Think Progress

Attorney General Cheney?

By Faiz Shakir on Jul 24th, 2007 at 5:20 pm

Attorney General Cheney?

Referencing a May 2006 memorandum that granted Vice President Cheney’s office increased powers to intercede in Justice Department affairs, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) asked Gonzales today, “What on earth business does the Office of the Vice President have in the internal workings of the Department of Justice with respect to criminal investigations, civil investigations, and ongoing matters?” Gonzales was stumped, “As a general matter, I would say that’s a good question.” TPM Muckraker has the video.



59 Responses to “Attorney General Cheney?”

  1. Thrasymachos says:

    Cheney is omnipotent.


  2. bobh says:

    impotent?

    Looks liek cheney hates his job so much he pushed into AGAG’s sandbox.

    Nosy fat beggar.


  3. Martha Stewart says:

    Two dollars, Thras?


  4. Spudge_Boy says:

    It is bullsh!t just like everything else this administration does.

    They are trying to move all the pieces into place just the way Hitler did. Thank God 74% of Americans over rule the 26%ers.

    Go start your dictatorship in a different country losers.


  5. Krazny says:

    Gonzales, either has no idea what is happening in the very department, he is supposed to be running, or he is covering up the corruption of the DoJ, and the government for partisan purposes.


  6. emerald says:

    We haven’t overruled anything yet.


  7. Angry One says:

    Admittedly, these are a little dated…

    The Top 10 Reasons Gonzales Must Go:
    1. Lying Under Oath
    2. Purging Prosecutors
    3. Misusing the Patriot Act’s National Security Letters
    4. Authorizing Illegal NSA Domestic Surveillance
    5. Enabling John Yoo and Unchecked Presidential War Powers
    6. Rendering the Geneva Conventions “Quaint”
    7. Supporting Military Commissions and the End of Habeas Corpus
    8. Blessing Unprecedented Expansion of Presidential Signing Statements
    9. Facilitating a CIA Leak Cover-Up
    10. Gutting Minority Voting Rights

    Since that piece was written, Gonzales lied to Congress. Again.


  8. leftcoast says:

    Gonzales was stumped, “As a general matter, I would say that’s a good question.”
    “On its face – I must say – sitting here, I’m troubled by this,” Gonzales added.
    And he says he’s in charge of the Justice Department? He doesn’t even seem to have a grasp of the simplest of workings there. Gonzales signed the frickin’ memo, and he’s troubled by it? What a baffoon.


  9. Patsy the serf says:

    To whom do I owe my tax of five bushels of stupid King Cheney? It would appear that you have more than your fill already.


  10. helenahandbasket says:

    gonzo using the Sgt. Schultz defense.


  11. EmilyD says:

    There’s a handy part of the Constitution that will serve the American people very well in the coming days…

    * The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

    In other words if the Congress impeaches any member of the Bush Administration, Bush cannot pardon them!

    CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE NOW! START THE DOMINOS!


  12. GodSmoteTheSodomites says:

    I don’t know if you know the show but you should watch it. “Future Weapons”. Man, that show kicks ass.


  13. Sharon says:

    While we are on a truth purge, when in hell can we bring our regular troop’s home and why in hell isn’t the most evil in charge paying for the secret mercernery killer’s out of his own damn pocket.?,,,Anyone.? And last but not least who in hell gave this evil beached whale the power to do all this damn evil shit…Blessings we need them more than ever…Peace…First we must seek out and remove all the evil.


  14. Thrasymachos says:

    Comment by EmilyD — July 24, 2007 @ 5:36 pm

    Impeach?

    Why?

    On what grounds?


  15. leftcoast says:

    Impeach?
    Why?
    On what grounds?
    Comment by Thrasymachos

    “Fraud” -includes deliberate misrepresentations, outright lies, half-truths and statements made with reckless disregard for the truth. Bush and Cheney used all of these methods to convince the public and Congress to agree to their plan to invade Iraq.

    Deliberate Misrepresentation- The linking of Iraq and 9/11

    Outright Lie- “Saddam wouldn’t let the inspectors in.”

    Half-truth- “Saddam’s son-in-law told us about biological and chemical Weapons.”

    Reckless Disregard – “Iraq is a Grave and Gathering Danger”

    How was government “impaired and obstructed?”- Bush and Cheney’s fraudulent misrepresentations about the true state of affairs in Iraq was designed to convince the public to believe that Iraq presented an imminent threat. They needed to convince the public that there was a dire emergency in order to convince Congress to authorize funds for the war. This scheme of misrepresentation obstructed the workings of government in a critical way — it caused the most serious of governmental decisions to be made upon false information.

