EXCLUSIVE: Holder assures GOP on interrogation prosecution

Source: Washington Times

EXCLUSIVE: Holder assures GOP on interrogation prosecution
Eli Lake
Wednesday, January 28, 2009

MICHAEL CONNOR/THE WASHINGTON TIMES Senate Republicans want clarification on how Attorney General-designate Eric H. Holder Jr. will handle U.S. interrogation methods at Guantanamo Bay and whether agents will face prosecution.

President Obama's choice to run the Justice Department has assured senior Republican senators that he won't prosecute CIA officers or political appointees who were involved in the Bush administration's policy of "enhanced interrogations."

Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond, a Republican from Missouri and the vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said in an interview with The Washington Times that he will support Eric H. Holder Jr.'s nomination for Attorney General because Mr. Holder assured him privately that Mr. Obama's Justice Department will not prosecute former Bush officials involved in the interrogations program.

Mr. Holder's promise apparently was key to moving his nomination forward. Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 17-2 to favorably recommend Holder for the post. He is likely to be confirmed by the Senate soon.

Read more: http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/28/exclusive-holder-assures-gop-torture-prosecution/

Definitively two sources I do not believe.

Not Holder - Yes, by all means, put him in place - but PLEASE no promises to let the criminals off the hook!

That's forever now. We're no more free than any prisoner. It's all a GD LIE.

It would be irresponsible for Holder to make such a promise. I'll wait to hear from a more credible source.

I mean it - the evidence is there, prosecute! No assurances of protection!

They can always say OOOPS, Holder was mistaken, or OOOPS that was before they knew more bad stuff about Bush Co.

If my sense of timing is right, we should see Bush, Rummy, Darth, and all the rest on trial in the summer of 2010....but in an INTERNATIONAL COURT of war crimes.

the UN is already talking about building a case against Rummy. If another country takes the lead on this we all feel like jerks.

unless he promises not to prosecute me if I rob a bank.

and hold him in my basement indefinitely.

I have no problem with the assurance.

How utterly repugnant.

...the facts?

This had better not be true...Just who the fuck do these republicans think they are?

Hello!!! DUMMYCRATS WE WON THE FUCKING ELECTION!!!! START ACTING LIKE IT!!!

At this point I'm more interested in Mr. Holders side of this story. This could be disinformation. Personally I'm not as interested in prosecuting intelligence agents as those that authorized the acts. I would not be opposed to immunity in exchange for testimony concerning authorization.

on Cornyn and Specter about this whole thing.

if only, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice and a few others at the top are prosecuted, I can live with that.

They have no leverage to make any demands. Either they vote to confirm him or not, and all of the Republicans can vote against him and he could still be confirmed. What am I missing here?

I don't know what they said privately, but i have to doubt
holder said anything of the kind, whatever Bond thought or
claims he heard.

Anyway Bonds has such a rep as a POS and LIAR, I'll wait for
another source before getting annoyed.

for our own with no proof. Now we think Obama won't prosecute based on this guy's "word"?

This guy says Holder gave him this assurance in "private"?

That's really odd...since when asked, Holder told everyone he could not make a judgment until the facts of each case were presented to him. He then went on to say that water-boarding WAS torture. So, enhanced interrogations are not water boarding...but I need more info and a reliable source before I bite at this one.

This "article" seems more GOP meme of the day bullshit.

They suggest what a political storm it would be for Obama to prosecute? Come on. Who would benefit if we all believed that? I highly doubt that this is true. Perhaps when the truth comes out, there will be a kernel of a trail to the truth from this statement. Something which means almost exactly opposite of this take on it.

Two days ago everyone hated Caroline because of her alleged "tax problems"...turns out that was leaked from the GOP. A few days ago everyone was pissed about the stimulus because it wouldn't work, based on a report which was leaked by the GOPO and turns out to be a report on one teeny section of the stimulus and therefor was presented completely without accuracy or respect for the facts. a Report that the authoring agency basically says NEVER existed.

I'm sensing the GOP's desperation to drive the headlines, like they have for the past 8 years at least. They know the accusations will stick in people's minds more than the retractions later.

Caroline, wherefore art thou?

edited to add: I hope Kit Bond puts down the bottle long enough to face reality at some point in there near future.

NT!

otherwise, they win as they pit us against our own leadership!

Electing Barack Obama did nothing. Yay, he closed Gitmo... kinda. Then he authorized more attacks on Pakistan, just like Bush would have done. I mean, the guy promised to do all these things including to not look back at the past, which means he's not going to understand or correct those mistakes. That means the people he appoints will as well. Bush is going to get off, and there isn't anything that we can do about it. The economic stimulus package will be rife with tax cuts for the wealthy because even if he won, the bill has to go through committees with Republicans trying to sabotage it. Get over it. Our country is fucked. Just sit back and watch the crash. It's coming, and for those who are optimistic enough to believe that an injection of MORE fiat money will save us, you're about as smart as the Republicans have been for the past 30 years. Get back into school, the upper education system is going to be one of the few things rescued while the rest of public education is going to collapse beneath it. Glad I was lucky enough to be in my early 20s during this whole shit mess instead of in my teens, going through a public education system whose baseline and cap are both NCLB. Partisanship will not work when you've got Republican douchebags, and Democrats who got elected by being as conservative as those douchebags (like the dude who picked up Santorum's seat).

}( :evilgrin:

I simply will not vote at all, because if we got someone THIS good and he's willing to let criminals who torture people walk, then I'm fucking done with politics.

EDIT: oh thank goodness, I just saw that this was from the Moonie Times. So it's likely pure bullshit.

Better be.

I wouldn't take anything they said for fact if it was delivered by God personally.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4930253

and

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4930262

Thank goodness.

:patriot:

...on whether that article is true or not the fact is that, unfortunately, the rich republicans have a tendency to be over the law. Its possible to prosecute the entire Bush administration and legitametely find a great amount of evidence but there will always be the invisible hand that will set these people free from the grip of justice.

The International Criminal Court resolution has not been ratified by the U.S. and therefore they cannot prosecute America's criminals.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/28/aide-holder-has-made-no-d_n_161971.html

pnorman