For anyone who hasn’t been around for a couple of days, we are discussing and trying to create a petition drive to appoint a Special Prosecutor in the continuing quest for justice (or as close as we can get) for the crimes of Bushco.
Time to build the list! Here is what we have so far, thanks to NL for the restructuring. Note the bolded section which is a bit of a rewrite, more below the fold.
Dear Attorney General Holder, we the undersigned citizens hereby petition you to appoint a Special Prosecutor to aggressively investigate and prosecute the many and various crimes that we believe have been committed both by, and under, the Bush Administration.
For eight long years the citizens of the United States have witnessed the President, the Vice President, and Bush administration officials commit crime after crime. In an atmosphere of deliberately politicized corruption that has shocked the conscience of our nation, all attempts at investigation and accountability have been blocked or deflected by the corruption and politicization of the Department of Justice itself; the very Department that you are soon to head.
The corruption of the most basic tool of justice and accountability, the subpoena process, has been particularly alarming. By refusing to enforce the Congressional power of subpoena, and thus their power to hold the Executive Branch of our government accountable, former Attorneys General Gonzalez and Mukasey have subverted the very concept of justice and the Rule of Law upon which our nation was founded.
We as citizens are subject to the Rule of Law, and we demand that our government and its officials be as well. We as citizens have lost faith in the credibility of our justice system due to its abuse, corruption, and subversion by the Bush Administration. Only you Attorney General Holder, can restore that faith. And it it is our belief that it may only be restored by the aggressive and unrelenting prosecution of those who have corrupted it by bringing to the light of day the crimes that have been covered up or rendered “legal” by that corruption.
The most important founding principle of America is that no man is above the law. Our Constitution itself is meant to guarantee that principle. Perhaps the most egregious crime of all has been to subvert the Department of Justice to place the President and the members of his administration above the law itself. That principle must be restored and we insist Attorney General Holder, that it is your responsibility to do so. As citizens of a democracy meant to be of, by, and for The People, we, your “employers,” demand that you do so.
The list of offenses is long, ranging from minor violations of the Hatch Act, to conspiring to wage aggressive, preemptive war. The most egregious, and we believe, prosecutable items:
(insert rest of list, which we shall build, here)
We also refer you to Representative Kucinich’s Articles of Impeachment.
These investigations and prosecutions that we so strongly urge you to undertake and pursue will have many consequences. Some of them could prove to be politically inexpedient for our new President and the Democratic Congress. To this end, we remind you that you work not on behalf of or for the President or the Congress, but for the People of the United States of America. We urge you to, unlike your predecessors Attorneys General Mukasey and Gonzales, ignore these political considerations and consequences in the pursuit of justice, no matter what, or to whom, the cost.
To that end, we petition you to appoint and fully empower an Independent or Special Prosecutor and to fully fund and support their investigation and prosecution of all the parties implicated therein.
Our justice system has been corrupted and compromised. Our standing as an nation that hews to the Rule of Law above all else has been gravely and perilously threatened. Only one man, standing independent from all other considerations, can restore both the Rule of Law in our great nation and the integrity of the Department of Justice itself, Attorney General Holder. And that man is you.
This is what I cut from the last draft:
The list of offenses is long, ranging from minor violations of the Hatch Act,to torture, and to what a former president and head of the CIA classified as treason; the exposure of an entire CIA counter-terrorism network in the Plame case:
GEORGE H.W. BUSH: “I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious of traitors.”
Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald (who we strongly urge you to consider for this position) was thwarted in his pursuit of justice by, as he put it, the Bush Administration “throwing sand in the face of the umpire.”
Obviously we need to keep it as short as possible and just hit the highlights. As I say the most egregious and prosecutable. Thus I referred to Kucinich’s charges for a more complete listing of the offenses. It would be great to have a definitive link to each one.
To me the Big Four are:
Lying their way to waging aggressive war in Iraq.
Torture
The illegal wiretapping that took place before the FISA legislation waved it’s magic retroactive wand.
The Plame Treason
Should we add more to the list? Cut it down? I think part of that depends on finding quality links to each crime. Perhaps one link to an article from a ‘respected’ MSM source and if possible, to a video that drives the point home. (Note, I think we should only link to the video, not include it.)
If you have any preferred framing or phrasing to describe these crimes, speak up!
If you remember a definitive source, or can invest a little google time digging one up, it will make for a stronger case, and from there we can move on to publishing it web wide!
Also, Edger has come up with a ‘badge’ for websites to display that will link to the petition….
What do you think?
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former federal prosecutor, member of the Organized Crime Strike Force, and chief of the San Jose Branch of the US attorney’s office, that she put together as “Kucinich’s Articles of Impeachment: A Three-Part Guide”.
I like –
the big 4
Edger’s widget
the changes you’ve made.
I don’t think I can help with links — I’m swamped with end of year Social Services end of year recertifications, income verifications, change of Medi-Cal, change of Medicare Part D, driver license renewal, car reg renewal, change of pharmacy as Medi-D has forced my very good independent phamacist out of business…and this isn’t all of the things I must do in the next couple of weeks.
Feel swamped, will take what spare time I have to try tho.
Good job buhdy. It’s really shaped up! And thanks NL also.
lists 39 Impeachable Offenses here.
Also, I restate what I said on the previous thread here.
I have not read the revised draft, but will do so — I did scan it, however, and I think the most eggregious crimes must be FIRST and a list of the remaining (as you are suggesting) attached.
Thanks, Buhdy!
Recommendations From Bush War Crimes Prosecution Conference from the Lawyers Conference and LAW SCHOOL TO ORGANIZE BUSH WAR CRIMES TRIAL
For information and views!
but the part you edited out was exactly what I was thinking of suggesting we cut. I decided, however, that I wanted to focus my editing on structure instead of content. And I also knew it was the only place that Fitzgerald was mentioned – so I left it in. But I think the letter looks good.
On the list of charges, I agree, keep the list included in the letter short and focused on the most egregious. Then there can be links to the rest. For me the BIG three are the war, torture and illegal wiretapping. I’m not sure how much more litigating there can be on the Plame affair – even though it would definitely qualify. My suggestion would be to think about leaving it off the list in the letter (it could still be added with links) and adding “failure to comply with subpoenas.”
The petition/letter itself should be short, succinct, powerful and to the point.
The submission materials to the nominated Attorney General should contain much background material in the form of the most powerful statements found. These can be included as: Appendices of Supporting Documentation (for reference).
1) Appendix 1 title
2) Appendix 2 title
et seq….
Tahoebasha3’s link to “Recommendation from Bush War Crimes Conference”, at 11:25:11 PST above, should be included somewhere after Kucinich, de la Vega, etc.
It is my opinion that youcan not overdo such supporting material because the reading is optional, unlike the letter itself.
Although I feel strongly these supporting documents must be included in submission to the Atty-General-designate, it is optional whether we would want to include links to same in the on/line version.
Investigation and examination of so-called ‘enemy combatants’ at The Hague ICC may help to unravel the depravity of the Bush / Cheney regime faster and with greater international approval than any other process. All Gitmo and other prisoners should be sent to The Hague for disposition. There may be terrorists among them, but our system has been so corrupted, rules of evidence and basic human rights so brutally violated that we simply do not have unprejudiced judicial procedures which can establish criminality anymore.
But the defining principle, “the rule of law,” must be reestablished, with criminals prosecuted, and Bush & Cheney and their lawyers, too, deserve their day in court.
As far as I can see, the only court in the world with the gravitas to handle Bush Cheney crimes and the matter of genocide of the Iraqi nation is the Hague Int’l. Criminal Court.