Indictments dismissed; moonbats hardest hit
About a week ago a rogue prosecutor in Texas filed indictments against Vice president cheney, and a number of other individuals. On Monday, the judge dismissed the indictments:
A judge dismissed indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Monday and told the south Texas prosecutor who brought the case to exercise caution as his term in office ends. Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra had accused Cheney and the other defendants of responsibility for prisoner abuse. The judge's order ended two weeks of sometimes-bizarre court proceedings.
Guerra is leaving office at the end of the month after soundly losing in his March primary election.
"I suggest on behalf of the law that you not present any cases to the grand jury involving these defendants," Administrative Judge Manuel Banales said in court while ruling that eight indictments against Cheney, Gonzales and others were invalid.
He also set a Dec. 10 hearing on whether to disqualify Guerra from those cases.Even in thorough defeat, Guerra saw the outcome as confirmation of the very conspiracy he had pursued. "I expected it," he said. "The system is going to protect itself."
Banales withheld judgment on whether probable cause existed for the Cheney and Gonzales indictments because they were not represented in court and did not present any argument. For the other defendants, he found no probable cause to support the charges.
Three of the eight indictments returned Nov. 17 targeted private prison operator The GEO Group, state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., Cheney and Gonzales, as part of an investigation into prisoner abuse at privately run federal prisons in the county.
Guerra ran the investigation into alleged prisoner abuse with a siege mentality. He worked it from his home, dubbed it "Operation Goliath" and kept it secret from his staff, he said. He gave all the witnesses biblical pseudonyms - his was "David."
Banales dismissed all eight indictments because GEO Group attorney Tony Canales showed that two alternate jurors were part of the panel that day but had not been properly substituted.
Five of the indictments - against two district judges, two special prosecutors and the district clerk - were dismissed because Guerra was the alleged victim, witness and prosecutor. The indictments accused the five of abusing their power by being involved in a previous investigation of Guerra.
The indictment against Cheney alleged that his personal investment in the Vanguard Group, which invests in private prison companies, made him culpable in alleged prisoner abuse at privately run federal detention centers.
Gonzales was accused of using his position to stop an investigation into abuses at a federal detention center.
We're sure the moonbats are seething over this one. Let's face it, they've had an ax to grind over Cheney for some time now. (As a matter of fact, a few moonbats might want to plunge that ax in his skull.) But these indictments were a load of BS from the start. There has only been one reported incident of prisoner abuse, and that was at Abu Ghraib. At Gitmo the detainees are treated with the utmost respect. Other detention facilities that have had reported abuse has never had the allegations confirmed. Oh, and Abu Ghraib wasn't a "private" prison compound. It was a prison in Iraq, used by Iraqis, and commandeered by coalition forces to lock away the terrorists caught by coalition forces.
We watched a news video of this Guerra guy a week ago, and he was so nuts during the court proceedings even his colleagues were rolling their eyes. It was pretty clear then that the guy was off his rocker. Add in the fact he kept this investigation from his colleagues, and you know this guy is nuts. After all, what prosecutor in his right mind would keep his staff and colleagues in the dark about a potential case? Guerra did because he knew that these indictments had zero merit.
Kudos to the judge for ending this three-ring circus.
Publius II
A judge dismissed indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Monday and told the south Texas prosecutor who brought the case to exercise caution as his term in office ends. Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra had accused Cheney and the other defendants of responsibility for prisoner abuse. The judge's order ended two weeks of sometimes-bizarre court proceedings.
Guerra is leaving office at the end of the month after soundly losing in his March primary election.
"I suggest on behalf of the law that you not present any cases to the grand jury involving these defendants," Administrative Judge Manuel Banales said in court while ruling that eight indictments against Cheney, Gonzales and others were invalid.
He also set a Dec. 10 hearing on whether to disqualify Guerra from those cases.Even in thorough defeat, Guerra saw the outcome as confirmation of the very conspiracy he had pursued. "I expected it," he said. "The system is going to protect itself."
Banales withheld judgment on whether probable cause existed for the Cheney and Gonzales indictments because they were not represented in court and did not present any argument. For the other defendants, he found no probable cause to support the charges.
Three of the eight indictments returned Nov. 17 targeted private prison operator The GEO Group, state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., Cheney and Gonzales, as part of an investigation into prisoner abuse at privately run federal prisons in the county.
Guerra ran the investigation into alleged prisoner abuse with a siege mentality. He worked it from his home, dubbed it "Operation Goliath" and kept it secret from his staff, he said. He gave all the witnesses biblical pseudonyms - his was "David."
Banales dismissed all eight indictments because GEO Group attorney Tony Canales showed that two alternate jurors were part of the panel that day but had not been properly substituted.
Five of the indictments - against two district judges, two special prosecutors and the district clerk - were dismissed because Guerra was the alleged victim, witness and prosecutor. The indictments accused the five of abusing their power by being involved in a previous investigation of Guerra.
The indictment against Cheney alleged that his personal investment in the Vanguard Group, which invests in private prison companies, made him culpable in alleged prisoner abuse at privately run federal detention centers.
Gonzales was accused of using his position to stop an investigation into abuses at a federal detention center.
We're sure the moonbats are seething over this one. Let's face it, they've had an ax to grind over Cheney for some time now. (As a matter of fact, a few moonbats might want to plunge that ax in his skull.) But these indictments were a load of BS from the start. There has only been one reported incident of prisoner abuse, and that was at Abu Ghraib. At Gitmo the detainees are treated with the utmost respect. Other detention facilities that have had reported abuse has never had the allegations confirmed. Oh, and Abu Ghraib wasn't a "private" prison compound. It was a prison in Iraq, used by Iraqis, and commandeered by coalition forces to lock away the terrorists caught by coalition forces.
We watched a news video of this Guerra guy a week ago, and he was so nuts during the court proceedings even his colleagues were rolling their eyes. It was pretty clear then that the guy was off his rocker. Add in the fact he kept this investigation from his colleagues, and you know this guy is nuts. After all, what prosecutor in his right mind would keep his staff and colleagues in the dark about a potential case? Guerra did because he knew that these indictments had zero merit.
Kudos to the judge for ending this three-ring circus.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 1:17 PM
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