06/17/07
01:34:03 pm, Categories: Voices, 1547 words
The "Cloud" over ***** Cheney Just Got Darker!
William Hughes
"It is an extraordinary subversion of the [U.S.] Constitution to send
people to die...on the basis of a lie." - Elizabeth Holtzman (1)
There is a story told about a criminal defense lawyer, a colorful kind of
character at the Maryland Bar, who has since gone on to his final reward.
Supposedly, he comforted his guilty-as-hell client as the trial date
approached by repeatedly telling him: "Don't Worry! Everything will be all
right!" Well, on the day of the trial, the trial judge assigned to the
case wasn't who the defense lawyer expected. In fact, he was a
nightmare--"a Hanging Judge!" It was at this point, that the defense
counsel leaned over to his client and whispered: "Start worrying!" Well,
this is exactly where V. P. ***** Cheney is today. The reason: Impeachment
proceedings in the House of Representatives are picking up momentum. The
American people are demanding action as the quagmire of Iraq deepens.
Millions of them believe that Cheney lied the country into the Iraqi War
and should be impeached. (2) Some gutsy members of the U.S. Congress are
responding to that call. This is why H Res 333, "Cheney's Nightmare," was
introduced by Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-OH), on April 24, 2007. On top of
all that, there is the darkening cloud over Cheney's head--Lewis "Scooter"
Libby!
On June 14, 2007, the trial judge in Libby's federal criminal case, the
Hon. Reggie B. Walton, ordered him to jail immediately to serve out his 2
1/2-year sentence. Libby, showing no remorse, was convicted on perjury,
lying and obstruction of justice charges. His attorney filed a motion with
the appellate court to stay the lower court's ruling, pending his appeal
of the case. "Scooter" was Cheney's Chief of Staff: He ran his office.
Libby got caught trying to smear former Ambassador Joe Wilson, a critic of
the Iraqi War. Wilson had written, in the summer of 2003, that there was
no evidence to suggest that Iraq's Saddam Hussein had attempted to secure
any uranium from Nigeria. Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, worked for the CIA
as a covert agent. Libby, a Neocon, leaked her name to the press and then
lied about it to the FBI and to the Grand Jury. The schemers put out a
story that Wilson's trip to Africa was a "junket" arranged by his wife.
Was Libby acting on Cheney's behalf? The Special Prosecutor thinks he was
and he has said so publicly.
On Feb. 20, 2007, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the Special Prosecutor, told the
jury, in his closing argument, in Libby's case: "There is a cloud over
V.P. Cheney...Libby stole the truth...Don't you think...the American
people are entitled to straight answers...It was 'they' who decided to
tell reporters [Joe] Wilson's wife was working for the CIA...To them, she
[Valerie Plame] wasn't a person, she was argument. What is this case
about? Is it about something bigger?" Dan Froomkin, who covered the case
for the Washington Post, put it this way after hearing Fitzgerald's
remarks: "It was pretty clear who 'they' was: Libby and his boss, Cheney."
(3) The evidence in the case showed that Cheney was the initiator of the
plot and Libby was his gofer. The jury felt that Libby was "a fall guy."
It was Cheney who wrote the "talking points" to get Wilson. He made notes
on a newspaper article falsely suggesting that Wilson's wife had sent him
on a "junket" to Nigeria. The smear merchant of Wilson/Plame was Cheney!
At law, Libby acting in concert with his string puller, Cheney, to lie
under oath and to obstruct justice has a name. It is called: A CRIMINAL
CONSPIRACY!
There are some people on Capitol Hill, who think Libby might flip. He was,
indeed, protecting Cheney, not that he needed much encouragement, since he
was at the center of the White House cabal that was "fixing" the
intelligence to get us into the Iraqi War. The NYT labeled him: "a
principal architect of the war." In fact, it was Libby who helped to push
Colin Powell into making that flop of a speech at the UN on Feb. 5, 2003.
And, if no presidential pardon comes Libby's way, will he rat Cheney out?
