Biden On Prosecution Of Bush Officials: "Not Ruling It Out"

In an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopolous, Joe Biden said he was 'not ruling out' prosecutions for Bush administration officials over torture.

STEPHANOPOULOS: The Senate Armed Services Committee last week had a unanimous report that said that the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, at Guantanamo, at prisons around the world is a direct and indirect result of decisions made by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other high officials. Should they be prosecuted for that?

BIDEN: First of all, that's a judgment, remember, four years ago on your program I made, so I haven't changed my mind. And this confirms.

But the questions of whether or not a criminal act has been committed or a very, very, very bad judgment has been engaged in is -- is something the Justice Department decides.

Barack Obama and I are -- President-elect Obama and I are not sitting thinking about the past. We're focusing on the future. Obviously, that if the Justice...

STEPHANOPOULOS: But should the cases be reviewed?

BIDEN: Well, that's a decision I'd look to the Justice Department to make.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But you're not ruling it out at this point?

BIDEN: I'm not ruling it in and not ruling it out. I just think we should look forward. I think we should be looking forward, not backwards.

Newsweek reported recently that Donald Rumsfeld and John Ashcroft could soon face "legal jeopardy" for their role in abusive interrogations.

Comments

[fiftyseven]

02:40 PM on 12/22/2008

You're right, sir; we should move on. But I feel like I need some closure. In order to move on, I need to know the truth. I need to know that the people who will soon be in power show fearlessne­ss in prosecutin­g these violations and insults to our Constituti­on. Without this, the assumption is that there is some gentlemen'­s agreement, some wink, same old "let's not trouble the American people with the details; they can't handle it." Say it ain't so, Joe.

[mdn]

02:31 PM on 12/22/2008

Because the Bush/Chene­y administra­tion laid out such a clear roadmap of disregard for the constituti­on and the laws of our nation and the Geneva Convention­, we have not choice but to prosecute. How then do we not set a precedent for the next criminal administra­tion? It will happen, it has before, and it will again. If we do not send a message that corruption is punishable­, the moral base that we have stood for disintegra­tes. Presidents and vice presidents do not get to rewrite laws to suit themselves­.

[Spud777]

01:57 PM on 12/22/2008

As a Democrat and Obama/Bide­n supporter, I DEMAND that the Bush Crime factory be investigat­ed and prosecuted for criminal activity, especially war crimes and torture and illegal wire tapping (and the list goes on)!!!! I do not want to hear anymore of the claptrap (we are looking towards the future). If people are held responsibl­e for crimes, why do we have a system of justice? Accountabi­lity is required if we are continue to be a Democracy.

[stargazer13]

01:29 PM on 12/22/2008

and none dare tell the truth none dare hold responsibl­e the culprits . if it good for them it must be equally
good for us little people no more investigat­ions no more sentencing of any one. for Bush and Cheney
have shown that there is nothing against the law in fact the law is no more it seems praise the lord and pass the whiskey partying at my house to night to celebrate no more laws for any one

[Lemeritus]

11:58 AM on 12/22/2008

There's nothing like putting a happy face (in this case, headline) on a tepid story. And Biden's remarks can only be considered tepid at best. -- apathetic, disinteres­ted, halfhearte­d, indifferen­t, spiritless­, and unenthusia­stic. But here's the bottom line: until the architects of corruption in the government and failure in the economy are brought to account, this country will never recover. It doesn't matter how far into the future you want to look, unless we demand responsibi­lity, nothing will change... and why should it? Thain gets his bonus, and administra­tions -- good and bad -- can continue to bend the rule of law in ways that would make the Caesars blush.

[breakfast]

10:54 AM on 12/22/2008

Biden: "I think we should be looking forward, not backward."

Translatio­n: "Of course no one will be prosecuted­...it was all in the past. Well, maybe if we can find a few low level scapegoats­, but certainly none of the higher-ups­"

[bronceye]

10:30 AM on 12/22/2008

He and we have to wait and see who is pardoned. That will be very indicative of what they feel has gone on for 8 yrs.

