Cheney's trial problems

There's been some rumblings that Fitzgerald and others in DoJ want Cheney to testify in open Court. Cheney's legal team counters that there's privilege.

Small problem, this is an excuse and the Congress should take note.



If there was privilege, it should have been asserted from the outset, not when the Vice President realizes that he may be the subject of the inquiry.

Cheney has already provided information to Fitzgerald's initial questions. There is no reason that the Vice President cannot, as have others, provide testimony in open court.

President Reagan, despite being President, did later testify in open court in 1992 about the Iran-Contra affair.

It remains to be seen why the formerly cooperative Vice President suddenly finds the need to remain silent.

If he's got nothing to hide, then let's hear what he has to say.

If he wants to assert the 5th Amendment, he's free to do so; but it would be prudent for the Congress to ask why the Vice President made many trips to the CIA, but now "doesn't want to testify in open court for fear of self-incrimination."

Time to check with the files in GCHQ and Number 10. Perhaps Mr Cheney can be given a history lesson on the rule of law.

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The larger problem Cheney has is that, now that the Grand Jury is "over" for purposes of going after Libby, there are now two tracks for the Downing Street-Iraq investigation.

One is the continuing grand jury review into the Vice President; the second is the open trial.

Think of this as a double punch. One is open and obvious; the second is uncertain.

Cheney's team has to deal with both: One they can see, the second they have no clue about.

This is why the Vice President is going to lose. He's going to make more mistakes.

And Fitzgerald has already caught him. The question will be whether Cheney comes clean now, or digs himself deeper.

My bet is Cheney will do what Libby did and bluff.

He's going to lose: The documents already exist outside his control, and no matter what he does, he's already caught.

Vice President Cheney, you have two options: You can either testify, or you can make things more difficult for yourself.

Either way, you're in trouble. And there's nothing you can do.

* * *

UN willing to impose requirement on Syrian President to produce any document, why can't the US impose this requirement on its own leaderhip?

Oh, that's right: "The double standards-argument" which the arrogant Americans like to drool about.

* * *

The Roman Empire, whatever happened to that?

Oh, that's right: The world woke up and decided to try something else. "Civilized" living and that sort.

Not good enough for Americans?