Prisoner Abuse Charges Dismissed For Cheney, Gonzales

Unsurprising:

A judge dismissed indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Monday and told the southern Texas prosecutor who brought the case to exercise caution as his term in office ends. Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra had accused Cheney and the other defendants of responsibility for prisoner abuse. The judge's order ended two weeks of sometimes-bizarre court proceedings. Guerra is leaving office at the end of the month after soundly losing in his March primary election.

"I suggest on behalf of the law that you not present any cases to the grand jury involving these defendants," Administrative Judge Manuel Banales said in court while ruling that eight indictments against Cheney, Gonzales and others were invalid. He also set a Dec. 10 hearing on whether to disqualify Guerra from those cases. Even in defeat, Guerra saw the outcome as confirmation of the very conspiracy he had pursued. "I expected it," he said. "The system is going to protect itself."

Congress: Mukasey In, ENDA MIA

A Senate panel just cleared the nomination of Michael B. Mukasey as Alberto Gonzales' replacement as Attorney General, despite concern that Mukasey has refused to condemn waterboarding as torture. The full Senate will now likely approve Mukasey later this week.

Over on the House side, I've been monitoring C-SPAN2 for today's supposed ENDA vote, but so far the only business has been several long, droning speeches (to an empty house) in support of a resolution congratulating the Boston Red Sox for winning the World Series. Thankfully, that critically important piece of legislation was passed. Democracy survives.

Albert Gonzales Resigns

And the walls come tumblin' down. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has resigned, effective September 17th. The Justice Department will be issuing a statement this morning. Talking heads are speculating Secretary of Homeland Security head Michael Chertoff will be tapped to replace Gonzales. During his Senate testimony earlier this year, Gonzales repeatedly "did not recall" key portions of his involvement in the dismisall of nine U.S. Attorneys. He's also accused of lying to Congress about the National Security Agency's spying program.

Bolten & Miers: Contempt Of Congress

Led by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), the House Judiciary Committee just voted 22-17 in a decision that forces the full House to vote whether to hold White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former staff lawyer Harriet Miers in contempt of Congress for refusing to submit to subpoenas regarding the Alberto Gonzales scandal. The White House contends that all its staffers enjoy absolute immunity from subpoenas due to "executive privilege."

Conyers has drafted a resolution for a vote that would cite Bolten and Miers for contempt and subject them to arrest, with a possible $100,000 fine and one year prison sentence upon conviction. Which, of course, will never happen. Because IF the resolution passes a full House, Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi would refer the case to the U.S. Attorney for Washington, DC.....who is a Bush appointee and according to Justice officials would not pursue the case. The last person cited for contempt of Congress was EPA lackey Rita Lavelle, back in 1983, for refusing to appear before a House committee.

Protesting Is Sexy!

A reader sent me this pic of a very sexy concerned citizen keeping track of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales claiming "I don't recall" over and over again during his Senate testimony. YouTube has the embarrassing video. Employing your civic right to comment on our government's abuses is sexy. Muscular arms are sexy. Beards are sexy. And Alberto Gonzales is a non-sexy putz emblematic of the sinking, stinking morass of ethical cesspoolery that defines the Bush II regime.

UPDATE: The protester's name is Adam Kokesh and he's a member of Iraq Veterans Against The War. Gonzales' testimony was also protested by Code Pink, a women's peace organization, garnering them a great photo in Friday's NY Times. Thanks to DC blogger Chrisafer for the information! Princess Sparkle Pony also has great shot of Adam.