The People, the Press, and the Case for Impeachment
"When our founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence they were not worried about political will, how much time there was, or about any parties' political future, they were just worried they were going to be hanged by the neck. But they did what was right. Now it is your time." Elliott Adams,President, Veterans for Peace, testimony July 25, 2008
House Justice Committee Hears Kucinich Resolution - Part 2
Star witnesses, legal scholar Bruce Fein and former LA District Attorney Vincent Bugliosi. M. Collins cc
House Justice Committee Hears Kucinich Resolution
Direct from the hearing
Michael Collins "Scoop" Independent News Washington, DC Part 1
Today's hearing on the abuse of presidential powers before the House Committee on the Judiciary turned into a devastating political ambush by Chairman John Conyers (D-MI), committee Democrats, and the extraordinary panel of witnesses.. At least 12 Democratic Committee members were present plus the Chairman while only four Republicans bothered to show up.
One of the resolutions that got killed Saturday was the one that would have put a referendum on Iraq on the primary ballot. This was the second round in the fight to get the Iraq referendum on the ballot. The Iraq referendum resolution had already passed the Resolutions Committee at the last SDEC meeting a few months ago and it was even brought up to the full SDEC meeting back then. It would have passed the full SDEC then, but it was unnecessarily tabled at that earlier meeting because party leaders were ignorant of the Texas statute that allowed the SDEC to put referendums on the ballot. They had to go look up the statute after the meeting and then found out that the grassroots activists were right and the SDEC could put referendums on the ballot just by a vote of the SDEC. It is unbelievable that the party tabled the proposal on such a lame motion. The parliamentarian or the person chairing the meeting should have been aware of the rules and allowed a vote on the resolution. Such ignorance of the rules is a joke. We need to elect party leaders at the next convention who have a basic understanding of state laws pertaining to party business.
Thanks to the undemocratic refusal of party insiders to allow a vote, the resolution failed to pass a second time last weekend. So now there will be no referendum on Iraq on the Texas Democratic Party ballot. I wanted to find out what happened, so tonight I called a few people on the phone. Madeleine Dewar, a member of the SDEC and one of the official sponsors of the Vote Us Out of Iraq resolution, called the meeting a "disaster" and said that she had the thirty two votes needed to pass the resolution in advance of the meeting. Scott Cobb, who initiated the campaign, last summer to get the referendum on the ballot said: "In California, Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that had passed the California legislature on Aug 31 to put a referendum on Iraq on the ballot in California. The Texas Democratic Party should be ashamed of itself for acting like Schwarzenegger and preventing a referendum on Iraq from being on the ballot." Read More »
We as a nation are watching the country of Pakistan, a primary ally of the United States, in a state of emergency and now under martial law. This, in my opinion, is a condition that the United States, through thoughtful deployment of our armed forces could have helped to avoid - yet when we had the chance to completely decimate the Taliban and Al Qaeda, your Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, answering to you and Vice-President Dick Cheney - allowed both of the above terrorist entities to escape from Tora Bora by allowing the Afghanistan Military, as ill-trained as they were, to conduct the final mop-up of the remaining insurgents in Afghanistan and the Central Commands refusal to commit the necessary troops to finalize the destruction of Taliban and Al Qaeda elements, which allowed many of them to escape into the northern tribal areas of Pakistan and again become a threat to US interests, Pakistan itself, and now the fight in Afghanistan is almost as fierce as it was when we first began.
It is common knowledge that Pakistan has a substantial nuclear arsenal, and by and through the incompetence of the White House and the Department of Defense, then headed by Donald Rumsfeld - we allowed this to happen and instead turned our military might on Iraq, who had no weapons of mass destruction and had absolutely nothing to do with the events that transpired on 9-11.
Present Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney - you have both failed this nation miserably, and as a private citizen that predicted this development in Pakistan, I personally condemn both of you for failing our nation in a time of war. No one yet knows how Pakistan will weather this crisis, but I wholeheartedly support the people of Pakistan that are attempting to stave-off radical Islam, and we as a nation are aware that it was your decisions that allowed this unprecedented spiral of Pakistan into anarchy - and whatever the consequences may be, you both stand responsible for Pakistan’s fate.
Through experience we have learned that radical Islam spreads like a cancer, and through your own words we know this, as well as our continued monitoring of this situation in Pakistan and other nations who are fighting radical Islam. You both state that you support our troops and are attempting to make America safer; by your very actions, which reek of utter incompetence and greed, you have failed the people of the United States, the world, and especially those who trusted your judgment. These events in Pakistan could easily destabilize the Middle-East even more than your actions have already done - and the people of the United States should rise-up in unison and condemn your actions and incompetence.
Please Mr. Bush and Cheney - your time to lead this nation has come and gone; you have demonstrated that you have no respect for our own Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and the Rule of Law. Not only have you violated our own laws and the trust of a nation, in addition to the many international laws and treaties you’ve violated your decisions have negatively impacted several nations throughout the world - and over a million Iraqis and thousands of our own troops now lie dead because of your miscalculations, incompetence, and violation of International Law. If you care for this great nation as you state you do - it’s time for both of you to resign so that we can begin to rebuild this shattered nation, and at the same time, mitigate the damage your administration has caused throughout the world!
America as a nation should rise-up and demand your resignation, and those of us that do not are contributing to the downfall of the country our forefathers fought and died for - something that you refused to do during the Vietnam War, staying comfortably in the US while more then 58,000 of America’s best lost their lives in the Vietnam War. We need a President with the will to guide this nation by and through the tenants as set forth in our constitution - not as they are interpreted by a tyrant and Dictator. I call upon our Congress and the American people to demand your resignations - and if that does not happen forthwith, then it is now the time to begin impeachment proceedings. This nation, nor the world, can stand much more of your incompetence and violation of our sacred laws and spirit of freedom and liberty - and I respectfully call for both of your resignations as a free person and citizen of the United States of America!
William Cormier
Footnote: When I write an editorial of this nature, it is in the hopes that other patriotic Americans will also choose to stand-up against a government the military itself believes “is out of control.” We have reached a point in our history when the “Thought Crime Prevention Bill” will soon come before the Senate, and what that Bill will mean to us that continue to challenge the government remains to be seen. I note, sometimes with great trepidation, that the CIA and other governmental agencies are reading this site - and although I have written nothing that is illegal - I, as well as other individuals that run Blogs, have installed tracking software to get a glimpse of who is reading what we have written. It is often quite unsettling to note that words written that are non-violent and simply request our own government to follow our own laws is being monitored by the government - and it may be simple intimidation, or something much more sinister. None of us that write to further the cause of our constitutional values know exactly what Bush and Cheney are planning, however - when you take into consideration the way the ‘Thought Crime Prevention Bill” is written, it is ominous as best - and at worst, could mean the end of free speech in the United States.
This Bill, above all others, is the greatest assault on free speech and our constitutional guarantees ever presented before Congress, and it enjoys huge bipartisan support - which means that our Congress is still cowed and complicit with the Bush administration. We as Americans must stand-up to repression and tyranny any way we can - and to do otherwise is to stand idly by while our rights and freedoms are very quickly disappearing. Please, join in with the rest of the “Freedom Fighters” and voice your outrage against a government that no longer represents the people - but only pays homage to huge multinational corporations and the dynasty families of America.
We have all been watching the rhetoric build, beginning in earnest again this May when President Bush authorized new covert actions against Iran “to destabilize the Iranian government.”LINK On July 16th, Dick Cheney warned Iran publicly from the deck of a United States Aircraft Carrier stationed close to Iran that:
“With two carrier strike groups in the Gulf, we’re sending clear messages to friends and adversaries alike,” he said, according to remarks given to reporters. “We’ll keep the sea lanes open. We’ll stand with our friends in opposing extremism and strategic threats. We’ll disrupt attacks on our own forces. We’ll continue bringing relief to those who suffer, and delivering justice to the enemies of freedom. And we’ll stand with others to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons and dominating this region.” MORE
So far this year, President Bush has leveled several charges against Iran, most of them centered around allegations that Iran is providing Iraqis training in special QUDS Force training camps in Iranian territory, and stating they would “face the consequences” for “providing EFPs, highly sophisticated IEDs, that kill Americans in Iraq.” So far, none of us are aware of what those “consequences” are - but with the MSM now actively ratcheting-up the visibility and rhetoric of a potential attack on Iran, the situation seems eerily similar to those days right before we attacked Iraq.
