Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzales Indicted ***UPDATED***

Well, I'll be damn! Wonders NEVER cease!!!!

http://www.chron.com/disp...19459.html

Charges related to alleged abuse of prisoners in federal detention centers
Associated Press
Nov. 18, 2008, 4:59PM

McALLEN, Texas — A South Texas grand jury has indicted Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on charges related to the alleged abuse of prisoners in Willacy County's federal detention centers.

The indictment criticizes Cheney's investment in the Vanguard Group, which holds interests in the private prison companies running the federal detention centers. It accuses Cheney of a conflict of interest and "at least misdemeanor assaults" on detainees by working through the prison companies.

Gonzales is accused of using his position while in office to stop an investigation into abuses at the federal detention centers.

Another indictment charges state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. with profiting from his public office by accepting honoraria from prison management companies.

The indictments were first reported by KRGV-TV.

****UPDATE****UPDATE****UPDATE****UPDATE****UPDATE

http://www.huffingtonpost...45067.html

RAYMONDVILLE, Texas — A Texas judge has set a Friday arraignment for Vice President Dick Cheney, former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, a state senator and others named in indictments accusing them of responsibility for prisoner abuse in a South Texas federal detention center.

Presiding Judge Manuel Banales said Wednesday he will allow them to waive arraignment or have their attorneys present rather than appear in person at the hearing.

Banales also said he would issue summonses rather than warrants for the indicted since all have served in some public capacity. That would allow them to avoid arrest and the need to post bond.

After the prosecutor who won the indictments, lame duck Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra, was a no-show in court, Banales ordered Texas Rangers to go to his house, check on his well-being and order him to court on Friday.

That was only the latest development in a situation that has lawyers from Texas to Washington, D.C., scratching their heads.

Half of the eight high-profile indictments returned Monday by a Willacy County grand jury are tied to privately-run federal detention centers in the sparsely populated South Texas county and the other half target judges and special prosecutors who played a role in an earlier investigation of Guerra.

"The state of Texas is not present, which is a rarity," Banales said Wednesday. "I will not have a hearing when one of the parties is not present."

Tony Canales, an attorney speaking on behalf of attorneys for Cheney and Gonzales and representing private prison operator The GEO Group, subpoenaed Guerra's office manager to stand in for her boss.
Story continues below

Banales questioned Hilda Ramirez about her boss' whereabouts, but got nowhere.

"I have been calling Mr. Guerra all day. I have not had him answer," Ramirez told the judge. "I don't know what to do."

If Guerra does not appear Friday, Banales said he would likely appoint a temporary replacement.

The chance for further delay frustrated a courtroom packed with attorneys. Even though Banales said he would not hear their motions until Friday, they argued the indictments were improperly handled and the product of a vindictive prosecutor. All of the defendants had filed motions to dismiss indictments. They complained that Guerra had time to talk to the media about the indictments Tuesday, but did not show up for court Wednesday.

David Oliveira, Canales' partner, said after the hearing, "the news media told him there was a hearing today and he ran." Canales asked Banales to consider holding Guerra in contempt. Canales said if Guerra shows up Friday, he will put him on the stand.

The highest-profile indictment charges Cheney and Gonzales with engaging in organized criminal activity. It alleges that the men neglected federal prisoners and are responsible for assaults in the facilities.

The grand jury traced a sketchy line between Cheney's influence over the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency, which oversees the county's federal immigrant detention center, and his substantial holdings in the Vanguard Group, which invests in private prison companies.

Combining those interests, the grand jury accused Cheney of a conflict of interest because the more the prison companies were paid to hold inmates, the better he did financially.

"It is appalling to find that numerous elected officials from different levels of our government throughout our country to our U.S. Vice President Richard B. Cheney, defendant, are profiting from depriving human beings of their liberty," the indictment said.

The indictment accuses Gonzales of stopping an investigation into abuses at the federal detention center.

Canales filed two motions Wednesday accusing Guerra of "prosecutorial vindictiveness" and of not presenting the indictments to the trial court.

