Breaking on MSNBC: Subpoenas sent to WH, Cheney,

[babylonsister]

Edit to add link (thanks, cal04!):

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070627/ap_on_go_pr_wh/eavesdropping_subpoenas

White House, Cheney's office, subpoenaed

By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer 12 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney's office Wednesday for documents relating to President Bush's warrant-free eavesdropping program.

Also named in subpoenas signed by committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., were the Justice Department and the National Security Council.

The committee wants documents that might shed light on internal squabbles within the administration over the legality of the program, said a congressional official speaking on condition of anonymity because the subpoenas had not been made public.

Leahy's committee authorized the subpoenas previously as part of its sweeping investigation into how much influence the White House exerts over the Justice Department and its chief, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

The probe, in its sixth month, began with an investigation into whether administration officials ordered the firings of eight federal prosecutors, for political reasons.

more...

[alfredo]

1. Yahoo!!! If they ignore them, hit them with Inherent contempt

charges.

[eleny]

5. I thought you wrote "Internet contempt"

:rofl:

[alfredo]

36. No, that's what we show the bush junta on this site.

[Bjorn Against]

59. Well at least it only shows contempt for one internet...

At least they are not showing contempt for all the tubes that make up the many internets.

[peacetalksforall]

66. Don't joke - it may already exist - by the DOD.

I can't provide a list of comments made about this - but there may be a possibility that they are using a public-free one. Or working on it. Rumsfeld quotes somewhere. George may have slipped and goofed about plural nets, may not be the fool that made him look like?

[On the Road]

63. I Sure Hope This Works

because Leahy has been starting to look like Mr. Furious, who gets really, really angry but can't actually do anything about it.

All Harry Reid can do is throw forks and spoons.

And then there's our friend Joe Lieberman, who might be better known as "The Shoveler."

If only Janeane Garofalo would show up and start launching some bowling balls.

[katmondoo]

2. Thats good. Wish I could get more excited

[Nikki Stone1]

3. I know. This administration is so contemptuous of the courts and the American people that

they'll just ignore these too.

[shadowknows69]

4. and the justice department will decide it's too busy fighting "Terra"

to go get them.

[Nikki Stone1]

9. The "Terra" is in the house. (Heavy phone breathing here)

:kick:

[IDemo]

14. Maybe we should make "Wait Until Dick"

Terror like you've never experienced!

[shadowknows69]

17. I love you people

Du has to be the biggest collection of great movie fans in the universe.

[Lance_Boyle]

33. I think the Capitol Police would serve Congressional subpoenas,

not the Justice Dept. Anyone here know for sure?

[L. Coyote]

38. After contempt vote on floor, DC USA would convene a grand jury, as required!

Contempt is max one year in jail and $10,000 fine per non-response.

The penalty, in terms of political cost, is the real leverage. The high cost of flaunting the law is being sent packing by the electorate.

[lovuian]

61. Grand Jury should be started

its required by LAW

[Manifestor_of_Light]

64. That's 'flout', not 'flaunt". To flaunt is to show off.

That is all from the Word Usage Police. Have a good night.

[Jackpine Radical]

69. Flouting the law, please. Not flaunting.

Courtesy of the Grammar Nazis.

[L. Coyote]

39. There are two avenues, but the Capital police option is not typical.

It is possible and unlikely. But yes, Capital police can pick up and jail the offender until the end of the Session. It would put criminals behind bars and may have to be resurrected.

[tiptoe]

44. "election criminals" might explain the 'contemptuousness of the courts and the American people'

better than the term "administration". Using the latter term is like using the word "incompetence": Both mischaracterize and miss the essence of (and risk 'covering up') a deliberate, strategic negligence for ulterior purposes, i.e. for creating and using chaos and disorder to assist in establishing "alternate realities"...like exploiting 9/11 as a basis for "war against Iraq" (and "domestic surveillance")...which in turn is used for draining the US treasury, which -- along with 'sticking to principle' of continued annual tax cuts for the wealthy -- is used as economic leverage against funding of government programs and political leverage for promotion of privatization.

What is lost in the "slick" rovian-norquistian political-economic equation are the inhumane deaths, maimings and disruptions of lives of millions of innocent people, including Americans, while *'s "elite base" and cronies reap $millions/$billions off the "created realities" of "war" and democracy-subversion (and treason?).

Such is one reality of this "incompetent" "administration".