    This is just one set of reasons to impeach.


  16. helenahandbasket says:

    Thrasymachos took his moniker from Plato’s Republic, in which Mr. T states: “Justice is nothing but the advantage of the stronger.”

    Seems a nice fit for your fascist mentality.


  17. GodSmoteTheSodomites says:

    Gonzo will never go. Neither is the leader going to step down. You just don’t get it.


  18. leftcoast says:

    Thrasymachos
    Or Mr. P, or whomever. Your mother’s calling you.


  19. GodSmoteTheSodomites says:

    I like the classical education Mr. T is showing. He’s got some class, dudes.


  20. leftcoast says:

    Comment by GodSmoteTheSodomites – Are you speaking of the classes Mr. T skipped.


  21. Thrasymachos says:

    Comment by helenahandbasket — July 24, 2007 @ 5:43 pm

    Hey, good for you!

    Keep reading the classics!


  22. GodSmoteTheSodomites says:

    leftcoast: He’s demolished you with all the references to classical texts. Heck, I guess you didnt’t catch half of them.

    Face it. Some of us trolls (not me, though) are well educated. Being smart and educated doesn’t mean being a limp-wristed lefty, you know.


  23. leftcoast says:

    Comment by GodSmoteTheSodomites — July 24, 2007 @ 5:50 pm
    LOL. Yes, I feel demolished.


  24. GodSmoteTheSodomites says:

    Yes, I feel demolished.

    Good. Don’t mess with us in the future.


  25. nevernull says:

    July 19, 2007
    Bush Outlaws All War Protest In United States

In one of his most chilling moves to date against his own citizens, the American War Leader has issued a sweeping order this week outlawing all forms of protest against the Iraq war. 

President Bush enacted into US law an ‘Executive Order’ on July 17th titled “Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq”, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/07/20070717-3.html and which says: 

”By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as amended (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)(IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)(NEA), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, 

I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, find that, due to the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by acts of violence threatening the peace and stability of Iraq and undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq and to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people, it is in the interests of the United States to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 of May 22, 2003, and expanded in Executive Order 13315 of August 28, 2003, and relied upon for additional steps taken in Executive Order 13350 of July 29, 2004, and Executive Order 13364 of November 29, 2004.” 



  26. leftcoast says:

    Socrates to Thrasymachos: “no one else in any place of rule at all, insofar as he is a ruler, enquires or commands what is his own advantage, but the advantage of his subjects.”


  27. leftcoast says:

    the just “are wiser and better and more able to act effectively, and the unjust to be incapable of accomplishing anything together…”


  28. bewilderbeast says:

    #5

    Gonzales, either has no idea what is happening in the very department, he is supposed to be running, or he is covering up the corruption of the DoJ, and the government for partisan purposes.

    Comment by Krazny — July 24, 2007 @ 5:25 pm

    Either he’s incompetent or lying. So he should step down or be impeached. Period.


  29. leftcoast says:

    Yes, I feel demolished.
    Good. Don’t mess with us in the future.
    Comment by GodSmoteTheSodomites

    Certainly. Would not think of breaking up your love fest with yourself.


  30. Thrasymachos says:

    Comment by leftcoast — July 24, 2007 @ 6:00 pm

    might = (the) right


  31. leftcoast says:

    Thrasymachos’ claims that injustice is a virtue and justice is a vice.


  32. leftcoast says:

    might = (the) right
    Comment by Thrasymachos

    Read the entire Book One of the Republic. You might wish to rethink your philosophy.


  33. bobh says:

    Of course he does, his whole world would implode if he saw that his actions and thoughts were ‘evil’. Poor fellow.


  34. Thrasymachos says:

    You might wish to rethink your philosophy.

    Comment by leftcoast — July 24, 2007 @ 6:06 pm

    ——
    ok


  35. ace says:

    http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=497698&category=OPINION&newsdate=7/7/2006

    Cheney behind turn toward dictatorship

    Excerpts:

    The United States is currently caught up in a new campaign for a military dictatorship rule by a military chief with absolute power. The White House, inspired by Vice President Dick Cheney, has argued that in time of great danger, the President has unlimited powers. If he cites national security, he can do whatever he wants — ignore Congress, disobey laws, disregard the courts, override the Constitution’s Bill of Rights, — without being subject to any review. Separation of powers no longer exists under this view. The President need not consult Congress or the courts, only the vice president, the attorney general and God.

    Moreover, the rights of the commander in chief to act as a military dictator lasts as long as the national emergency persists, indefinitely and permanently.

    Many, perhaps most Americans, wouldn’t mind. The President is tough on terrorists and that’s all that matters. What is the Bill of Rights anyway? Mr. Bush, his supporters will argue, is a good man, even a godly man. He won’t misuse the powers, even if the power he claims is no less than Hugo Chavez exercises in Venezuela.

    Mr. Cheney is a vile, indeed evil, influence in American political life. He is a very dangerous person who would if he could destroy American freedom about which he and his mentor prate hypocritically. His long years in Washington have caused him to lose faith in the legislative and judicial processes of the government. The country, he believes, requires a much stronger executive. Such concentrated power would have been necessary even if the Sept. 11 attacks had not occurred. Mr. Cheney uses the fear of terrorists as a pretext to advance his agenda of an all powerful president, a military dictator.

    So long, of course, as he is a Republican.


  36. leftcoast says:

    Mr. Cheney uses the fear of terrorists as a pretext to advance his agenda of an all powerful president, a military dictator.
    So long, of course, as he is a Republican.
    Comment by ace

    Hello ace- Absolutely correct. 9/11 was a gift to Cheney that made his previously decided agenda just that much easier.


  37. Sharon says:

    Bravo Ace,,And may I add as long as they are in office….Word’s to an old song.”You say you want a revolution”..O.K. kid’s let’s get with the peoples work…Blessings


  38. The Government Guy says:

    Hey! It’s ace! Back to the filibustering business, right?

    Yeah. After 30 something posts, this thread has gotten way too much good discussion already. It’s a high time to mess it up with insane, off-topic conspiracy screeds.

    You know you’re the best troll ever!


  39. carollt says:

    Gonzales needs to be charged with perjury. That would be a good start.

    Lying is not okay; neither is torture.


  40. Thrasymachos says:

    Great work, ace!!!

    You’re doing a good job distracting people from the real conspiracy!!!

    signed,

    Megaphone Trolls Inc ™


  41. US Navy Vet says:

    I didn’t even know that Cheney had a law degree. Then again, he dodged the draft (albeit legally) five times, never served a day in the armed forces, and he thinks he knows how to run a war.

    God help us all. How much longer before these clowns declare Marshall Law? I certainly would not put it past them.

    This is the very reason I am against gun control. We will all need guns when these criminals grab all the power and cancel the elections.


  42. john says:

    I just call Rep. John Conyon office, and there is no comtempt charges on the table against Ms. Meir. forgive the spelling , i’m just so angry.


  43. Martha Stewart says:

    I just call Rep. John Conyon office, and there is no comtempt charges on the table against Ms. Meir. forgive the spelling , i’m just so angry.

    Comment by john — July 24, 2007 @ 6:54 pm

    I give up. Mr. P has won.


  44. US Navy Vet says:

    I just call Rep. John Conyon office, and there is no comtempt charges on the table against Ms. Meir. forgive the spelling , i’m just so angry.

    Comment by john — July 24, 2007 @ 6:54 pm

    Don’t feel like the long stranger john. I am angry too.


  45. JG says:

    Senator Leahy and/or Spector needed to ask Gonzales THIS in a LOUD, AGGRESIVE and CLEAR voice:

    “Mr. Attorney General, you answer that question. This is the United States of America. Transparency is the rule here. We don’t have secret government. That’s what Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote about in the Gulag. That’s not the United States of America. We pay your salary. We have a right to know ’cause it’s our duty to decide whether what you’re doing is legal and wise, not yours. Answer that question or you’re held in contempt right now.”

    WHY can’t they do that?

    This quote was from Bruce Fein taken from his discussion with Bill Moyer on PBS on July 13, 2007:
    http://www.pbs.org/ moyers/ journal/ 07132007/ transcript2.html



  46. The Republic of Stupidity says:

    I don’t know if you know the show but you should watch it. “Future Weapons”. Man, that show kicks ass.

    Comment by GodSmoteTheSodomites

    Any reason for posting on this thread?


  47. Thrasymachos says:

    I give up. Mr. P has won.

    Comment by Martha Stewart — July 24, 2007 @ 6:58 pm
    —————
    cool.


  48. The Republic of Stupidity says:

    Read the entire Book One of the Republic.

    Comment by leftcoast

    Huh? I haven’t written any books.



  49. Toss these losers says:

    I’d say the likelihood that we ever get a “good answer” to that “good question” is just about zip.

