Don Siegelman Disagrees With Obama On Investigating Bush

During his press conference on Monday evening, President Obama pledged to look forwards rather than backwards when it came to investigating the misdeeds of the Bush administration. It was a carefully crafted answer, designed to neither anger nor encourage individuals either side of this contentious issue. For possible victims of legal and political injustice during the Bush years, however, it wasn't nearly enough.

Don Siegelman, the former Governor of Alabama arrested on trumped up bribery charges allegedly linked to Karl Rove, wrote the Huffington Post on Tuesday to offer his opinion of Obama's answer.

Today, with a new President, everything seems brighter, more vibrant. There is a sense of hope, a new optimism... we can see change for the better coming....piercing the dark, pain of the past eight years.

I appreciate the president's desire to fix the problems created by the Bush Administration saying in part: "...let's get it right moving forward."

However, if those who have abused their power are allowed to get away with it, then it is more likely to happen again. We have seen our American Democracy threatened, our constitutional rights abused and our system of Justice subverted. We know the Bush Administration led us into war under false pretenses, used illegal wiretaps and torture to get information and used the Department of Justice as a political weapon to win elections.

For the country to safely move forward we must repair the damage done to the foundations of our democracy. That starts with digging until we get the truth as Chairman John Conyers has been doing and as Senator Leahy is now proposing and holding accountable those who have abused their power.

Restoring justice and preserving our democracy requires nothing less and that would in itself be a great legacy for our new President.

Siegelman was pivoting off of a speech given on Monday by Senator Patrick Leahy, who pushed the creation of a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate the Bush years. On Monday, Obama said he had not read Leahy's proposal and, as such, couldn't render an opinion on it. His aides have said they would provide an answer to the Huffington Post when one is formulated.

The president did say that people -- presumably Bush officials included -- "should be prosecuted just like any ordinary citizen," implicitly suggesting that if illegality is proven it would be brought to court. But, he added, "Generally speaking, I'm more interested in looking forward than I am in looking backwards. I want to pull everybody together, including, by the way, the -- all the members of the intelligence community who have done things the right way and have been working hard to protect America and I think sometimes are painted with a broad brush without adequate information."

Comments

[Artos]

This so called, " Truth and Reconciliation Commission" that Senator Leahy is proposing is a bad idea. It smacks of doing nothing but glossing things over. There is no room for reconciliation. There must be punishment for crimes. Siegelman said that if we do nothing now that it will happen again. Too late, It did happen again. When we allowed Nixon to get away with his crimes and Reagan/Bush with theirs, we had already set the stage for Bush Jr. to perpetuate yet another Criminal Presidency. With three already can we really afford not to prosecute Dubya and Darth Cheney. All politicians whether of the Republican stripe or the Democratic stripe should be shown by a harsh example that never again should anyone think that they can usurp power in America. Never again should anyone be allowed to violate the Constitution and the rights of Americans. How can we expound to the world about the Rule of Law and force our will upon others when we can't even prove that we stand for justice in our own Country.

[rshrink]

Artos is right.

[tbone99]

hear hear DonSeigelman, political prisoner - well said - a rotten foundation cannot hold up a house for long.
We must excavate and remove those who undermed the core democratic principles of justice. for ALL!

[nualak]

Didn't the "truth and reconciliation" Commission in South Africa just have the perpetrators come before the courts and testify as to their misdeeds and say they were sorry. I just don't think that is good enough. It is imperative that the Bush Administration be investigated and WE DO NOT NEED ANOTHER COMMISSION. WE HAVE HAD TOO MANY COMMISSIONS THAT WEREN'T WORTH A HILL OF BEANS.

The world is watching and the Democrats need to understand we signed a treaty NOT TO TORTURE. It is the responsibility of the Congress to investigate this, even if the President does not - which will be a blight on his character throughout history.

[Swedishgal]

Pres. Obama has to allow the investigations and prosecutions or other criminals can use that as a way to get out of being punished for crimes they committed. A 'well, that happened yesterday, last week, last year, or whatever and we have to move on' defense if we allow those criminals in the White House to get away with it. I think I know what Obama is doing and that is he is distancing himself from Bush so as not to appear to be on a witch hunt or like the Republicans when they were going after the Clintons. He knows Bush and co are guilty as hell of what they are accused of but he has to remain above the fray. What he is doing is a very delicate balancing act until everything comes out about all the previous administrations wrongdoings and there are too many to get completed on 4 years.

[thnk4selfagain]

My heart goes out to Don Siegelman. I wish him the best as he reclaims his life. As for the people who did this to him, they should know that they are not above the law. Most suspected that this kind of stuff was going on, especially with Rove and his minions. Courage of good people and appetite for justice will win the day.

