Dems Response to Libby Verdict: Sen. Kerry

[TayTay]

Kerry Statement on Libby Guilty Verdict

WASHINGTON DC – Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) today offered the following statement on the CIA Leak case, which reached a verdict in Washington today.

“This verdict brings accountability at last for official deception and the politics of smear and fear,” Kerry said. “This trial revealed a no-holds barred White House attack machine aimed at anyone who stood in the way of their march to war with Iraq. It is time for President Bush to live up to his own promises and hold accountable anyone else who participated in this smear. It is also well past time for Vice President Cheney, who according to the testimony was protected by Scooter Libby’s lies, to finally acknowledge his role in this sordid episode.

“I also want to thank the jury and the prosecutor for their hard work in this case.”

Thank you Senator, and I agree.

More Senators, I am sure, will be issuing statements on this verdict as the day goes on.

[SteppingRazor]

1. Indeed. Some other senators already have:

Reid has chimed in, demanding that Bush pledge to not pardon Libby.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x352030

[TayTay]

6. Excellent. I hope all the Dems, House and Senate do

This is a very big deal and I look forward to seeing what all the Dems have to say about this verdict and what it says about the Bush White House and the lies it employed in it's march to war.

Good for Sen. Reid.

[Dr Fate]

10. I hope Kerry & others echo Reid's politically brilliant demand. n/t

n/t

[politicasista]

21. thanks n/t

[wryter2000]

2. Lessee

We have 49 Dems and Bernie Sanders. If we do five statements a day, that'll go for 10 days. Then, Lieberman can chime in with "Revealing her identity was important for the war on terra."

[bdamomma]

3. by God, I think John got it!!

now can we put impeachment on the table.

[blogslut]

4. Kizzick

:)

[merh]

5. Bush should live up to his own words

and ask for Cheney's resignation - it won't happen, but that is what he should do.

K&R

[Raven]

7. These damn Dems!!!

Why didn't Kerry say that it was time for Bush to bring the troops home??? And why dodn't he call on Cheney to resign??? This is an empty statement...typical of Kerry.

[Laurab]

24. Um....I think he was talking about the Libby verdict

and he did mention Cheney - you expect an awful lot from "These damn Dems" a half hour after a verdict is reached....

[in_cog_ni_to]

8. He forgot to add Congress' responsibility in investigating this. I wonder if they will?

[Mandate My Ass]

9. sordid ... I love it

I believe Reid used the same adjective and it sums it all up. :thumbsup:

[L. Coyote]

11. Cheney will resign very soon, claiming ill heath.

Making way for a new vice-president before the impeachment. They don't want to be saying, "yes, Madam President" to Pelosi.

Is there any way Cheney can not be fired by Bush, given Bush's promise to the American People with the world as witnesses?

[RaleighNCDUer]

17. Bush's promise to the American people would only mean anything

if he cared about either promises or the American people.

[maine_raptor]

12. Nice words, but

when is the investigation into Cheney's "role in this sordid episode" going to start?

It's called "OVERSIGHT".................USE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TayTay]

14. I agree and the investigations are starting

Did you see the 7 weeks of hearings on Iraq in Jan-Feb. There were more hearings on what is going wrong in Iraq in this period of time than there were in the prior 4 years.

There are hearings now under way on the AG firings and hearings about Walter Reed and what went wrong there. It is underway. The Congress is holding hearings. Go check the schedules and see this.

[maine_raptor]

20. Yup, been following them

But let's have a new one, complete with TV cameras, sworn oaths, and pontificating politicians - all in the name of this mess.

Let's have four or five of these suckers going at the same time. Let's tie up the WH and Bush and the whole cabal with testimony, subpoenas, and the like. Let's keep George so busy that he can't F up the world any worse than he has already during his last days (hopefully less than expected) in power.

[TayTay]

23. Nothing could be greater for the country than to see that

Nothing. There has been a serious abdication of responsibility and a sheer arrogance of power that is unprecedented in American history. I would love to have Cheney giving testimony before the Senate.

However, this can be legally blocked by the opposition. There are Constitutional blocks to having the VP or the Pres testify. (Wasn't this clarified during Watergate? Can the Executive be compelled to give testimony? I am not sure. I note that Bush gave 9/11 testimony back in '04, but he was not under oath for it. Was that point of law settled? Litigation on that point alone could take up the remainder of this President's term.)

Kerry has been calling for these hearings and for accountability and responsibility since, ahm, forever. It think this statement means he's calling for it now. So are many other Dems and this is all a positive step in the right direction. (Not just for this President but for the rule of law going forward to the next Presidency, whether it is Dem or Repub. The Rule of Law and the definition of powers must be more clearly delineated.)

