Statutes of Limitations Are Expiring on Some Bush Crimes

[G_j]

..just a reminder..

Statutes of Limitations Are Expiring on Some Bush Crimes
Elizabeth Holtzman March 20, 2013

http://www.thenation.com/article/173435/statutes-limitations-are-expiring-some-bush-crimes#


<snip>

President Bush and his team may have also violated the Conspiracy to Defraud the United States statute, which was used to prosecute top officials in the Watergate and Iran/Contra scandals. Together with others in his administration, he made many misstatements to Congress about the Iraq War. In one noteworthy example, just before the invasion, he notified Congress that the invasion met conditions it had set for an attack, including that it was aimed at persons or nations that “planned” or “aided” the 9/11 attacks. But neither Saddam Hussein nor Iraq planned or aided the attacks of 9/11.

The five-year statute of limitations for defrauding the US started running the day President Bush left office, because the Iraq War was undertaken not just to remove Saddam Hussein and install a new government but also, as the former president explained, to secure “victory” and create a “stable” Iraq, an effort that lasted through the end of Bush’s second term. That means the statue of limitations will expire on January 20, 2014.

Since no prosecutions can be brought after the statutes run out, unless investigations are started soon, any crimes that did occur will go unprosecuted and unpunished, deeply entrenching the principle of impunity for top officials. This would be shameful for our country and strike at the heart of the rule of law

<snip>

Nothing would corrode Americans’ respect for the rule of law more than enshrining a perception of impunity for top government officials. Nothing would encourage future criminality by presidents more than a belief that they are above the law. That is why it is incumbent upon the attorney general to appoint a well-regarded, independent prosecutor promptly, so that appropriate investigations can be completed in the time remaining.

[leftyohiolib]

1. why are there time limits on the prosecution of crime

[bemildred]

2. There is no statute of limitations on war crimes.

But now we see how the game is being played.

[earthside]

3. To Pres. Obama's Great Discredit ...

... he is going to let Bush-Cheney go legally unaccountable for their crimes.

Sadly, Pres. Obama has not even publicly held Bush-Cheney morally and ethically accountable for their actions.

In my estimation, this is Pres. Obama's biggest failure as the federal government's chief executive -- and we will all suffer for it as future President's learn that there are no consequences for subverting the Constitution, for lying, for launching unprovoked wars, for torture, etc.

[G_j]

4. As Elizabeth Holtzman points out

letting these things go un addressed seriously hurts the country and jeopardizes
it's future. For that I hold President Obama responsible.

[Fumesucker]

5. To his great relief also

"Well, we wanted to do something about it but had so many other crises we just never had the time and now sadly it's too late."

[woo me with science]

6. K&R