[checkitout]

Obama may be waiting for the political capital to go after that d*uchbag Bush. It would help if the economy wasn't in the toilet right now. But he won't want his presidency marred by giving an unspoken pardon to the most treacherous, treasonous president to ever have taken office. Mark my words: Bush is going to jail.

[jinxed]

oh I hope, I hope, I hope, I hope, I hope, I hope

[Dayahka]

Obama is right in his position, and Leahy is right in his. Obama has too much on his plate to be spending any of his own time on investigating Bush. If there is to be any investigation, it has to be up to a different branch of government--in this case, Congress. After all, it wasn't just Bush who did what he did, but Bush in cahoots with a compliant and subservient Republican controlled Congress. And the aim really should not be punishment--for punishment after the fact is useless. The aim should be to leave to the current and next generation a report that shows that Republicans are unfit to be rulers, unfit to be in Congress, and should be consigned to the rubbish-heap of history.

[propitiousmoment]

Agreed 100%. It will also show the world and future generations of our own leaders that we will not put up with such crimes from any administration, no matter which side of the political divide. There needs to be a precedent set.

[rshrink]

Wrong. Many of these socio paths have been around since the Nixon days. They are like an infection. They will not go away unless we put them away. They are reloading now. If we are not vigilant, Palin will be next in line. She is usable and corruptible and they know it. They like actors and puppets. They call themselves neocons and all of this has to be brought out and they need to be prosecuted or we are in for more problems and the country will not be able to tolerate much more.

[Hallucinocynic]

Governor Seigelman is correct to agree with Senator Leahy. In depth, nonpartisan, investigation into the previous executive branch, and the DOJ, should be compulsory. President Obama can, and should, focus on the economy and the rebuilding of the republic. That is why we have AG Holder and his staff - to initiate the investigations and the naming of a special prosecutor.

And Governor Seigelman should be restored to his position as governor of Alabama.

[dragonlady620]

There is no question in my mind that Seigelman was railroaded-by Karl Rove. I think Holder, the DOJ and Seigelman should go after that archcriminal with everything they've got. I used to wonder if the GOP would throw Rove under a bus to save their own hides-but then I figured that they would be too afraid that Rove would take them all down with him. I just hope that Cheney didn't manage to get away with all the evidence (the judge that allowed THAT should also be investigated.)

[Artos]

dragonlady620,

You are right on about the judge also being investigated. He should be too. Too many people of the conservative stripe were installed in various Government positions simply to back up and protect whatever was done by the Bush administration illegally. These people could and should be charged with collusion, obstruction and perhaps even conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. . Had I been that judge I would have immediately ordered the F.B.I. to bar entry to any and all of the offices of people like Cheney, Rove,Rumsfeld or whomever else was involved, and seize all computers and documents. I would never have trusted or allowed them the time to destroy evidence. That is the first of many failures on the part of our Legal system.

[realpolitic]

I know Obama is making tremendous effort to be bipartisan,. but not investigating the Bush administration's illegalities is one of the biggest mistakes Obama will make. If he does not, the next conservative administration will shred the constitution to an even greater degree.

[naeldwyck]

Also, he will lose a large number of the volunteers that made his campaigns work in the first place.

[Asmodeus]

I agree with Naeldwyck. The president may still be riding the high of public infatuation now, but if he continues with resisting our will and our laws, he's going to quickly find out that We The People don't bargain with representatives who obstruct and obfuscate our will and laws. We just walk away from the table, and hang them out to dry. And that's only if we don't see them as complicit in this.

[sawdustinhershoes]

Hi Real! Hope you're doing OK.

I believe Eric Holder will hold Bush and Co. accountable, but it can't be seen as a witch hunt. Obama knows that the right will go after him if he openly calls for these guys to be prosecuted.

I believe what Obama is saying is that HE won't be doing any investigating, but if laws have clearly been broken, then the offenders will be punished. I believe that means the Justice Dept. will work extra hard to make their cases ironclad before issuing any indictments.

Karl Rove is "cooperating" with Congress now. I think Karl will do whatever it takes to save his own cowardly behind. He'll sing like a canary. In fact, republicans appear to be a cowardly bunch, I bet they all start telling on each other.

I just wish this economic crisis would pass so we can grab our popcorn and soda and watch the fireworks.

[Swedishgal]

These investigations will be so much more entertaining than whatever the Clintons allegedly did or did not do because we know this bunch being investigated is guilty as hell of what they're being investigated for. I don't believe in the death penalty but I do believe a strong message has to be sent to any other future leaders that suffer from delusions of grandeur and decide to trash our Constitution and any and all treaties we have with other countries.

