Rockefeller accuses Cheney of interference
A Democratic U.S. Senator is accusing Dick Cheney of trying to stall the investigation into false intelligence used to justify the war in Iraq.
From McClatchy Newspapers:
The noise machine will try to claim this about "revenge," but of course it's not about revenge, as justifiable and delicious as that would be. It's about the rule of law, the Constitution and whether people in the executive branch can be held accountable for their misdeeds.
Cheney's role in this administration has usually been simply described as "active," or in some similar vein; what has been lacking is serious reporting on the role he took not only in pushing the fiasco in Iraq but in the deliberate abuse of civil rights.
This basically guarantees Cheney a lavish book deal, a consulting contract on cable and maybe an endowed chair somewhere. It's the American way. If this administration's members are ever held accountable, a political tradition that dates back to the end of World War II would come to an ignominious end. The fetching style of smear politics perfected by Dick Nixon, Joe McCarthy and Henry Kissinger won't die that easily; of that you can be assured.
From McClatchy Newspapers:
Vice President Dick Cheney exerted "constant" pressure on the Republican former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee to stall an investigation into the Bush administration's use of flawed intelligence on Iraq, the panel's Democratic chairman charged Thursday.It's going to be a long two years for Republicans and their supporters.
In an interview with McClatchy Newspapers, Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia also accused President Bush of running an illegal program by ordering eavesdropping on Americans' international e-mails and telephone communications without court-issued warrants.
In the 45-minute interview, Rockefeller said that it was "not hearsay" that Cheney, a leading proponent of invading Iraq, pushed Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., to drag out the probe of the administration's use of prewar intelligence.
The noise machine will try to claim this about "revenge," but of course it's not about revenge, as justifiable and delicious as that would be. It's about the rule of law, the Constitution and whether people in the executive branch can be held accountable for their misdeeds.
Cheney's role in this administration has usually been simply described as "active," or in some similar vein; what has been lacking is serious reporting on the role he took not only in pushing the fiasco in Iraq but in the deliberate abuse of civil rights.
This basically guarantees Cheney a lavish book deal, a consulting contract on cable and maybe an endowed chair somewhere. It's the American way. If this administration's members are ever held accountable, a political tradition that dates back to the end of World War II would come to an ignominious end. The fetching style of smear politics perfected by Dick Nixon, Joe McCarthy and Henry Kissinger won't die that easily; of that you can be assured.
