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

[jqcitizen]

An investigation of wrongdoing on the part of the Bush/Cheney administration would accomplish one thing.
It would be like taking a well deserve shower and ridding the honest citizens of this country of the stench of the past 8 years.

The Congressional investigation of the Iran-Contra embarrassment did not send VP GHW Bush to prison for lying. -"I was out of the loop".

Admiral Poindexter, Colonel North, General Sicord and numerous others testified as to their involvement and not only served no prison time but in some cases were rewarded (Adm. Poindexter in Rumsfelds Pentagon).

Those individuals that have ignored subpoenas in the past (Rove, Gonzales,...) should be given one last chance to drop the 'Executive privilege' foolishness and tell the truth.

Our new President was a Professor of Constitutional Law but so is John Yoo.

Let's get it on, Judiciary Committees in congress. Clear the air.

[timm0]

Well, there are a few hundred million OTHER victims of the bush years. Although we haven't suffered as much as this guy, but there are many others who have suffered far worse. We still have rights and should be heard on the issue.

And to all those who have expressed their fears of what precedent investigations set, I'll repeat your key term: "fear." We should NEVER be afraid of the truth or anything that flows from the truth. Lies and deception and the vehicles that enabled it are far more worthy of your fear.

Think through the impacts of what it means to set a precedent to allow an administration to do the things they've done without ever lifting a finger in an effort to vindicate those who have done the right thing (like whistleblowers and people who've resigned in protest) before getting teary about extreme possible outcomes of investigations.

[djgonebad]

Siegelman needs his "REAL" day in court; because, they "RAILROADED" him like nothing I've seen before.

I don't believe the new DOJ is going to get in his way; it would be SUICIDE politically.

This case might be the beginning of the end, for the McBushie's "wall of silence".

[voltage356]

Yeah, well you will ahve to keep on waiting because i' ve yet to see them haul in Rove who keeps giving his behind to congress everytime they want to talk him. The people are tried of this grandstanding they are pulling with Rove and yet he continues to show his backside to them. He might as well fa*t in Conyer's face.

[NWBrunette]

A team of guys walks out of a bank in broad daylight, alarms blaring, with hundred dollar bills spilling out of their pockets... and the sheriff goes, "Nobody's above the law, but I look forward." And how many people in town go along with that idea?

[nicole473]

Not an effective analogy.

[billw8017]

I truly hate the idea that Presidents will be prosecuted for their policies once they leave office. This kind of thing puts the orderly transfer of power at risk. Incumbents have nothing to lose if they use extra legal methods to keep power. Keeping power will be necessary in self protection.

Exposing illegality seems important. As Plato suggested, enforcing the laws educates those who see it. An investigation without punishment would be worse than no investigation. So, if there is an investigation, there must be some punishment proportionate to the crime. Shame at the very least. I wouldn't withdraw Secret Service Protection since that would be almost a death sentence.

Who remembers today that the Reagan administration negotiated with Congress after the Tower Commission investigated. Former Senator Howard Baker was put in charge at the White House to anticipate further criminality. Reagan became a pathetic figure.

[jfor]

What if those Presidents are criminals and innocent people die by their illegal orders? Come on.

NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.

[funandgames]

Well, he (and his many cohorts) should have been impeached years ago (and prosecuted and sent to the slammer). During his term would have been the best way to handle all this but he's got to be investigated and charged regardless if he's out of office. I'm hoping the international community steps up again as well. They've been WAY ahead of the US on this. But we had 'off the table' Pelosi and 'mealy mouth' Reid in charge -need I say more.

[Palemoon]

I'd like to make another post, with some philosophical quotes. I don't know who said it originally, but I believe the quote to be "In order to know where you are going, you have to know where you have been". And lest we forget the more famous "Hindsight is 20/20" and Churchill is credited with "Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.".

In popular culture, Laurie Anderson wrong a song called "The Dream Before". Lyrics stating thusly "She said: What is history? And he said: History is an angel being blown backwards into the future
He said: History is a pile of debris, And the angel wants to go back and fix things, To repair the things that have been broken, But there is a storm blowing from Paradise, And the storm keeps blowing the angel backwards into the future, And this storm, this storm is called Progress"

I posted all of that to state this... we will never be able to move forward until we have closure with the past.

[Anna Cook]

Karmic Lessons will tell you this is the reason we return again and again to learn these very lessons. We can learn in no other way than to 'experience' all we have done to others so as to fully acknowlege and know what our actions and behaviour have caused. So in the 'doing unto others' the golden rule of karma we learn and understand and feel deeply how it is to be treated the way we have treated others. And finally are able to say we are sorry....and in the forgiving moment we know more.
For it is said..AS we forgive we are forgiven. As we know more we suffer others to know more and so fulfill a higher law than human law. So the storm blowing the angel back to the future? We are here! What a privilege.... The question is not punishment. Vengeance is mine, Judge Not... I have puzzled over these sayings since a little girl and i am well past 70 now...When will we ever learn.
Only Love Prevails. All else is illusion... Soon to be gone ..soon to be back.. The angels wish they were humans! To be perfectly human is better than to be a perfect stone.. OR an Angel?

[goldnchyl]

Headline is misleading HuffPo. Once again. Seigelman agrees with the president, almost verbatim.

