FBI Director Mueller lies. Political pressure not to indict Hastert in Sibel Edmonds case

Last week, FBI Director Mueller said that "he is confident that nobody in the Justice Department exerted any undue political influence on any of the high-visibility public corruption cases of recent years."

That might be true, depending on the definition of "high visibility" and "recent."

While the current Attorney scandal is a purely Republican affair, one of Mueller's first tasks when he was appointed in 2001 was to shut down a bipartisancongressional bribery investigation. We know the name of only one of the perps, former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert - who reportedly took more than $500,000 in bribes.

When the FBI agents in charge of the operations tried to get a Special Prosecutor appointed they "were told to alter the thrust of their investigation – away from elected politicians and toward appointed officials."

Interesting, no?

In the current Attorney scandal, prosecutors have been directed away from investigating Republican corruption, that's because Republicans have been in charge for so long. When the corruption is bipartisan, so is the coverup - and despite Mueller's protestations, apparently it's the elected folks who wield all the power.

From Vanity Fair:

Hastert is the only named individual in the case - he is said to have taken more than $500,000 in bribes, delivered in cash, in suitcases, to his home. The case was blocked in 2001, soon after Mueller's appointment - but it has remained blocked ever since. So, on the 'recent' claim, Mueller is lying when says that "nobody in the Justice Department exerted any undue political influence on any of the high-visibility public corruption cases of recent years"

Mueller might be correct when he refers to 'high visibility' - the fact that the ex-Speaker of the House was nearly, and still deserves to be, indicted somehow didn't become a 'high visibility' case. Vanity Fair put together the story, Amy Goodman ran a story on it, Josh Marshall ran a piece on it, as did a bunch of story - and I think that's about it.

As you all know, there's not a single media outlet in the US who would make such claims unless they had evidence that they were very comfortable with. As Sibel made clear:



I know for a fact that Vanity Fair's lawyers went through this article with a fine toothed comb prior to publication, and they excluded a whole bunch of explosive stuff that I wish they'd included - but they didn't exclude this particular claim. And Hastert didn't sue Vanity Fair, or Sibel. After months of give-and-take between Hastert's lawyers and Vanity Fair, Vanity Fair finally published a letter from Hastert's team which essentially didn't refute the key charges.

Still, Hastert waddles free to this day.

So, when you think about the current Attorney scandal, remember that it's only the tip of the iceberg. It's not just about Gonzales, it's not just about the USAs, and it's not just about Republicans.

On, or about, Tuesday, we're going to be asking you to call Henry Waxman's office to demand open public hearings into Sibel Edmonds' case. See campaign headquarters "Let Sibel Edmonds Speak for more.

With your help, we can put Perle, Feith and Hastert in jail, where they belong.

crossposted at my hq http://wotisitgood4.blogspot.com/2007/05/fbi-director-mueller-lies-political.html

Welcome to the real World, Dennis.

is corrupt should be prosecuted, regardless of party affiliation. R or D, there is no room for these people to be in positions of power once they have shown such a penchant for the quick gain of illicit cash or other "gifts".

Aggressive prosecution is the only way to deal w/these individuals, and if found guilty, no Club Fed...they need to do hard time, and plenty of it.

Can we do a citizens' arrest of most of Congress, the White House, the Cabinets......

every aspect of Gov't. Law enforcement needs to be investigated as well, if the do not actively seek out and press for prosecution of those that are charged.

I realize that this administration has placed flunkies in virtually every aspect of govt, but there are still cases where special prosecutors could circumvent LE.

In some cases, we might have to wait until there is a D AG...I'd rather get them prosecuted later than never.

the corruption goes deep, the judges, fearful of having their lives scrutinized or the political aspirations doused, corrupt the process further by not affording the defense the opportunity to present evidence or a defense (as in selective prosecution, overlooking repugs that have done the same thing that is the basis of the charge) -- the system is not just broken, it is rotting at the core and that what the politicizing of the DOJ has accomplished.

at the republican party through the corrupt system of no-bid contracts.

Republicans give tax dollars to => no bid contracts => to republican contractors => who give some of those tax dollars to => republican campaigns to elect republicans to => vote to give tax dollars to => no bid contracts => to republican contractors.

They also elect republicans who will => legislate medicare dollars to pharmacy & insurance companies => who will donate the landfall to => republican candidates to get elected => who will give more to the pharmacy & insurance companies.

It's the same with the revolving door of justice. Republicans appoint => rightwing judges who won't allow evidence against => corporations in a trial => and the corporations save money from lawsuits to donate => to republicans who appoint => rightwing judges to => disallow evidence against => corporations (or republicans) in a trial, and the judges get covered by more judges appointed, and corporations keep getting off the hook. The BIGGEST of these coups came when a judge ruled that corporations could keep election software PRIVATE so the corporations could steal elections at will.