In one motion, Canales said Guerra had hijacked "the grand jury process and disregarded the requirements of the Code of Criminal Procedure designed to protect defendants' due process rights."

T. Gerald Treece, a constitutional law specialist and professor at the South Texas College of Law in Houston, questioned Guerra's jurisdiction over federal officials and federally-run buildings.

"You can't have district attorneys across the country bringing charges against federal officials," Treece said. If there are issues at the federal detention centers, then Guerra should turn the investigation over to the federal government, he said.

And even in a federal probe, Cheney and Gonzales have a "qualified privilege" that would protect them so long as they were acting within their jobs, Treece said.

The attorney for state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., who was indicted on a charge of profiting from his position through his consulting work for private prison companies, said that on the chance the indictment was not dismissed he wanted to go to trial before Guerra's term ended this year. Banales set a Dec. 8 trial date, if necessary.

"I think it shows that this has just been a game," Michael Cowen, Lucio's attorney, said of Guerra's absence after the hearing.

At times Wednesday it did seem like a bizarre game.

Since District Clerk Gilbert Lozano is under indictment, Banales decided he needed to appoint a temporary replacement to handle the cases. He asked Lozano for a recommendation, but Lozano said his top deputy is a witness and his next choice was out of town. Banales instead turned to his left and gave the job to a clerk from the 197th district, whose boss District Judge Migdalia Lopez is also under indictment.

Some attorneys argued that Banales may not even have the authority to schedule an arraignment because the indictments before him were invalid. One lawyer said Guerra never should have been allowed to present the cases to the grand jury because at least four of the indictments deal with people who had some role in the investigation of his office last year.

"He is the witness, the victim and the prosecutor," said the attorney for Mervyn Mosbacker Jr., a former U.S. attorney who was appointed special prosecutor to investigate Guerra.

Lozano, the county clerk, District judges Janet Leal and Lopez, and special prosecutors Mosbacker and Gustavo Garza, a longtime political opponent of Guerra, were all indicted on charges of official abuse of official capacity and official oppression.

The grand jury tied all of their charges to an earlier investigation of Guerra's office.

Banales dismissed an indictment against Guerra last month charging him with extorting money from a bail bond company and using his office for personal business. An appeals court had earlier ruled that Garza was improperly appointed as special prosecutor to investigate Guerra.

After Guerra's office was raided as part of the investigation early last year, he camped outside the courthouse in a borrowed camper with a horse, three goats and a rooster. He threatened to dismiss hundreds of cases because he believed local law enforcement had aided the investigation against him.

Guerra has been in office nearly 20 years, but was defeated for re-election in the March Democratic primary.
[Edited 11/19/08 18:31pm]

Bush would pardon them..grr

Wave your wildsigns high!!

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Well, I'll be damn! Wonders NEVER cease!!!!

http://www.chron.com/disp...19459.html

Charges related to alleged abuse of prisoners in federal detention centers
Associated Press
Nov. 18, 2008, 4:59PM

McALLEN, Texas — A South Texas grand jury has indicted Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on charges related to the alleged abuse of prisoners in Willacy County's federal detention centers.

The indictment criticizes Cheney's investment in the Vanguard Group, which holds interests in the private prison companies running the federal detention centers. It accuses Cheney of a conflict of interest and "at least misdemeanor assaults" on detainees by working through the prison companies.

Gonzales is accused of using his position while in office to stop an investigation into abuses at the federal detention centers.

Another indictment charges state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. with profiting from his public office by accepting honoraria from prison management companies.

The indictments were first reported by KRGV-TV.

2freaky4church1 said:

2elijah said:

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Well, I'll be damn! Wonders NEVER cease!!!!

http://www.chron.com/disp...19459.html

Charges related to alleged abuse of prisoners in federal detention centers
Associated Press
Nov. 18, 2008, 4:59PM

McALLEN, Texas — A South Texas grand jury has indicted Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on charges related to the alleged abuse of prisoners in Willacy County's federal detention centers.

