Impeachment: Cheney's fleeting, tired defense
The Vice President made excellent points: It is unfortunate that this is the best he can do. [TPM suggests Rove is back, behind this absurdity].
It is my turn.
Cheney spoke one line which said it all:
We're going to continue throwing their own words back at them.Why wait?
The answer is: He has nothing.
This implies they have no words to currently throw, still no specifics.
Still asking the country to wait.
Yet, he missed his chance to take his best shot.
A poor choice.
Without specifics, these are hollow words.
The Vice President also made several incorrect statements.
First, he incorrectly stated that those who gave the permission to use force are forever required to remain silent once the Downing Street Memo surfaced. This is absurd and we need not comment further.
Indeed, the Downing Street Memo shows us that there is a pattern of behavior of adjusting the information to seek the objectives.
Some have asserted that "fixed" in British means to attach; that's a silly argument as it is well down on the list of commonly used phrases.
The Vice President also incorrectly states that the Congressional leadership was free to draw conclusions based on the intelligence.
This is faulty reasoning: It implies that the information they had was reliable.
The best information we have is that the CIA in 2003 stated clearly there were problems with the arguments about WMD, yet Cheney made 17 visits to the CIA to get another look at the data.
Nobody in Congress had independent access to the NSC files or data.
Moreover, Congress didn't vote to wage an unlawful war; they gave the President the authority to use force after the President asserted in writing that all peaceful options had been exhausted.
Based on what we know now, it appears the President not only mislead the country and Congress about what was going on, but had no intention of ever letting Saddam fully comply with any list of UN Criteria. We learn that the White House was behind an effort to interfere with the UN inspectors.
Saddam's violations of the UN Resolutions had already been resolved. The inspectors were making progress.
Despite making no credible case that the Iraqi violations were continuing, the President then decided to go to war. But where was the evidence?
The Downing Street Memo shows us that MI6 was, through operation mass appeal, creating a ruse story about going to war.
Indeed, the FBI and DoJ have failed to credibly conduct a thorough investigation into Yellow Cake.
Not satisfied, it appears the President and Vice President then orchestrated a plan to retaliate against the very CIA agents informing him of WMD efforts in other countries in the Middle East.
Libby's indictment speaks for itself: The investigation continues in the Vice President's office.
It remains a matter of law whether Special Counsel Fitzgerald produces information for the House Judiciary to review, or lay the foundation for an impeachment.
The Vice President incorrectly asserts that the US could not trust Saddam Hussein. Indeed, Saddam was in a tight under the watchful eye of fighter patrol aircraft from America's finest Naval and Air Force units.
Also, under the watchful eye of various satellites and through the National Reconnaissance Office, the UN inspectors were making progress. It is clear that Scott Ritter has been proven right: The WMD material was accounted for, and there was no imminent threat.
These facts are at odds with the dire warnings the President gave to the country. The Congress relied on those statements. And the RNC protestors were jailed for speaking out.
The RNC protestors have been proven right, as has Scott Ritter and Mr. Fitzgerald: There is a problem with people in the White House not telling the truth.
This White House and Joint Staff have a credibility problem. And the indictment of Libby is sufficient to continue and broaden the concern within the RNC.
As you review the Vice President's remarks, think of a mirror: His accusations are about what he and the President are doing:
Also note that the Vice President refers to the heroism and courage of the military.
This is a strategy to gather support. Cheney's goal is to align himself with the sacrifices of those who are fighting, and make you believe their sacrifice is evidence of his leadership.
Do not be fooled. This is called a logical fallacy. Nowhere does the Vice President make any credible claim that he is to be believed. Rather, he riles on the image of combat as a smokescreen.
It is with one goal: To fool you. To make you believe something that is not true.
He does this because all he knows how to do is, like Libby, is lie. The Grand Jury alleges that Mr. Libby has lied.
What has the Vice President done? It appears the same: More lies. And Fitzgerald will find more.
The Vice President asserts, without proof, that the cause in Iraq is just. Yet, what is just?
The only evidence we have is that there is no evidence to support the Vice President.
He has the burden of proof:
On all points, the Congressional criteria were based on a lie, satisfied with a lie, and continues to be sidelined with more lies.
We have no help from the Senate Intelligence Committee. They refuse to look at the facts. They will not tell us what they know.
Yet, Cheney would have us believe, in the vacuum of this incomplete investigation, that the facts are known: This is a lie.
The President and Vice President have failed to outline what they see as victory.
On all counts, the President and Vice President have no specifics. But they want their RNC membership to remain loyal.
To what?
The Vice President faces a real possibility of being impeached for war crimes.
It remains to be understood to what extent, the Congress has been lied to in violation of the law.
Vice President Cheney is not to be trusted. His statements, as other oil men, should only be considered with any seriousness, if they are given under the penalty of perjury.
But we know form Libby, that that promise might not mean much.
Ask yourself about the Downing Street Memo.
Why is the Vice President pushing so hard to allow the CIA to commit torture?
