Former CIA agent: ‘highly likely’ Bush saw torture tapes.
By on Dec 11th, 2007 at 11:02 am
Former CIA agent: ‘highly likely’ Bush saw torture tapes.
Larry Johnson, a former CIA agent and State Department counterterrorism official, told The Bill Press Show this morning that it was “highly likely” President Bush had viewed the videotapes of the 2002 interrogations that were later destroyed:
Bill Press: You said that you believe President Bush actually saw one of these videos?
Larry Johnson: I think it’s highly likely.
Listen here:
[flv http://video.thinkprogress.org/2007/12/johnsonbushsaw.320.40.flv]
Ron Suskind, author of the One Percent Doctrine, also recently stated that it is likely the torture and the destruction of the tapes were “being authorized from the White House.”
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Bush not only SAW the tapes, he wore them out watching them over and over again, breathing heavily all the time…
December 11th, 2007 at 11:04 amAnd I guarantee the Chimp got off on it, just like Saddam used to get off on watching videos of his torture victims.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:04 amUh-Oh! This is more than a smoking gun! No damn wonder Bush looks like the wrath of god these days! It’s over for the chimp now.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:05 amGee, who would of thought some one as wonderful as the chimp would allow such thing’s much less order them…Sarcasm/off.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:05 amThis is “HIGH CRIMES”, Nancy!
December 11th, 2007 at 11:05 amSomebody’s gonna fry for this one. This will be Bush’s waterloo – CIA torture-gate. Let’s pop the popcorn.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:05 amWhat kind of popcorn did W have while watching it?
December 11th, 2007 at 11:06 amPeter C: I wonder what Nancy’s thinking now? She’d better be thinking that her gig in Congress after this term is OVER!
December 11th, 2007 at 11:06 amPerhaps they uploaded his favorite sessions to the President’s iPod so he could watch them whenever he needed a lift.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:06 amRobSeattle: We both have popcorn on the brain! LOL
December 11th, 2007 at 11:07 amAll we need now is a bj, and we can start impeachment proceedings.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:07 am“Somebody’s gonna fry for this one. This will be Bush’s waterloo – CIA torture-gate. Let’s pop the popcorn.
Comment by Veritas”
December 11th, 2007 at 11:07 amSorry, that would require the Dems to grow a backbone and act. Ain’t gonna happen…
I sense multiple ass-coverings in progress as we speak…
December 11th, 2007 at 11:07 am#7 bet it was carmel corn or corn porn for him….
December 11th, 2007 at 11:07 amAnd as Bush watched the tapes, he kept saying, “that doesn’t look like organ failure to me — nope, not torture.”
December 11th, 2007 at 11:08 amRemember: This is the same man who in his youth, as per the biography by Justin A Franks, Bush On The Couch, inserted firecrackers into the anal orifice of frogs and lit them, delighting in the ensuring explosion. Not too far off. One a sociopath and mashochist/always so. The zebra fails to change it’s spots – regarless of how old, tired, or broken down it gets.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:08 amYou’ve all beat me to every thought I had on this subject!
Kudos, smart and funny people. ;o)
December 11th, 2007 at 11:08 am#5..The word was that Nancy saw them too. If so, she must go as well. She will never bring impeachment charges for something she could be caught up in as well.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:08 amsadist, I meant….get me some coffee!!!
December 11th, 2007 at 11:08 amPaul Krugman on Why Bush Wants to Torture
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/9/24/12554/1980
December 11th, 2007 at 11:09 am
Menehune: Isn’t it predictable how when something seems so obvious and yet is not being done, there’s always some little “personal hitch” involved?? This is Nancy’s swan song as well.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:09 amShe’ll now be considered “unfit to serve” and removed. But who is next in line then?
This president’s “power trip” is soon to come to a screeching halt. He’s abused his position with unchecked power and his Federalist lawyer buddies all need to be fry for their complicity in enabling this abuse – crimes against the people it’s called.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:10 am#20 And I call bullshit on Bush. His power fantasy is over.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:11 amWitch1 – gee I can’t imagine…
December 11th, 2007 at 11:12 am
Right, w/ a bowl of popcorn and a cold one, to boot.
Saturday Night At the Movies, Family Values Style!
December 11th, 2007 at 11:14 amI don’t know, Veritas. I think Congress must be remade from the bottom up. I know I won’t be voting for Schumer or Clinton again. Chuck made his bed by letting Mukasey skate. Clinton, I have never voted for and wouldn’t start now!
