Soldiers Lawyer Wants Bush on Witness Stand Over Iraq Abuse

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040621/us_nm/iraq_abuse_dc&cid=1896&ncid=1473

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A lawyer defending a U.S. soldier charged with abusing prisoners in Iraq (news - web sites) said on Monday he would seek to put President Bush (news - web sites) and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on the witness stand.


Bush and Rumsfeld sidestepped the Geneva Convention in their "war on terror," civilian defense counsel Paul Bergrin said.


His client, Sergeant Javal Davis, was instructed on a daily basis to soften up Iraqi prisoners to obtain intelligence, Bergrin said.


"Bush gave a speech declaring his war on terror and said the Geneva Convention no longer applied," he told reporters after an impassioned address in the court room.


He accused Rumsfeld and other top U.S. officials of trying to redefine the definitions of abuse and torture in a campaign aimed at influencing lawyers at the Department of Justice (news - web sites).

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[rfranklin]

1. The President, according to tradition, can only testify ...

about blow jobs and unfounded civil lawsuits about blow jobs. Case dismissed, says Chief Justice Rehnquist.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

2. LOL...

...lol.

[uptown ruler]

3. that would be hilarious...

Spreading The Word
The Irony Curtain Shop

[teryang]

4. This is an effective defense technique

If the appearance of witnesses is declined there is an appellate issue. They may have overplayed their hand by going too high up the chain. Best to get some aspiring one to three star on the stand. These guys are politically vulnerable.

If one was following orders, the order is presumed to be lawful. Therefore it is a valid defense. The question is how much evidence does one need to raise the defense? Testimony from one other person at Abu Ghraid may be enough.

The prosecution may put on a legal expert, presumbably a judge advocate, or international law expert, to testify that orders to torture prisoners are unlawful and defease the presumption. Outcome-guilty as charged.

This brings the attendance of witnesses such as Rumsfeld as a mitigation factor. Convenience of the government and the liberalization of the rules of evidence in the punishment phase of the trial would not force the attendance of high ranking or VIP witnesses.

[struggle4progress]

5. kick

:kick:

[ElsewheresDaughter]

6. bush* says,......