:: NEWS COCKTAIL aka BlahBlahBlog ::

:: 4.10.2006 ::

:: Blast from Palast ::

GANGSTER GOVERNMENT
A LEAKY PRESIDENT RUNS AFOUL OF 'LITTLE RICO'
Buzzflash
by Greg Palast

It's a crime. No kidding. But the media has it all wrong. As usual.

'Scooter' Libby finally outed 'Mr. Big,' the perpetrator of the heinous
disclosure of the name of secret agent Valerie Plame. It was the President of
United States himself -- in conspiracy with his Vice-President. Now the pundits
are arguing over whether our war-a-holic President had the legal right to leak
this national security information. But, that's a fake debate meant to distract
you.

OK, let's accept the White House alibi that releasing Plame's identity was no
crime. But if that's true, they've committed a BIGGER crime: Bush and Cheney
knowingly withheld vital information from a grand jury investigation, a
multimillion dollar inquiry the perps themselves authorized. That's akin to
calling in a false fire alarm or calling the cops for a burglary that never
happened -- but far, far worse. Let's not forget that in the hunt for the
perpetrator of this non-crime, reporter Judith Miller went to jail.

Think about that. While Miller sat in a prison cell, Bush and Cheney were
laughing their sick heads off, knowing the grand jury testimony, the special
prosecutor's subpoenas and the FBI's terrorizing newsrooms were nothing but fake
props in Bush's elaborate charade, Cheney's Big Con.

On February 10, 2004, our not-so-dumb-as-he-sounds President stated, "Listen, I
know of nobody -- I don't know of anybody in my administration who leaked
classified information. If somebody did leak classified information, I'd like to
know it, and we'll take the appropriate action. And this investigation is a good
thing. ...And if people have got solid information, please come forward with
it."

Notice Bush's cleverly crafted words. He says he can't name anyone who leaked
this "classified" info -- knowing full well he'd de-classified it. Far from
letting Bush off the hook, it worsens the crime. For years, I worked as a
government investigator and, let me tell you, Bush and Cheney withholding
material information from the grand jury is a felony. Several felonies,
actually: abuse of legal process, fraud, racketeering and, that old standby,
obstruction of justice.

If you or I had manipulated the legal system this way, we'd be breaking rocks on
a chain gang. We wouldn't even get a trial -- most judges would consider this a
"fraud upon the court" and send us to the slammer in minutes using the bench's
power to administer instant punishment for contempt of the judicial system.

Why'd they do it? The White House junta did the deed for the most evil of
motives: to hoodwink the public during the 2004 election campaign, to pretend
that evil anti-Bush elements were undermining the Republic, when it was the Bush
element itself at the center of the conspiracy. (Notably, elections trickery
also motivated Richard Nixon's "plumbers" to break into the Watergate, then the
Democratic Party campaign headquarters.)

Let me draft the indictment for you as I would have were I still a government
gumshoe:

"Perpetrator Lewis Libby (alias, 'Scooter') contacted Miller; while John Doe 1
contacted perpetrators' shill at the Washington Post, Bob Woodward, in
furtherance of a scheme directed by George Bush (alias 'The POTUS') and Dick
Cheney (alias, 'The Veep') to release intelligence information fraudulently
proffered as 'classified,' and thereinafter, knowingly withheld material
evidence from a grand jury empanelled to investigate said disclosure.
Furthermore, perpetrator 'The POTUS' made material statements designed to
deceive investigators and knowingly misrepresent his state of knowledge of the
facts."

Statements aimed at misleading grand jury investigators are hard-time offenses.
It doesn't matter that Bush's too-clever little quip was made to the press and
not under oath. I've cited press releases and comments in the New York Times in
court as evidence of fraud. By not swearing to his disingenuous statement, Bush
gets off the perjury hook, but he committed a crime nonetheless, "deliberate
concealment."

Here's how the law works (and hopefully, it will). The Bush gang's use of the
telephone in this con game constituted wire fraud. Furthermore, while presidents
may leak ("declassify") intelligence information, they may not obstruct justice;
that is, send a grand jury on a wild goose chase. Under the 'RICO' statute
(named after the Edward G. Robinson movie mobster, 'Little Rico'), the
combination of these crimes makes the Bush executive branch a "racketeering
enterprise."

So, book'm, Dan-o. Time to read The POTUS and The Veep their rights.

After setting their bail (following the impeachments and removals, of course), a
judge will have a more intriguing matter to address. The RICO law requires the
Feds to seize all "ill-gotten gains" of a racketeering enterprise, even before
trial. Usually we're talking fast cars and diamond bling. But in this case, the
conspirators' purloined booty includes a stolen election and a fraudulently
obtained authorization for war. I see no reason why a judge could not impound
the 82d Airborne as "fruits of the fraud " -- lock, stock and gun barrels -- and
bring the boys home.

And if justice is to be done we will will also have to run yellow tape across
the gates at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue -- "CRIME SCENE - DO NOT ENTER" -- and
return the White House to its rightful owners, the American people, the victims
of this gangster government.

**********
Former racketeering investigator Greg Palast is author of "ARMED MADHOUSE:
Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Class War," to be released in June.
Subscribe to the new podcast here.

posted by me

:: 3:54:00 PM [+] ::
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