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The Second Coming
The papers take a look at John Durham, the prosecutor Attorney General Michael Mukasey tapped to investigate whether anyone broke any laws by keeping secret and then destroying the CIA's torture tapes, and find that even if he doesn't have the same independence as Patrick Fitzgerald, he's made from the same stuff.
From The Los Angeles Times:
"Think of him as the second coming of Patrick Fitzgerald," said Jeffrey Meyer, a professor at Quinnipiac University law school in Hamden, Conn., who worked alongside Durham as a federal prosecutor for many years. "So far as I could tell, he does not have a political bone in his body. He is nothing but thorough and dogged in the way he pursues cases."
From The Washington Post:
Four friends said they could not recall him losing a case in more than 30 years as a prosecutor, almost all of it spent fighting organized crime and gang violence in Connecticut...."He's Fitzgerald with a sense of humor," said Hugh O'Keefe, a Connecticut criminal defense lawyer who has known Durham for 20 years.
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Comments (18)
hope4usa wrote on January 3, 2008 11:47 AM:It seems as if they never get the point. This is all about power games played by the Administration. Yes it does matter if he is independent. There are multiple conflicts of interest starting with the AG and the Padilla case. You can't investigate yourself and never have to report to anyone. It's ludicrous. I find it extremely suspicious how the probe was limited to just these tapes. Does anyone believe there aren't more tapes?
Jacqueline wrote on January 3, 2008 11:52 AM:No politcal bones .
Jacqueline wrote on January 3, 2008 11:53 AM:But who dose a republican prosecutor answer to? And if he still has his job in the Bush justice department he must be a loyal bushie.
He's not independant by any means like Fitzgerald was.
His boss is still Bush and Mukasey.
I smell a complete cover up and 1 lowly staffer to take the hit.
If your low level and were involved you better lawyer up.
No politcal bones .
moondancer wrote on January 3, 2008 12:07 PM:But who dose a republican prosecutor answer to? And if he still has his job in the Bush justice department he must be a loyal bushie.
He's not independant by any means like Fitzgerald was.
His boss is still Bush and Mukasey.
I smell a complete cover up and 1 lowly staffer to take the hit.
If your low level and were involved you better lawyer up.
He's forbidden to even mention the word torture, he cannot pursue any order to torture. He can only look at the order to destroy the tape.
brian wrote on January 3, 2008 12:11 PM:Without those restrictions, cheney/addington/bush would be indicted for war crimes within six months.
So much for justice.
Will he start from the assumption that the 'tapes' were 'destroyed' ?
He should look for copies of the 'tapes' ...
Otherwise this whole thing will be a sham, a puppet show, a hoax, a waste of time.
Tell me, colleagues, do you think the 'tapes' were copied and that copies still exist ?
I sure do.
JNagarya wrote on January 3, 2008 12:16 PM:Bushit made an enemy of the CIA when he imposed his responsibility for 9/11 onto the intelligence community -- most notably the CIA.
IF the CIA can get this _ordered_ war crime flipped back into the face of the Bushit War Crimes Family and Fantasy Factory, it will do so.
SP Biloxi wrote on January 3, 2008 12:34 PM:"He's not independant by any means like Fitzgerald was. His boss is still Bush and Mukasey."
And I agree with that comment. I know that the press is trying to make Durham another Patrick Fitzgerald the special prosecutor but Mukasey showed his true colors when he:
1. Didn't want an investigation into the torture tapes.
2. Then, he decided to have an investigation but assigned the job to Durham without nominating him as Special Prosecutor so that Durham wouldn't go through the pain stake of being grilled and confirmed by the Senate.
Lastly, Fitzgerald did have more independence in his investigation into the CIA leak case. Here is the letter to Fitzgerald by Comey on Feb. 6, 2004:
The Honorable Patrick J. Fitzgerald United States Attorney
Northern District of Illinois
219 S. Dearborn Street
Chicago, Illinois 60604
Dear Patrick: At your request, I am writing to clarify that my December 30, 2003, delegation to you of "all the authority of the Attorney General with respect to the Department's investigation into the alleged unauthorized disclosure of a CIA employee's identity" is plenary and includes the authority to investigate and prosecute violations of any federal criminal laws related to the underlying alleged unauthorized disclosure, as well as federal crimes committed in the course of, and with intent to interfere with, your investigation, such as perjury, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, and intimidation of witnesses; to conduct appeals arising out of the matter being investigated and/or prosecuted; and to pursue administrative remedies and civil sanctions (such as civil contempt) that are within the Attorney General's authority to impose or pursue. Further, my conferral on you of the title of "Special Counsel" in this matter should not be misunderstood to suggest that your position and authorities are defined and limited by 28 CFR Part 600.