Fears of US attacks on Iran grow as media campaign heats up
Muriel Kane Published: Friday August 10, 2007
Cheney continues to urge Iran strike
At a press conference on Thursday, President Bush delivered an apparent threat against Iran, stating, “One of the main reasons that I asked Ambassador Crocker to meet with Iranians inside Iraq was to send the message that there will be consequences for people transporting, delivering EFPs, highly sophisticated IEDs, that kill Americans in Iraq.”
Neither Bush nor the State Department would elaborate on the meaning of “consequences.” However, McClatchy Newspapers reports that “the president’s top aides have been engaged in an intensive internal debate over how to respond to Iran’s support for Shiite Muslim groups in Iraq and its nuclear program. Vice President Dick Cheney several weeks ago proposed launching airstrikes at suspected training camps in Iraq run by the Quds force, a special unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to two U.S. officials who are involved in Iran policy.”
The Guardian reported in July that Cheney has been continuing to press for military action against Iran. When Larry King asked Cheney in an interview on July 31, “”Would you make an overt move on Iran?” Cheney said with a grin, “For what reason?” He then added, “I’m not going to speculate about prospective operations.”
Media campaign against Iran accelerates
For example, in Wednesday’s New York Times, Michael Gordon reported that “attacks on American-led forces using a lethal type of roadside bomb said to be supplied by Iran reached a new high in July, according to the American military. … Such bombs, which fire a semi-molten copper slug that can penetrate the armor on a Humvee and are among the deadliest weapons used against American forces, are used almost exclusively by Shiite militants. American intelligence officials have presented evidence that the weapons come from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran, although Tehran has repeatedly denied providing lethal assistance to Iraqi groups.” MORE
Most of the Progressive and Liberal pundits have joined-in these last few weeks condemning Bush’s Iranian War Plans - and the belief that he will use the subsequent terror attacks against the continental United States in retaliation to an attack on Iran to declare Marital Law and “temporarily” disband Congress and the 2008 Presidential elections. All of his recent “Executive Orders,” some so secret that a Democratic member of the House Homeland Security Committee was denied access to Bush’s “Disaster Plan” LINK which supposedly was formed as a plan of action in case of a serious terrorist attack or a natural disaster of a magnitude that equals or is greater than that of New Orleans and Katrina. When a “Disaster Plan” is so secretive that Bush won’t even allow Democratic Member(s) of Congress and The Homeland Security Committee to view its contents - I’m quite comfortable speculating that it’s something that will have to be forced upon the people - and my gut tells me those FEMA ordered/Halliburton built “Internment Camps” won’t remain empty for too much longer…
What the White House is planning still evades most of us as far as the intricate details and when it will happen, but there are “signs” that must be addressed and melded into the larger view - as all of the smaller and seemingly insignificant details add-up to the whole, and it’s important to understand the possible significance of other seemingly unrelated incidents and why they contribute to - and may even hasten an attack against Iran.
The significance of the state of crisis in Pakistan has been woefully underplayed in the MSM; President Gen. Pervez Musharraf is desperately attempting to retain his hold on power and was close to declaring a “State of Emergency” - and missed an important meeting with President Karzai to attempt to iron-out a chilly alliance and discuss ways to stop the cross-border attacks of the Taliban and Al Queda against NATO and Afghanistan forces. LINK To miss a meeting this important speaks of intense pressures and an extremely fluid situation within Pakistan - and somehow Condi Rice was able to help in convincing President Musharraf hold-off on declaring a “State of Emergency.” Who knows exactly what was said, but it had to be significant - especially when you consider this latest breaking tidbit that add even more mystery as to why Musharraf held-off on declaring a State of Emergency - which would have given him some much needed time to attempt a reorganization or other means to re-solidify his power:
Sources: U.S. assessing Pakistan nukes if Musharraf falls
From Barbara Starr CNN Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON (CNN) — U.S. military intelligence officials are urgently assessing how secure Pakistan’s nuclear weapons would be in the event President Gen. Pervez Musharraf were replaced as the nation’s leader, CNN has learned.
Key questions in the assessment include who would control Pakistan’s nuclear weapons after a shift in power. The United States is pressuring Musharraf, who took control in a 1999 coup, not to declare a state of emergency as he faces growing political opposition.
