Friends & Associates of Barack Hussein Obama
Posted on 10/13/2008 5:39:24 PM PDT by Red Steel
Tonight I had an opportunity to ask Barack Obama a question that is on the minds of many Americans, yet rarely rises to the surface in the great ruckus of the 2008 presidential race -- and that is whether an Obama administration would seek to prosecute officials of a former Bush administration on the revelations that they greenlighted torture, or for other potential crimes that took place in the White House.
Obama said that as president he would indeed ask his new Attorney General and his deputies to "immediately review the information that's already there" and determine if an inquiry is warranted -- but he also tread carefully on the issue, in line with his reputation for seeking to bridge the partisan divide. He worried that such a probe could be spun as "a partisan witch hunt." However, he said that equation changes if there was willful criminality, because "nobody is above the law."
The question was inspired by a recent report by ABC News, confirmed by the Associated Press, that high-level officials including Vice President Dick Cheney and former Cabinet secretaries Colin Powell, John Ashcroft and Donald Rumsfeld, among others, met in the White House and discussed the use of waterboarding and other torture techniques on terrorism suspects.
I mentioned the report in my question, and said "I know you've talked about reconciliation and moving on, but there's also the issue of justice, and a lot of people -- certainly around the world and certainly within this country -- feel that crimes were possibly committed" regarding torture, rendition, and illegal wiretapping. I wanted to know how whether his Justice Department "would aggressively go after and investigate whether crimes have been committed."
Here's his answer, in its entirety:
"What I would want to do is to have my Justice Department and my Attorney General immediately review the information that's already there and to find out are there inquiries that need to be pursued. I can't prejudge that because we don't have access to all the material right now. I think that you are right, if crimes have been committed, they should be investigated. You're also right that I would not want my first term consumed by what was perceived on the part of Republicans as a partisan witch hunt because I think we've got too many problems we've got to solve.
So this is an area where I would want to exercise judgment -- I would want to find out directly from my Attorney General -- having pursued, having looked at what's out there right now -- are there possibilities of genuine crimes as opposed to really bad policies. And I think it's important-- one of the things we've got to figure out in our political culture generally is distinguishing betyween really dumb policies and policies that rise to the level of criminal activity. You know, I often get questions about impeachment at town hall meetings and I've said that is not something I think would be fruitful to pursue because I think that impeachment is something that should be reserved for exceptional circumstances. Now, if I found out that there were high officials who knowingly, consciously broke existing laws, engaged in coverups of those crimes with knowledge forefront, then I think a basic principle of our Constitution is nobody above the law -- and I think that's roughly how I would look at it."
The bottom line is that: Obama sent a clear signal that -- unlike impeachment, which he's ruled out and which now seems a practical impossibility -- he is at the least open to the possibility of investigating potential high crimes in the Bush White House. To many, the information that waterboarding -- which the United States has considered torture and a violation of law in the past -- was openly planned out in the seat of American government is evidence enough to at least start asking some tough questions in January 2009.
I want to see Obama do a FROG March....sooner than later!
That's why all that crap about 0bama being a uniter is, well...just CRAP.
Sounds like Dubya can expect a visit from the boys down at the Nation Of Islam on 01-21-09. He might want to be out of town.
Bush needs to pardon everyone on the way out the door.....
screw you Barry.
Rove better go into exile.
BTTT
I have a distinct feeling under an obama administration we’re going to see events that will make Ruby Ridge and Waco look like a day in the park.
This is among many things that has bothered me about this election.
The Republicans and Democrats are so willing to throw Bush under the bus that we now must openly consider that President Bush will be convicted of
war crimes in the next administration. honesly, I would not put McCain past it.
I know McCain really believes that the Bush administration engages in torture.
The anti Bush rage that gets not even a slap from McCain is one of many annoyances from this man who must save us from Obama.
And after that let’s really get into the Logan Act!
Evidence will not matter in these cases, only the seriousness of the charge. The verdict will already be in. Stalin and Beria would be proud.
communist regime change.
Obama talking about the Constitution...that is rich.
I am hoping Mr. Philip Berg is able to prove Obama is an Indonesian citizen born in Kenya who needs to be deported because he is an illegal alien.
How about starting with VOTER FRAUD and STOLEN ELECTIONS, Messiah???They intend to. But it will over ohio in 04 and florida in 00. Democrats have long memories to go with long knives if you get my drift. Have you talked to democrats lately? They're out for serious blood. An Obama victory is probably the scariest thing any conservative can imagine.
As it is it was just a matter of time before a real marxist radical steals an election.
Yes, a blanket pardon for anyone in his administration...screw the Obamaniacs...somehow I doubt a pardon would stop their partisan investigations however as the only way they can distract the populace from their governing lunacy is to keep the investigation of those evil republicans in the Bush White House who kept us safe and without terror attacks for the past 7+ years.
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