[maine_raptor]

26. Yes Cheney can choose not to testify

But his subordinates cannot. Just think of Libby, or even Mary Matilin, having to squirm under oath.

Litigation could take some time on the point you raise (Executive Privilege), but subordinates, especially those no longer working for the WH can be compelled to testify.

Kerry has been calling for this kind of stuff, but he's not in a position (relevant committee chair) to actually call for it. For that we need others to do.

[TayTay]

29. Does the Foreign Relations committee have any jurisdiction

on this? This is Kerry's actual sub-committee and the specific jurisdiction it has and can subpoena witnesses to testify in knowledge of: http://foreign.senate.gov/jurisdiction.html

SUBCOMMITTEE ON NEAR EASTERN AND SOUTH
AND CENTRAL ASIAN AFFAIRS

John F. Kerry, Chairman

Norm Coleman, Ranking Member

Jurisdiction:

This subcommittee deals with all matters concerning U.S. relations with the countries of the Middle East and Arab North Africa. This subcommittee's geographic responsibilities also encompass U.S. relations with the countries of South and Central Asia, corresponding to the jurisdiction of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs in the Department of State.

This subcommittee's responsibilities include all matters within the geographic region relating to: (1) terrorism and non-proliferation; (2) crime and illicit narcotics; (3) U.S. foreign assistance programs; and (4) the promotion of U.S. trade and exports.

I have seen some hearings that were obviously held under loose interpretation of jurisdiction. Can Kerry do something under the mandate of this committee that he chairs? (He does have subpoena power as a chair, btw.)

EDIT: I can see oversight, but I don't see this in relation to US Law. Wouldn't that be under the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee. SFRC can supply the *what* that happened, that is within their mandate, but not the US legal ramifications, I think. (And well could be highly wrong.)

[maine_raptor]

33. Quite frankly, it would be a bit of a stretch.

I'm not quite sure how the responsibilities of that subcommittee would cover this matter. IMHO, it has to come from either one of the "biggies" (Foreign Affairs, Armed Services, Judiciary, etc) or in the form of a "Senate Select" like was done during Watergate.

[TayTay]

34. Damn.

Go over to the other Senator from Massachusetts then. He is on the Senate Judiciary. Also, might want to check out Sen. Feingold's subcommittee on the Constitution, cuz this just might turn into a full blown Constitutional crisis. (Wouldn't that be great! )

Here is the list of Judiciary Sub-committees : http://judiciary.senate.gov/subcommittees/110/subcommittees.cfm

Administrative Oversight and the Courts
CHAIRMAN: CHARLES E. SCHUMER, D-NEW YORK
RANKING MEMBER: JEFF SESSIONS, R-ALABAMA

Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights
CHAIRMAN: HERB KOHL, D-WISCONSIN
RANKING MEMBER: ORRIN G. HATCH, R-UTAH

The Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights
CHAIRMAN: RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, D-WISCONSIN
RANKING MEMBER: SAM BROWNBACK, R-KANSAS

Crime and Drugs
CHAIRMAN: JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., D-DELAWARE
RANKING MEMBER: LINDSAY O. GRAHAM, R-SOUTH CAROLINA

Human Rights and the Law
CHAIRMAN: RICHARD J. DURBIN, D-ILLINOIS
RANKING MEMBER: TOM COBURN, R-OKLAHOMA

Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship
CHAIRMAN: EDWARD M. KENNEDY, D-MASSACHUSETTS
RANKING MEMBER: JOHN CORNYN, R-TEXAS

Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security
CHAIRMAN: DIANNE FEINSTEIN, D-CALIFORNIA
RANKING MEMBER: JON KYL, R-ARIZONA

[ProSense]

35. Here's a nugget from 2005:

07/25/2005

Senators Urge Congressional Investigation Into Leak of CIA Agent Valerie Plame’s Name

Today, Senator John Kerry; Senator Carl Levin, Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations; and 24 other Senators formally requested that Congress investigate the leak of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame’s identity -- a leak a senior administration official described at the time as “meant purely and simply for revenge.”

“Americans deserve a Congress that holds Washington accountable for the truth about our national security. Can anyone argue with a straight face that Congress has time to look at steroid use in baseball but doesn’t have the will to provide congressional oversight of the leak of a CIA agent’s name? It’s long past time to stop putting politics ahead of the public good, get to the bottom of a national security breach and restore credibility to Washington,” said John Kerry, who authored the letter.

Below is the text of the letter sent today:

Dear Mr. Speaker and Mr. Majority Leader: The press has reported on information strongly suggesting that senior Administration officials, including White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and the Vice President’s Chief of Staff Lewis Libby, exposed the identity of American intelligence operative Valerie Plame, despite the repeated denial of the White House at the time.

The public revelation of Ms. Plame’s identity, whether it amounts to a crime or an irresponsible breach of security protocol that doesn’t meet the standard of criminal conduct, almost certainly compromised her intelligence networks and may have compromised the safety and welfare of anyone who had worked with her overseas. As a group of respected former intelligence officials wrote in 2004: “Any breach of the code of confidentiality and cover weakens the overall fabric of intelligence, and, directly or indirectly, jeopardizes the work and safety of intelligence workers and their sources.”

The United States Congress has a constitutional responsibility to provide oversight of the executive branch, whether a law has been broken or not. It is time for Congress to fulfill that constitutional responsibility in this matter by initiating a thorough investigation.

We recognize that a criminal investigation is underway and that a special prosecutor continues to present testimony before a grand jury. These actions in no way preclude Congress’ responsibility to provide oversight. We urge you to exercise your authority as Congressional leaders by requesting the appropriate committees to begin oversight hearings and an investigation immediately.

Sincerely,

Senators Kerry, Levin, Stabenow, Schumer, Lautenberg, Rockefeller, Reed, Feinstein, Dorgan, Harkin, Kohl, Durbin, Carper, Salazar, Boxer, Inouye, Corzine, Wyden, Mikulski, Obama, Murray, Bayh, Johnson, Clinton, Sarbanes, and Landrieu.

link

Long past time!

[karynnj]

37. self-delete

[solara]

13. So, Senator Kerry, does your comment mean that you and your fellow Senators

will finally be issuing subpoenas to Rove and Cheney? Hmmmm?

[TayTay]

16. It might be

Which committee has jurisdiction on this? Here is a list of each committee that each Senator is assigned to. Which ones should we write to to begin to investigate this? (I'm guessing Judiciary, btw.)

http://www.senate.gov/general/committee_assignments/assignments.htm

BTW, did you see the Iraq hearings from Jan-Feb? Read the statements from some incredible witnesses? This backs up what happened today. Accountability hearings ARE underway. Check out the website for Judiciary and Foreign Relations and so forth.

Check out this hearing: http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2007/hrg070201a.html

Read these statements. This is devastating stuff that we haven't seen from the witness chair in Congress for at least 4 years.

[solara]

31. Good question....looking at the list

Committee on the Judiciary:? Leahy, Kennedy, Feingold! Biden, Cardin, Durbin, Feinstein, Yikes! Brownback, Cornyn & Coburn too

Select Committee on Ethics?: Boxer, Pryor, Salazar, Cornyn, Pat Roberts, Craig

I don't know enough about which committee does what... maybe they need to form a new one

Committee on IMPEACHMENT


Accountability is.

[TayTay]

32. Impeachment starts, by Constitutional mandate, in the House

A Bill of Indictment or Impeachment would begin there: http://judiciary.house.gov/fullcommittee.aspx

[glitch]

15. And if Bush doesn't hold everyone accountable, Congress will.

Well, that's what I wanted to hear. Plus the crime is a lot worse than a smear. Hopefully Kerry is holding his cards close to his chest with this statement, and this is only step one in the coming process.

edit: mangled grammar all over the place!

[deucemagnet]

18. Bush's word is no good and Cheney will never admit to wrongdoing.

It's time for CONGRESS to step up and hold the White House accountable for its actions.

[BuyingThyme]

19. Unless the words call for Cheney to step down, or to be impeached,

they are empty words.

[Emit]

22. Now Call For AN Investigation! n/t

[politicasista]

25. K&R

:kick:

[ProSense]

27. "past time for Vice President Cheney...to finally acknowledge his role in this sordid episode."

Yup!

Thank you Senator Kerry.

[ohtransplant]

28. Kerry knows this routine.

And he won't make all these points himself or at one time - and he won't over reach. That would quickly make the Dem response old news.

He has thrown down the gauntlet and will leave room for others to take part. The more comment - even from Rs - keeps the topic in play. The old prosecutor knows this game.

Kerry has made this point recently about Iraq - We have to have this fight. The debate matters.

The result is Americans get to decide if they're in favor of fear and smear Rovian tactics at any cost or if more things need to change in '08.

[lovuian]

30. That was an excellent statement

Thanks to Kerry

[wisteria]

36. Good statement! Libby got what he deserved and like Kerry I hope Cheney does the right thing. n/t