Who knows? Libby also had strong ties to another prime architect of the
Iraqi War--Paul Wolfowitz, who was just dumped as CEO of the World Bank.
Donald Rumsfeld, another Neocon, just got his walking papers at Defense.
It's hasn't been a good summer for the Neocons. Libby was also one of the
attorneys for fugitive billionaire financier, Marc Rich, a reported Mossad
asset. (4) Libby helped to manipulate a presidential pardon for him from
"Bubba Bill" Clinton, who made $10 million last year giving speeches! What
a surprise! Meanwhile, who is going to help Libby get his pardon? Cheney?
Rich? Hillary?
Back to the Congressional front. Rep. Kucinich, at a press conference, on
Capitol Hill, on June 13, 2007, renewed his call, via H Res 333, for the
House of Representatives to impeach Cheney for committing "high crimes and
misdemeanors." He was joined by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), an
indefatigable fighter for justice. At that press conference, when the
question of the relevance of the Libby case to the impeachment proceeding
came up, and, in particular, Mr. Fitzgerald's comment about a "cloud" over
V.P. Cheney, Rep. Kucinich responded this way: "I think that all Americans
are 'concerned' about the Libby case, in as much as the relationship
between his [felonious] actions and what it says about the Vice-President.
But, even without the evidence in the Libby case, we have enough on record
to go forward with impeachment...The other concern I would express
is...whether this administration is 'lining things up to pardon Libby.'"
(5)
When Rep. Kucinich introduced his Articles of Impeachment in the House, he
made this cogent charge: "Cheney has purposely manipulated the
intelligence process to deceive the citizens and the Congress of the U.S.
by fabricating a threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to justify
the use of the U.S. forces against the nation of Iraq in a manner damaging
to our national security." (2) In his three Articles of Impeachment, Rep.
Kucinich detailed the dates, the times and the places, where Cheney chose
to "deceive the citizens" about the alleged threats of Iraqi WMD. He
added: "In the last three years, the V.P. has repeatedly threatened Iran."
This is the same Iran which Sen. Joe Lieberman (IND-CT), also a Neocon,
recently urged the U.S. to launch a pre-emptive attack against.
Rep. Kucinich also underscored in H Res 333, the lethal consequences of
Cheney's warmongering: namely, U.S. service members killed in Iraq (now at
3,521); the death toll of Iraqis (estimated by the "Lancet Study" at
655,000, as of July, 2006); 4.2 million Iraqis forced from their homes;
and the cost of the war to U.S. taxpayers, (now $435.4 billion). There are
currently six cosponsors of H Res 333, in the House of Representatives. In
addition to Reps. Kucinich and Waters, they are: Lynn Woolsey (D-CA);
Barbara Lee (D-CA); Yyette Clark (D-NY); Jan Schakowsky (D-IL); William
Lacy Clay (D-M0) and Al Wynn (D-MD).
The charges in the Articles of Impeachment, raised by Rep. Kucinich, if
proven, are clearly impeachable offenses under the U.S. Constitution. Keep
in mind, that under Article 1, Section 2 (5), of our National Charter, the
role of the House in any impeachment inquiry is to "only" act as a Grand
Jury. If it finds that there is probable cause, that is reasonable
grounds, to believe the truth of the charges against Cheney, in H. Res
333, then it would have a duty under the law to impeach him. The U.S.
Senate, then, would sit in judgment on the V.P. and decide his guilt or
innocence. See, Art. 1, Sec. 3 (6).
The House Judiciary Committee, headed by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), should
let those subpoenas fly. Mr. Fitzgerald, the Special Prosecutor, should be
called as a witness. Others connected to Cheney, like Karl Rove in the
White House, and officials in U.S. State Department and at the Pentagon,
whose names surfaced in the Libby case, also should be summoned before the
Committee. It looks like Mr. Fitzgerald isn't going to open a criminal
inquiry into Cheney's role in the Wilson/Plame matter. Congress then has a
solemn duty, a Constitutional responsibility, to get to the bottom of
Cheney's egregious wrongdoing.
Finally, America was lied into the Iraqi War by a Cheney-dominated clique.
