Pardonoia

So I heard that Still-President Bush is being inundated with requests for pardons. Why bother with pardons when an Obama legal adviser recently stated that "only the most egregious Bush administration crimes should or would be prosecuted"?



Egregious, huh? I agree with Jonathan Turley that "all crimes committed by the government, particularly the President, are egregious."

But did Obama and his advisers read the news today? Salon has uncovered new evidence of post-9/11 spying on Americans. Obtained documents point to a potential investigation of the White House that could rival Watergate.

One of the key allegations against the Bush administration is the use of a secret database called "Main Core" which reportedly collects and stores -- without warrants or court orders -- the names and detailed data of an estimated 8 million Americans considered to be threats to national security.

A recent article in Radar Magazine described how such a database would be utilized during an emergency:

With the population gripped by fear and anger, authorities undertake unprecedented actions in the name of public safety. Officials at the Department of Homeland Security begin actively scrutinizing people who—for a tremendously broad set of reasons—have been flagged in Main Core as potential domestic threats. Some of these individuals might receive a letter or a phone call, others a request to register with local authorities. Still others might hear a knock on the door and find police or armed soldiers outside. In some instances, the authorities might just ask a few questions. Other suspects might be arrested and escorted to federal holding facilities, where they could be detained without counsel until the state of emergency is no longer in effect.

I'm not sure if this roundup would go down before or after the President suspends the Constitution. (And don't go thinking that he can't.)

So now Washington lawmakers are talking about an investigation modeled after the Church Committee.

Key issues to investigate, those involved say, would include the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance activities; the Central Intelligence Agency's use of extraordinary rendition and torture against terrorist suspects; and the U.S. government's extensive use of military assets -- including satellites, Pentagon intelligence agencies and U2 surveillance planes -- for a vast spying apparatus that could be used against the American people.

As you may know, I'm very cynical. Congress might investigate this and they might investigate that, and oh by the way, no lawmaker has openly endorsed a proposal for a new Church Committee-style investigation.

And as we all know, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has taken impeachment off the proverbial table.

Don't count on the Democrats to green-light an investigation. They have mostly been complicit in approving these crimes.