AIPAC Espionage Trial May Subpoena Rice, Hadley, Abrams, Wolfowitz, Feith (Condoleezza Rice, Congress)

[TnHilltopper]

Taking bets on how fast the term, "executive privilege or national security will come up in order to deny the judges subpoenas. It is a nice gesture but I doubt a single one of these people will ever step foot in court, mostly since this administration no longer recognizes courts or Congress, or silly little subpoenas anymore... so trite.

The United States judge presiding over the AIPAC espionage trial involving Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman, former senior staffers, has ruled that the prosecution may subpoena top U.S. officials, including Condoleezza Rice, Stephen Hadley, Richard Armitage, and top neocons Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith, and Elliott Abrams. It is believed that their testimony, should they ever agree to testify, would negate the contention that the information collected by Rosen and Weissman and passed on to Israel would ever have endangered the interests of the United States.

As Grant Smith of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy points out in a recent email to his members and on his website, the subpoenas heighten the probability that the case will be dismissed altogether since the Bush administration has set a pattern of refusing to let its officials testify at congressional hearings. As Judge T.S. Ellis has already said, "The government's refusal to comply with a subpoena in these circumstances may result in dismissal or lesser sanctions."

Smith also believes that if Michael Mukasey is confirmed and sworn in as Attorney General, his record suggests that he will move to have the case abandoned.

The ruling has thus been depicted as a defeat for the prosecution. See the article by Nathan Guttman in the Forward.

More of the same...

[ontheroad]

Not directed related to this, but Studs Terkel was just interviewed on my local independent station. Apparently he is feels very angry about issues like this; compared the present government to the McCarthy era, and yes, the big, bad F regime. He even has his own suit about wire-tapping.

So, no, I doubt that any of those subpoenaed will appear! They are exempt!

[TnHilltopper]

I tell ya this stinks to high heaven. Talk about a shell game. Get caught in the act of espionage, get indicted, end up at trial, then subpoena administration officials from the most secretive government since Nixon, get off scott free because there is no chance in hell that this administration would ever do what is in the best interest of national security unless national security comprises of one thing, CYA

[mhouse2001]

Apparently America is #1 in the world at how much it tolerates its own suffering at the hands of corrupt officials who use their citizens' money and stolen power to skirt all accountability. Other countries with abject poverty have citizens with guts who stand up and demand their freedoms and the truth. Here in America, we go back to sleep and dream of Britney Spears and plasma televisions. Even while awake, the obese and drugged Americans seem to place little or no value on democratic freedom, as evidenced by their complete refusal to use the freedoms they scream so self-righteously about to effect change in their own country. The neocons are laughing at how much they can get away with. Very sad.

[TnHilltopper]

I remember there was a day in America when we used to hang traitors and spies, now we give them a tour on the lecture circuit.

[18Montclair]

As stated above....its all about "executive priviledge and national security". So long as they play that broken record, they can get away with just about anything.

Isnt that infuriating?