Why aren't senior commanders on the Joint Staff being held accountable for failing to ensure that their orders were consistent with the UN Charter prohibiting abuse?
We have no answers from the Joint Staff. They are hiding. They are making up more propaganda.
Cheney and Bush have shown themselves to be unreliable. Their own party membership no longer trusts them.
They speak about things they'll do in the future: Provide specifics, given names, or answer questions.
But the future, in their mind, never arrives.
We can see what is going on. They are delaying.
They know they are in trouble. They have no options.
This could end if there was a war crimes trial and impeachment hearing.
The Vice President incorrectly asserts that the discussion and debate is isolated to Washington.
On the contrary, all across the country, the nation no longer trusts the Vice President, and they speak out.
Only 19% trust the vice President. Washington may be full of hot air, but that's a sure fact you can count on.
The Vice President fails to make a persuasive case that he should not be indicted, or given any trust.
We have nothing new to inspire us to believe as we once did.
This President and his able Vice President have exhausted their political capital, and are now burning the Constitution.
They command that they have more unchecked power, the right to independently review the status of detainees.
But they refuse to assent to the Congress which has the power to define the rules of capture.
This White House cannot be trusted. They have abused the American trust. They know no bounds, not even the rule of law.
As always, rather than deal with facts, this Vice President gets upset over people who challenge him on reality. Rather than correct problems, he wants people to sign nondisclosure agreements.
So that the facts about torture and abuse are not known.
He's not upset at the abuse. He's upset that you know he hasn't done his job and has failed to enforce the rule of law.
It remains to be understood to what extent the Vice President has mislead the Congress. It appears he knows that America no longer believes him.
He has squandered what trust he had. He manipulated the public to believe in things that are not real.
Everywhere we turn, we find more lies: Things don't add up, the facts don't pan out, and more documents who that we were misled.
These are not political issues. These are matters of criminal law.
It is the Vice President who contradicts himself and is not reliable.
There is no reason the Joint Staff should believe they can be protected by people who may ultimately be charged with war crimes: The President and Vice President of the Untied States.
War is an ugly thing, but not a license to betray your nation's rule of law or destroy the Constitutional system of checks and balances.
The President and Vice President want your trust so that they can do more harm to your rights and liberties. They are not to be trusted.
They are leaders who will defy the rule of law to save themselves.
This is not why they were elected.
They took an oath to preserve the Constitution.
They have failed.
The President and Vice President stand for one thing: Themselves, and they will continue to lie to avoid the consequences for that poor choice.
They took an oath to preserve the rule of law, and we learn once again what leaders are capable of doing when given the trust of leadership.
American needs a debate: About what is to be done when the Congress and Executive go down the wrong path.
We see no evidence the stakes were compelling. There are time when a leader must act. But if they act without just cause, their actins should be held to account.
Some say the punishment should be high to deter this abuse. But others say if the punishment is too high, they will simply commit more abuses to cover up their misconduct.
There needs to be something that calls a time out, especially when many lives and liberties are at stake.
Thankfully, Special Counsel Fitzgerald remains on the watch. Reviewing evidence, and continues to carefully review what Libby and the Vice President have said.
Our laws are about the relationship between the action and accountability. It is not a recipe for what a tyrant can do or destroy to impose his arbitrary and imprudent will on the people.
Our Constitution is the relationship between power and the rights of man. Our document shows us how our rights will be protected against tyranny; it is not the excuse for tyrants to destroy the very document from which they derive their power.
We are a nation of laws. Our Constitution is an umbrella for all free people.
It is not a hollow shell to be destroyed, but a solid shield to tyranny.
In the end, our Constitution will be stronger.
The Constitution and the rule of law will defeat these tyrants and bring the rule of law, not man, back where it belongs: The basis of a free people who choose to cooperate without threat or fear of tyranny.
To that end, it is likely the Vice President shall be lawfully brought to justice and Fitzgerald shall be recognized as a hero: For returning the rule of law to the lawlessness which has infected the White House and this country.
The Constitution never left. Your leadership would have you believe they have the right to be free from scrutiny, but not let you enjoy the right to be free form arbitrary arrest.
The rights you have are yours to use, not to live in fear for using them.
Your rights, as enshrined in the Constitution are meaningless unless you use them.
You have the right to impeach the Vice President for war crimes, false statements to Congress, and in releasing information related to a confidential CIA asset.
Fitzgerald will find the facts. Cheney is not to be trusted.
Beware the Vice President, a man who has shown contempt for your ability to think and independently assess information. He acts as if he is better and more capable at understanding what is to be done.
But he moves without regard to the law; his goal is to deceive and avoid consequences; he is unreliable and unfit for continued access to the political podium.
May he freely choose to resign, or may he suffer the full consequences of lawful inquiry.
A man in denial is an easy opponent to beat: All you have to do is show him a mirror.
Fitzgerald has a very nice mirror: The American Constitution.
It continues to shine the fiercest light and will defeat these tyrants.
posted by Constant @ 6:59 PM
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