December 11th, 2007 at 11:14 amThey were probably just mixed in with Cheney’s box o’porn he hands down every so often.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:18 amI think Congress must be remade from the bottom up.
Comment by Menehune — December 11, 2007 @ 11:14 am
100% aggreement there, Menehune.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:19 amI’ll bet he watched them every day, perhaps he had an enless loop of them. ya gotta figure that our man in the white house probably couldn’t bring in frogs and put firecrachers in there mouths so something else has to work for feeling down and dirty.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:20 amYeah, and Clinton was the weirdo for getting a BJ.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:21 amWhat did you think Ice Cream Sundays meant for Rove?
December 11th, 2007 at 11:21 amBastardos every one!
December 11th, 2007 at 11:22 amThe Insurgency is not amused.
Wait…ok.. I see the humor now.
guess it just took a second.
http://www.tshirtinsurgency.com
Comment by Menehune
I live in his constituency and I will NEVER vote for Schumer again. His vote on Mukasey and his pathetic excuses in the NY Times Op-Ed have pissed me off forever. Anyone who is not actively opposing this radical administration and conservative movement is a traitor not only to the base of the party but to the very Union itself. Schumer can rot in hell for all I care. He can roast with Jay Rockefeller and Dianne Feinstein too.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:22 amDid Mr. Johnson perhaps explain why he holds that opinion? It seems that these guys have gone to great lengths to insulate W from all of this and his general ambivalence for details (not to mention the substantial risk involved in possessing such a tape) makes the actual truth of this claim suspect.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:23 amEvil Poet, no need to tell me about this crazy basterd, I knew all about him and the bad bush genetic’s long before he stole the election’s….Blessings
December 11th, 2007 at 11:23 amI wonder how Perino is gonna try and spin this one.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:23 amMenehune: Have you registered Independent yet? If not, do so following the primaries if you want to have a say in them. It will be at that time that the number of I’s will have grown to the 40% area so the “power” to get the attention of the two candidates will be with the I’s this time. And, if the two candidates fail to listen to the will of the majority of the people (with Dems at 37% and Reps at 24%) then from this group will rise an Independent candidate who, by sheer numbers (if dem leaning) can eclipse anyone else in the race, provided they are better than the Dem candidate.
I agree wholeheartedly that our Congress is definitely “broken” as evidenced by Bush’s congress prior to this one (the worst in history for complicity and rubber stamping the wishes of the Emperor) joined by this current one. There is a grass roots Indy movement to vie for seats opening up during this next election in every part of this country. Good, wholesome people – unowned by the business establishment.
Then perhaps they can lobby for campaign finance reform which must occur to keep our candidates from being wholly owned by the corporate interest groups.
Also, terms limits would eliminate any congressman from jumping into bed or getting chummy with the lobbyists. Tall tasks but necessary to clean up our congress.
As for Pelosi right now vis-a-vis the impeachable offenses to date combined with this new one (destruction of evidence/obstruction of justice in war crimes), since she is heavily involved in this debacle by nature of her position on the Intel committee and what she saw/knows, I believe that she will be forced to “step down” on this one due to her own involvement.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:24 amAnd you can tell all of the partisans who call the I’s the “spoiler” due to the fragmentation of the vote for Nadar in the last election that this is a changed scenario this time. Never before has the number of Registered I’s been this high. If this group unites, it may eclipse even the Dem Party at this point. And, if the Dems keep up the chicanery in Congress and continue to aid and abet this emperor and not bring impeachment charges soon, dems are going to jump ship like flies.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:26 amMaybe it was the tapes that caused Bush to choke on his pretzel back in ‘02. He was probably laughing so hard watching the torture video that pretzel piece got sucked down his windpipe.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:27 amWhat I am wondering with regard to impeachment proceedings is this: If Pelosi is forced to step down due to a conflict of interest and personal complicity, then who steps into Nancy’s shoes? Maybe we need to ask Kucinich since he’s so knowledgeable about impeachment proceedings? Hey, Dennis!!!
December 11th, 2007 at 11:27 amIt might be a winning approach for one of the frontrunners to pick up the impeachment ball now that this new info is out and about??
December 11th, 2007 at 11:28 am#33… Basically all “insulation” means is to leave the President room for “plausible denials”. After a point, too many plausible denials add up to a statistically significant probability. The only possible conclusions are: The President knows nothing and must be removed for being too incompetent to lead, or the President knows everything and must be removed because he is a criminal.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:29 amThe worst part about all this is that the evidence that has come out to date is more than enough to begin investigating impeachment. But if you have a brain in your head at all you have to know that we only see the tip of the iceberg, that for every embarrassing story that comes out there are 2 we don’t know of.
