SHINE THE KLIEG LIGHTS ON THE LIES: TO PARDON UNPARDONABLE CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS IS UNPARDONABLE

“This criminal regime must now be brought to an end. Impeachments of Bush, Cheney, and Gonzales, followed by felony indictments and trials are imperative if the rule of law in the United States is to be preserved.”

Paul Craig Roberts

3/20/07

[Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury in the Reagan administration.]

To pardon Scooter Libby would be unpardonable.

It would be wrong.

But Mr. Libby will probably get pardoned by George W. Bush before the latter exits (I first wrote escapes) the White House.

The White House is no longer that white.

I suppose Bill Clinton began the process of turning the White House into a whiter shade (and stain) of pale before George W. Bush began occupying it.

But George W. Bush’s (and Dick Cheney’s and Karl Rover’s) deceptions, for which Scooter Libby became their scapegoat, have further stained America's alabaster domicile.

Some radical voices have called for Dick Cheney to resign.

Other media mouthpieces have asked for Libby to be pardoned immediately.

Deceptions under George W. Bush’s administration will not disappear even if I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is pardoned.

Nor will these go away:

Pre-Emptive war based upon false information and fabrications.

Illegal Spying.

Torturing [&Ignoring the Geneva Convention].

And now the Decider does not want Karl Rove (or anyone else) investigated and questioned UNDER OATH.

Gee…I wonder why.

"There are bombshells waiting to detonate on the torture scandal, on Iraq, and other dishonest and illegal gross abuses. For instance, the ACLU released a CIA letter in November confirming the existence of "a directive signed by President Bush granting the CIA the authority to set up detention facilities outside the United States and outlining interrogation methods that may be used against detainees." This confirms a May 2004 email from the FBI’s "On Scene Commander" in Baghdad regarding a secret "presidential Executive Order" permitting extreme interrogation techniques considered illegal by the FBI including "sensory deprivation through the use of hoods," stress positions, and military dogs."

"The Justice Department has so far blocked release of Bush’s secret order. If this Bush order becomes public, it may be akin to a 1972 memo from Richard Nixon specifying the exact methods of lock-picking the Watergate burglars should use. Bush’s involvement in the torture scandal may be far deeper than Nixon’s involvement in Watergate."

"The Bush administration has survived because it has succeeded in keeping the lid on so many scandals. Any change in top personnel raises the risks of lids slipping. New appointees will not want to put their heads on the chopping block to cover up crimes that occurred before they got the corner office."

"Democratic subpoenas are beginning to darken the D.C. sky like the English arrows at Agincourt. The subpoenas and scandals generate congressional testimony which spur the number of political appointees who could be indicted for perjury. The scandals are accelerating while support for the Bush administration seems to be collapsing."

"At best, Bush may need to award more Medals of Freedom this year than ever before. At worst, he may need to resurrect Gerald Ford and his all-inclusive "from the first day to the last day" pardon for himself and his nearest, dearest co-conspirators."

James Bovard
March 20, 2007
[James Bovard is the author of the just-released Attention Deficit Democracy, The Bush Betrayal, and Terrorism & Tyranny: Trampling Freedom, Justice, and Peace to Rid the World of Evil.]