Three U.S. sources have independently confirmed details of the intelligence review to CNN but would not allow their names to be used because of the sensitivity of the matter. MORE
The above story from CNN indicates the United States is gravely worried about the stability of the Pakistan government - even though the President himself and other are still making reckless remarks in regard Pakistan - and are fanning the flames rather than attempting to deescalate the situation. For more on how President Bush, presidential hopefuls, and a GOP Senator(s) have added to Mr. Musharraf’s troubles, read Pakistan is in Crisis – And the Dems Aren’t Helping! - and don’t forget to wonder why our diplomatic skills seem to have disappeared along with our civil rights, national wealth, and an economy and populace that falls deeper in despair every day! Wall Street’s getting a little nervous, as now it isn’t just the Middle-class that’s losing, but some of our most prized funds and portfolios are taking a dive as well - and that impacts even the wealthy of America!
I am one of the few Progressive/Liberal Bloggers that believes Iran is truly a danger to national security, which I’ll write about later - however, even though I’m more hawkish on Iran than most of those I choose to associate myself with - I’d rather see Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse plan and execute an attack on Iran and the subsequent can-of-worms that will immediately open once the first bomb drops… This administration hasn’t accomplished one damn thing of a positive nature, and when it comes to escalating tensions and fumbling through foreign policy as if though it were a Frat House joke, Bush and Cheney have brought the world closer to nuclear confrontation than ever before - and it gets progressively worse!
The White House is voicing alarm that China has been aggressively building-up their armed forces, land, air, nuclear, and sea - and now are beginning to challenge America’s role in the Far-east. Bush’s folly was to allow America’s corporations to outsource most of our manufacturing capability to China and other third-world countries - including but not limited to some of our essential military weapons and hardware. Greed has caused the Bush White House to brush away signs of an aggressive China emerging, too servile to corporate America, who are making a fortune while the Average American falls deeper into a financial pit with no end in sight, much the same as our mounting national debt. As always, profit and power have been the guiding force of this administration rather than the security and well-being of the people.
Wasn’t it just two days ago that Russia buzzed Guam with two Tupolev-95 warplanes? These are the nuclear workhorses of the Russian military - comparable to our Strategic Air Command. Russian bombers buzz US base in Guam Russia has also restarted and increased flying training sorties, obviously enhancing their military training and sending a message that once again - Russia is a force we dare not ignore!
As Bush and Cheney are greedily eying Iran and hoping for an excuse to begin their war, how much thought has been placed on Russia and China’s reaction - especially in consideration of the long-term energy contracts they’ve signed with Iran, and in Russia’s case - the added significance and construction of a Nuclear Power Plant in Iran by Russian workers?
Think about it, because as usual, the Bush/Cheney team of incompetent’s obviously haven’t, and their ineptitude and penchant for screwing-up everything they touch couldn’t be more visible or important as it pertains to the future of our country than it is today! Don’t forget wild card Israel - sitting in the background and preparing for a war with Syria, which would be almost a sure thing if the US attacks Iran. Olmert: Prepare for war with Syria Who knows, it may be Israel that makes the first strike against Iran, but more likely is that America knows that Israel is preparing for a strike - and might be readying their own, figuring a unilateral strike by Israel would pull the entire Middle-East into the conflict.
These are the factors that Bush and Cheney are attempting to deal with. We have all seen what they’ve done with a situation that was far less apt to escalate into a major international confrontation, and we’re still burying our dead from that war. If you let them start another war based on their current level of success - I’d suggest stocking-up on all of the essentials and preparing your family for the worst. Iran isn’t Iraq - and the world is angry with America, compliments of the Bush administration. Don’t you think it’s time to get these idiots out of office while we still can?
Call your Congressmen, and do anything else you can to raise heck. The life you save could be your own, or that of your family.
There’s a perceptible change in the mood of the Internet in regard the Bush administration. It’s sad, but reading the many articles and posts, and especially delving into the comments of each article reveal an America that is beginning to express their fear and raw distrust for Bush and Cheney. Some of the articles paint a picture of a nation living in fear of its President, and for me, that a first in United States history!
