Does anyone remember that a REPUBLICAN, James Comey, fell on his sword to stop the wiretaps?

Does anyone remember that EVEN JOHN ASHCROFT thought
the program was ILLEGAL?

Does anyone remember that Alberto Gonzales walked
the PLANK to make sure that we didn't find out the
extent of the wiretaps?

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/05/15/comey/

snip>

"The transcript of part of Comey's testimony is here. In particular, Comey detailed the attempt by Andy Card and Gonzales to manipulate Ashcroft's approval while Ashcroft was in the hospital so sick from a gall bladder condition that he named Comey Acting Attorney General pending his recovery. Comey's recollection is that the hospital visit by Gonzales and Card was arranged as a result of a telephone call from the President himself to Ashcroft's wife.

Comey testified that upon learning of this intended visit, he literally ran up the stairs to Ashcroft's hospital room, and his reason for the rush tells you all you need to know about this administration: "I was worried about him, frankly. I was concerned that this was an effort to do an end-run around the acting attorney general and to get a very sick man to approve something that the Department of Justice had already concluded -- the department as a whole -- was unable to be certified as to its legality." According to Comey, once he arrived in Ashcroft's hospital room, this is what occurred:

And it was only a matter of minutes that the door opened and in walked Mr. Gonzales, carrying an envelope, and Mr. Card. They came over and stood by the bed...."


This is ALL about shutting down responsibility
for the Bush Administration. If the telco's get
immunity, so does the GOVERNMENT.

I am SICK.

:puke:

We all assumed it was the warrantless wiretapping, but it may be something else.

I'm sure there was more, and WHY
hasn't Ashcroft been questioned?

Just as we have all been reminded yesterday that just because someone has a D after their name does not mean they give two shits about the Constitution or their fellow Americans.

I WILL salute :patriot: Comey, whatever else he was, in the end he saw his principles decimated, and spoke up against it, probably at great personal cost to him and his family.

Where is Mr. Comey now, I wonder? Can he get a job? Are his children suffering mysterious "attacks" on their livelihoods and their careers?

I'll bet they are. Now that the "cameras are off" so to speak, I'll bet all kinds of mysterious misfortunes (I am probably not speaking of violence here, Bushies at this time don't attack that directly...they still need Plausible Deniability) has happened to Comey and his family recently.

I can't know for sure, but I do totalitarianism and I do know authoritarians. They are predictable as the sun rising. That is their nature, once you underastand what they are.

That's why I am 99% certain that Comey and his family are under attack. I am also certain that these attacks cannot be proven, and to and outside observer they probably seem like "unlucky misfortunes".

But Comey, whatever else he was, was a Patriot in the end. And like all Patriots who dare to defy the Bush Imperium, he and his family are likely being made to pay for his impudence.

"In April 2005, Comey announced that he was leaving the Department of Justice in the fall. In August 2005, Comey was appointed as General Counsel and a Senior Vice President of Lockheed Martin."

I saw in an interview that he fully expected to
be required to spill the beans one day...

I don't think he expected that they would
be able to pull it off.

the Ashcroft Hospital Bed Scene was revealed.

Thus, the retaliations wouldn't begin until Comey REVEALED it during hearings. As long as he kept his mouth shut, I think, he would be treated as any other High Bushie Courtier...jobs and cash galore.

As soon as he opened his mouth and told the truth to a Democratic-lead committee, THEN he becaqme a traiot to the Bushies (and an American Patriot).

Thus I would not have expected the retaliations to come in 2005, but now or soon from now.

I am guessing the "retaliations with plausible deniability" have already started or are soon to start.

should embolden others, like Scott McClellan,
to come forward while there is still time to
prosecute.

I have always wondered how they silenced an
ENTIRE ADMINISTRATION...

then I remember Bunnatine Greenhouse...

:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

I have had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach since yesterday. The songs "Revolution" and "Give Peace A Chance" alternately play in my head.

Sad to say.

We have the good guys, but when
Republicans go against the tide,
it REALLY stands out.

We shouldn't waste our chance to
reward and encourage them.

Dems are too scared to make a single vote.

That hospital scenario with Ashcroft was horrendous. And how well Comey knew them and was willing to stand up to them, thank goodness. Thank you, James Comey. You set an excellent example and it's just a shame so many others in a position to STAND UP like you did that day are either too partisan, too cowed, too compromised, or too fat with lobbyists' money to do so.

