...because he's afraid that Obama will punish him for his crimes. That's why all of a sudden he's bowing and scraping and putting out the best china. I say that on January 20th he be met outside the door by a squadron of FBI officials carrying handcuffs and a pamphlet outlining his Miranda rights.

...then, after months of investigation the Islam-o-facists blow off a nuke in downtown Atlanta killing thousands. Suddenly the Bush Doctrine becomes the Obama doctrine and that's the end of this partisan witch hunt.

"Those scholars agree, however, that Article II of the Constitution gives Bush much latitude: There is no authority that can stop the president from doing so if he wishes, and there is no outside check or balance to revisit such a decision, however controversial it may be. "The president can do with pardoning power whatever he wants," explained University of Wisconsin Law School professor Stanley Kutler. "It is complete and plenary unto itself."

This is false. In point of fact, James Wilson- one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and one of the first justices to serve on the US Supreme Court, stated that a president using the pardon power to exhonerate a person who committed a crime at his behest would be guilty of an impeachable offense- this at least implying that the act of granting such a pardon in and of itself would be unconstitutional.

I will say, however, that until now we have never had a president who is so likely to misuse the pardon power so blatantly, nor so spineless a Congress as to let him get away with it.

And I see no point in learning the truth if, as a precondition, you cannot do anything about it.

then, because of their immunity from prosecution, pleading the fifth during hearings would be out of the question, and prosecution for perjury committed under oath would be likely....

Salon,

Keep up the pressure by writing articles like this about Bush administration abuses.

Also, please write more stories about how the congress has been so silent for the last two years. Democrats have had majorities in both houses now for two years, but where are the investigations?! Where are the commissions and special prosecutors?!

http://voxvocisrespublica.blogspot.com/

It just seems to be that Obama is making to many plans already. Or at least he is seemingly letting them slip into the media. Or maybe that's the liberal illuminati plan, who knows. But what can he really do to Bush once he is out of office? Is there really any punishment that he can give him? Probably not, so what's the point.

I guess the only question I would have asked Obama or McCain, in light of all the torture, rendition, etc., was whether or not they would support the extradition/prosecution of Bush, et al. in the International Court of Justice at the Hague for war crimes.

Even as the U.S. is about as ahistoric as it gets, the Obama administration needs to move forward on gathering information, forming a commission and getting everything possible on the books.

They need to do this for future historians, legal scholars and the country.

Bush and co. might not do time but the least we should know his crimes, how he did it and to some degree why. We'll be better off if we do.

Salon Editors,

This was an excellent article, but please also do an article on the Bush administration's abuse of US citizen's right to privacy.

As me and my family were direct victims of Bush's spying on Americans, I am urging you to investigate how Bush administration diverted overseas mail to US citizens, opened and read it.

My mail for a period of 1 year was diverted to a Singapore address where it was open and read by someone, then taped shut and sent on to me. This occurred from mail leaving the Philippine Islands, Saudia Arabia, and Israel where my wife has family. It eventually stopped after I complained to my senators and representative.

I am also suspicious that my personal phones were tapped at that very same time as for the same period I often heard strange clicks on all my phone conversations. They have stopped now.

The way I understand it, if an ex-president is impeached and convicted, it would take away his pension, Secret Service Protection, franking priveleges, government health care, etc.

Only the "blinded by the left" types really want to see prosecution for alleged torture. It's never going to happen and here is why:

1. There was no "real" torture committed by US agents where someone's gonads got crushed or people were summarily executed. You want real torture, check out the "dirty war" in Argentina, the French in Algeria or the present-day Syria.

2. The roughest thing that happened to these guys is that there was loud music playing that made sleeping in a tight cell a bit difficult. So some dude lost some sleep and some interrogator messed him up a little bit. Gimme a break.

3. Obama does not want any options taken off the table when confronting the war on terror. The last thing Obama needs is to be soft on terrorism and have a repeat of 9/11.

4. Obama has to be careful of Gitmo because most of the hardcore are Yemeni and releasing them will instantly put US personnel at risk. Yemen is like a sieve and these guys are lethal to start with. That is why Obama has been reluctant to shut the place down or announce plans to do so.

With all of the REAL problems facing the new president, I would hope that trying to go after the Bushies for protecting the country from the islamofascists would not be a priority. Further damaging , weakening the country should not be on anyone's to do list. The war(s), healthcare, the economy, energy, education, these are REAL issues to be addressed. Wasting time and money and credibility on this partisan witchhunt would be getting off on the wrong foot and lead to disastrous results for Obama and his newly empowered minions.