This is clearly the worst, most rotten, corrupt and lawless administration I have seen in my lifetime. And yet we go 7 whole years without any real investigation into the activities of these people. And Pelosi, Reid, Schumer, Feinstein and Rockefeller would rather do nothing, putting their own political fortunes before the very health of our Democracy and country.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:30 am36. Veritas, still registered Dem–this is NYC, after all, and most of the action from the local level on up happens in the D primaries. I will make my choices in the general election from the third party affiliations, as is becoming usual these days. I’m getting very tired of voting AGAINST candidates and not FOR candidates. The lesser of two evils is hardly a choice.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:33 amAnyone would be naive to think that Bush never saw the tapes
I suppose the transcripts were destroyed too
These Guys were waterboarded until unconscious, Then revived BY DOCTORS and repeated again and again ……I CALL THAT SICK
tell me how can anybody lead a country with honor and diginity if its rotten at the top
December 11th, 2007 at 11:35 amhttp://www.whowouldtheworldelect.com/
Hillary looks like a no go horse
December 11th, 2007 at 11:37 amYou know what, don’t debate what torture is anymore – that mine is dry. Simply ask these conservatives what sadism is. That’s it. What is sadism and what is not.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:37 amI’m not saying that W didn’t know or isn’t culpable. What I am saying is that there is enough here that no one needs to go inventing “facts” to make the story sexier. It’s bad enough as it is and W’s defense of willful blindness, if tested in a court, likely would hold up just about as well as it does for most mafia figures.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:37 amPo, this is enough to merit investigation. Some commenter at TP hyping something up is not going to change the world or trigger action. I wish it were so but it’s not.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:40 amhaven’t read these comments… have an idea for another angle…
when dybya said “git rid of those tapes”, he meant the tapes made
December 11th, 2007 at 11:42 amof him watching the torcher porn…
…
China defends oil deal with Iran
China has defended its recent oil deal with Iran saying no other government has the right to interfere in China’s internal affairs.
If I were in the American administration I would start talking to Iran before all the oils GONE cause Iraq is going to do the same and Venezuala
December 11th, 2007 at 11:44 am49 Katy… I doubt Karl Rove would have allowed any video recording device anywhere close to the West Wing unless for a scripted conference. There won’t be any behind the scenes blooper reel from this administration.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:46 amwhat were witnessing is the downfall of America and Bush is dragging Europe into the cess pit with him
December 11th, 2007 at 11:46 amMerit investigation . . . all the way to the top, baby! The rumors of this activity were enough to merit investigation a long time ago. But that never happened. Will it now, who know? They’re all in closed session today. Wonder if tomorrow there will be a new, coordinated explanation for all of this? I mean, we’re just now learning why some may have been reluctant to begin such inquiries, but they are loooooooooooong overdue.
To those who have brought disgrace to this country, a pox on all their houses. (And I don’t care one bit what “they” might do to “us” because if that’s the standard the race to the bottom has been won).
December 11th, 2007 at 11:48 amThe word was that Nancy saw them too. If so, she must go as well. She will never bring impeachment charges for something she could be caught up in as well.
Comment by Menehune — December 11, 2007 @ 11:08 am
i’m willing to give those dems a break – IF they come out NOW and
plead their case for being blackmailed and frightened enough to go along with what they THOUGHT, at the time, was a necessary evil…
but, they had better do it soon, or there will be too many pissed off democratic voters desparatey needed to save the country…
December 11th, 2007 at 11:49 amthis one. last. try. …
…
If waterboarding led to saving lifes then the tape would be kept to prove it
therefore I suggest nothing came of waterboarding and the CIA officer is trying to play the good bad cop routine
December 11th, 2007 at 11:50 amAmerica needs to start a 3rd party system NOW
December 11th, 2007 at 11:51 amMenehune – i forgot to add a (snark) tag…
but, of course, my scenario had dubby wanting his “excitement” captured for his own narcissistic enjoyment…
…
i’m gone for the day… i hope it’s a slow one…
there is so much that needs to be digested and investigated from these past 2 weeks…
we need to be thanking the truth-tellers and whistle-blowers BIG TIME.
g’ day, all…
December 11th, 2007 at 11:55 amI wonder how Perino is gonna try and spin this one.