You can tell the people are disgusted, as every editorial and article you read almost universally condemns Congress expanding President Bush’s power to illegally spy on Americans, most of whom have absolutely no ties to terrorism. Now, he doesn’t even need a court’s approval… What message did this send to the rest of the world, those whose calls are routed through some of our main telecom switches?
At what exact time did the United States of America gain the legal authority to spy on virtually any international call that is routed through our system? What message does this send to other nations whose rights we are indiscriminately violating? It would seem that many of their fears may be well-founded – and tensions are increasing across the international board as Bush ratchets-up the illegal eavesdropping and continues to treat his neighbors with contempt and disrespect. We are clearly viewed as an “aggressor” in many parts of the world – a title that may be justified to a certain extent, and it’s escalating an arms race and military build-up world-wide.
The disappointment is heavy in the air, and no matter where I turned, there was another negative editorial by a host of prominent Mainstream New Papers.
Capitol Hill Blue was especially critical with an excellent story – and comments that show the true frustration of many Americans:
Failed Congress leaves town in disgrace
By DOUG THOMPSON
The Democrats who came to power with so much hype and fanfare after the 2006 mid-term elections limped out of Washington Sunday, battered and bruised from multiple losses to the most unpopular President in modern American history.
After seven months of failure after failure, the Democratic Congress compounded their many errors by passing a far-reaching bill that allows Bush to spy at will on Americans without court approval. All he needs is a sign off by his lackluster and flawed Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales.
The Democrats, of course, will spin their failures as some measure of success against high odds and will point to high profile bills like raising the minimum wage to bolstering U.S. security and expanding children’s health care.
But their main promise — to bring the troops home from Iraq — remain a broken pact with American voters and even with Republican defections from the President’s unpopular war, the Democrats lack the votes or the fortitude to stand up to Bush on his failed Iraq policy.
The spin started early Sunday with Democrats pointing to claimed victories and ignoring their many losses. MORE
Make sure and read the comments associated with the above article, and others I’m including for your perusal. RAW Story reported today there was a major security breach at the Los Alamos National Laboratory – and believe me, it wasn’t a minor breach!
Nuke weapons lab reports another major security breach
08/07/2007 @ 9:46 am Filed by Michael Roston
A government watchdog group warns that New Mexico’s Los Alamos National Laboratory, one of the nation’s nuclear weapons design laboratories, has again experienced a security failure of ‘the most serious’ level.
“An incident involving the unauthorized release of classified data via email occurred last week at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL),” reported a press release Monday from the Project on Government Oversight (POGO). “The incident…is rated among ‘the most serious threats to national security.’”
However, POGO also noted that the lab had attempted to change the classification of the security breach in order to minimize it. MORE
Again, as you read the comments associated with this story, it reveals more fear of the government, and each day, it appears that more and more Americans believe this government is capable of a false-flag attack within the continental United States upon its own citizens. What has become of our country when Americans are forced to live in fear of their own President?
On the Smirking Chimp, there are several excellent articles that point out the real possibility of Bush/Cheney declaring martial law – and they are respected writers who provide an excellent spot-on analysis of the situation:
All of the above articles are excellent, and demonstrate through logic and a thorough analysis of Bush’s recent Executive order(s) – so secret that senior member of the House Homeland Security Committee DeFazio has been denied access to Bush’s disaster plan. What is so secret that Democratic members of Congress are denied access to material that it is their mandated duty as Congressmen to provide oversight thereof? LINK
Is this what we have to look forward to in America? Why are we as a people allowing ourselves to live in fear? Bush’s foreign policy has the entire world on edge, as well as growing numbers of US citizens. More Americans are moving to Canada LINK than ever before, and we all know why they are moving; it’s interesting to note that it’s many of the intellectuals and those of higher education that are leaving. Perhaps they have already understood what too many of us are ignoring and failing to react to ourselves. Freedom, once tasted and embedded in our psyche, is unacceptable to lose, even if it means escaping to another country in advance of the coming fray. Many more are speaking of staying-on to fight rather than lie-down like our Congress is, and the tension seems to grow by the day. Where’s the outrage?