One of the liars, Libby, made the mistake of lying under oath. Now, he is
going to prison. It is time now for Libby's Svengali, V.P. ***** Cheney, to
be brought to the Bar of Justice. Congress do your duty! Uphold the
Republic! Remember our dead heroes in Iraq, who died for a lie!
Investigate and impeach Cheney!
Notes:
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwiSyIbeYjI
2. http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/
http://impeachpac.org/node/976
3. "The Cloud over Cheney," Dan Froomkin, 02/21/17.
4. http://www.antiwar.com/justin/j030501.html
5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB6B0J98Kw0
William Hughes is an author and commentator. His videos can be found at:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=liamh2.
Email Contact: liamhughes@comcast.net.
http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2007/06/17/p17602
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| User: "Perseid" |
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| Title: Re: The "Cloud" Over ***** Cheney Just Got Darker! |
17 Jun 2007 09:10:40 PM |
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After Much Chewing of Cud and Cogitation, "Docrodile"
<swampthing@hellsbayou.net> Spat the Words
06/17/07
01:34:03 pm, Categories: Voices, 1547 words
The "Cloud" over ***** Cheney Just Got Darker!
William Hughes
Back to the Congressional front. Rep. Kucinich, at a press conference, on
Capitol Hill, on June 13, 2007, renewed his call, via H Res 333, for the
House of Representatives to impeach Cheney for committing "high crimes and
misdemeanors." He was joined by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), an
indefatigable fighter for justice. At that press conference, when the
question of the relevance of the Libby case to the impeachment proceeding
came up, and, in particular, Mr. Fitzgerald's comment about a "cloud" over
V.P. Cheney, Rep. Kucinich responded this way: "I think that all Americans
are 'concerned' about the Libby case, in as much as the relationship
between his [felonious] actions and what it says about the Vice-President.
But, even without the evidence in the Libby case, we have enough on record
to go forward with impeachment...The other concern I would express
is...whether this administration is 'lining things up to pardon Libby.'"
(5)
Sounds good to me. I don't know of too many who would terribly mourn
the loss of Cheney (the guy shot his friend with a bird gun). Cheney
needs to be put in his place.
We know that Bush didn't have the capacity to form such egregiously
wrong policy agendas on his own, just as Stephen Douglas is incapable
of forming an opinion on his own.
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| User: "Woodswun" |
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| Title: Re: The "Cloud" Over ***** Cheney Just Got Darker! |
18 Jun 2007 04:08:58 PM |
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On Sun, 17 Jun 2007 21:10:40 -0500, Perseid wrote:
After Much Chewing of Cud and Cogitation, "Docrodile"
<swampthing@hellsbayou.net> Spat the Words
06/17/07
01:34:03 pm, Categories: Voices, 1547 words
The "Cloud" over ***** Cheney Just Got Darker!
William Hughes
Back to the Congressional front. Rep. Kucinich, at a press conference, on
Capitol Hill, on June 13, 2007, renewed his call, via H Res 333, for the
House of Representatives to impeach Cheney for committing "high crimes and
misdemeanors." He was joined by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), an
indefatigable fighter for justice. At that press conference, when the
question of the relevance of the Libby case to the impeachment proceeding
came up, and, in particular, Mr. Fitzgerald's comment about a "cloud" over
V.P. Cheney, Rep. Kucinich responded this way: "I think that all Americans
are 'concerned' about the Libby case, in as much as the relationship
between his [felonious] actions and what it says about the Vice-President.
But, even without the evidence in the Libby case, we have enough on record
to go forward with impeachment...The other concern I would express
is...whether this administration is 'lining things up to pardon Libby.'"
(5)
Sounds good to me. I don't know of too many who would terribly mourn
the loss of Cheney (the guy shot his friend with a bird gun). Cheney
needs to be put in his place.
We know that Bush didn't have the capacity to form such egregiously
wrong policy agendas on his own, just as Stephen Douglas is incapable
of forming an opinion on his own.
Don't hold your breath on any impeachments. :-(
Woods
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