Obama admin protecting Cheney from mockery.

[BobRossi]

"Wrap your head around this: The Obama administration wants to save former Vice President Dick Cheney from the likes of "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart.


That was the thrust of arguments the Justice Department presented Thursday seeking to prevent the release of an interview Cheney gave in 2004 to Special Counsel Pat Fitzgerald as part of his investigation into the leak of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson.


In an afternoon U.S. District Court hearing in Washington, Judge Emmet Sullivan presided as Justice Department attorney Jeffrey Smith defended the government’s refusal to release the details of the Cheney interview. David Sobel, an attorney for the group suing for the documents, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, was there to argue in favor of disclosure. Here’s how it went:


Sullivan asked if President Barack Obama’s appointees stood by the Bush administration’s steadfast refusal to make the Cheney interview public, noting, “there’s a new administration.”


“This has been vetted by the leadership offices,” Smith said. “This is a department position.”


“It is disappointing that the new administration apparently is picking up where the old one left off,” said Sobel."



http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/23915.html

[GoesTo11]

1. Third

Term.

[Karmadillo]

2. Oligarchs of a feather flock together. Nice to see that dealing with Weapons of Mass Mockery

comes before single-payer.

[Liberal Gramma]

3. But they just can't do it.

Cheney is the subject of either mockery or loathing, wherever he goes, whatever he does.

[Senator]

4. Sure, terrorism we can handle ... but Satire!! n/t

[babylonsister]

5. First found on Drudge. What a surprise. And 'valid' sources, like politico,

etc., pick it up.

Big yawn.

Oh, yea.

http://www.drudge.com/news/122227/obama-admin-fights-save-cheney

[Karmadillo]

6. And the Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/18/AR2009061803879.html?hpid=moreheadlines

Judge Questions Justice Dept. Effort to Keep Cheney Remarks Secret

A federal judge yesterday sharply questioned an assertion by the Obama administration that former Vice President Richard B. Cheney's statements to a special prosecutor about the Valerie Plame case must be kept secret, partly so they do not become fodder for Cheney's political enemies or late-night commentary on "The Daily Show."

more...

[CoffeeCat]

7. What the frickin FARK???

"...assertion by the Obama administration that former Vice President Richard B. Cheney's statements to a special prosector about the Valier Plame case must be kept secret, party so they do not become fodder for Cheney's political enemies....

HellOOO...Cheney's "political enemies" all voted for Barack Obama and they voted for Barack Obama
because he promised CHANGE!!

Why is Obama protecting this piece of shit Fascist?

Take me off the grill...I'm just so done with all of this.

[Karmadillo]

8. It's getting kind of surreal, isn't it?

nt

[DearAbby]

9. The American people

can not tolerate Stewart Snark! OMG, next we'll see Jon in a soupline...in dirty tramp's cloths...carefully combed hair!

[troubledamerican]

10. Strategy: Intentionally derailing a case with ludicrous arguments.

Could it be savvy?

DUers are reliably reactionary.

There are two ways to stop a RUNAWAY TRAIN that is our (institutionally incentivized) "War On Terror":

Full brakes -- or speed up the train to throw it off the tracks.

[troubledamerican]

11. A form of Innoculation against the next Rethuglican admin making this argument.

They would have lockstep Congressional support, and probably even "wartime" shielding from Right-Wing-packed courts.

By advancing this argument now, it's a form of innoculation.

Against the next Rethuglican administration.

[noise]

13. This is what Greenwald refers to as "15 dimension (or whatever) chess"

If there was good faith there would be no effort to hide the documents. Transparency is rather straightforward.

[Senator]

14. Strategery: "...straight-line continuity with the abuses of the Bush regime"

Could it be simply that "http://harpers.org/archive/2009/06/hbc-90005245">Obama Justice Department Loves Secrecy"??

Obama came to Washington promising an era of transparency in government; Eric Holder promised to uphold this commitment in the Department of Justice. So far, their decisions reflect straight-line continuity with the abuses of the Bush regime. The litigation may be about Cheney’s dark secrets, but they’re obviously focused on their own dark secrets to come.

As I http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5879124">said in my earlier post, no chess game. No plan that's "only 5 months" complete. No "national security" rationalization. Just stark terror at imagined "partisan political peril."

No change to even audaciously hope for, let alone believe in.

--

[troubledamerican]

17. Meanwhile -- why did Obama's strategy just succeed?

What you're saying is that Obama is SOOOO DUMB that his DOJ proposes a ludicrous argument that Cheney should be shielded from THE DAILY SHOW...

Does Obama believe this argument will fly in court?

Or Does Obama KNOW it's ridiculous?

http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/06/19/judge-rejects-argument-cheney-needs-to-be-shielded-from-daily-show/

More likely, Obama cannot be seen as directly threatening or challenging "National Security".

More likely, Obama knows that the American people are still cowards, unwilling to forfeit "National Security" for the Constitution.

More likely, Obama knows that Cheney still has Congress by the balls, because "the next 9/11" gives Cheney juggernaut power.

Yeah, I'm sure that Obama is sooooooo fucking stupid that he thinks "Cheney should be shielded from the Daily Show" would have flown in court.

It didn't.

[Senator]

19. Well, it succeeded in making them look foolish -- and bush-like.

Yes, that's redundant.

But if they really were doing what you suggest -- making fraudulent arguments in court for the purpose of losing the case -- then they also look to be in contempt of court. Perhaps even criminally so.

Still, we agree that Obama's actions -- and lack of actions -- look to be based on fear of some imagined "Cheney juggernaut power."

But that only makes him look impotent. Some strategy.

--

[troubledamerican]

20. Results matter more than image. And I trust Seymour Hersh about Cheney's sleeper cells.

[EFerrari]

12. There's got to be more to this. It sounds like spin to me

and meant to rile people up.

[Karmadillo]

15. Kick so loyal Democrats will know they're not supposed to mock war criminal Cheney.

Look forever forward, never backwards.

[Octafish]

16. Prison, too.

And Sneer's boss, Smirk.

[Stinky The Clown]

18. Politico = Must pass sniff test.

Politico = likely to fail sniff test