The writing is on the wall. We as a nation have never allowed ourselves to live in fear; we have fought and died all over the world in the pursuit of liberty and freedom throughout our history – and now it’s possible we face our worst enemy, and still – we remain essentially silent while our freedoms and rights are being stripped away at a remarkable pace, right before our eyes – and Congress is too cowardly to stand-up and protect those who elected them to office.
Get mad! But most of all, start organizing. I’m still astounded that during the KOS Convention, a cohesive plan wasn’t developed for all of the Bloggers’ to unite and try and organize the people. Congress has proved they will not stand up for the people, so now it’s up to us. There isn’t anyone left – and unless we wake-up and organize and speak with one voice, the many scenarios described in the above articles and comments could soon become a reality. Make the decision to do something about it yourself – and implore everyone you know to do the same. We owe it to ourselves, and we owe it to the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and all of those that died before us defending its principles.
Good news: a House bill that would allow the president to continue spying on American citizens for another 4 months failed today.
Bad news: a similar Senate bill that would allow him to do so for another 6 months is likely to pass with even enough votes to override a presidential veto.
Bad News: we're 17 days into Executive Order 13438 and still there is not even a slight commotion in the mainstream news about this almost verbatim contradiction of the Fifth Amendment. Even if the mainstream news were to cover this, would it be possible to get a 2/3 majority vote in Congress to overturn the EO?
Good news: House Resolution 333 (Impeaching Richard B. Cheney, Vice President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors) has gained 2 more co-sponsors, bringing the total to 16.
Question: Is invading a sovereign country ever justified? There's obviously Iraq, lots of talk about Iran, and some rumbling about Pakistan.
Slowly but surely, America is waking-up to the fact that President Bush and Dick Cheney are supporting Alberto Gonzales for only one reason – if Gonzo is impeached, resigns, or is otherwise removed from office, the impeachment of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney is almost a certainty. Time Magazine, in a recent article, stunned me with their honesty and assessment of the current situation – and all of us should take heed and concentrate on getting Gonzales out of office by any and all legal means at our disposal! Get rid of Gonzales, and we have a chance at saving our Democratic Republic; allow him to stay and say good-bye to Democracy and freedom.
Time Magazine listed three reasons why Bush and Cheney are protecting Gonzales – and none of them have to do with his legal expertise, or ability to run the Justice Department in a non-partisan manner. In short, it would appear that Gonzales is aiding and abetting high treason and the undoing of our system of checks and balances:
Why Bush Won’t Ax Gonzales
(Excepts from the article)
1. Gonzales is all that stands between the White House and special prosecutors. As dicey as things are for Bush right now, his advisers know that they could get much worse. In private, Democrats say that if Gonzales did step down, his replacement would be required to agree to an independent investigation of Gonzales’ tenure in order to be confirmed by the Senate.
Without Gonzales at the helm, the Justice Department would be more likely to approve requests for investigations into White House activities on everything from misuse of prewar Iraq intelligence to allegations of political interference in tobacco litigation. And the DOJ could be less likely to block contempt charges against former White House aides who have refused to testify before Congress. “Bush needs someone at Justice who’s going to watch the White House’s back,” says a Senate Democratic Judiciary Committee staffer. If Gonzales steps down, Bush would lose his most reliable shield.
Gonzales remains the last line of defense protecting Bush, Rove and other top White House officials from the personal consequences of litigation. A high-profile probe would hobble the White House politically, and could mean sky-high legal bills and turmoil for Bush’s closest aides.
Keeping Gonzales isn’t cost-free. But for now, Bush seems to have decided that the importance of running out the clock on investigations by keeping his loyal Attorney General in place is worth any amount of criticism. MORE
This is a must-read article for anyone that is attempting to understand why the Democrats are essentially ineffectual and helpless in conducting oversight of this administration; Congress’s approval ratings are almost as low as that of Bush and Cheney – but in all honesty, as long as Bush controls the Justice Department through a loyal but corrupt Attorney General, the Democrat’s hands are tied – illegally and unethically, by a Presidency that is closing-in on becoming a full-fledged dictatorship.
It is this author’s opinion that the Bush administration’s key players, including President Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney – could all be prosecuted under the RICO statute(s), which was enacted to prosecute and help eliminate organized crime.
