Friday, April 24, 2009
Speaker Pelosi = Sgt. Schultz
I think she means to say "Office of Legal Counsel" or "OLC," which is part of the Executive Branch (DoJ), not "Office of (the) Legislative Counsel," which helps House Members draft bills, and is part of the Legislative Branch. Of course, misspeaking is a good indication that your sentence is not accurate and that you misspoke.
Seriously, does Speaker Pelosi really want to go down the road of holding hearings in the House regarding coercive interrogation methods, and determining which House Members and Senators were "read in" to the program? Who gets to question the Speaker under oath? Has that ever happened in the history of The House of Representatives?
UPDATE: Rep. Peter Hoekstra calls BS on the Speaker.
UPDATE #2: Jules Crittenden agrees (via Instapundit).
CWCID: Hot Air
5 Comments:
By 
Georg Felis, at
Fri Apr 24, 09:53:00 AM:
Just waiting for the first reporter to ask "Speaker Pelosi, are you lying to us, or are you just that stupid... Oh wait, I mean to say 'And'"
By 
, at
Fri Apr 24, 11:36:00 AM:
Now that Obama let this horse out of the barn, I say: Bring it On. Lets declassify and release all relevant documents, including the names and titles of individuals subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques, descriptions of the precise interrogation methods applied to specific individuals, the intelligence resulting therefrom, and any terror plots foiled by said intelligence. Also, the minutes of all meetings between the Bush administration and Congressional leaders should be released so the public can fact check Pelosi's denial.
Conservatives should take a hideous delight in the prospect of this investigation, and an even more hideous delight in the sick prospect of criminal prosecutions of members of the Bush administration. Defense attorneys will get to depose and, in the event of a trial, cross-examine witnesses, including members of Congress. I can't wait to see the likes of Pelosi, Reed, Leahy, Kennedy, et al., cross-examined under oath and the threat of perjury about what they knew and when they knew it. This will be the end of their careers.
This is an all-out winner for Republicans. At the end of the day the American people are going to find out:
1. That the CIA subjected a few high-level members of AQ to interrogation techniques no worse than the techniques we apply to fresh-faced, 22-year old American cadets in SERE school. Yawn.
2. That the CIA acted under the guidance of and counsel of the Justice Department.
3. That ranking members of Congress were fully briefed and assented, or at least failed to object.
4. That the enhanced interrogation techniques were effective.
5. That Democrats in Congress and President Obama are betraying national security for political posturing.
This investigation is a major house fire, and Democrats own the house. I say we light this fire and burn it to the ground.
By Dawnfire82, at
Fri Apr 24, 01:42:00 PM:
I must say, I like the way you think Anonymous.
By Georg Felis, at
Fri Apr 24, 04:11:00 PM:
Sadly, although the spectacle of Pelosi on the witness chair being chopped to rhetorical ribbons is a nice thought, it will never happen. This story is doomed to become Democratic mud, a slime and smear job promoted by the White House and assisted by Pelosi/Reid in order to make the “Bush Bad, Evil Torture” meme into a “Everybody knows that…”
And after being dragged thru the mud for months, threatened with prosecution, slimed on the news, hounded by reporters and photographers, besieged by false stories released by the usual suspects, our Beloved Leader will magnanimously bequeath upon these poor wretches, the blessing of his hand. A reprieve of sorts, not a pardon, as he instructs the Justice Department that, even though we know they are all guilty, these poor fools were just pawns of the Administration That Shall Not Be Named, and in the name of Truth, Justice and Fairness, they shall not be charged in these horrible crimes. All Hail The Benevolent One, Long May He Reign.
And the Bush administration officials shall not be able to get their reputation back.
By , at
Fri Apr 24, 07:08:00 PM:
If it is left to a Pelosi/Reid Congress then IMO the Dems will not start indicting. Or even drag top Bushies into Congressional hearings.
There is little gain from that and a lot of risk. There are surer and safer gains from spreading the belief that Bush & Co. did virtually nothing but torture for years and hid it from Congress and the public.
Evidence is not needed to do that. And media still almost totally parrot any "Bush Bad" story as fact.
Now look at it from O's position.
The more successfully Congress and media spread that safe story the more O will be pressured to initiate criminal proceedings.
The left of course always wants trials. But a great many others will too if the buy the story.
It is duck-and-cover time for O.
O has already tried one ploy by saying maybe a Commission should handle the task of evaluating these interrogation programs.
A Commission can take a very long time to report. Or they can conveniently report just before election day. And it can be packed going in with obedient people.
But perhaps O really wants trials and convictions of Bushies. In that case prosecutors will squeeze the little people to testify about the boss.
And surprise! O has also hinted that the Justice Department should focus on those at the top rather than the actual interrogators at the bottom.
We must wait to see how it is played. Maybe a smoking gun will lead to the truth. If not the gun, then certainly there will be daggers in backs before this ends.
K
