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| President Obama should pardon CIA interrogators | |
| 2009-08-30 | |
When he served as deputy attorney general, now Attorney General Eric Holder gave a "neutral leaning positive" recommendation that led to President Bill Clinton's pardoning of gazillionaire fugitive Marc Rich, who was on the lam in Switzerland hiding from federal charges of fraud, evading more than $48 million in taxes, racketeering and trading oil with Iran in violation of a U.S. embargo. Holder also had a role in the 1999 Clinton pardons of 16 Puerto Rico independence terrorists - members of the bomb-happy FALN or the splinter group Los Macheteros - who had been convicted on such charges as bank robbery, possession of explosives and participating in a seditious conspiracy - even though none of the 16 had applied for clemency. As the Los Angeles Times reported, two of the 16 refused to accept the pardon - as it required them to renounce violence - while another later was killed in a shootout with federal agents. During his confirmation hearing in January, Holder refused to explain why the Clinton Department of Justice changed its earlier position against the 16 commutations - citing Clinton's claim of executive privilege. So you'll forgive me if I don't buy into the argument that, as a simple lawman, Holder had no choice but to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate alleged abuses during CIA interrogations of high-value detainees. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #11 We have a Marxist clique in power who treat American citizens alternately as enemies and mushrooms and our enemies like their superiors and celebrities. But then, every Marxist regime has done far more damage internally than to external enemies. I believe we should have shoved a fire hose up each and every one of those murdering muslim asses until they truly believed they were fountain fairies. Then get downright mean on their families, clan and tribe. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-08-30 22:18 |
| #10 When KSM is waterboarded as many time as people he is responsible for killing, thus feeling like he was dieing 3K plus times, then I might feel they have done enough. Until then as far as I'm concerned they need to get out the hose and go back to work... |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2009-08-30 21:26 |
| #9 WolfDog we're on the same page. My point, though awkwardly made is the AG is following BO's agenda |
| Posted by: regular joe 2009-08-30 14:55 |
| #8 Absolutely fantastic article |
| Posted by: bgrebel 2009-08-30 14:29 |
| #7 ...BO pulls the wires on Holder, who is a weak man and opportunist, and is using the AG to further his agenda. Joe, do you honestly think Bambi has the cojones/stones to oppose the loony left's agenda? He is as weak and opportunistic (if not more so) as Holder or any other of his appointees. As Steve White succinctly put it... It's all about their narrative, and dead Americans matter not at all. Posted by: Steve White 2009-08-30 01:13 |
| Posted by: WolfDog 2009-08-30 12:04 |
| #6 Saunders is the SFChron's house conservative (i.e.: "sane voice") - kinda like Jeff Jacoby at the Boston Globe. I agree - they did nothing wrong so there's no need for a pardon. The criminal charges should happen to Holder, Pelosi, Reid, et al, when the next attack happens on American soil or kills Americans abroad. Traitorous scum. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-08-30 11:14 |
| #5 Debra Saunders is a real conservative columnist (eg not David Brooks) for the Chronicle -- to their credit -- and should have the disclaimer "Ms. Saunders' views do not necessarily reflect the looney left tinfoil hat wearing views of this fish wrap." And a pardon should not be necessary: BO pulls the wires on Holder, who is a weak man and opportunitist, and is using the AG to further his agenda. |
| Posted by: regular joe 2009-08-30 11:13 |
| #4 ...of course in the meantime, the DoJ has decided NOT to go forward with prosecution of Gov. Richardson (D-NM). Do I discern a pattern here? /rhetorical question. Note well the whining and crying when the government has transitioned and these decision makers become 'former' as well and are subject to prosecution for their acts or failure to act during their tenure. This is the seed that grows that leads to the point where the loser will not give up power because the consequences are just as great as destroying the entire system for them and their retention of power. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-08-30 06:44 |
| #3 I'm not sure he has lost the Chronicle. Pardoning them implies they are guilty of a crime. Perhaps this is just sugar to help the medicine go down. |
| Posted by: Jumbo Slinerong5015 2009-08-30 03:20 |
| #2 I agree with that. The CIA is sufficiently dysfunctional at its upper levels, and has been for so long, it's a wonder that the field agents get anything done. The whole point of this exercise is to intimidate and cow the field officers and mid-level ops people. You and I don't know all the details of what these folks have done in Afghanistan, the Middle East, Latin America, etc., but rest assured some of the most liberal Dhimmicrats do. They're the ones rattling the chains on this. It's all about their narrative, and dead Americans matter not at all. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2009-08-30 01:13 |
| #1 No, he should not pardon them. He shouldn't prosecute or investigate them (again) in the first place. A LOT of good people are going to die someday because interrogators will be afraid to do anything more than ask nicely if the captives know anything about future attacks. Even if their methods currently meet the Army Field Manual, even if their questioning is sanctioned by the Geneva Conventions, the UN, every treaty and law in force at the time, and common sense, interrogators will have to worry that, based on this precedent, a future administration will prosecute them. As a result, all a prisoner has to do is to ask for his lawyer and the questioning will end. And many Americans (and others) will die. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2009-08-30 00:57 |