While the Bush Administration works to prevent anyone from investigating its own possible misconduct in the CIA tape scandal, the 9-11 Commission has already concluded that the Administration lied to its investigators and destroyed evidence specifically demanded by the Commission.
The New York Times is reporting that a review of classified documents by former members of the Sept. 11 commission shows that the Commission made repeated and detailed requests to the Central Intelligence Agency in 2003 and 2004 for documents and other information about the interrogation of operatives of Al Qaeda, and were told by a top C.I.A.
It will be pretty difficult to find a technical argument like the one raised by the Justice Department recently before Judge Kennedy in Washington. In June 2005, Kennedy handed down an order for the Administration to preserve “all evidence and information regarding the torture, mistreatment, and abuse of detainees now at the United States Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay.”
Five months later, the CIA destroyed the interrogation videos and the Administration is relying on a technicality — the two suspects tortured in the videos were not in Cuba. However, such preservation orders are supposed to be given liberal interpretation. Moreover, the government knew that the tapes have been sought by Congress and other courts. Finally, it knew that the tapes would likely be sought in this and other cases, including in the inevitable filings of Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri.
If Congress really wanted to see action on this matter, it could use the 9-11 request to initiate criminal contempt proceedings and refer the case to the Justice Department for prosecution. If Mukasey refuses, it could push for the appointment of a special prosecutor.
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This disconnect with our Political leaders, it seems to me, is concurrent with the disconnect with our medical and educational leaders as well. By ‘leaders’ I encourage us to think of those at the top of their game, or in position where their influence has become exponential compared to others in field.
In the case of medical leaders – there appears to be sinister relationships between prescription drug manufacturers and physicians in the way of sophisticated and mature payola schemes based on zip codes prescription penetration per eligible insured. This influence has insidiously affected the type and quality of medicine, in a standard-operating-procedure kind of way and is the back-game of Amway for doctors. When you reach the top of the pyramid – medicine is a mere memory – medical industrial complex is the profession. Doctors are hardly recognizable as the unselfish and sapient healers of Hippocrates.
Education has suffered similarly. The leaders, at the top of their game, are influenced in extraordinary ways and courted by assortment of deep pocketed industrial money machines in order to procure talent, research commitment or positive opinion. Sports teams are about the Alumni – but academic payola – is about purposefully permitting commercial influence or benefit from the brain-trust that academic institutions once protected as great minds became great people.
And then we turn to our Politicians, who – for very few, seem quite intricately connected to each other, while ostensibly, not even tethered to the communities of citizens they represent. Washington DC , our Nation’s Capitol has become Free Parking as on the Monopoly game board and largely about the Nation’s capital. Matters of Constitutional propriety and preservation are trampled in the rush to the next jack-pot in a Casino town that dwarfs Las Vegas. Except, the American taxpayer and consumer is footing the bill for these junkets.
Those of in politics, medicine and education that are not at the top of their game – but perhaps at the top of their morality – should continue to meet where we can so we can become intricately connected to each other while restoring our Constitutional rights and due process.
So Rodriguez has retained Bennett. This IS getting interesting.
I predicted it would be a 3-way melee between the intelligence community, the Vice President’s circle, and the Congress.
And so its going to be, but the cohesion of the Executive is beginning to break apart and the collapse will be swift indeed once it happens.
I have long analyzed that inaction as well and several hypotheses present themselves:
They are privy to some secret intelligence briefing that convinces them that a catastrophic attack is very probable unless the Executive is given the widest latitude. They are sworn to secrecy so as not to alarm the public.
This is the National Security Danger theory.
2) They fear that American voters can still be manipulated by the bloody shirt of 9-11 and the ever-victorious-America civic legend and so still fear being seen as “Defeato-crats” or soft on the protection of the public.
This is the Bloody Shirt Fear theory.
3) They wish to give the opposition party a minimum of ammunition for the upcoming elections and so will lie doggo until after November. They will risk antagonizing their base for hopes of capturing swing independent votes.
This would be the Voters will Vote for the Lesser of Two Evils Theory, combined with the Captive Audience Hypothesis.
4) They just don’t give a hoot about any of this because it is all fringe-concerns and the great job of governance requires moderation and accomodation and ignoring the hysteria of the hoi polloi.
This of course is the Beltway Harmony and Good Governance Assumption. With a dash of the Ignore the Rabid Activists Dictum.
5) Darkly, and improbably, they are all humanoid androids sent by the Zarkon Galaxy to impersonate our leaders but with the purpose of destroying whats left of our democracy and our economy so that the Zarkonians (who just happen to be very similar to Republicans in ideology) can rule the Earth.
This is the Beltway Area 51 Theory.
Which is it?
Actually many lawyers and judges have long cried foul. It is the disconnect with our political leaders in opposition that has been baffling.
At least some lawyers are not rolling over.
An interesting “American Lawyers Defending the Constitution” petition to Congress has reached the second-tier news. Read the text, nothing objectionable. People I respect have signed it. We’ll see what kind of list it grows to. And what the media reaction will be.
The current Congress will not pursue this matter I imagine, and even if they did Mukasey would refuse to cooperate.
“Its too late for us to do anything. This Administration is practically out the doors already so why waste our time with their run out the clock tactics?”
So saith the representatives of the People. In effect they are giving this (and by precedent, any) Administration blanket immunity for the last 2 years of their time in office. A novel idea.
Anyone for a Reform Democrats Party?
I would hate to be the official Democrat party chiropractor: he wouldn’t be able to find a spine in the lot!
Official Symbol of the GOP: a Handbasket.
Official Symbol of the Dems: a Chocolate Eclair!