    Wonder if the phone was ringing to the Deputy AG’s office shortly after this little charade asking about the special prosecutor plan?


  50. Pat says:

    Where were the repug senators to question Gonzo today? (Besides Specter).


  51. OutSourced says:

    Cheney’s only powerful because the guy’s who’s supposed to be president is an empty shirt. Cheney lose legal cover when Bush leaves office and a new president and attorney general step into office. Cheney knows that, which means he (and Rove) are planning to take the info with them, which includes all the president’s records. Predictably, Cheney will argue through his surrogates that executive privilege carries over into all presidential (aka, vice presidential) records and permanently precludes publication.

    The new president must rescind the EO that purports to unilaterally change the statute concerning presidential records, and do away with the litany of prohibitions on mandatory publication. Congress needs to beef up that statute to make clearer that the records are the property of the United States (it supposedly already does), to give the president less time and less control over his review of those records before their publication is mandated (except for limited national security records – defined using a reasonable standard, not the Cheney standard).

    Otherwise, we’ll never, ever know happened from 2002 – 2008 and none of these purported public servants will ever be held accountable.


  52. JG says:

    You know, the Dems are working to get Bush to CHANGE COURSE. So, why don’t they realize that nothing they are doing – or simply the way they are doing it – isn’t working. It is time for the DEMS to CHANGE COURSE and try something else!!

    Yes, like being more aggressive, confrontational. Push these criminals. DEMAND answers and DEMAND they comply with subpoenas, and YES, use your authority when they lie, obstruct, or ignore subpoenas and ARREST THEM and FORCE THEM to comply!! Nothing else has worked and frnakly right now they think Congress is out of tricks and won’t try anything else. They are PROVING that Congress has no pwer WHEN THEY REALLY DO but just aren’t using it!!

    Come on guys… LET THE CONSTITUTION WORK!! Show the American people there are protections written into the Constitution there for our protection!! Don’t allow these guys to make Congress and DOJ irrelevent. P-L-E-A-S-E!!

    Repeating the same thing over and over again, expecting a different outcome, is the definition of insanity. This is insane.


  53. Martha Stewart says:

    Come on guys… LET THE CONSTITUTION WORK!! Show the American people there are protections written into the Constitution there for our protection!! Don’t allow these guys to make Congress and DOJ irrelevent. P-L-E-A-S-E!!

    Repeating the same thing over and over again, expecting a different outcome, is the definition of insanity. This is insane.

    Comment by JG — July 24, 2007 @ 8:46 pm

    Hear! Hear!


  54. Innocent Bystander says:

    It’s pretty obvious why OVP needs to know what’s happening in DoJ…he’s got a lot of crimes to keep track of and obstruct where necessary. Between war profiteering and obstructing justice, Dick has a pretty full schedule. Hardly any time to slaughter wingless quails and shoot friends in the face.


  55. Doc Rock says:

    On-going criminal conspiracy! R.I.C.O.!!!!!!!!!


  56. The Oracle says:

    I think I figured out why getting any straight answers out of Alberto Gonzales is nigh unto impossible.

    You see, Gonzales has multiple personalities, an aberrant mental condition in which one personality of Gonzales’ doesn’t necessarily know what another personality of his has done in the past, is doing now, or is planning on doing.

    This clinical condition, therefore, leads one personality of Gonzales’ to state that he can’t remember what another one of his aberrant personalities did in the past, nor can this “testifying before Congress” personality tell anyone what his aberrant personality did in relation to other aberrant personalities in the Bush administration.

    Maybe hypnosis would do the trick, drawing out the Gonzales personality that wants to destroy our democracy since it has no respect for our Constitution and the “rule of law” at all. Or maybe a cllinical psychologist should be asked to sit in the next time Gonzales appears before Congress, with Gonzales lying on a couch and the clinical psychologist, with a notepad, sitting in a nearby chair, asking Gonzales about his childhood and such.

    In fact, going to a shrink would probably help a whole bunch of aberrant people in the Bush administration. I’m certain we can find enough taxpayer money to foot the bill.


  57. Leporello says:

    This is another example of Super Vice-President man. He’s in the Executive! He’s in the Legislative! And now he’s DOJ Man! This administration has become an ongoing slow-motion train wreck! Mr. I Don’t Recall is in charge of the Department of Justice and DOJ Man pulls his strings! The VP has now become the Super Man! Congress needs to do two things. Firstly, contempt charges against Gonzo, and Harriet, as a start. Next, Impeach Bush and Cheney and Save The Constitution.



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