Graham: Prosecution of Bush administration torture officials should not be ‘taken off the table.’
Graham: Prosecution of Bush administration torture officials should not be ‘taken off the table.’
Former Democratic senator Bob Graham, who chaired the Senate Intelligence Committee from 2001 to 2003, said today in an interview with the Huffington Post that “criminal prosecution of Bush administration officials involved in implementing torture policies should not ‘be taken off the table.’” Graham added that it is “premature with the current state of knowledge to determine if that is appropriate.” Further, Graham said he favored a bipartisan 9/11 commission-style inquiry into what “transpired during the Bush years ’so that there could be a record that is not too distant from the acts themselves for the benefit of the American people and the benefit of history.’”
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April 22nd, 2009 at 4:23 pmWhoe onn Earth prrof reeds their?
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:24 pmMore of them seem to be warming up to the ideas of a truth commission or 9-11 commission-style inquiry.
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:29 pmClearly an effort to get things swept under the rug.
Sorry old-timer, a special prosecutor is what you’ll be getting so don’t worry your little head about what’ll be on the table.
Graham is showing his support for a whitewash operation.
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:32 pmMan, this table is pissing me off. Let’s just throw the damn thing out.
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:32 pmOne thing we can say about the Democrats–they have a very clear table.
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:34 pmA 9/11 Commission solved nothing. It’s been over 7 years and we haven’t captured and tried the orchestrator(s) of the 9/11 attacks. We need real investigations and prosecutions. I think the truth behind the 9/11 attacks is at the very bottom of the invasion of Iraq. I smell an even bigger rat named CHENEY and a little chimp named BUSH!
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:34 pmMcCain says prosecutions of the bush regime would have a chilling effect. Well great! We need t throw some ice on the torture program.
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:35 pmIf it’s too early to make a determination on whether criminal prosecution is appropriate, then how on earth can it be OK to take the possibility of prosecution off the table? Why are these people allowed to make all the nonsensical statements they want!!
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:35 pmThe scary part of all this is that the more that comes out, the more I start thinking that Cheney may have had the total lack of conscience and morals to actually be behind 9/11.
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:39 pmSen. Graham was the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and one of the “Gang of Four” that were briefed on these programs without objection. See the NYT article that was posted this a.m. I’ve always rather liked the man, but this sounds like the encouragement of a whitewash to me as well. There’s only one real way to go at this point…a special prosecutor. There certainly can be additional Senate and House investigations and hearings, as well as even some kind of independent commission. But none of these will go anywhere without a concurrent special prosecutor who is cleared to get whatever documentation he/she needs, issue subpoenas to whomever is necessary, to get to the bottom of the ugly truth. Without justice, there is no true liberty.
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:40 pm9/11 may very well have been the biggest false flag operation in history.
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:41 pm9/11 like bipartisan Commission will never get the American people the truth.
9/11 Commission included people like Phillip Zelikow and others who are friends of the Bush administration,and had no intention from start to find anybody of the Bush administration guilty of any wrong doing.
Today Pelosi was calling for a ‘fact finding’ Commission,and it will be probably a bipartisan political one…which leads to nothing.
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:46 pmThis should be left to Justice department ,grand jury and the whole process to be successful. If politicians from both parties take over this investigation…nothing of a value will be achieved.
I’m becoming more hopeful as we see more and more people being willing to come out and openly state that investigations, and possible charges, need to happen.
For the longest time (at least that’s how it seemed!) only the online community was kicking and screaming about these criminals.
PEACE
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:48 pmAnd why does Graham and other not possibly know what we all know.
0 – the number of times Bin Laden was captured
1 – the number of CIA agents outed
2 – the number of wars started
5 – the number of people killed by the anthrax attacks
19 – the number of highjackers that Bush helped
30 – the number of deaths by torture
2,974 – the number of deaths from 911
4,191 – the number of troop deaths in Iraq
30,182 – the number of troops wounded in Iraq
infinity – the number of lies told by the Bush Administration
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:53 pmthis just in… GOP wants everyone to be scared… that is all…
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:54 pmLevi the Dungbeetle says:
Definitely a bigger false flag op than the Tonkin Gulf (non)incident.
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:55 pm@12 There is some evidence or claim that bush actively provoked the 9/11 attacks.
Maybe bush provoked the attacks. They were, after all, crucial to bush’s power grab. Then when the attacks succeeded far beyond expectations, bush simply went crazy trying to cover up his enormous mistake. Just a theory.
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:01 pmTeam Obama is hemming and hawing over weather to prosecute torturers, but has no problem with telling a judge to sentence the hell out of a man who ran a medical marijuana dispensary, in full compliance with state and local law (this is the criterion under which Obama said his DOJ and DEA would not go after medical marijuana dispensaries).
A federal judge postponed sentencing to get an OK from Team Obama for a light or suspended sentence.
But Team Obama said:
link (pdf)
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:01 pmHill people pay attention to what Graham says. This is big.
http://www.pufferfishblog.com/
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:07 pmWe can’t prosecute!…Repubilcan meme.
Holy sh*t, did they really do that?…Democratic meme.
Will you guys just shut up and do what you are elected/hired to?…American question.
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:09 pmBack in the 60’s they told us one weirdo managed to shoot the President. Today they tell us torture is necessary.
Some day the American public just might wake up to the idea that someone is lying.
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:24 pm“…policies should not ‘be taken off the table.’”
I’m getting really weary of this table business.
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:38 pmI want to start hearing about benches.
As in appearing before the bench.
Glenn Beck was spouting the same thing today. I bet the right wingers think if the Obama Administration focus on these investigations and we get attacked (courtesy of their hero Dick Cheney who is conspiring a nuke attack at the moment in my opinion!), they’ll say the Democrats took their eyes off the ball.
THIS IS WHY A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR SHOULD BE HIRED TO HANDLE THESE INVESTIGATIONS!!!
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:49 pmAnd the groundswell swells….
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:53 pmKayInMaine Says:
THIS IS WHY A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR SHOULD BE HIRED TO HANDLE THESE INVESTIGATIONS!!!
Also because this goes to the White House level. Obviously at least some people working in the administration itself are involved, to whatever degree. The Special Prosecutor thing was created specifically to allow investigation of people working in the White House without the problem of investigating your own boss.
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:07 pmActually jay, if you are going to make claims online, you will be asked to back them up. When you lie, it is extremely transparent to others who were actually there. Now admit your lie, and admit it openly, so the healing can begin.
Once you start down the path of the dark side, forever will it guide your destiny. The Republican party has endorsed torture, and that is about as dark as you can get. If you want to go down with the sinking ship that is the Republican Party, we will be happy to hand you an anvil.
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:52 pmMy last post was an error, apologies.
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:52 pmI wish these three would just go back in the closet form a daisy chain and leave the rest of us alone.
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:51 am