The whole revolving door of government is totally controlled by these fascist bastards, who are controlled by the fascist corporatists. We're in such a fucking mess here.

:kick::kick::kick:

seeked justice, "activist judges". Seems like the RWnuts have little problem w/their own "activist judges", or keeping the judges cowed and unable to do their jobs.

One of the things of the Constitution, was to keep the Judicail Branch seperate, so this kind of thinig would not happen. To be sure, it has happened before, but the extent to which these miserable bastards are killing it off, it may take some time to get things in order again.

FWIW, this administration knows nothing of justice, it is all about vengeance, something we've tried to avoid for over 200 years.

Our Justice Department and FBI are all compromised!

and the State Dept, and the Pentagon

i concur - ARGHHHHHHHHHH

and might never.

Should we focus on Conyers? Or someone else?

You KNOW that the bush cartel has threatened them. And with the extent of what Sibel knows, there are prolly foreign countries who are threatening them, as well. The Dems may not want their families assassinated or suicided.

:kick::kick::kick:

and whom you mean. I read on DU that Waxman is deferential to Israel. We now suspect Hastert is connected to Turkey. This whole situation might be being squelched because it is a delicate house of cards whose disclosure could precipitate a world war. I'm sure that not all of these players are squeaky clean in what they believe are private dealings. Beyond embarrassment, there might be state secrets involved; not necessarily our own, but those of other governments; and they might not like us upsetting the apple cart. A story like this could make its wheels fall off.

Nevertheless, I'm dying to know what Sibel knows. Five bucks says it points to Cheney and something involving 9/11 foreknowledge. But if that were all there were to it, Waxman would have spoken out already. I think he knows more than he can say.

with this argument is that they are getting other people killed with their corruption and/or cowardice. I'm sure we can find some Americans who would risk their lives to put an end to the war profiteering/drug running cartel.

They also could resign and free up their seat for someone else who might do something.

...but someone willing to spend their children's lives. Which raises the further problem, that anyone willing to pay that price is almost certainly on the wrong side of the equation.


I'm very afraid that there is no way back for the USA, no fixing what's broken. The corruption is too deeply entrenched and it has been for decades. There is nothing at all new in the actions of the current administration. The only real difference is in the scale of their depredations.

I and others hit his (Conyers) office as well.

Report: FBI's terror focus leaves fewer agents on crime



SEATTLE (AP) -- The Bush administration's refocusing of the FBI in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks has left far fewer agents to target the sophisticated fraud and other white-collar crime cases the bureau has traditionally pursued, a newspaper reports.

It adds up to thousand of white-collar criminals nationwide who are no longer prosecuted in federal court, frustrated victims and potentially billions of dollars in fraud and theft losses, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported in Wednesday editions.

More than five years after the 2001 attacks, the Justice Department has failed to replace at least 2,400 agents detailed to focus on counterterrorism, the newspaper reported.

"Politically, this trade-off has been accepted," said Charles Mandigo, a former FBI congressional liaison who retired four years ago as special agent in charge in Seattle. "But do the American people know this trade-off has been made?"

The P-I said its six-month investigation analyzed more than a quarter-million cases touched by FBI agents and federal prosecutors before and after Sept. 11, 2001.

Among the key findings:

-Overall, the number of criminal cases investigated by the FBI nationally has steadily declined. In 2005, the bureau brought slightly more than 20,000 cases to federal prosecutors, compared with about 31,000 in 2000 - a 34 percent drop.

-FBI investigations of white-collar crime have also plummeted. In 2005, the FBI sent prosecutors 3,500 cases - a fraction of the more than 10,000 cases assigned to agents in 2000.


http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP04112007news125338.cfm

We're prolly about to find out, too, how complicit some of the Dems are in this mess. We'll see just how many have either been threatened into silence, or how many have been on the take, as well. I'm beginning to believe this goes pretty deep in both parties.

:kick::kick::kick:

Makes ya wonder about Waxman's cold feet in this particular instance, doesn't it?

He always seems to slip under the radar. Wonder why THAT is?

You can count on me to call Waxman on Tuesday. :bounce:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=344

:hi:

Not to mention the caviar. There is a sleezy mafia element, it seems, to every deal involving oil. It's time we turned the world "green", but I'm afraid the sleeze would still find its way in. Transparency (and whistle blowers) seems to be the only cure for this type of crap going down. Some poor working bloke is losing money so that all these corrupt officials can sling millions/billions of dollars around.

Thanks for the link, Seemslikeadream.



:kick::kick::kick:

:kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick:

And that's just WRONG...on so many levels!

No wonder Fat Hastard looks so well fed.

yet. :D