THE PITFALLS AND PRATFALLS OF AN IMPERIAL PRESIDENCY - THE LAW
ABUSE OF POWER: "SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW; SOMETHING BORROWED SOMETHING BLUE"
By now everyone must have decoded the standard modus operandi for the Cheney-advised Bush Administration.
Step 1: Get a far out legal opinion from the likes of a John Yoo. [This is the same modus as what Rudy used to 'clean-up' the City, in case you didn't know]
Step 1a: Make a 'finding' and/or declare as much as possible "Classified".
Step 1b: Grab what you can from 'trusting' Senators, lawfully
Step 2: Implement said opinion, without consultation or compromise with the legislature.
Step 2a: Stall any subsequent legal action by any number of means, even if it means asserting ridiculously wide-ranging "Executive Priviledge" to prevent legal 'discovery'.
Step 3: If wrongfooted by the courts, pass retro-active immunity to self and others; pass out "forgiveness" for the complicit and "boons" for the walked-over-and-liked-it.
So far, in the casualty list - the short list, we have
- 1. Bush "boons" for the dupes: Medals of Freedom for 'Policy adherence'
- 2. Bush "boons" for fealty: Pardon for Scooter Libby as emblematic for a lack of serious investigation or accountability for wrongdoing.
- 3. Bush grab in secret: unknown number of secret surveillance programs, that may well have included any combination data mining, domestic spying, and internal sharing of data with parties as afield as DoD.
- 4. Bush stall: Certain objections to legal challenge to National Security letters dropped by Bush's Justice Department after re-authorization of Patriot Act
- 5. Bush sweep: "In view of the letter from WH counsel, I cannot answer your question, Senator."
- 6. Bush immunity: Military Commissions Act - "protect" and insulate from inquiry the CIA operatives who acted on likely illegal orders from the POTUS and/or Vice POTUS.
- 6a: Bush Rendition: TBA
- 6b: Bush's desaparecidos: CIA "scooping up" 'suspected operatives' from the streets of Italy, TBA
- 7. Bush immunity: FISA "fix" - "protect" and insulate from inquiry the telcos that were complicit
This leaves out how to get the media and the public to go along or to fall in line.
