Free Bernie Madoff

"[W]e need to look forward as opposed to looking backwards."

--President Barack Obama, January 11, 2009

What if, instead of sentencing Bernie Madoff today to spend the rest of his life in prison, a judge decided that we should let the criminal mastermind "move forward" and enjoy his golden years? After all, he's already been publicly disgraced, no one will ever trust him with their investments again, so what harm could possibly come from freeing him?

There would rightfully be a public outcry of the first degree if such a thing came to pass. We are a nation of laws. We believe in justice for all - not just for some. Madoff bilked thousands of Americans out of billions of dollars, and he must answer for that.

President Obama would never consider pardoning Madoff for his crimes. But Obama's statements that we should "look forward as opposed to looking backwards" when it comes to the Bush Administration's policy and practice of torture fly in the face of the values of our country.

The release this spring of the so-called torture memos confirmed what we'd long suspected. Bush Administration officials - including former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld - explicitly authorized heinous acts of torture.

Worse, they used torture (they prefer to call it "enhanced interrogation") to try to find information that would link the 9/11 attacks to Saddam Hussein, pressuring military officials "to do whatever it took." They authorized such atrocities to justify their own false claims about the need to go to war in Iraq - for political cover.

We cannot simply turn a blind eye to the past. Neither our Constitution, nor our conscience, allows it.

The President and members of Congress who have sworn an oath to support and defend the Constitution have an obligation to investigate the Bush Administration torture policy, and to bring to justice anyone who broke the law. A first step must be the creation of a Truth Commission to investigate these possible abuses of power.

The torture of detainees at Guantanamo, Abu-Ghraib and other prisons is undoubtedly one of the ugliest chapters in American history. Thankfully, there were a handful of civilian and military officials who risked their careers to try to put a stop to torture, and I applaud their uncommon courage. But President Obama is wrong to think that we as a nation can simply "move forward" without holding anyone accountable.

After all, why would we even consider letting former Bush Administration officials, who allegedly violated international law and who most certainly tarnished our nation's reputation, off the hook while insisting on life in prison for Madoff? Their suspected crimes are of an entirely different order of magnitude than what Madoff did.

Or maybe we value money more than human rights. I sincerely hope that's not the case.

Bob Edgar is the President and CEO of Common Cause.

Comments

[fixNY]

Sorry Bob. Not only is your timing wrong, your misguided efforts for purity will do little more than inflame the 7th century warlords of the Muslim community to perform further atrocities against people.
Stuff it.
This is the one day per year that we celebrate the ability of you and all citizens to have forums like this. Come on... on this one day, lighten up, and join us in celebrating the country that is still a magnet for people from around the world.
You can continue with bashing our form of government on the other 364 days this year. I'm sure you'll feel great doing it, and selling bumper stickers on the Common Cause website.

To be the good guys, we did not fire rubber bullets while defending our nation in World War II. You would be speaking Japanese or German now if we did so. It's rotten, but behavior that will likely save the lives of our allies during a war must happen.

I'll agree to digging up errors made during the Iraqi War if you also agree to hearings on digging up whether or not we 'really' needed to drop the atomic bomb on Japan, or bomb Dresden into oblivion. I'm sure you're aware of the debate about whether this was really necessary.

Just think, there are still "running American dogs', which we (and I) honor and respect as veterans. Why not go after them... a few are still alive?

[willymack]

Good point. It really galls me that a group of criminals of the worst sort can steal two elections, alow 911 to happen, trash the enviornment, loot our treasury, out a covert CIA agent, lie us into two illegal, unnecessary and, unwinnable wars, spy on us illegally, and not only order but condone torture, can walk away scot-free and get in our faces about it all, secure in the knowlege that they'll NEVER be brought to accounts for any of it. Justice my ass. The Obama administration, by not prosecuting the bushies are guilty of the crime of accessory after the fact, in my mind.

[Bill B]

Point well made. In the interest of getting things done, we often rationalize overlooking bad behavior. Sometimes, you just have to stand for principles. This is one of those times.

[APearson]

Rule of law means holding people accountable for violations of the Constitution and U.S. laws, no matter how politically inconvenient. If the Obama Administration fails to adhere to this principle, the future will look a lot like the past.

[betrayus]

Hi,

Blame everything on bush....when does that end...when does Obama ever take responsibility for our country and economy...and foreign policy?

Only when things get real good?
200 days into his presidency?
365 days into his presidency?
2 years into his presidency?
Never?...It will always be Bushes fault?....

You Bush basher's are ....are loosing it...

When doe's the line..." we inherited this"....every stop?

PATHETIC.......

About time OBAMA take's responsibility FOR HIS PRESIDENCY!

Peace!
Dan
____

http://gorescam.com/

BTW: The Earth has been in a "cooling period" for the last 10+ years...hows that for: "An Inconvenient Truth". There is "global climate change which has been going on for millions of years..."Global Warming" cause by Co2 levels...is a complete lie...Why...Earth temperatures rise BEFORE the rise of Co2...Its caused by our solar system...and NOT man made Co2...which makes everything Al Gore says or has said...a complete lie...his movie, book, Emmy, Nobel peace prize.....What is not a lie is that he is making muti millions...off his "carbon offset SCAM"!......but keep on enjoying your "spoon feed BS....

[LeftRight]

So wait, if we're not looking back anymore, that means that Bill Clinton can run for President again, right???? Cause it's only by looking back that we can realize that he's no longer eligible due to the 22nd Amendment of the US Constitution!!! And I guess that we can just continue to pay for Bush II's Secret Service detail for the rest of his life, since it's only by looking back that we can realize that he's only eligible to receive ten years due to the law signed by Bill Clinton in 1997!

[betrayus]

Hi,

150 years...just about right!

Peace,
Dan

_____
http://iraqsinconvenienttruth.com/2009/06/29/babylon-being-rebuilt-as-prophesied/

[DerekCressman]

We cannot move forward while ignoring our past, unless we want to make the same mistakes again.

[Pupadup4oBama]

It's not about ignoring the past...it's about what we have learned from our mistakes and using that as a tool to not make those mistakes again.

[LeftRight]

And sometimes that includes punishing those who make the mistakes, not so much to punish them, but to ensure that FUTURE mistake makers will realize that there are consequences to their mistakes!

[theantiblogger]

...and punishing those that deserve to be punished, whether they're crooks or assasins, laymen or elite.

[Queenhuh]

Exactly, why isn't there a collective outcry over the deceits, lies and underhanded behavior of W's administration? They treated their own citizenry, their own countryment, with abject contempt and a shrug reminiscent of the French monarchy before they lost their heads! Only that won't happen here. You are absolutely correct in that double standards are constantly being applied. Madoff obviously didn't move in the right circles, because if he was tied in any manner to the circle of W, he would be walking free.

[vlm521]

I agree with Mr. Edgar. We should not be sweeping the dirt of the Bush Administration under the carpet. We should be seeking the truth. How can we consider ourselves to be a moral people if we ignore the misdeeds of Mr. Cheney and Mr. Rumsfeld because we want to 'move on.' How can we move on with these transgressions left unexamined and unpunished?

[BrooklynReturnee]

We must know what did or did not happen during the Bush Administration to be sure that it's abuses of power and anti-constitutional conduct does not happen again. If we ignore the problems they will re-occur in more virulent form. We can not stick our heads in the sand and just hope the problems disappear. Looking forward is knowing and understanding our past.