DOJ: We Can't Release Cheney Records Because Of Late Night Comedy

Sarabeth at 1115.org has a piece up today explaining that the Obama administration's efforts to keep the goings-on of the Bush-Cheney White House away from scrutinizing eyes now extends to denying a federal judge notes from the FBI's interview with ex-Vice President Dick Cheney during the CIA leak investigation. But this pull from the original AP story, which captures the reasoning of Justice Department for attempting to deny the request, is simply mind-blowing:

Justice Department lawyers told the judge that future presidents and vice presidents may not cooperate with criminal investigations if they know what they say could become available to their political opponents and late-night comics who would ridicule them.

"If we become a fact-finder for political enemies, they aren't going to cooperate," Justice Department attorney Jeffrey Smith said during a 90-minute hearing. "I don't want a future vice president to say, 'I'm not going to cooperate with you because I don't want to be fodder for 'The Daily Show.'"

I hardly think that citing the need to shield public figures from satire as a justification for denying this request has got the public's interests properly balanced. But I also have a question for the DOJ: Uhm...have you met our last two vice presidents? Joe "OMGZ EVACUATE THE TRAINZ IT'S THE PIG FLU!" Biden and Dick "I thirst for a consomme of infant tears" Cheney? By comparison, I think future vice-presidents have a better than even shot at avoiding comic ridicule without the intervention of federal courts.

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Comments

[WhiteNoise]

The INMATES : A SOAP MADE IN USA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzPJPHVjc78

A TRAGIC COMEDY & ALLEGORY

Dark humor is the politeness of despair said the optimist…

http://current.com/items/90224426_the-inmates-a-soap-made-in-usa.htm

[fishingriver]

Get with this.... NOTHING IS CHANGING THAT MATTERS TO PEOPLE!

Transparency in Government? The Obama administration's DOJ is concealing public information just like the Bush administration did. We can ridicule Cheney all we want, but it isn't Cheney who is keeping this from the public. It is our newly elected administration.

[jetscan]

Indeed. It's business as usual. Screw the people.

[Colton Stackman]

IT IS CALLED FREEDOM OF THE PRESS!

[JohnHKennedy]

What will it take fo push Obama to Enforce our Federal Anti-Torture Laws which Bush, Cheney and their Torture Conspiring Lawyers obviously violated.

Federal Crimes Ignored By Obama. Why?

This is Not The Change We Worked to Elect.

SIGN THE PETITION
To Prosecute Them For Torture

http://ANGRYVOTERS.ORG

Over 250,000 have signed
Join them and call yourself a Patriot

Will Obama stand for Justice or just get in the way of it?
.

[rst2536]

See "A STATEMENT ON NATIONAL SECURITY BY DICK CHENEY" on http://poemsonaffairsofstate.blogspot.com/2009/05/statement-by-dick-cheney-on-national.html

[jmpurser]

Oddly, MANY criminals are reluctant to cooperate with "criminal investigations" for reasons that have little or nothing to do with the fear of being laughed at on late night TV. The fact that our "Justice Department" doesn't seem to be aware of this quirk of human nature is more than a bit disturbing!

[Sassys]

This is ironic as hell....the very thing they are worried about is turning around and biting them on the ass. So instead of "picking on" the V.P and co. the comedians will go after the DOJ.....I want to know how big a bribe did it take Cheney to get this new "idea" into some idiots head at the DOJ? Justice? Nah more like over paid referees.

[sviolette]

I would love to see Jon Stewart interview Cheney in prison.

[truthyguy]

I would settle for just having Chaney in prison.

[AZ4thatone]

ditto

[scottymac11]

What is the issue ? Scarbouough is an ex republican't office holder like Cheney and he makes a joke of himself about every morning on that brainless show.

[Oceanus]

Little did career civil division lawyer Jeffrey M. Smith realize that he would be offering himself as fodder to The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, The Huffington Post .... :) LOL

Thankfully, the Judge uses his mind and has demanded that the documents be produced by July 1.

[FrozenNorthObserver]

I do believe you must have missed this part,
" the O*B*A*M*A administration's efforts to keep the goings-on of the Bush-Cheney White House away from scrutinizing eyes"
This ios O's Ju st De pt and his baby. And the ridic ule will and does belong in his and H*o*l*d*e*r*s laps not the foot sol diers that do his bidding.

[kissMYfish]

Just tell the whole truth. I, personally, don't want Cheney to know what you have until you arrest him. The things that he and the Bush adm. have done; are not laughable. Alot of us (tax-payers) want to know because, directly or indirectly, their unethical behavior affected us in the US and abroad. We have a right to see justice done. You have the duty to deliver.

[anthonytaurus]

Unfortunately, shows like The Daily Show are the only ones with some sense of journalistic integrity. We already know they're going to make fun and exaggerate for comic effect but before they do, they always report the issue. You can barely trust any other news network because they want you to believe they are giving you the raw news when it's really all through their own twisted filter.

[boomslang]

Jon Steward is going to have a really hard time pretending to be serious recounting this story next week.

[verticallychallenged]

Jon Stewart doesn't have to pretend to be serious. Mock-seriousness is part of the character Stephen Colbert plays on The Colbert Report.

[DMcD]

Release them ......... now !!!!!!!!!

[sadsac]

Maybe Jeffrey Smith placed a bet prior to the hearing that his name would be mentioned on the 'The Daily Show' on a certain date. What kind of odds would he get?

[solarian]

what is the differance between bush doj and obama's nothing

[FrozenNorthObserver]

G*o*n*z*a*l*e*s's name is now Er ic.