Kerry Calls for Special Counsel in Wilson Investigation

[DJcairo]

September 29, 2003

Boston, MA –

Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry said, “This is more than another example of politics driving the Bush Administration. The bottom line is that outing a CIA agent endangers lives, threatens national security and breaks faith with those who put their lives on the line to protect this country. It is outrageous that the President who campaigned with a promise to restore integrity to the White House refuses to get to the bottom of this. No one should shield criminals who compromise national security for political purposes especially if they are on the President’s staff.

“This investigation should be immediately removed from the politics of the Department of Justice. Too many serious questions exist to risk allowing any potential for political intervention. The track record of John Ashcroft and this Justice Department do not adequately assure Americans that legitimate questions will be answered fully without any political bias. A special counsel should be appointed immediately so that we can find out how George Bush let this happen and hold those responsible accountable.”

http://johnkerry.com/news/releases/pr_2003_0929b.html

[MoonAndSun]

1. Yes, go John Kerry,

the more Dem politicians ask for this, the more it will get into the mainstream news. I want all high-profile Dems in Congress to get behind Schumer and Kerry and start calling for the independant counsel to be assiged to this story. And this includes Hillary.

[diplomats]

3. I think just about all the Dem candidates

are on board with this now. I saw some reporter on MSNBC reading a statement from Wes Clark. Maybe Hillary wants to let others take the initiative?

[papau]

7. Will Special Councel ask- will media ask - these questions

From the ABCnote:

"Has President Bush made clear to the White House staff that only total cooperation with the investigation will be tolerated? If not, why not?

Has he insisted that every senior staff member sign a statement with legal authority that they are not the leaker and that they will identify to the White House legal counsel who is?

Has Bush required that all sign a letter relinquishing journalists from protecting those two sources? Has Bush said that those involved in this crime will be immediately fired? If not, why not?

Has Albert Gonzalez distributed a letter to White House employees telling them to preserve documents, logs, records? If not, why not?

Has Andy Card named someone on his staff to organize compliance? If not, why not?

White House officials who might have legal or political exposure on this are going to have to decide whether to hire lawyers or not, and the White House counsel's office is going to have to decide what legal help they can and should provide to officials if and when the DOJ wants to talk to them.

That means that the '90s practice of every Washington bureau of calling members of the bar to see who has hired whom is about to heat back up. The first one to report someone hiring a criminal lawyer wins a prize, as does the first person who develops that lawyer as a source on all this.

A reminder that students of recusal politics will have to consider the Rove-Ashcroft history"

[sandnsea]

11. lie detector tests

Isn't this what they made the House do when the DoD said people were leaking last year? Should we google up links or does somebody have them?

[ChompySnack]

2. Fillibuster *everything*

Until an truly independent prosecutor is appointed by the agreement of both partys.

[madmax]

4. Yes, John!!!

I also like the idea that he wants bush to pay for his 'Mission 'not' Accomplished' stunt. He's got it - let him dig deep and weep. A waste of taxpayer's money for a political campaign stunt.

[dpbrown]

5. Good for John Kerry!

And good for the nation!

Investigate! Investigate! Investigate!

[blm]

6. But, imo, this should stay out of the presidential campaign.

The CIA and Congressional leaders should stay on top of it so it can't just be called "campaign politics" and change the focus of the spin.

[dpbrown]

8. Bush promised "honor and integrity"

And this is the opposite of that. I think it has a place in the campaign.

[Rose Siding]

9. I think pressure on the WH from anywhere is good

but blm is, in this case, doing the right thing. She criticized Dean when he released his Saturday statement on this issue and she is being consistent in criticizing her own candidate for the same thing.

[blm]

10. From that angle, yes, use that angle...but, my fear

is that candidates will jump on each bit revealed which leaves it to political interpretation and spin. When you do that it diminishes the CASE that needs to be made carefully and objectively with NO political fingerprints from anyone but Rove.

[sandnsea]

12. You're probably right

I already heard the dreaded 'the Presidential candidates are pushing...' Funny, I didn't know Schumer had entered the race. That's who I heard talking about it first thing this morning. They got away with the 16 words because it was spun as Presidential politics. We have to be careful it doesn't happen again. I just want to see Karl Rove in orange!!!!

[blm]

14. Exactly...the piling on from dem candidates

will dilute the impact of the charges, not strengthen them. That's how it has always worked when the corporate media has its way.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

15. WH breaks the law, and you don't think it should be part of the campaign?

and BTW, I don't think Bush 'got away with' anything on the State of the Union scandal. He was exposed as a liar, and just because the media isn't still repeating the story, doesn't mean the swing voters of the country don'k know what it means.

In fact, the 'Bush is a liar' meme sinking into the national consciousness may be better for us politically than continually discussing the actual lies themselves.

[blm]

17. I think it should be alluded to, but

not latched onto as a club to keep beating Bush with, it will lose the impact in the political arena that it would have in the investigational, congressional, judicial one.

[phillybri]

16. I agree with you here....

:thumbsup:

[DrFunkenstein]

13. Kerry's Investigating Rove, Called For Rummy's Ejection

Filibustering Judicial nominees, voted against Ashcroft and Gale Norton...

Next he'll be taking on Laura!