[L. Coyote]

46. "The white-collar mafia" is one of my favs. Count the $$ BILLIONS $$

Medicare Fraud, HCI $1.6 billion, Tenet HC $1.4 billion .....
Count the tens of billions is stock value losses. Enron, Tyco, Tenet, World Com ...the list goes on, plus those not caught red-handed.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x877011

Abramoff, DeLay, Cunningham, Ney, Foggo, Safavian, Reed, Falwell, Federici, Griles, Scanlon, Doolittle, Norquist, ...... to mention just a few.
Can anyone actually count and name all the SCANDALS:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x899312

This goes way back:
Bush vs. Gore, the 'Arkansas Project,' the USA firings, and the Swiftboat Admiral
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1029113

[tiptoe]

77. thanks for those links...another $billions scam:

Schwartzenegger's "Gov Davis recall campaign" seeming accommodation to Ken Lay -- as reported and accurately predicted by Greg Palast** -- in the first week of office as "Governor" (a term reserved not only for genuine public servants and but apparently also for scambags) in effectively quashing -- by settling for pennies-on-the-dollar -- Lt. Gov. Bustamante's lawsuit to recover $9B ill-gotten gains by "friends of Lay" from Californians during the gamed "energy crisis" period. From FBI-seized Enron-email documents, ex-"Mr Universe" had been in a meeting with Lay re "California's Energy Crisis" over a year prior to his "campaign", and shortly after Bustamante initiated legal proceedings at the state level upon rebuff of Gray Davis' attempt to recover $9B by Lay/Bush appointeed-FERC at the federal level. Tops, also, on neophyte-politool-Ahnuld's priorities: Recertifying Diebold electronic voting machines that Dem SoS Kevin Shelley had banned. Ahnuld's "public service" ultimate goals: Scamming Californians out of billions... and democracy.

(California had to borrow $11B against its $91Billion General Fund to pay for "public servant" Schwartzenbum/Filth.)

Republican Fraudster and Moron-of-the-Month-every-Month. He sickens me.

( Let's see: Is it "charity" when donations by businessmen are skims off stolen public monies? )

California's deregulation plan was set in place by Repub Pete Wilson, and first evidence of the gamed-system possibly being "tested" was a brief price "spike" during the summer before Davis took office.


**Arnold Unplugged - It’s Hasta La Vista to $9 Billion if the Governator is Selected
Friday, October 3, 2003

Others: Enron & Ken Lay Archives
This Just In! Arnold Responds To Palast Charges In “Arnold Unplugged - It’s Hasta la Vista to $9 Billion if the Governator is Selected”
Commondreams.org
Monday, October 6, 2003

Told’ya So - Yurica Report
Wednesday, October 15, 2003

Siege Heil: The Bush-Rove-Schwarzenegger Nazi Nexus and the Destabilization of California — Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman, October 6, 2003 by The Free Press

...
On May 17, 2001, Schwarzenegger also met with Kenneth "Kenny Boy" Lay of Enron at the Peninsula Hotel in Los Angeles. Through the utility deregulation plan signed into law by Pete Wilson, Schwarzenegger's chief advisor, California was destabilized, bankrupting the state government and opening the door for Tuesday's recall election. Lay has been George W. Bush's chief financial backer, and a close associate of Karl Rove's...

Diebold Manipulation in CA? —Was the California Recall Election Rigged?

http://tinyurl.com/qkk23

[babylonsister]

12. The talking head devoted one full sentence to it and moved on,

like it happens daily. :eyes:

[Adsos Letter]

6. I wonder how they intend to enforce them...

...seeing as how this administration seems to be expert at ignoring the law.

I suspect this may have something to do with Cheney backing off from the self-proclaimed "non-Executive branch" status...

:wtf:

[seemslikeadream]

8. we'll be at war with Iran before that happens

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2895386&mesg_id=2895386

[leftchick]

32. um

they don't if the past teaches us anything. What did Condi do when she got her notice? She went shoe shopping. :eyes:

[Adsos Letter]

37. yeah...that was kinda' my point...

:hi:

[cal04]

7. here's a link babylonsister(msnbc link added)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070627/ap_on_go_pr_wh/eavesdropping_subpoenas

Cheney's office, White House subpoenaed
Senate committee probing legality of Bush's eavesdropping program
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19461815/

[babylonsister]

11. Thank you, cal04!

:hi:

[spinbaby]

10. Yawn

They'll just put the subpoenas in the circular file with the rest of 'em.

[BonnieJW]

27. They will do it because they can.

They ignore all the dem committees and subpoena's because nothing happens to them. Has Condi ever responded to her subpoena??? How about all those Rove emails??? The dems are harmless and everyone knows it.

[disndat]

62. Maybe, this time

the jig is really up. Maybe Leahy has solid enforceable evidence that even the Supreme Court will not be able to ignore. Perhaps, someone, or many people are turning in evidence or singing, like Libby, even.

