Saturday, August 22, 2009
Render this
The Obama administration has rendered its supposedly first alleged bad guy, "supposedly" because we obviously do not know whether there have been secret cases. The case involves naked photographs and allegations of food deprivation and other abuse. Bizarrely, the target is not accused of terrorism per se, but for, well, inflating invoices.
A Lebanese citizen being held in a detention center here was hooded, stripped naked for photographs and bundled onto an executive jet by FBI agents in Afghanistan in April, making him the first known target of a rendition during the Obama administration.
Unlike terrorism suspects who were secretly snatched by the CIA and harshly interrogated and imprisoned overseas during the George W. Bush administration, Raymond Azar was flown to this Washington suburb for a case involving inflated invoices.
Azar, 45, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to commit bribery, the only charge against him. He faces a maximum of five years in prison, but a sentence of 2 1/2 years or less is likely under federal guidelines.
Defense lawyers and prosecutors declined to comment on the case Friday.
But Joanne Mariner, terrorism and counter-terrorism director at Human Rights Watch, called the case "bizarre."
"He was treated like a high-security terrorist instead of someone accused of a relatively minor white-collar crime," she said.
It will be interesting to see whether "inflating invoices," which presumably is an indicia of other corruption, is the actual offense charged or whether Azar is in fact suspected of financing terrorists. If the former, I suppose it is just another example of the Obama administration cracking down on business offenses. Don't inflate your invoices while abroad, guys, or you will be hooded, cuffed, subjected to a cavity search, photographed naked, shackled and flown back to the United States without judicial process. If the latter, then it is unfortunate we brought him to the United States. Predictable, but unfortunate.
7 Comments:
By 
, at
Sat Aug 22, 11:05:00 AM:
I believe this is covered in the Constitution and is OK if ordered by a President named anything but Bush.
You have to wonder, with all the political badmouthing by Pelosi, Penetta and the other left wing democrats of the CIA, if it will ever again be possible for the US government to do anything secret without it being leaked.
Of course, the anti-Americans should be able to rely on the captive media to hide what they are ordered not to print/cover.
By 
Stephen, at
Sat Aug 22, 11:27:00 AM:
This is probably a case of bad handwriting. President Obama scribbles a note, "have CPA check this out", overzealous staffer reads CIA, and the rest is history.
By JPMcT, at
Sat Aug 22, 11:45:00 AM:
I wonder if the ACLU lawyers will track down Obama's "operatives" and photgraph THEM in front of their homes and release the pics.
As an aside...wouldn't it be poetic justice if Hurricane Bill ruined Obama's vacation...
By , at
Sat Aug 22, 12:40:00 PM:
Let's see if Rachel Maddow gets worked up over this. She may.
Meanwhile "When ABC News anchor Charles Gibson was asked about anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan's plans to travel to Martha's Vineyard next week, where she will protest the Iraq and Afghanistan wars while President Obama is vacationing there. Gibson, whose newscast and network featured Sheehan when she led anti-war protests outside President Bush's Texas ranch in 2005, answered, "Enough already." "
Link, over
By Roy Lofquist, at
Sat Aug 22, 06:21:00 PM:
I suspect that there is far more to this than meets the eye. Maybe protective custody for a very important witness.
By Georg Felis, at
Sat Aug 22, 07:51:00 PM:
With treatment like that, you would think he was a Republican or something...
By UNRR, at
Sun Aug 23, 07:18:00 AM:
This post has been linked for the HOT5 Daily 8/23/2009, at The Unreligious Right
