Criminal Prosecution

A Bush-41-appointed Federal District Judge yesterday became the third judge -- out of three who have ruled on the issue -- to reject the Bush administration's claim that Article II entitles the President to override or ignore the provisions of FISA. Yesterday's decision by Judge Vaughn Walker of the Northern District of California also guts the central claims for telecom immunity and gives the lie to the excuses coming from Congress as to why the new FISA bill is some sort of important "concession." More than anything else, this decision is but the most recent demonstration that, with this new FISA bill, our political establishment is doing what it now habitually does: namely, ensuring that the political and corporate elite who break our laws on purpose are immune from consequences. READ THE REST.

And consult this Time-line Of Obama's Statements On FISA.

By Laurie Dobson

Generally Bush tries to come to Kennebunkport on July 4th. It's Bush family tradition. This year, however, we have a large assemblage coming to Kennebunkport with keynote speaker Bob Bowman. Also speaking will be Harold Burbank, Kurt Daims, and myself, Laurie Dobson, with open discussions planned regarding the current state of the world and including updates on the Bush Indictment Resolution going forward in Kennebunkport. So I don't think he wants to be here this year...

Laurie Dobson is Maine's Independent for US Senate
http://www.dobsonforsenate.com

The New York Sun is attacking proposals to try Bush for war crimes.

By Daren Butler, Reuters

Four Iraqi men are suing U.S. military contractors who they say tortured them while they were detained in Abu Ghraib prison, according to lawsuits being filed at U.S. federal courts on Monday.

The lawsuits allege the contractors committed violations of U.S. law, including torture, war crimes and civil conspiracy.

The scandal over the treatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib unleashed a wave of global condemnation against the United States when images of abused prisoners surfaced in 2004.

The four plaintiffs, all later released without charge, described their experiences to Reuters on Monday at an Istanbul hotel, where they periodically meet their U.S. legal team. They gave accounts of beatings, electric shocks and mock executions.

The lawsuits named CACI International Inc, CACI Premier Technology, L-3 Services Inc and three individual contractors.

Bomb Iran? What's to Stop Us?
by Ray McGovern | Anti-War.com

Unlike the attack on Iraq five years ago, to deal with Iran there need be no massing of troops. And, with the propaganda buildup already well under way, there need be little, if any, forewarning before shock and awe and pox – in the form of air and missile attacks – begin.

This time it will be largely the Air Force's show, punctuated by missile and air strikes by the Navy. Israeli-American agreement has now been reached at the highest level; the armed forces planners, plotters and pilots are working out the details.

Emerging from a 90-minute White House meeting with President George W. Bush on June 4, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the two leaders were of one mind:

"We reached agreement on the need to take care of the Iranian threat. I left with a lot less question marks [than] I had entered with regarding the means, the timetable restrictions, and American resoluteness to deal with the problem. George Bush understands the severity of the Iranian threat and the need to vanquish it, and intends to act on that matter before the end of his term in the White House." --Italics by ~Chip :).

by Linda Milazzo

For Vincent Bugliosi, one of America's foremost prosecutors and authors, George W. Bush's purposeful crime of misleading America into war is a vile, despicable and prosecutable act. It angers Bugliosi deeply. So much so that he's written a new book, "The Prosecution Of George W. Bush For Murder."

To be clear, this is not a partisan effort. Not Republican v. Democrat or an assault on political ideology. It's a legally binding and provable case for murder, that Bugliosi - an American patriot - would bring against any president regardless of any and all affiliation.

In Vincent Bugliosi's own words:

"I want to state that in writing this book my motivation was not political. Whether I'm giving a final summation to the jury or writing one of my true crime books, credibility has always meant everything to me. Therefore, my only master - my only mistress - are the facts and objectivity. And this is why I can give you a 100% guarantee that if a Democratic president had done what George W. Bush did, I would have written the same exact book."

National Lawyers Guild Urges Special Prosecutor, Congressional War Crimes Commission

NEW YORK - June 26 - Today the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties continued its investigation into the role played by key administration lawyers in the development of aggressive interrogation techniques. This was the third hearing of this subcommittee on this topic. The witnesses who testified were former Department of Justice lawyer John Yoo; Cheney's former legal counsel and now chief of staff, David Addington; and Christopher Schroeder, professor at Duke Law School.

NLG President Marjorie Cohn had testified at the first subcommittee hearing on May 6, articulating the law of torture, and stating that torture is never allowed under U.S. law. Today’s hearing was attended by Jeanne Mirer, co-chair of the NLG’s International Committee.

By David Swanson

Here are some upcoming live online radio shows you can participate in:

Thursday, June 26, 7-8 p.m. ET: Vincent Bugliosi, Author of ‘The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder’. Following a scheduling SNAFU and a wildfire, this is the third attempt to make this show happen.

Monday, June 30, 8-9 p.m. ET: Jesse Ventura, Former Governor of Minnesota, Wrestler, and Navy SEAL, author of new book "Don't Start the Revolution Without Me."

Tuesday, July 8, 8-9 p.m. ET: John Dean, whose latest book is "Broken Government," and whose past works include "Worse Than Watergate."

Go to http://www.thepeoplespeakradio.net/listen-live to listen live.

You'll find instructions there to enter a paltalk chat room where you can post questions.

You can also phone in and ask your questions on the air. Call in tollfree from anywhere in the United States or Canada at 888-228-4494 or anywhere else in the world at 877-489-6350.

Following each show, the audio file will be posted at http://www.thepeoplespeakradio.net/audio/2008 and you can find there now the recordings of numerous shows with amazing guests, including Cindy Sheehan, Lincoln Chafee, Brad Friedman, Shirin Ebadi, Phil Donahue, Mark Crispin Miller, William Odom, Byron DeLear, etc.

To support The People Speak Radio please donate at http://www.thepeoplespeakradio.net/donate

By Dave Lindorff

Double standards when it comes to children are pretty appalling—especially when it comes to “our” kids vs. “their” kids, but here in America they aren’t limited to just right-wingers.

Take reaction to the US Supreme Court’s latest ruling that you cannot execute rapists—even those who rape children—on the theory that only killing someone justifies execution.

Politicians who make their careers by promoting state sponsored murder have been quick to condemn this latest “liberal outrage” by calling for more laws that would make execution the punishment for raping a child (admittedly a monstrous crime).

"Anybody in the country who cares about children should be outraged that we have a Supreme Court that would issue a decision like this," says Republican Alabama Attorney General Troy King, who said the court’s 5-4 decision makes America “a less safe place to grow up.”

Re Prosecuting For War Crimes: As Lincoln Said, The Battle Of Today Is Not For Today Alone, But For A Vast Future.
By Lawrence R. Velvel

In the last essay he wrote before his death, Arthur Schlesinger spoke of "national stupidity." Here is what he said:

Sometimes, when I am particularly depressed, I ascribe our behavior to stupidity -- the stupidity of our leadership, the stupidity of our culture. Thirty years ago we suffered military defeat -- fighting an unwinnable war against a country about which we knew nothing and in which we had no vital interests at stake. Vietnam was bad enough, but to repeat the same experiment thirty years later in Iraq is a strong argument for a case of national stupidity.

This writer has expressed the same thought here many times, perhaps in more Runyanesque language. It has been said, on several occasions, "After Viet Nam, who would've thunk it?"

by Linda Milazzo

(Photo by Linda Milazzo)

There are adjectives that come to mind when describing famed former prosecutor and renowned author, Vincent Bugliosi, who for forty years has set the standard for prosecutorial skill in America. Some are intrepid, brave, independent, brilliant, driven, indomitable, respected, focused, relentless and confident. Each fits perfectly well. But after interviewing Mr. Bugliosi at his California home, and reading his latest book, "The Prosecution Of George W. Bush For Murder," I am compelled to add two more adjectives to that already formidable list: PATRIOTIC and ENRAGED. Beyond all other characterizations one may ascribe to Vincent Bugliosi, the principal descriptors TODAY for this inherently honorable man are PATRIOTIC and ENRAGED - emanating equally from his love for his nation.

Of course, there's another descriptor that has long been associated with Vincent Bugliosi. That descriptor is JUSTICE, to which Bugliosi has devoted his life. Yet not until now - not until George W. Bush caused the murders of over 4,000 Americans and countless innocent Iraqi men, women, children and babies, has JUSTICE assumed an even greater role for Bugliosi - arguably this nation's preeminent prosecutor. JUSTICE has morphed from a noun to a verb - enacted by Bugliosi with a vengeance - fueled by his intense love of nation, his profound knowledge of law, and his unparalleled ability to dispense it. Vincent Bugliosi is a man of action. While others speak of JUSTICE, Bugliosi creates the ways to achieve it - and he has done so in this book.

By Dave Lindorff

President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and the rest of the warmongers and terror-pimps in the White House would have us believe that Omar Khadr is a monster. Khadr is the 21-year-old Canadian who is facing one of the first show-trials at Guantanamo.

But let’s just step back a minute and consider Mr. Khadr’s case.

The son of an alleged Islamic fundamentalist, Khadr was sent to one of those fundamentalist madrassa schools in Pakistan back when he was 14. From there, he went to Afghanistan, to join with the Taliban in fighting against the remnant warlord backers of the Soviet Union, which had attempted to run Afghanistan as a vassal state.

Then came 9-11 and the October 2001 US invasion of Afghanistan. Young Khadr suddenly found himself fighting against the world’s most powerful military.

By David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times

A Pakistani man who was arrested after the 9/11 attacks says he was illegally detained and beaten. The justices will examine whether high-ranking officials are immune from such lawsuits.

Washington - The Supreme Court came to the aid of former Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft on Monday by agreeing to hear his claim that he and other high-level Bush administration officials are shielded from being sued by immigrants who say they were rounded up, abused and beaten after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The court's move stops for now a lawsuit by a Pakistani man who was held for nearly six months in solitary confinement in New York.

The justices voted to decide whether the president's top appointees are immune from lawsuits growing out of their response to "an unprecedented national security crisis."

By Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - A House judiciary committee is scheduled to consider ban on torture and forced disappearances.

The plan to be discussed Tuesday would make torture a felony punishable by up to more than six years in prison.

The proposed law defines torture as both the mental or physical suffering inflicted on a person to obtain information or coerce them.

It also would make the abduction or inappropriate detention of someone a felony.

The bill's sponsors have said they introduced the measure after hearing allegations that a Smithfield-based company helped the CIA transport suspected terrorists to secret overseas prisons. They pushed for a similar law last year, but the plan never made it out of the House.

By Bill Christofferson, Uppity Wisconsin

I've been skeptical of the calls to impeach George Bush and Dick Cheney, fearful that acting this late in their terms will create a circus that overshadows the question of who will succeed them in January.

David Swanson, of www.Democrats.com, www.ImpeachCheney.org, and www.AfterDowningStreet.org, will surely disagree when he speaks in Milwaukee Thursday. His topic is, "Peace, Impeachment and Election Day: Which Comes First." Swanson's own writings make a strong case for impeachment.

Dennis Kucinich, who resd his 35 articles of impeachment against Bush into the record on C-Span the other night, clearly thinks there are more than enough grounds to impeach.

But the person who may convince me that it's time to act is a conservative Bush backer, a Marquette University professor and blogger named John McAdams.

By Sherwood Ross

A conference to plan the prosecution of President Bush and other high administration officials for war crimes will be held September 13-14 at the Massachusetts School of Law at Andover .

"This is not intended to be a mere discussion of violations of law that have occurred," said convener Lawrence Velvel, dean and cofounder of the school. "It is, rather, intended to be a planning conference at which plans will be laid and necessary organizational structures set up, to pursue the guilty as long as necessary and, if need be, to the ends of the Earth."

"We must try to hold Bush administration leaders accountable in courts of justice," Velvel said. "And we must insist on appropriate punishments, including, if guilt is found, the hangings visited upon top German and Japanese war-criminals in the 1940s."

CCR has good analysis here, but neglects to discuss the seemingly important question of whether the Bush Administration gives a flying F#(@&*FGU$G^!$!

By James Vicini, Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Guantanamo Bay prisoners have the right to go before U.S. federal judges to challenge their years-long detention, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday in a stinging setback for the Bush administration.

By a 5-4 vote, the high court overturned a ruling that upheld a law President George W. Bush pushed through the Republican-led Congress in 2006 that took away the habeas corpus rights of the terrorism suspects to seek full judicial review of their detention.

"We hold these petitioners do have the habeas corpus privilege," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the court majority in the 70-page opinion, portions of which he read from the bench.

Habeas corpus is a long-standing legal right that allows prisoners to challenge their confinement by the government. Kennedy said Congress had failed to create an adequate alternative for the prisoners held at the U.S. military base in Cuba to contest their detention.