The indictment criticizes Cheney's investment in the Vanguard Group, which holds interests in the private prison companies running the federal detention centers. It accuses Cheney of a conflict of interest and "at least misdemeanor assaults" on detainees by working through the prison companies.

Gonzales is accused of using his position while in office to stop an investigation into abuses at the federal detention centers.

Another indictment charges state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. with profiting from his public office by accepting honoraria from prison management companies.

The indictments were first reported by KRGV-TV.

Get the F outta here! Are you serious?

I dont' see anything on CNN or MSNBC about it. ...now finding them guilty remains to be seen.
[Edited 11/18/08 17:24pm]

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

2freaky4church1 said:

Bush would pardon them..grr

Not if any convictions are held off until AFTER January 19, 2009!

2elijah said:

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Not if any convictions are held off until AFTER January 19, 2009!

True. They still have to get a jury together as well. It takes time to go through a jury pool.

All kinds of surprising news today...

NEWSFLASH: Well, I guess you guys will be happy to know that Ted Stevens just lost his Senate seat to the Democrat that ran against him, MarK Begich.

Check the story out here.
http://prince.org/msg/105/289431
[Edited 11/18/08 18:28pm]

Hard to have a trial when the defendants ignore subpoenas and no-one will enforce the law against them.

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

2freaky4church1 said:

Bush would pardon them..grr

Not if any convictions are held off until AFTER January 19, 2009!

SUPRMAN said:

ehuffnsd said:

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

Not if any convictions are held off until AFTER January 19, 2009!

not true.

nixon was pardoned before he was convicted.

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

ehuffnsd said:

not true.

nixon was pardoned before he was convicted.

I was just reading about that. The odds are 80% to 20% that Bush will issue preemptive pardons for all his cronies before he leaves office.

2elijah said:

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

I was just reading about that. The odds are 80% to 20% that Bush will issue preemptive pardons for all his cronies before he leaves office.

Yeah, sounds like they'll get away with it squeaky clean.

They'll get pardoned, and that repulses me worse than words can possibly describe.

Cheney and Gonzalez indicted

Posted by:
Economist.com l LOS ANGELES


JUSTICE can be a coy mistress. For those disappointed by Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation into the leak of Valerie Plame's CIA role comes this story from South Texas. Charges against Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzales centre around Mr Cheney's ownership of stakes in private prison firms. These received federal contracts and are said to have benefited from Mr Cheney's official involvement and Mr Gonzales's deferral of an investigation. The case will likely provide more comfort to conspiracy theorists than to vengeful Democrats.

The lawlessness which frustrated so many with the Bush administration, particularly during Mr Gonzales's tenure as attorney-general, deserves some legal remedy. And, as was famously the case with Al Capone, sometimes a lesser conviction is the best on offer. But it is much easier to get an indictment than to prove a crime, and opaque governments like the one we are nearly through with can be much more successful at protecting its officers than governing. It will be surprising if anything substantial results from these indictments.

This is not to suggest that courts should simply forget about misdeeds of the Gonzales Justice Department, as Mr Gonzales apparently did. But the restoration of lawful government shouldn't come from prosecutors taking their best shot at big prey, or from the satisfaction of the outraged. The problem with law under the current administration is that it used legal means to chiefly political ends, just as those eager to punish the administration might do. The nomination of Eric Holder to be attorney-general should be a better remedy for Bush era legal relativism than whatever a jury might hold in store for Messrs Cheney and Gonzales.

http://www.economist.com/...dicted.cfm

Where's the MSM on this one?

.

Someone needs to look into where Juan Angel Guerra is IMMEDIATELY.

he probably was labeled an enemy combatant...no habeus corpus for him.

PurpleKnight said:

Nothing will come of this.

Graycap23 said:

Nothing will come of this.

guitarslinger44 said:

Graycap23 said:

Nothing will come of this.

Agreed. Guys like this seem to be able to weasel their way out of anything.

good news!

[Edited 11/20/08 20:19pm]

somebody call Dr.Kevorkian

It's about time! Now that the Democrats are in control,they need to indict all the other criminals from the Bush administration.Don't stop at Cheney and Gonzales!