9-110.100 Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO)
On October 15, 1970, the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 became law. Title IX of the Act is the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Statute (18 U.S.C. §§ 1961-1968), commonly referred to as the “RICO” statute. The purpose of the RICO statute is “the elimination of the infiltration of organized crime and racketeering into legitimate organizations operating in interstate commerce.” S.Rep. No. 617, 91st Cong., 1st Sess. 76 (1969). However, the statute is sufficiently broad to encompass illegal activities relating to any enterprise affecting interstate or foreign commerce.
Section 1961(10) of Title 18 provides that the Attorney General may designate any department or agency to conduct investigations authorized by the RICO statute and such department or agency may use the investigative provisions of the statute or the investigative power of such department or agency otherwise conferred by law. Absent a specific designation by the Attorney General, jurisdiction to conduct investigations for violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1962 lies with the agency having jurisdiction over the violations constituting the pattern of racketeering activity listed in 18 U.S.C. § 1961.
9-110.200 RICO Guidelines Preface
The decision to institute a federal criminal prosecution involves balancing society’s interest in effective law enforcement against the consequences for the accused. Utilization of the RICO statute, more so than most other federal criminal sanctions, requires particularly careful and reasoned application, because, among other things, RICO incorporates certain state crimes. One purpose of these guidelines is to reemphasize the principle that the primary responsibility for enforcing state laws rests with the state concerned. Despite the broad statutory language of RICO and the legislative intent that the statute “. . . shall be liberally construed to effectuate its remedial purpose,” it is the policy of the Criminal Division that RICO be selectively and uniformly used. It is the purpose of these guidelines to make it clear that not every proposed RICO charge that meets the technical requirements of a RICO violation will be approved. Further, the Criminal Division will not approve “imaginative” prosecutions under RICO which are far afield from the congressional purpose of the RICO statute. A RICO count which merely duplicates the elements of proof of traditional Hobbs Act, Travel Act, mail fraud, wire fraud, gambling or controlled substances cases, will not be approved unless it serves some special RICO purpose. Only in exceptional circumstances will approval be granted when RICO is sought merely to serve some evidentiary purpose.
These guidelines provide only internal Department of Justice guidance. They are not intended to, do not, and may not be relied upon to create any rights, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by any party in any matter civil or criminal. Nor are any limitations hereby placed on otherwise lawful litigative prerogatives of the Department of Justice.MORE
For a comprehensive understanding of the crimes the Bush administration has perpetrated against the citizens of the United States – and the havoc this tyrant and his cabal of traitors have caused at home and abroad, read the topics for impeachment and an excellent synopsis of the many crimes that Bush and his co-conspirator’s are guilty of – some of which equate to treason and subversion:
Summary of Known Impeachable Offenses
Click on the link for more details.
1. Bush lied to Congress and the American public about the reasons for invading Iraq.
2. Bush conducted illegal wiretaps of American citizens.
3. Bush violated the Geneva Convention by torturing prisoners of war.
4. Bush violated International Law by invading a sovereign country for illegal purposes.
5. Bush held prisoners without formal charges and without legal representation. [CNN] See also our page on “Grounds for Impeachment”. Other Illegal Actions
These lesser crimes should not be ignored but may distract us from the more serious crimes above.
1. Bush illegally used government funds for domestic political propaganda related to the administration’s Medicare package, paying commentator Armstrong Williams, etc. [NYT, requires free registration] TruthOut: [1] [2] [3]
2. Bush used uniformed military personnel for Republican party political purposes. [TalkingPointsMemo] [Coloradoan] MUCH MORE!
Keep in mind that these are the “known” impeachable offenses – which upon investigation and implementation of the RICO Act would likely grow exponentially. This is without doubt actionable under RICO – as these statute(s) were enacted to allow prosecutors wide latitude and investigative tools in investigating and prosecuting organized crime; what could be more fitting than applying the law to the Bush Crime Family? Do not forget that the Bush family was involved in an attempted Coup against our country in 1933, so today’s contempt of our Constitution and Rule of Law dates back decades for the Bush family – so this won’t be the first “Bush” that was guilty of treason against the United State of America! LINK
Call and write your legislators while they are on vacation and demand that Gonzales be impeached and/or prosecuted – and if enough Americans push Congress to rid the Justice Department of one of Bush’s primary “Consigliere’s”, it’s possible that we may still be able to save America from tyranny and fascism.
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