how will all these assholes escape prosecution?

[mopaul]

will they hop into a space shuttle and be blasted into orbit around the earth at the last minute like dr. evil?

will they lamb it to saudi arabia or dubai to live out their lives as fugitives?

will they live right among us like barons, unafraid of prosecution?

will they be dragged kicking and screaming into the hague for war crimes?

i wonder.

[awoke_in_2003]

1. Two words:

presidential pardon

[mopaul]

2. the most likeley scenario

i suppose the laws of the land are irrelevant to them anyway, without teeth to back them up.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. Does a president who is facing indictment have the power to pardon?

[mopaul]

4. does bush have the power? hell yes

he has ultimate power, unless told otherwise

[tritsofme]

7. There is much doubt that a sitting President could be indicted.

Either way, the president's ability to pardon is absolute, except when involving himself.

[The Backlash Cometh]

8. Well, here's a question.

What happens if 60% of this country becomes convinced that Bush and Cheney committed treason? Would it be resolved through a criminal court? Or do we have to wait for the Congress to impeach him first?

Really doens't make sense. Clinton faced a civil lawsuit while in office. Why can't a president face a criminal investigation?

[tritsofme]

11. This is the official position of the Department of Justice:

There are however several contrary opinions.

A Sitting President's Amenability to Indictment and Criminal Prosecution

The indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would unconstitutionally undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions.

October 16, 2000

MEMORANDUM FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

In 1973, the Department concluded that the indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would impermissibly undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions. We have been asked to summarize and review the analysis provided in support of that conclusion, and to consider whether any subsequent developments in the law lead us today to reconsider and modify or disavow that determination.1 We believe that the conclusion reached by the Department in 1973 still represents the best interpretation of the Constitution.

The Department's consideration of this issue in 1973 arose in two distinct legal contexts. First, the Office of Legal Counsel ("OLC") prepared a comprehensive memorandum in the fall of 1973 that analyzed whether all federal civil officers are immune from indictment or criminal prosecution while in office, and, if not, whether the President and Vice President in particular are immune from indictment or criminal prosecution while in office. See Memorandum from Robert G. Dixon, Jr., Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel, Re: Amenability of the President, Vice President and other Civil Officers to Federal Criminal Prosecution while in Office (Sept. 24, 1973) ("OLC Memo"). The OLC memorandum concluded that all federal civil officers except the President are subject to indictment and criminal prosecution while still in office; the President is uniquely immune from such process. Second, the Department addressed the question later that same year in connection with the grand jury investigation of then-Vice President Spiro Agnew. In response to a motion by the Vice President to enjoin grand jury proceedings against him, then-Solicitor General Robert Bork filed a brief arguing that, consistent with the Constitution, the Vice President could be subject to indictment and criminal prosecution. See Memorandum for the United States Concerning the Vice President's Claim of Constitutional Immunity (filed Oct. 5, 1973), In re Proceedings of the Grand Jury Impaneled December 5, 1972: Application of Spiro T. Agnew, Vice President of the United States (D. Md. 1973) (No. 73-965) ("SG Brief"). In so arguing, however, Solicitor General Bork was careful to explain that the President, unlike the Vice President, could not constitutionally be subject to such criminal process while in office.

In this memorandum, we conclude that the determinations made by the Department in 1973, both in the OLC memorandum and in the Solicitor General's brief, remain sound and that subsequent developments in the law validate both the analytical framework applied and the conclusions reached at that time. In Part I, we describe in some detail the Department's 1973 analysis and conclusions. In Part II, we examine more recent Supreme Court case law and conclude that it comports with the Department's 1973 conclusions.

http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/sitting_president.htm

And it goes on like that for a good 40 pages.

[lonestarnot]

10. Are you kidding, he can pardon himself.

[hootinholler]

14. Unfortunately, Yes.

IIRC, the only restriction is in cases of impeashment, otherwise, he can pardon anyone for Federal crimes.

-Hoot

[sweetheart]

5. war

They want to start a war with iran. They will start the draft
and use the apparent war powers to end whatever shreds remain
of constitutional checkpoints on murderers and war criminals.

The constant push to war is getting more shrill, and 3 more years
is enough time to kill a few million more poeple... something
that republicans savour. Then they can murder a generation of
opposition at home and leave the mass graves next to the nuclear
blasted cities in blue-states.

I frankly hope god calls them home before they kill us...

God bless conyers and the few americans who remain during this
nazi takeover.

[mazzarro]

6. I beg to state that they will never be prosecuted

With tepid opposition, a completely subservient MSM and an apathetic citizenry, I do not see the likelihood of groundswell to do much than acccept whatever the administration and the rethugs decide for the forseeable future.

[woodsprite]

9. Why do you think they're building that extra fortified embassy

in Baghdad? I figure it's to hide their butts in IF it gets tough over here for them. That, or they'll go to the Mariana's. No indication they'll get "ousted" from their positions anytime soon. Heck, I'm not bettin on it even for 2008.

[spanone]

12. THEY will change the rules. WE have ALL the nukes.

[The2ndWheel]

13. They'll make millions

then probably end up back in government at some point.

Yeah, yeah, Rumsfeld is old. Like he'll ever die.

I know, Cheney has no heart. Hell, he's the reason human machines will rule the world some day.

But they've done too much to ever have power again. Hahahaha.