Comment by IgnoranceIsNotBliss — December 11, 2007 @ 11:23 am
She’ll probably just focus on videotapes being “old technology” and that DVDs should be used nowadays. Or make some equally irrelevant point.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:56 amwhose “word” that Nancy saw them? Whose? Come on? She’s not my favorite person at the moment, but cite / link please.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:01 pmToo bad Pelosi is complicit with the torture, otherwise we would be able to Impeach this criminal from the White House. =|
December 11th, 2007 at 12:03 pmMaybe Mitt Romney has the tapes…mittens?
December 11th, 2007 at 12:06 pmWatching these tapes is what the Lier-In-Chief was doing when he said he was reading. Librarian for two years, Laura, made sure he had the transcripts of the tapes too, so he could report he did know how to read. Probably had Saddam’s gun on the bed table, so he could stroke it lovingly as he watched.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:12 pmCrimes, crimes everywhere and not one Impeachment in sight.
Thanks alot for nothing Nancy “Table Phobic” Pelosi.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:13 pmit’s a friday night ritual for dumbass!
first he slips into his warm & fuzzy jammies, next laura orders the pizzas and then uncle dicks brings over the torture tapes.
yup! he just loves pizza party nights!
December 11th, 2007 at 12:34 pmTHE ONLY PEOPLE WHO CLAIM THAT THEY DON’T KNOW THAT IS CONGRESS!!!!!!!!!! IMPEACHMENT IN OVERDUE! HAGE 09 FOR BUSH & Co.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:36 pmOf course Bush watched the tapes, and so did Cheney, they had to see what their orders had achieved. Bush lies about absolutely everything, that is a given.
What is disturbing is that members of Congress, including Pelosi had viewed demonstrations of what waterboarding is and did nothing about it. Do you really think that Pelosi is going to bring charges up on the White House that she was a party to??? I don’ think so.
I am very disappointed with all of our government officials in DC right now, they all seem so corrupt that there is little anyone can really do about it. Write your congress representative and get what? A canned answer that they “round file” right away is what you get.
Bush/Cheney/Congress
Hague Trials ‘09
Buck Fush
December 11th, 2007 at 12:39 pmOkay would someone PLEASE tell me this?
Why aren’t the Democrats all over this?
This isn’t a new issue as such. This came up when the McCain bill outlawing torture was passed and the President issued a signing statement saying that he wasn’t going to abide by the law he just signed.
Is there ANY doubt that Congress and the American public already consider water boarding torture? Is there any doubt that it is illegal?
So why aren’t the Democrats demanding that the President either clarify the issue or that they will start impeachment proceedings to be followed by criminal charges?
December 11th, 2007 at 12:45 pmBuckie Boy, I’d add as a friendly amendment, Shrub is “The Deciderer”; the WH is authorizing and ordering the CIA to engage in activities which are war crimes. If he wasn’t looking at the tapes, he is a complete moron.
For that matter, even if he is looking at the tapes, he is a moron.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:48 pmIf he vetoes any bills, roll him up!
December 11th, 2007 at 12:50 pm@23
December 11th, 2007 at 12:51 pmI knew he was a dumbass but I had no idea he was such a sadist. Well, good thing its all coming to light.
Get used to it, people; this is who we are, now. In September, 2001 some Arabs commandeered some airplanes and flew them into some building, killing people in America. As there was no law on the books specifically stating that this particular action was illegal, our president declared that this was not a law enforcement issue. And, from there we descended into lawlessness, ourselves.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:57 pmEverything got re-defined by our government – and it wasn’t JUST Bush & his cronies. Congress & the Judicial branch are equally complicit – maybe more so, because they are whom we expected to truly protect and defend our Constitution agains executive branch abuses. We have been betrayed by our entire Federal governmnet.
Who amongst them can we trust to stand up for what this country once purported to stand for? Not one of the top candidates for president has even addressed the issue of returning to the pre9/11 mindset that respected the foundations of this country – they all seem willing to continue appeasing terrorists by repealing our freedoms…
If this allegation is true, it would be one stunning development, and it would shed a whole new light on Pres Bush’s personality, as well as the decisions he made since he launched his “war on terror”.
I cannot fathom a normal person seeing someone else being tortured on tape, and not conclude the practice should be stopped.
December 11th, 2007 at 1:48 pmWhat’s outrageous is not the criminal behavior by this Administration, it’s the fact that they consistently get away with it.
It’s disgusting.
December 11th, 2007 at 11:24 pmFormer CIA agent: ‘highly likely’ Bush saw torture tapes.
In spy lingo ‘Yes, he did”.
December 12th, 2007 at 1:07 pm