A Whistle-Blower's Inside View of the Homeland Security Nominee (Chertoff)

[realFedUp]

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-radack4feb04,0,1777879.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions

A Whistle-Blower's Inside View of the Homeland Security Nominee

By Jesselyn Radack

Jesselyn Radack writes on legal ethics. She has filed a whistle-blower lawsuit against the Justice Department. Her website is www.cradl.info.

February 4, 2005

On Wednesday, in hearings on his nomination to be head of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff had this to say: "If you are dealing with something that makes you nervous, you'd better make sure that you are doing the right thing. And you'd better check it out…. You had better be very careful to make sure that whatever it is you decide to do falls well within what is required by the law."

I could hardly believe my ears.

In 2001, Chertoff was the head of the Criminal Division of the Justice Department and I was legal advisor to the department on matters of ethics. When I "did the right thing," and gave the department advice that conflicted with what it wanted to hear, I was forced out of my job, fired from my subsequent private sector job at the government's behest, placed under criminal investigation without any charges ever being brought, referred for disciplinary action to the state bars where I'm licensed as a lawyer, and, so I've been told as I've been searched time and again at airports, put on the "no fly" list.

Here's what happened. In 2001, I was a legal advisor in the Justice Department's Professional Responsibility Advisory Office. On Dec. 7, I fielded a call from a criminal division attorney named John DePue. He wanted to know about the ethical propriety of interrogating "American Talib" John Walker Lindh without a lawyer being present. DePue told me that Lindh's father had retained counsel for his son.

I advised him that Lindh should not be questioned without his lawyer. That was on a Friday. Over the weekend, the FBI interviewed him anyway. DePue called back on Monday asking what to do now.
I advised that the interview might have to be sealed and used only for intelligence-gathering or national security purposes, not criminal prosecution. Again, my advice was ignored.

continued

[realFedUp]

1. Just another "ethical" Bush nominee....

Has he ever nominated anyone who didn't
have an unethical cloud above him or her?

[dbeach]

2. Chertoff ,author of Pat Act fails and falls upward..only in bushevakia

Mike "big brother" Chertoff failing and falling upward..
the author of the Pat me down Act..gets his reward for being a loyal Traitor BUT are'nt they all?
Rewarded for his incompetence as # 2 in Justice and past ties to alleged terrorist Elamir..could be Czar of bushevik DHS , the crown
jewel in fascist roverland


"According to a June 20, 2000 article in the The Record of Bergen County, New Jersey, Chertoff defended accused terrorist financier Dr. Magdy Elamir."

"Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, a government advocacy watchdog agency, has noticed Chertoff's advancement from Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice to Secretary of Homeland Security nominee over the past four years.
"It's an exceptional rise to power," said Fitton.

Michael Chertoff's record at the Justice Dept. has followed the same downward arc as a belly-flop. He's managed to botch every major case he's handled and elicit the well-deserved scorn of civil liberties groups. Only in the gravity-defying world of G.W. Bush, where reality is routinely run through a public relations shredder, would a bungler like Chertoff reach the top-spot at Homeland Security. Even so, his appointment should come as no surprise to the wary American public. It's just one more horse-nugget added to an already ample mound of political manure."

http://propagandamatrix.com/articles/january2005/250105chertoffsskeletons.htm
http://www.counterpunch.org/whitney01222005.html

[realFedUp]

4. Yeah, seems to be a policy of fucking upwards....

into higher and more powerful office.

[dbeach]

5. and pay off for sleeze well done..

which means well done in interests of bush crime family syndicate, neo-conthradals and their zionistas in israel

[realFedUp]

6. kick for weekenders

[realFedUp]

3. kick for CongressCritters to read

although I'm sure this "qualified"
nominee will be voted in without
much opposition....

[leveymg]

7. LA TIMES: A WHISTLEBLOWER'S INSIDE VIEW OF [CHERTOFF]

A former DHS lawyer exposes Chertoff for illegal retaliation. Ashcroft, FBI, Chertoff lied to Federal Judge in Lindh case. Read this.


http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-radack4feb04,0,1777879.story
COMMENTARY
A Whistle-Blower's Inside View of the Homeland Security Nominee
By Jesselyn Radack
Jesselyn Radack writes on legal ethics. She has filed a whistle-blower lawsuit against the Justice Department. Her website is www.cradl.info.