[rshrink]

Mr. Siegelman did nothing wrong. There was all kinds of maneuvering, which led to the conviction. The only thing he did wrong was being a democrat in a state where the republicans wanted one of their own. We cannot move on if we don't take care of the problem right in front of us. That is really the issue. Denial will not work. It never has. The crooks that worked for Bush worked for Nixon and others. They will not go away unless we put them away. Consider the fact that DeLay, charged with money laundering, has still not gone to court. In some of these states, playing by the rules the rest of us play by, is sidestepped by republicans in power. This party needs to be cleaned up and if it isn't, we can expect more of the same in the future. Support your president and also write him and tell him you want these people brought to justice.

[dragonlady620]

Also write your congressmen. They can't ignore all of us.

[mdn]

Thank you for addressing this again and again. Siegelman is right. You have to clean out what is rotten in order to heal.

[veracity]

Now I'm sure that this comparison will outrage and offend many (and probably be censored off of Washington Post), but President Obama should recall... that there were plenty of Black, African slavery kings who PARTICIPATED in the ENSLAVEMENT of Black Africans.

And ALL THROUGH the SEGREGATION ERA, tens of thousands upon MILLIONS of Americans (of Black, minority, and "condition of servitude" heritage) were DENIED their 13th, 14th, AND 15th AMENDMENT RIGHTS -

Section. 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment15/

Now I shouldn't have to toss the sorry history of the (segregation era & LACK OF ENFORCEMENT of) 15th Amendment back in Mr. Obama's face...

BUT THE SIMPLE FACT IS, that for NEARLY 100 years, ALL of OFFICIAL WASHINGTON, and THE ENTIRE US government, WERE COMPLICIT in the violent and often murderous "ABRIDGING" of minority voters' rights.

Today, Mr. Obama finds himself standing on that same sorry side of the divide, OFFICIAL WASHINGTON and "the Establishment" AGAINST the US Constitution and its guarantees, rights, and DUE PROCESS, and promise of true justice.

[Poboy]

Biden said of Sen. Stennis from Mississippi:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Stennis

He said, "Well I wanted to tell you then, in 1970, what I'm going to tell you now. He said, "This table here was the flagship of the Confederacy."

BIDEN: If you read "Masters of the Senate" about Johnson's term, you'll see in the middle of the book a picture of the table in my office, with the famous old southern segregationist senators sitting around that table, chaired by Senator Russell.

And he said, "This was the flagship of the Confederacy. Every Tuesday we gathered here under Senator Russell's direction to plan the demise of the civil rights movement, from 1954 to 1968." He said, "It's time this table passes from the man who was against civil rights into the hands of a man who was for civil rights."

Joe Biden's Farewell Senate Speech

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/01/sen_joe_bidens_farewell_speech.html

[pjburke]

MOVE ON... pin them all, face down, right in front of the "Steamroller of Justice" and MOVE ON.

[theotherfringe]

Considering what President Obama is trying to accomplish with the stimulus bill, he has to be careful not to upset those who supported Bush during his administration. Otherwise, he is just going to antagonize an already uncooperative group of a&&holes.

[checkitout]

Too bad. Let them be antagonized. They are already a++holes and nothing is going to change so nothing is lost. That is unless we do nothing.

[truthynesslover]

Weve narrowed them down to the bigots and wackos wholl never vote for us anyway.
I say go for it!

[dragonlady620]

Absolutely. A lot of people are upset because they perceive Obama's "move forward" statement as a signal that he is not going to pursue investigation of the previous administration. I don't see it that way-it sounds like he is playing very close to the vest. Prosecutors do not and in some instances cannot reveal much about any investigation. I totally agree , as Leahy himself stated, that there must be accountability or nothing will ever change and the evildoers will just keep on doing it. (Actually the investigation HAS been quietly going forward now that he stonewallers aren't there to stop it)
There MUST be accountability. WIthout it laws are meaningless.The world came to respect America as a nation of laws after Watergate and the subsequent downfall of Nixon. Bush destroyed that perception . I think it is essential that we keep reminding the new administration of this.

[mooph]

I heard the question Sam asked last night. I can only surmise that because Obama didn't straight-out say "Yes, I'll prosecute those ba$tard$!" Sam's decided that Obama will just let it slip.

Weather forecast: moving from fair to increasing cynicalness.

[zoozey]

I agree. Did Sam actually think in a press conf. that was to have been primarily on the severe troubles at hand, that Obama was actually going to say, "Yes, I am going to prosecute....?" When he is trying to do what is at all possible to salvage the economy? He HAS to be the Pres. of everyone now. Surely Sam would know that he was going to have to give the sort of answer he gave.

I love you, Sam! But please ask him something that he can answer next time! Please?