[tigereye]

13. this admin's contempt for law and reason

continually reminds me a Watergate...

[Cameron27]

15. OMG you're fast !

Thanks for posting this ... you're the best!

[acmavm]

16. That subpoena is probably already in Cheney's paper

shredder.

[merh]

18. Has anyone with the administration honored a subpoena yet?

I mean, wasn't Condi subpoenaed?

:shrug:


:argh: The rule of law matters not to tyrants and thugs.

[havocmom]

19. Fund cut threat not what made Cheney sign back up with Exec Branch

Subpoenas did! Can't pull that Executive Privilege crap if you play on some other team. Looks like executive privilege is all that will keep his ass outta jail for destroying evidence.

[orleans]

20. the pressure is on cheney. will he shoot himself in the face? hope so. n/t

[bdamomma]

25. face, foot or knee should be considered too!!

[lonestarnot]

57. He's been aiming for his own ass for weeks now, but he keeps missing.

Can never count on the fuckwad when you need him to produce.

[King Coal]

21. He won't give them one piece of paper.

[cal04]

22. Americablog opinion: forcing Cheney to claim exec priv

Senate subpoenas Cheney's office, forcing him to claim executive privelege

But of course, Cheney just said he and his office are not part of the executive branch. But he'll have to change his tune immediately in order to squash the subpoena by claiming executive privelege. And that is why the subpoena was issued right now. Two points for the Dems.

http://www.americablog.com/2007/06/senate-subpoenas-cheneys-office-forcing.html

[Ezlivin]

29. If this is a clever maneuver like you explained, I'll retain hope

Otherwise I'll side with previous posters who noted that subpoenas have been routinely ignored by this administration.

[bigtree]

23. kick

:kick:

[bdamomma]

24. subpoenas mean nothing to these thugs, just hold them

on contempt of the congress.

[femrap]

26. 'bout time we get this show on the road....

I want them impeached....and start with Gonzo....then move up the food chain.

[FogerRox]

48. I do like that logic.

[L. Coyote]

58. Impeach Bush and Cheney, and a lot of others will be gone to, including Gonzo

and other cabinet officers under investigation, like Rice.

[blueworld]

28. Which undisclosed Dick location did they use for the address? n/t

[Javaman]

30. whatever, I'm still waiting for rice to appear because of her subpoena. nt

[KAT119]

31. Cheney's refusal to comply can initiate sending Congressional

Sgt. At Arms and company to cuff him/haul him in for Contempt of Congress without going through DOJ...please God...make this happen NOW!

[derby378]

34. And if Darth Cheney directs the SS to turn the SAA away at gunpoint...

[midnight]

54. very cute.... Imeachin' Panites. I hope they bring the cause

extra good luck.

[Duppers]

35. links to write your reps

http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.shtml

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Folks, please let them hear from you.





Part of what I told mine:

I beseech you to uphold the law and hold Dick Cheney accountable for his actions. Cheney is a public servant who is accountable to the American people, and we should accept nothing less than full disclosure and transparency.

IF Cheney cannot be force to disclose the appropriate documents, then he SHOULD BE IMPEACHED!

[malaise]

40. K & R

Go Henry!

[L. Coyote]

41. Statement from Leahy's Website = Press Release and PDFs Subpooena Packets

Senate Judiciary Committee Issues Subpoenas
For Legal Basis Of Bush Administration’s
Domestic Surveillance Program
http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200706/062707a.html


WASHINGTON (Wednesday, June 27) – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), in consultation with Ranking Member Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), issued subpoenas Wednesday for documents relating to the authorization and legal justification for the Administration's warrantless wiretapping program.

Chairman Leahy issued subpoenas to the Department of Justice, the Office of the White House, the Office of the Vice President and the National Security Council for documents relating to the Committee’s inquiry into the warrantless electronic surveillance program. The subpoenas seek documents related to authorization and reauthorization of the program or programs; the legal analysis or opinions about the surveillance; orders, decisions, or opinions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) concerning the surveillance; agreements between the Executive Branch and telecommunications or other companies regarding liability for assisting with or participating in the surveillance; and documents concerning the shutting down of an investigation of the Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) relating to the surveillance.

“Over the past 18 months, this Committee has made no fewer than nine formal requests to the Department of Justice and to the White House, seeking information and documents about the authorization of and legal justification for this program,” Chairman Leahy wrote in letters accompanying the subpoenas to Bush Administration officials. “All requests have been rebuffed. Our attempts to obtain information through testimony of Administration witnesses have been met with a consistent pattern of evasion and misdirection.”

“There is no legitimate argument for withholding the requested materials from this Committee,” Leahy wrote. “The Administration cannot thwart the Congress’s conduct of its constitutional duties with sweeping assertions of secrecy and privilege. The Committee seeks no intimate operational facts and we are willing to accommodate legitimate redactions of the documents we seek to eliminate reference to these details.”

Last week the Committee, in a bipartisan vote of 13-3, authorized Chairman Leahy to issue subpoenas for documents and information related to the domestic surveillance program. The Committee has requested the legal justification for the program several times since it was first revealed in December 2005. The deadline for providing the Committee the information is July 18.

# # # # #

Subpoena packet for documents from the White House, sent via Fred Fielding, Esq.
http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200706/6-27-07%20WH%20Subpoena%20Packet.pdf

Subpoena packet for documents from the Office of the Vice President, sent via Shannen Coffin, Esq.
http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200706/6-27-07%20VP%20Subpoena%20Packet.pdf

Subpoena packet for documents from the Department of Justice, sent via A.G. Alberto Gonzales
http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200706/6-27-07%20DOJ%20Subpoena%20Packet.pdf

Subpoena packet for documents from the National Security Council, sent via Richard Klingler, Esq.
http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200706/6-27-07%20NSC%20Subpoena%20Packet.pdf

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

42. Thank you for the addt'l info! Maybe, the time to define executive power,...

,...has arrived. For better or worse, at LEAST we will all know exactly where this country stands: on the edge of Democracy or off the cliff to totalitarianism. I think we deserve to know.

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

43. I am getting the impression that,...something is happening, here.

I am regaining my sense of hope.

[L. Coyote]

45. The tsunami will crest in the future. Keep watching the fishing hole!

That wave is going to throw a lot of fish out of the pond.

Those saying "There are no fish in the pond" realize they are the fish.
They just don't want anyone to go fishing.

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

47. *grin*

I LLLLUUUVVV to fish!!! :hi:

I'm really hungry, too!!!

[L. Coyote]

49. Is this the size you are after, the BIG of the biggest FISH?

[blogslut]

50. kick kick

kickety kick

[Disturbed]

51. This will be the response.

Contempt charges will need to be filed. If Congress files those, the matter will go to the Courts and the time will run out the clock. Congress could send Marshals to arrest the persons that refuse to comply but that action is highly doubtful.

[Mabus]

52. Way to go Leahy

K&R

[classof56]

53. And again I say--hooray!

Please, please, please let this work!!

[druidity33]

55. enthusiastic K&R! n/t

[bonito]

56. K&R n/t

[JanusAscending]

60. Hey Sis ! I have a question...............

If the subpoena's don't work, and we don't impeach these bastards, what happens to all the "secret information" that dickie bird has in his "man size safes" when he leaves office in '09 ?????? Are they property of the USA and the incoming administration??? Or do all his secrets leave with him????? Makes one wonder if they have even thought that far ahead??? I don't think dick and georgie would want them in their presidential libraries. Shouldn't they by law go into the archives?? DC

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

65. Gettin' real now, eh? They better watch it, or they'll end up

in the Comfy Chair!



Oh, yeah- :sarcasm: (in case you didn't figure it out...)

[rodeodance]

67. sweet

[kbqr]

68. Get ready for all those new laws passed but not yet used against us . . .

If there is genuine a 'showdown,' I think you'll see the employment of some of these mysterious laws and signing orders, etc. that have been signed, issued, rubber stamped and passed in the past three years . . . hello Halliburton 'immigration emergency' camps

[JanusAscending]

71. Thanks for that little "tidbit"..............

but fear mongering is a REPUKE ploy. I am not afraid of the dark side. Truth is LIGHT !!!

[sakabatou]

70. It's a great step

[TheWatcher]

72. This Post is of course going to Piss a lot of people off.

But unless SOMEONE is willing to actually enforce this, then it will be like everything else and every other "This Is It" moment we have seen in the past seven years.

Absolultely nothing will happen.

A big show will be made, lots of tough talk, stern words, and if we are lucky, a puffy chest or two.

Then nothing.

And the farce that has become our country will continue unabated.

The caveat as always is that I hope I am wrong, but with each passing day I am convinced our country is beyond the point of no return.

Bush and Cabal are never going to be held accountable for a single thing they have done.

And the war will likely continue even after '08.

[geomon666]

73. Cheney must be out of toilet paper.

Cause all he's going to do is wipe his ass with this.

[roamer65]

74. IMPEACH NOW!!!!

[proud patriot]

75. Impeach Now

:grr:

[Imagevision]

76. Now what can Bush & Cheney do to avoid all subpeona's thru Jan/09??