February 4, 2005

On Wednesday, in hearings on his nomination to be head of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff had this to say: "If you are dealing with something that makes you nervous, you'd better make sure that you are doing the right thing. And you'd better check it out…. You had better be very careful to make sure that whatever it is you decide to do falls well within what is required by the law."

I could hardly believe my ears.

In 2001, Chertoff was the head of the Criminal Division of the Justice Department and I was legal advisor to the department on matters of ethics. When I "did the right thing," and gave the department advice that conflicted with what it wanted to hear, I was forced out of my job, fired from my subsequent private sector job at the government's behest, placed under criminal investigation without any charges ever being brought, referred for disciplinary action to the state bars where I'm licensed as a lawyer, and, so I've been told as I've been searched time and again at airports, put on the "no fly" list.

Here's what happened. In 2001, I was a legal advisor in the Justice Department's Professional Responsibility Advisory Office. On Dec. 7, I fielded a call from a criminal division attorney named John DePue. He wanted to know about the ethical propriety of interrogating "American Talib" John Walker Lindh without a lawyer being present. DePue told me that Lindh's father had retained counsel for his son.

I advised him that Lindh should not be questioned without his lawyer. That was on a Friday. Over the weekend, the FBI interviewed him anyway. DePue called back on Monday asking what to do now.

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

[stray cat]

8. This is the guy the repubs want to make above the law.

[Just Me]

9. Incredible. Just incredible.

I'm speechless. The corruption NEVER SEEMS TO END!!!

:wow:

[The Backlash Cometh]

10. They're all Machiavellis. They need to prove they can lie for a cause,

before Bush will allow them in the inside circle.

[Kagemusha]

11. And Joementum's behind Chertoff all the way.

Protecting our children, I guess...

Ugh.

[rodeodance]

12. more of the same!!!!!! -these new guys are so predictable!!

[EFerrari]

13. The Cabinet from Hell

Can'tBelieva Rice
Abu Graib Gonzalez
Round'em Up Chertoff
Rumskull

Who else?

Death Squads Negroponte, Ambassador to The New Iraq and the rest of his felon IranContra buddies movin' on up.

Doesn't this administration have ANY friends that are NOT criminals?

[Pirate Smile]

17. No, I guess not. Look at this

Iran-Contra Figure to Lead Democracy Efforts Abroad

Elliott Abrams, who pleaded guilty in 1991 to withholding information from Congress in the Iran-contra affair, was promoted to deputy national security adviser to President Bush.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59235-2005Feb2.html

[EFerrari]

19. Jezus. It just surreal. n/t

[Gabi Hayes]

20. hey, pirate smile....check your PM

news from Iowa

[peacetalksforall]

14. They insult, they abuse, they regard us as stupid.

[lapfog_1]

16. I don't think that is quite accurate

They regard the vast majority of their followers as "stupid",
they regard us as annoying and unimportant.

[matt819]

15. So we have an attorney general

who advocates torture and lies about it and a dhs nominee that lies, and then lies about it.

Anyone see a common theme?

This is okay, of course, because these madmen have a "mandate."

In any case, take a look at this letter from the NY Times today (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/05/opinion/l05shoot.html?oref=login) to see the kind of America we are living in:


I applaud and salute excellent warriors like Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis. Soldiers don't have the privilege of choice when it comes to killing in war when ordered to do so. How dare any civil liberties groups or individual pass judgment on how a man separates himself to cope when he is answering the call to aid his country? Michael T. Close, Anaheim, California, Feb. 4, 2005

This is the general who declared that it is fun to shoot people. This is *'s base. This is the kind of America we live in now.

[Gabi Hayes]

21. maybe that ASS would put this bumper sticker on his BMW

[rawstory]

18. Editorial, Not LBN

just the rules, no?

[Disturbed]

22. Fascist Criminals work with other Fascist Criminals .

It is a Mutual Admiration Junta.

[Moderator]

23. leveymg

Per DU copyright rules
please post only four
paragraphs from the
copyrighted news source.


Thank you.


DU Moderator