SHAME.

This is ALL about shutting down responsibility for the Bush Administration. If the telcos get immunity, so does the GOVERNMENT.

EXACTLY. There was a time when our representatives would have objected to that.

Barbara Jordan, 1974: "Today I am an inquisitor. An hyperbole would not be fictional and would not overstate the solemnness that I feel right now. My faith in the Constitution is whole; it is complete; it is total. And I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction, of the Constitution."

that link has tons of info on the bill,
and our representatives...

You could get lost there.


http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/05/15/comey /

" it's critical to keep in mind that Obama is a politician and, like all people, is plagued by significant imperfections. He has largely entrenched himself in, and is dependent upon, the power structure he says he wants to undermine. Uncritical devotion to political leaders, including him, is destructive. Obama needs pressure, criticism, checks, and real scrutiny just like anyone else in power in order to keep him accountable, responsive, and faithful to the principles he claims are the ones driving him.

Pressure of that sort should include demanding that he take meaningful action against this Draconian and lawlessness-enabling bill. This is, after all, a bill which his own party is seeking to pass and justifying their behavior, in part, by claiming that they're doing it to protect Obama politically from being attacked as Weak on Terrorism. If this bill passes and Obama does nothing to stop it, he'll bear significant responsibility for its enactment. Here's his campaign's phone number: (866) 675-2008 . "

I tried calling last night, but they were gone.
This morning, I get a recording that
"messages are not being taken at this time"...

I have left a message at the website, but
I want to tell a HUMAN there how important
this issue is to the public.

I want them to know that my money (small as
the amounts may be) is going to stop this
bill, and that if Obama is counting on the
base to fund his campaign, he better take
a STAND on this.

In a way it's a good thing there's a weekend between then and now, so I'll have time to cool down and collect my thoughts. There's no way I wouldn't call. Thanks for the phone number reminder and more thoughts about the matter, though.

justifying their behavior, in part, by claiming that they're doing it to protect Obama politically from being attacked as Weak on Terrorism.

That is the same old, same old, bogus BS he needs to ditch. That's Pelosi type thinking and Bush appeasement. He can do better. He's been doing better than that. I hope he comes back to his senses and votes against it.

I have been HORRIFIED about this since we first
found out about it.

Comey's testimony indicated that the telcoms were splitting
off info to the administration BEFORE 9/11...

I see that the pending legislation gives immunity
specifically for taps/surveillance AFTER 9/11, so
maybe that's SOMETHING.

But I doubt it.

will stand the test of time. We are currently living in a post constitutional period. Time will tell whether it will remain permanent.

piece of paper...

"Stop throwing the Constitution in my face! It's just a goddamned piece of paper!"

It is because the Republicans are so thoroughly corrupt that when one of them stands up to do the right thing, they are given hero status. On the other hand, it is because the Democrats are expected to be the true protectors of Democracy, that NO ONE has any patience for them as a party, when one of them acts as crooked as a Republican.

Yes, Comey is a real hero. In the end, he should be remembered to be as good an American as Patrick Fitzgerald.

He probably believed in the "righteousness" of
the Bushies....

Thankfully he also had a conscience and an
understanding of the constitution.

Not a "ends justify the means" turd like
the rest of the psycopaths.

Comey's Evidence of a Crime May 18, 2007
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0705/S00343.htm

snip>

Seeking approval of an illegal law then implementing the illegal law.

Before the hospital drama, it was clear that the White House knew that Comey wouldn’t sign off on the reauthorization of the surveillance law. The willingness to go around Comey, the official Acting Attorney General, and seek Ashcroft’s approval is just the opening act of this incident.

The approval was not obtained. Yet as Comey pointed out, “The program was reauthorized without us and without a signature from the Department of Justice attesting as to its legality.”

There are at least two major problems facing the participants in this affair.

First, the White House attempted to obtain approval for a program that they knew the acting Attorney General would not approve. Second, they sought this approval from someone without authority, Ashcroft. He stepped down due to his illness and passed authority to Comey.

Of great significance, however, is the fact that the program was implemented. It doesn’t matter if it was for an hour, a day or a week. Comey tells us warrantless surveillance on U.S. citizens was implemented without the required DOJ approval due to Comey’s unwillingness to attest “as to its legality.”

Section 371. Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States

If two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. (18USC371) U.S. Code as of: 01/19/04



NO IMMUNITY!

Most welcome. Thank you!!!

:toast: