HELP! Need list of criminals appointed or nominated by Dubya

[LTR]

Some wingnut on another board is calling all Democrats liars and theives because of the Sandy Berger thing, and that the Dems are unfit to hold any office because of it (also mentions Clinton's (ahem) lies. I know this guy's a freeper freak just to the right of the Taliban, but I like to ruffle his feathers. And I want to hit him with some names.

Here's what I have so far:

John Negroponte
Elliot Abrams
John Poindexter
Whoever outed Valerie Plame
Otto Reich

I plan on hitting him with Iran-Contra as well.

Any names, info or links would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[Worst Username Ever]

1. Kissinger

was supposed to head the 9/11 investigation...

[CBHagman]

2. This isn't Bush, but...

...I recall that the Reagan administration set records for indictments. I think it broke the Harding administration's record, if I recall correctly.

Naturally, your Republican pals will squawk about the "corrupt" Clinton administration, but the only things there were Henry Cisneros's misdemeanor and Webster Hubbell's conviction. Yes, there were numerous investigations, but no illegal wars, no John Poindexters, no shredded documents, etc.

Also, it's worth noting that George H.W. Bush pardoned a number of Iran-contra figures just in the nick of time, protecting God knows how many people from investigation and/or indictment.

[LTR]

3. Here's what I hit him with

Yeah, and the GOP is much better.

Remember, this is the party that brought you Teapot Dome, Watergate, Iran-Contra, the sleazy Willie Horton ads, the 2000 election fiasco (such as leaving eligible voters off voter lists), the Valerie Plame outing, the GOP operative who jammed phone lines going in to the New Hampshire Democratic headquarters on the eve of an election and a war started on vague information (the reasons for which are constantly changing).

Teapot Dome was eighty years ago, and we all know about Watergate, but there's plenty in the present. Let's start with Iran-Contra, shall we?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran-Contra_Affair

In the Iran-Contra Affair, United States President Ronald Reagan's administration secretly sold arms to Iran, which was engaged in a bloody war with its neighbor Iraq from 1980 to 1988 (see Iran-Iraq War), and diverted the proceeds to the Contra rebels fighting to overthrow the leftist and democratically-elected Sandinista government of Nicaragua. Those sales thus had a dual goal: appeasing Iran, which had influence with militant groups that held several American hostages in Lebanon and supported bombings in Western European countries, and funding an anti-Communist guerrilla war in Nicaragua.

Both actions were contrary to acts of Congress which prohibited the sale of weapons to Iran, as well as in violation of UN sanctions.


In other words, members of the Reagan Administration committed treason:

http://www.rotten.com/library/history/political-scandal/iran-contra/

The Constitution contains a one-sentence definition of treason:

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.
If you're an American pondering whether to sell missiles to a foreign power with a proven history of sponsoring terrorism against the United States, you probably ought to think twice. It could reasonably be argued that this would be giving aid to an enemy of the U.S., and therefore expose you to a charge of treason. Seems pretty straightforward, doesn't it?

And yet this is precisely what President Ronald Reagan did. But did he get impeached? Nope. The American people decided that if the President was paving a road with his very best intentions, it didn't really matter where that road ultimately led. Who cares about a few broken laws? And in the wake of overwhelming public apathy, the whole affair was quietly set aside.


But...not to fear for the perpetrators, since they had a friend still in the White House:

http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/presidents/george-hw-bush/

Select pardons of President George H.W. Bush:

Elliott Abrams Pardoned for any and all Iran-Contra crimes.
Duane R. Clarridge Pardoned for any and all Iran-Contra crimes.
Alan Fiers Pardoned for any and all Iran-Contra crimes.
Clair George Pardoned for any and all Iran-Contra crimes.
Armand Hammer Pardoned for making illegal contributions to President Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign.
Robert C. McFarlane Pardoned for any and all Iran-Contra crimes.
Caspar W. Weinberger Pardoned for any and all Iran-Contra crimes.

Some more about FOB (aka 'Friends of Bush'):

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3341.htm

Keep in mind, some of the notorious Iran-Contra gang are currently serving in the present administration. They include John Negroponte, Elliot Abrams, John Poindexter and Otto Reich. And whoever committed a federal crime by recently outing a CIA agent:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerie_Plame

Valerie Plame is an American Central Intelligence Agency employee whose identification as a CIA "operative" by pundit-columnist Robert Novak on July 14, 2003 resulted in a Justice Department investigation into possible violation of U.S. criminal law regarding exposure of covert government agents. In March 2004, the independent counsel subpoenas the telephone records from Air Force One, reviving the belief that the invesigation would result in a major political scandal.

Plame, the wife of retired Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, was exposed by Novak as a CIA covert operative, who wrote, "Wilson never worked for the CIA, but his wife, Valerie Plame, is an Agency operative on weapons of mass destruction. Two senior administration officials told me Wilson's wife suggested sending him to Niger to investigate" the allegation.<1> (http://www.townhall.com/columnists/robertnovak/printrn20030714.shtml)

According to Novak, administration sources claimed that it had been at Plame's suggestion that the CIA sent her husband to Niger in 2002 to investigate reports that Iraq had attempted to illegally purchase uranium from that country. This appeared to contradict Wilson's claim that he was sent to Niger at the request of Vice President Cheney. Cheney had denied any knowledge of Wilson's Niger visit.

(snip for copyright purposes)

Or how about creative ways to throw Congressional elections?

http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=40105

The former head a Republican consulting group pleaded guilty yesterday to jamming Democratic telephone lines in several New Hampshire cities during the 2002 general election.

Allen Raymond, former president of the Virginia-based GOP Marketplace LLC, waived indictment and pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Concord yesterday. Judge Joseph A. DiClerico Jr. released Raymond him on his own recognizance pending sentencing and ordered him not to apply for a passport.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Justice Department, which prosecuted the case, said an investigation into the telephone jamming continues.

According to court papers released yesterday, Raymond plotted with unidentified co-conspirators to jam Democratic Party telephone lines established so voters could call for rides to the polls in Manchester, Nashua, Rochester and Claremont. Manchester firefighters’ union phone lines also were affected.

(more)

As for the Iraq War, not enough space to fit into this post. But what was the reason for going to war? Was Iraq involved in 9/11? Was Saddam trying to obtain uranium from Nigeria? Was it a humanitarian effort? Was it to stop terrorism? We're not sure, since the reasons continue to change every day. And now Bush wants to invade Iran?

For the safety of our country and our planet, let's hope Bush is digging holes and clearing brush in Crawford, TX come January 2005.