Talk Nation Radio for December 4, 2008
Bush Pardons Must be Stopped says Bob Fertik of Democrats.com

Petitions to stop Bush Pardons and in support of NY Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler's bill to prevent Bush's pardons of Vice President Cheney, Scooter Libby, and others involved in programs like rendition, torture, wiretapping of Americans, and other illegal activities.

http://democrats.com/nadler-pardons
http://www.democrats.com/corrupt-pardons-have-bad-consequences

and http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ny08_nadler/PreEmptPardons_112108.html

TRT:29:32
Download at Pacifica's Audioport or at Radio4all.net and Archive.org

Produced by, Dori Smith at WHUS FM 91.7 Radio for the People at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, CT

Bob Fertik of Democrats.com joins us to talk about their ongoing effort to impeach George Bush and more recently, impeach to stop Bush from pardoning himself or others in his administration including Vice President Dick Cheney.

Democrats.com is supporting Constitution subcommittee chair Jerrold Nadler of New York in his efforts to stop Bush's pardons, and launch a thorough Congressional investigation of Bush's crimes. Nadler has called on President Obama's next Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a Special Prosecutor.

Democrats.com cite Bush and Cheney for 39 grave and impeachable offenses including war crimes, torture, warrantless wiretapping, and outing a covert CIA operative. They say, 'most of these offenses are felonies for which Bush and Cheney can be criminally prosecuted after they leave office. But prosecutions will be impossible if Bush issues blanket pre-emptive pardons for Dick Cheney, Scooter Libby, other senior officials, and even himself'

The group has gathered over 46,200 signatures on a petition to hold members of the Bush administration accountable. Democrats.com is a growing progressive movement working for change with legal experts weighing in on the question of Bush's ability to issue what would amount to a self pardon.

George Bush has issued around 15 pardons recently and offered some convicted criminals clemency, for a working total of 171 pardons during his presidency. Yet, Bush has received a record number of requests for pardons from a wide variety of people including Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, Vice President Cheney's former Chief of Staff, his sentence has already been commuted by Bush; Michael Milken, convicted of securities fraud in 1990, John Walker Lindh, convicted on charges relating to a link the government made with his visits to the Mideast, nicknaming him the American Taliban, and also Randy âDukeâ Cunningham, a former congressman convicted of tax evasion. In a report by Tim Shipman in Washington, the Telegraph of London reported November 15th that a former CIA officer familiar with the backstage lobbying effort on pardons confirms that, "an effort is under way to get pre-emptive pardons for US intelligence officers who took part in intensive interrogations against terrorist suspects, using techniques including water boarding, which many believe crossed the line into torture---the White House has indicated that the matter is under consideration."

The Telegraph also notes that in addition to front line CIA and military officers, others at risk of prosecution by an Obama administration could include David Addington, Dick Cheney's former counsel, and William Haynes, the former Pentagon general counsel who helped draw up the regulations governing enhanced interrogations.

George W Bush is considering issuing pardons for US spies embroiled in allegations of torture just before he leaves the White House.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/3464442/George-W-Bush-could-pardon-spies-involved-in-torture.html

Edwin Edwards, the former governor of Louisiana convicted in 2000 of racketeering, has asked for a pardon, and supporters of former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens have asked Bush to pardon him for corruption in accepting illegal gifts for his Alaska home. But as the Bush administration's record is reviewed by attorneys and others, it is clear that evidence of crimes committed may not be enough to get Bush, Cheney, or others, convicted for crimes like lying about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq or the setting up of a new policy that torture should be used.

In 2006 CNN's Jack Cafferty discussed a provision being inserted into a Republican bill offered Bush and all members of his administration a kind of blanket pardon for any crimes connected with torture and the treatment of detainees...dating back to 911. Listen to the comments online in a video posted by Bob Fertik on Democrats.com. Fertik also posted a video of John Dean, former Nixon administration legal counsel, telling MSNBC's Keith Olbermann recently that it would be unlikely to see torturers prosecuted because of the Detainee Treatment Act and the Military Commission Act. Many disagree with Dean's assessment that US military and civilian contractors who engaged in torture couldn't be prosecuted because of the Detainee Treatment Act and the Military Commission Act. (Listen/watch online)

Bob Fertik of Democrats.com has also noted that GWU Law Professor Jonathan Turley raised questions about whether Bush could pardon himself; Turley said Bush might but if he did it "would raise very serious questions and indeed I think it would trigger a Constitutional Amendment being offered to restrict this power from future Presidents."

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