Is the Abramoff plea a red herring?

[joeunderdog]

So Abramoff takes a plea. Could be good news because he says he is going to tell all. But what if the plea is a cupcake deal (based on the level of corruption) and the prosecutor only gets part of the story? Then Abramoff and the rest of the crew escape the full brunt of justice that should be theirs. Abramoff’s plea should be tied to the successful prosecutions of others. Otherwise, what good is it? I somehow don’t think Fitzgerald would be handling things this way if he were the prosecutor. They’ve got Abramoff so dead, he should be squeezed for everything he’s worth.

And now we find out that the the prosecutor was assigned by Bush himself and might have ties to the Defense teams of Frist and Delay. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x46329 It’s very plausible that even with all the great info Abramoff might give up, the prosecutor “just couldn’t risk taking these pols to the wall on this stuff.” Before you know it, with the wrist-slapping, pardons and a few months at Club Fed, the boys could be back on the campaign trail within a couple of years.

Furthermore, a long drawn out court process before the public is the absolute WORST case scenario for the Repukes. Avoiding this is a massive, massive victory for them. The last thing they want is a transparent process exposing their criminal enterprise, whereas convictions and pleas allow them to hide the ugliest truths. (Think about it—OJ was found Not Guilty, but was convicted in the Court of Public Opinion for most people who watched the trial. People conclude for themselves if they can actually see the process.) If everyone gets to plea out, this goes away very quickly—relative to the world of politics—and leaves the minds of voters.

I’m skeptical because I know that Chimp owns the Courts and that plea bargains can be a prosecutor’s sell out. And we don’t know the terms of the deal yet. The American people should see these people on trial, hear about what they do and see a criminal justice system that throws the book at them rather than plea bargains. A long trial would be a victory for the American political system.

I’m reserving my champagne for a later verdict.

[Junkdrawer]

1. I imagine that Republican Primary Challengers are being recruited...

right now and the timing gives the Republican Party plenty of time to wrap these "challengers" in "reformer" garb.

[Mme. Defarge]

2. This is my concern as well.

[DemNoir]

3. Your attitude stinks

And you don't know what your talking about. This post is so full of inaccuracies and just pure crap I am overwhelmed. It's impossible to know where to start.


One point, The woman in question is not the actual prosecutor on the case. Do some research. But, I know it is easier and more fun to splash a bunch of ill informed negative crap.

[joeunderdog]

6. Attitude?

It’s OK to respectfully disagree.

IMO, it’s too early to get too giddy, as so many people here are. That's all. The fact is, we don’t KNOW the terms of the plea, so it’s hard to call it a victory. The fact is, the Bush administration is corrupt and there are examples everywhere that its influence has forced the hand of the judicial system like never before. The fact is, a trial would explose the most details of corruption than any other outcome of this process. The country could not interpret this process simply in news soundbites.

Yes, I love the exposure of these criminals, but it’s too early to call it a victory.

[kentuck]

4. Maybe?

Has Rep Ney made his plea bargain yet?

[napi21]

5. You're right to hold the champagne, but don't be too pessimistic.

There's already been a lot of political damage done just by this info coming out to the public, and I'm sure it's far from over!!!

You also need to realize that the people whose names he gives up could also give up even higher ranking people, just to save their own hide.

This is just the opening scene of yet another very ugly Pug. story. I find myself constantly checking news updates just to see what else has been revealed in this culture of corruption!