after the Clintons' last flight home, President Bush grit his teeth, smiled as though it never happened and refused to let his aides investigate.
In short, in the interest of political comity, George Bush handcuffed justice and allowed the former first family to make a total and complete mockery out of the law.
Now, however, as the partisan squabbling and media hysteria reach a fevered pitch over the Enron scandal, Democrats herald the arrival of "Bush's Whitewater." It's clear the president's strategy to give the Clintons a break and stem the tide of political retribution has failed - and failed miserably.
Without so much as a hint of Bush administration impropriety, the Democrat-media machine has ginned up no fewer than eight federal and congressional probes into the energy giant's collapse.
Politicians who decried the money spent probing the real Whitewater scandal - "Seven years, $70 million dollars - and for what?" they complained - can barely conceal their burning desire for new impeachment hearings that will install a Democrat in the White House in 2004.
How should Bush respond? Simple. Unshackle the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York and let prosecutors there show Washington's political ingrates what criminal wrongdoing really looks like.
It's time to take the muzzle off lead prosecutor Elliot Jacobson, who at last word was heading up the probe and who clearly had enough evidence to file charges against Roger Clinton by last summer.
It's well past time to move against the Clinton family's Golden Girls, Denise Rich and Beth Dozoretz, both of whom told Congress last year that if they told the truth about Pardongate "it might tend to incriminate me."
And it's time to publicly call both Bill and Hillary Clinton before the Pardongate grand juries - and, unlike what happened in Whitewater, let the grand jurors themselves decide if the evidence warrants prosecution.
Democrats now foaming at the mouth over "Enrongate" didn't know when they had a good thing, and in fact, it's now plain that Bush's indulgence only engendered their contempt.
Now that the Washington scandal machine has Bush in its crosshairs, it's time for the president to make sure the rules apply to both sides equally - and if that means prosecuting Bill and Hillary Clinton, so be it.
Now that the Washington scandal machine has Bush in its crosshairs, it's time for the president to make sure the rules apply to both sides equally - and if that means prosecuting Bill and Hillary Clinton, so be it.
It certainly seems that one of the Bush administration's early decisions was to try to cool the political climate, and "move on". Doing so required letting Clinton and his crime family off the hook.
IMHO, this was a big mistake. For one thing, re-establishing the principal that even the President is not above the law is essential for our long-term survival as a nation. Second, thugs like the two Clintons and their cronies in Congress always interpret steps like Bush's as a sign of weakness. Weakness invites contempt and further attacks.
Now we have a second chance. I do not know if the investigations Bush closed can be re-opened. But I do know that Enron stinks, and that none of that stink has stuck to Bush. However, some of it clearly sitcks to Clinton. Bring it on.
It is about time for the law of unintended consequences to come back and bite the RATS, and this is one way to achieve that objective. If they push it and continue to overreach, the evidence will point to Clinton more than anyone else.
Wouldn't it be even more sweet if Clinton winds up behind bars by what the RATS do? I think that would be suh-weeeet!
See what I mean? This remains a pipe dream of too many on the right. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
I said, "Wouldn't it be even more sweet if Clinton winds up behind bars by what the RATS do?
Like I said, I'd love to see Clinton eventually brought to justice, but I don't lose sleep over it. Sometimes it's better to leave well enough alone.
Great article, fyi:
Steyn: They can't Pin This on Bush
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/607112/posts
So, grab some popcorn, a Coke, sit back and relax. The fireworks are about to begin. It's going to be a magnificent show!
Great article, fyi:
Steyn: They can't Pin This on Bush
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/607112/posts
My "mentality" is the product of the facts of what Bush/Ashcroft have done, but I don't think it is defeatist.
Bush/Ashcroft shut down the campaign finance task force which was investigating the criminal corruption of the Clintons and their gang. It was investigating Chinagate, which means the corruption that damaged our national security.
As part of shutting down the investigation, Ashcroft sent Robert Conrad, the head of the task force who had told Reno to appoint an IC to investigate Gore, out of town to NC.
Most recently, Bush/Ashcroft allowed the CEO of Loral, who was the largest single contributor to the DNC at one time, to skate free while they fine the shareholders of the company for making China's missile program better.
What possible evidence is there that Bush is going to "unleash" the DOJ when he and Ashcroft have spent a fair amount of time this past year buying additional leashes?
I think it is the Bush crowd that is the defeatist bunch, convinced that they just can't succeed in doing what is right with respect to the Clintons' corruption. Sadly, for a whole bunch of people, its "Bush....right or wrong, Bush".
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/607432/posts
If Ford gets in bad trouble, it will shake things up worse than Enron. Might explain why the Ford family got back in the driver's seat. And, I ask, didn't he say he was going to do it without salary? Desperate to salvage just stock value?
Most recently, allowing Loral off with a limp slap on the wrist, which will be paid by the stockholders and not the guilty party. National security, as endangered by the Chinagate/campaign finance corruption is a far more dangerous and serious offense than Roger Clinton, but Bush/Ashcroft closed their collective eyes. I'm nowhere near forgiving Bush/Ashcroft for that.
This is about Clinton(s). The real damage occurred at Impeachment, Clinton walked and the Rats were able to say he did nothing wrong. The smear of foul ugly innocence sticks to our faces today. Purification for the conservatives will only be achieved in the public eye through due process.
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