Sincerely,
/s/ James B. Comey
phil james wrote on January 3, 2008 12:57 PM:James B. Comey
Acting Attorney General
Keep piling lipstick on this pig. It's still a pig. Mukasey is just Bush's latest water-carrier.
phil james wrote on January 3, 2008 12:58 PM:By the way. Didn't we hear the same wonderful "independence" thing about Mukasey in the first place? Come on...
moondancer wrote on January 3, 2008 1:25 PM:phil james
No thinking person ever bought Mukasey as anything but a pre-vetted bush stooge.
Anonymous wrote on January 3, 2008 1:51 PM:The chimp would rather have no AG than one that was independent.
Amen, Moondancer.
looseheadprop wrote on January 3, 2008 2:19 PM:I don't knw if he is the second coming of Fitzgerald or not. Hell, he could be the second coming of Christ for all I care.
The simple reality is that by not giving him independance from AG oversight, and by having the AG define the scope of the investigation instead of allowing Durham to follow the facts wherever they may lead, Mukasey has predetermined the outcome.
Durham may very well be a great guy and a straight shooter, but if he accepts the assignment under these terms, he is caving in on his first test of integrity.
moondancer wrote on January 3, 2008 2:34 PM:I'm sure he'll do a decent job until the trail reaches the fence of the White House, then its a wrap.
Samsara wrote on January 3, 2008 3:13 PM:This whole thing is just payback for Scooter and the latest NIE. The White House knew about the tapes, but didn’t give clear direction to the CIA. Some CIA bureaucrat does what he thinks is legally appropriate and what the White House wants, only to find the rug pulled out. The CIA didn’t toe the line, and Cheney is just showing them what happens when you cross Dick. I wonder if Bush will grant a pardon to the CIA fall guy…not.
PrismaticSprings wrote on January 3, 2008 3:42 PM:Listening to Hartman too.
This Mukasey decision re the tapes is maddening.
I think I'll call Senator Finestein and ask her if this is what she was hoping for when she voted in favor of Mukasey for AHe's Right.... This Mukasey Action is Going to Make It Impossible for Congress to do anything regarding these tapes or the act of torture itself.
"Sorry, we cannot comment on an on-going investigation".tune into Thom Hartman. He is dicussing the MuKasey decision to narrow
cia tape to the descrution only---not to top officials or to torture itself.
#Tropical Paradise? "They're living in the tropics… They've got everything they could possibly want."
— Dick Cheney
Torture and indefinite detention is shamefully un-American. Help us stop it.
WEAR ORANGE January 11 and protest the shame that is Guantánamo Bay.
www.aclu.org/closegitmo
http://www.ccrjustice.org/
37,000+ Copies of Constitution to President Bush
December 20, 2007, Washington, DC – This morning, Santa Claus (in the person of noted constitutional lawyer Bill Goodman) drove his sleigh to the White House to deliver thousands of copies of the U.S. Constitution… Read more >>
Anonymous wrote on January 3, 2008 5:29 PM:New investigator, same OVP.
anonoman wrote on January 4, 2008 1:22 PM:Asking the right questions is everything, as it was regarding the Watergate tapes.
Was there live feed of any interrogations?
Was there live feed of waterboarding or other forms of torture?
Who observed any live feeds, from where?
Who is depicted on the tapes?
Whose voices are on the tapes?
Whose orders are mentioned on the tapes?
=========
What questions are we overlooking?
Bill Camarda wrote on January 4, 2008 2:45 PM:>"He's Fitzgerald with a sense of humor," said Hugh O'Keefe, a Connecticut criminal defense lawyer who has known Durham for 20 years.
A trivial point, but I recently heard a speech Patrick Fitzergald gave at his alma mater. He most assuredly DOES have a sense of humor.