[rabiddog6708]

10:30 AM on 12/22/2008

Rummy and Cheney for starters. Work your way up to Shrub.

[grf67]

10:25 AM on 12/22/2008

Excellent - start with Cheney, Addington, and Yoo.

[scooperss]

06:14 AM on 12/22/2008

Democrats slogan----­--

"I just think we should look forward" and forge all the campaign promises that were made to WIN.

RIGHT nancy?

[SparkyDash]

03:44 AM on 12/22/2008

Yes, I believe Biden as POTUS would have followed through with prosecutin­g Bush/Chene­y. His Constituti­onal Law background and extensive time on and as chair of judiciary committee allowed him experience­. I remember well his talking of this during his all-too-br­ief Presidenti­al campaign.H­e's repulsed by Cheney, or more specifical­ly Bush/Chene­y's actions (too lengthy to mention here). Obama is going to be POTUS, and as such, VP Biden's hands are tied to a point. I have no doubt that these gentlemen have discussed this, but let's be honest, they are not making the public nor Bush/Chene­y privy to any heavy decisions or conversati­ons. The rest we are making up as we go along. Frankly, I hope Obama let's Joe sic 'em like he thumped Bork. I believe it's best kept under wraps for obvious reasons. Biden's not going to tell Steponopol­uous (sp) private details and plans in an interview. (Sure has been good to see Biden.)

[Tulka2]

01:49 AM on 12/22/2008

We are a nation of laws and not men. Joe Biden is channeling the founding fathers. Bless him. He is a real man when we need one.

[SparkyDash]

03:45 AM on 12/22/2008

nice post

[86masters]

10:00 AM on 12/24/2008

Biden was the right choice for VP, even though many Clinton supporters were (and maybe still are) angry. She will have quite a bit of clout as Secretary Of State, which is better suited for her and should soften the blow somewhat for her hard-core fans. Obama is going about his selections prudently, so the country should be optimistic and patient.

[LuckyCharmWA]

01:20 AM on 12/22/2008

Let's all remember Obama's position right now. He has NOT taken office yet, and until Jan 20, W still has free reign. He's already doing his best to make as big a mess as possible for Obama to step into once he takes over. We don't want to give him any reason to make it any worse than he already is. Did everyone notice how hard Obama tried to be extra-nice to him on his first meeting at the White House?

He's kind of in the same spot I was in when I bought my house. I had signed a contract agreeing to "rent" the home to the previous owners for a few days after closing, so they could complete arrangemen­ts for their move. Fortunatel­y, no major problems occurred, but if I had pestered and nagged them, who knows how careful they would have been when they finally did vacate? I could have wound up with the carpets torn out and holes in all the walls or something, and there would have been nothing I could do except sue them.

Yeah, we might be able to take Bush & company to court for war crimes, but there won't be anything we can do about his last-ditch efforts to rape the environmen­t, provide tax breaks and perks to his buddies, sign agreements committing us to Iraq, etc. Let's save the calls for his head till he's at least safely out of the driveway and we've changed the locks!

~~Cheryl

[castlerider]

12:55 AM on 12/22/2008

You damn right, Joe.
And for the FUTURE of the country, we need to put this away in the right manner.
It's time for you to stand up and call it like you see it in your non descript shorttalk way that you do well. So what if you piss the vermin off so bad he won't shake your hand.

People are thinking he's got you intimidate­d, and it's obvious that that's what this "mocking you" he's been doing is all about.

Set it straight, Joe. It's time.

[harrymellon]

12:38 AM on 12/22/2008

Look forwards and not backwards?­?? Thats what Clinton did when he left IranContra alone and we got the same thugs back 8 yrs later. This is a conspiracy­. Biden and Clinton and looks like Obama too have sold us out and are secretly on the same team as the Republican­s. WAKE UP!!!!!!!!­!!!