[pfrogger]

I agree, but the headline is more inaccurate than misleading.
Obama is NOT making any declarative statements about his intentions to pursue an investigation into the Busk administration's actions. He's not ruling it out either. He's staying on the fence.
Good political move? Maybe.
But Seigelman is saying we absolutely should investigate the Bush administration.

But I do agree not the best headline.

[kmich718]

Mr. President, ever hear of "closure"??? That is what this is all about. We need closure from the 8 horrific years of Bush.. the only way we are going to get that is if we investigate them and hold them accountable.

[hollybork]

Siegelman has his remedy in a civil rights action against Bush and the justice department. Let him seek that solution. The law can handle such things.

[mooph]

Yet, that only a civil suit -- what they did to him was criminal, literally, and should be prosecuted as such.

[pfrogger]

And yet time and time again the Bush administration has used the excuse that pursuing legal action would reveal national secrets to derail multiple such cases.
So I disagree. The law can NOT handle "such" things.

[skymuffin]

President Obama, if you are "more interested in looking forward than in looking backwards", then let's forgive Bush and Cheney's criminal administration and get out of Iraq and Afghanistan right now. Forget about 9/11. That's in the past. With this logic, unlock the prison doors, all's forgiven -- it was in the past! Let's move forward!

[HopeisEternal]

I think Obama left the door open for the truth to determine what the next steps should be. He doesn't need to be at the forefront of an investigative process. He he did say at his press conference last night that if wrongdoing is determined then it will be prosecuted.

[CarolW2]

I agree with you. I think as Holder begins to review memos and documents of the Bush administration, the sleaze and illegal doings will start spilling out. I also think that there are many good, hard-working people in the Justice Department who have watched and documented the goings on of the past 8 years. I think the information will come to Holder and the Obama administration by the boatload and we will see prosecutions. Why give the Repubs any heads up that their misdeeds are going to be brought to light?

[Palemoon]

Siegelman deserves his day in court. A fair court where truth trumps politics, where reason outweighs rhetoric and justice actually means something. As many other posters have said, he has apparently done nothing wrong. It was bad enough that these same Bush folks used electioneering to install their buddy Barber as Governor in a tainted election in Alabama. But then to further add insult, they then trumped up phony charges on him to attempt to disqualify him running again. Ever. This is a situation that needs to be resolved. The people of Alabama deserve better. And I'd wager that the reason you never heard any complaints out of republican Governor Alabama in the Katrina aftermatch like you did with democratic Governor Louisiana was completely and totally all directly related to politics and politica party reasons. Blanco got no help because she was a Democrat. Pure and simple. That allowed the Bush regime to promptly install Jindal in the very next election, using their failings re-labelled as Blanco's failings. It should go without saying, that if you can control state legislatures, you can control that state for the most part. This was all a part of that "permanent republican majority" contract ON America that the Republicans took out. We finally defeated it, but at great cost. To our own psyche, our image in the world, our trashed legal system that is nothing more than the butt of jokes anymore. Most importantly, we lost our sense of duty and honor.

[Moshe]

Truer words were never spoken Gov. Siegelman: "[I]f those who have abused their power are allowed to get away with it, then it is more likely to happen again."

Ignoring war crimes may seem politically expedient in a time of great duress on other fronts.

But by tacitly condoning torture and other unlawful and unconstitutional acts we would be nuturing the seeds of totalitarianism that have already seriously damaged the Rule of Law in our nation.

And if not removed root and branch, these evils will ultimately supplant our democracy with a culture of goverment lawlessness, fear, brute force that silences reason and dissent, and government torture and terror used against our own people.

That is a sad and persistent lesson of history.

Another important lesson is that the further we travel down this road, the more difficult it becomes to turn back.

The Obama Administration must prosecute known crimes, or sadly become an accessory after the fact if they do not, thereby putting our Nation and People in great future peril.

If you ignore evil, it doesn't just go away.

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing." Sir Edmund Burke

[goldnchyl]

Very well said. Thanks!

[CaptainObvious]

Exactly. If you don't prosecute and punish these people for their crimes, pretty soon it just becomes "the cost of doing business".

[TAIsabel]

Sir Edmund Burke also said one of my favorite statements: "A great empire and little minds go ill together". He was a great thinker.

We had that little mind for 8 years and are now paying the price. However, if we are truly serious about prosecuting those that committed criminal acts during the last administration, we need to be serious, thorough and totally above board because a failed attempt will not only result in a backlash, it will be the base for future criminals to stand on.

[theotherfringe]

We wanted change and we voted for it. If we want people to be held accountable for their actions, we must let that be known. If there is no public outcry for a thorough investigation of the Bush administration, if we assume that somebody is going to look into it, nothing is going to get done.

[pfrogger]

And yet how "good" are these men that do nothing and "allow" evil to triumph?

[DoTheMath]

When Bush was in office, I had a habit of comparing everyone's English fluency to his. I couldn't help it. When I saw News Hour interviews of people from Pakistan, China - you name it - I couldn't help marveling at how much more adept they were than our president at carrying on a conversation in English.

Now, I seem to have the same habit with crimes. Often when I see a news item about a crime and how upset everyone is about it, and what punishment the criminal will receive or should receive, I can't help but think, "Wow, compared to causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in a war of choice, compared to authorizing who knows how much torture. . ." Of course, there's a lot more to that thought, but you get the picture.