Will Obama Investigate and Hold the Bush Admin Officials Accountable Once He's Elected President?

[Blackhatjack]

A very important question IMHO. I have not heard him address this issue. Have you??

[babylonsister]

1. Here:

Would Obama Hold Bush Accountable?

By Robert Parry
April 16, 2008

Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have shied away from the issue of holding George W. Bush and his top aides accountable for war crimes, torture and other offenses – apparently out of fear of alienating potential Republican crossover votes.

But – under questioning on April 14 – Obama agreed that, if elected, he would have his Attorney General initiate an investigation into whether Bush and other senior officials violated criminal statutes and thus deserved to face prosecution.

“What I would want to do is to have my Justice Department and my Attorney General immediately review the information that's already there and to find out are there inquiries that need to be pursued,” Obama told journalist Will Bunch. {Philly.com, April 14, 2008}

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2008/041508.html

[Wapsie B]

And a major reason why the gop will continue to stop at nothing

to get McCain in the WH, even if they have to Diebold the election. Get a Democrat in there who may open the records to the 9/11 investigation, Iraq, and possibly by extension Iran-Contra? The rwingers cannot let that happen.

[onehandle]

13. Primary talk. Won't happen.

Red meat for Democrats. Obama left himself a lot of outs with that statement.

[alfredo]

2. We will leave them no choice. You have the power.

[Ichingcarpenter]

3. In a call for Bipartisanship- I call for Obama to nominate for Attorney General

Ralph Nader

I thought at first John Edwards, but I'm leaning towards Nader.

[cherokeeprogressive]

4. No.

[Super Soaker Sniper]

5. I would hope not.

At least not until he deals with the shambles that Bush has made of our economy, our foreign policy and our Constitution. There are no statute of limitations on war crimes. Having Congress sit around for months screaming red faced at how indignant they are about Bush getting away with anything will do nothing to help Americans deal with their financial situation and gas prices. Bush can be brought to task in good time.

What happens to Bush and his minions is supremely unimportant to someone barely making ends meet and pumping $4+ a gallon gas into his car. I am all for Bush facing the music, but there are more pressing issues for President Obama to deal with first.

[Warren Stupidity]

6. Let's get Obama elected first and then work on this issue.

My guess is that he will not make a big deal of this before the election as there is no upside in terms of the electoral college in pushing this issue. What happens in January is a different matter.

[JackRiddler]

7. Sadly, it doesn't look like it if it's up to him...

Let's hope the momentum finally builds where it's overwhelming anyway. It's up to all of us. Otherwise, we're going to have a repeat of 1993. We'll have to "move on" and "do things," not "dwell on the past," so crime in government goes unpunished, justice is again confounded, the root causes of the present crisis go unexamined, the people remain in the dark about what this regime really was, and you can basically plot the return of the next-generation Bush mob in 2012 or 2016.

[lutefisk]

9. Don't forget "It would tear the country apart" . . . n/t

[JackRiddler]

11. Quite possible, because certain elements would want it to be so.

But I figure they're planning to fuck things up as much as possible before the election, which of course they will attempt to fix.

[lutefisk]

8. imho, no.

The federal government has been stacked with Right Wing loyalists and they aren't going anywhere, the Republicans (and there are some powerful ones) in Congress would do anything to prevent investigations, and the media would turn public opinion against the Obama administration, making just about any kind of action difficult.

We're screwed if this mess isn't addressed and this outrageously criminal administration isn't held accountable. I think we're screwed.

[ThoughtCriminal]

10. It depends on who is running the DOJ

We need a really aggressive AG who believes in justice and the Constitution.

[onehandle]

12. Not a chance. Presidents don't investigate Presidents.

Bush and company will have happy, wealthy retirements and post-careers.

[grasswire]

14. No.

Don't you get the code?

"Forward-thinking" and "transcendent" and all those words define what's coming. He wouldn't be the first to go along to get elected and avoid controversy.

But he would be the first Constitutional scholar with the power to punish those who have attacked it, at his will.

It's not gonna happen. Any president's first term is spent working toward reelection.

[Phred42]

15. He Won't. There will be odd excuses - but it won't happen

[tom_paine]

16. I want to believe YES, but I am 99.9999% certain the answer is NO.

We are going to let them get away with HIGH TREASON AGAIN.

Just like in 1935, we had Prescott Bush and his bunch dead to rights.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/document/document_20070723.shtml

Just like in 1974 when we sat silent while Ford pardoned Nixon and it may well be our Congressional Leaders, 500 times better than Nancy Capitulosi and Harry "Bushies, tell me what you need" Reid, helped broker the deal.

Just like in 1987 when we had that criminal Bushie bunch with red hands connecting them to dozens of treasons, including massive cocaine trafficking and possibly crack trafficking, to, during Iran-Contra.

If we let them go this time, when their crimes and treasons as bad or worse as 1935 anbd 100X worse than Watergate or Iran-Contra, the next time they come back (and they will), it's REALLY all over.

[tibbiit]

17. agree with all the nos

sad but true. we will need to :heal for the good of the country" lol. so they will say. Du will still be the lunatic fringe of the left, even though we have been right about everything for 7 years.
tib

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. When all is said and done, NO, and I hope I am wrong

but given the precedent of Clinton sweeping all THOSE crimes under the carpet, for the good of the nation we will move "on"

[old guy]

19. No.

[ladjf]

20. Let's ask him that after he is inaugurated.

[Blackhatjack]

21. Holding the Bush Cabal Criminally and Civilly Liable Would Have 2 Major Effects...

It would serve as a deterrent to future officeholders that they might be prosecuted for their wrongdoing if they decide to 'step across the line.'

And second, it would reveal the breadth and depth of the wrongdoing that went on with Republicans in charge of our Government, and would cause the average American to realize the danger we are all in if we continue to allow members of Congress and the White House to act with disdain for the rights reserved to each of us by the Constitution and By-Laws.