WIKILEAKS: Obama and GOP Worked Together to Kill Bush Torture Probe

[grumgrum]

Sorry if this has already been posted...but still it is shocking. Wikileaks cable reveal.

http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/12/wikileaks-cable-obama-quashed-torture-investigation

Stay classy, Obama.

[AzDar]

1. Oh, Dear.

[Bragi]

2. Sad story: The escape of the Bush Six

"Back when it seemed that this case could become a major international issue, during an April 14, 2009, White House briefing, I asked press secretary Robert Gibbs if the Obama administration would cooperate with any request from the Spaniards for information and documents related to the Bush Six. He said, "I don't want to get involved in hypotheticals." What he didn't disclose was that the Obama administration, working with Republicans, was actively pressuring the Spaniards to drop the investigation. Those efforts apparently paid off, and, as this WikiLeaks-released cable shows, Gonzales, Haynes, Feith, Bybee, Addington, and Yoo owed Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton thank-you notes."

[Nite Owl]

3. Nothing is surprising

anymore. Not what I voted for at all.

[dflprincess]

4. And how does this fit in with that "restoring the rule of law" we were promised?

We have been so had.

[ThomCat]

8. That is a very good question.

:(

[Kaleva]

12. Which basically was a promise to reverse Bush administration’s doctrines

[Dinger]

5. Well, That About Does It

Holy fucking shit.

[Skittles]

6. well that was pretty obvious

[ProSense]

7. This not news

Anyone who expected that the U.S. government was going to allow another government to prosecute a U.S. President for war crimes is kidding themselves.

The fact is everyone knew that Holder was trying to avoid this situation. Scott Horton:

<...>

The Spanish attorney general’s statement came following intense back-channel discussions between the Obama administration and the government of Spanish Prime Minister José Zapatero. When asked about the pending case during an interview with CNN Español, President Barack Obama stated “I'm a strong believer that it's important to look forward and not backward, and to remind ourselves that we do have very real security threats out there." Obama acknowledged in the course of the interview that his administration had been in discussion with the Zapatero administration about the criminal investigation in Madrid.

Acting on the Spanish attorney general’s instructions, the prosecutors advised the court against proceeding with an investigation into the Bush Six. They also stated their view that Judge Garzón should not handle both the torture complaint and the case against the Guantánamo prisoners. Garzón reacted to this request by sending the torture complaint back to the court’s administrative judge for random reassignment—as a result of which it went to Judge Velasco. However, Garzón remained in charge of the case against the Guantánamo prisoners. He has in fact been assembling evidence for a criminal case addressing the mistreatment of the detainees for many months.

Garzón’s ruling today marks a decision to begin a formal criminal inquiry into the allegations of torture and inhumane treatment he has been collecting for several years now.

Spanish lawyers close to the case tell me that under applicable Spanish law, the Obama administration has the power to bring the proceedings in Spain against former Bush administration officials to a standstill. “All it has to do is launch its own criminal investigation through the Justice Department,” said one lawyer working on the case, “that would immediately stop the case in Spain.”

Spanish Investigators Push Justice Department On Torture Role; How Will Holder Answer?

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[midnight]

15. Does the head of the justice dept serve at the pleasure of

the president? The fact that it was obvious to many that Holder didn't want to touch this, maybe more understandable via:Robert Gibbs if the Obama administration would cooperate with any request from the Spaniards for information and documents related to the Bush Six. He said, "I don't want to get involved in hypotheticals." What he didn't disclose was that the Obama administration, working with Republicans, was actively pressuring the Spaniards to drop the investigation. Those efforts apparently paid off, and, as this WikiLeaks-released cable shows, Gonzales, Haynes, Feith, Bybee, Addington, and Yoo owed Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton thank-you notes.

[Exilednight]

17. This is why the Justice Department needs to be reformed .......

into a better system that does not hold all of its success and failure to being appointed or replaced by the president.

[hlthe2b]

9. Oh, God....

:cry: How can one not feel betrayed?

[Canuckistanian]

11. Looking forward, looking forward, looking forward......

I can't take it!

Can I at least glance backwards just once? No? Are you sure? OK.

Looking forward, looking forward, looking forward......

[Mosaic]

13. I'm grateful for this revelation

I knew when he kept saying "move forward", he was being complicit in America's war crimes. Today was an important day as I no longer can support Obama. Washington is totally corrupt and is run as one borgmind, one party.

[TeaBagsAreForCups]

14. k/r

[TeaBagsAreForCups]

16. Kicked

[Azathoth]

18. Anyone who thought "change" meant handing Bush over to Spain to be prosecuted for war crimes

was *really* deluding themselves.

[harun]

19. Everybody here knew that.

[TeaBagsAreForCups]

20. Or, at least...

...learned to expect and anticipate it after the last two years of this "progressive" Presidency.