WP, Cohen: "Gonzales was always the imperturbable cog in Texas's killing machine."

[DeepModem Mom]

Gonzales the Cipher
By Richard Cohen
Tuesday, April 3, 2007; Page A23

Dead men tell no tales. But if they did, the ones they would tell about Alberto Gonzales would by now be familiar: an expert in giving his boss, George W. Bush, precisely what he wanted. The dead men in this case are the ones who were executed while Bush was governor of Texas and Gonzales was his legal counsel. Sometimes, as often seems true with Gonzales, the details eluded him.

Clearly, those details could have made the difference between life and death -- or, given the realities of the Texas system, death and a remote chance of a reprieve. But since Bush was not likely to temporarily block any execution or even to raise his voice in mild objection to a particularly heinous railroading, Gonzales kept his death penalty memos short and to the point. Almost always, the point was that the execution should proceed.

The first 57 of the 152 death penalty cases Bush presided over occurred when Gonzales was general counsel. It was his job to prepare a document summarizing the facts of the case. Those memos were examined by Alan Berlow of the Atlantic magazine, who reported on them back in 2003. What he found was that of the 57, there was hardly a case that gave Gonzales pause -- not the mental retardation of the condemned, not the stunning negligence of some lawyers and not the occasional use of questionable police methods. Gonzales was always the imperturbable cog in Texas's killing machine.

In some respects, this should come as no surprise. Bush was -- and remains -- a major advocate of the death penalty, and he retains a touching belief in the near-perfection of the system. Indeed, one reason his Justice Department looked askance at some U.S. attorneys is that they were insufficiently enthusiastic about capital punishment. In career terms, this, in itself, is a capital crime. Gonzales, to the extent that he has any views of his own, apparently thinks as Bush does in this regard -- that is to say, he does not really think at all....

***

All of this is of a piece, the characteristic profile of a man who casts only the dimmest shadow and who, when he worked as legal counsel to the governor of Texas, saw himself as a facilitator representing one man and not, significantly, those who needed him most: the many condemned of Texas. Little wonder Bush supports him.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/02/AR2007040201265.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

[Kool Kitty]

1. K & R.

Everyone should read. And Gonzalez not only should resign, he should be ashamed to ever show his face in public again.

[AlCzervik]

2. the first half of the article is really horrifying and i'm not kidding

it made me sick to my stomach.

[Straight Shooter]

3. I seem to recall one instance where the defense attorney actually fell asleep at trial.

What does bush care about justice. Everyone is a frog to him, and Gonzo is his firecracker.

[Jim Sagle]

4. Cohen's a bit late to the truth party. But still, better late than never.

[jaysunb]

5. Most damning...but not only of Gonzo

Bush himself...the love of death has always frightened me about him, and he has confirmed my fears in spades. :evilfrown:

[rainbow4321]

6. Then there was the Funeralgate scandal--Gonzo had his hands in that, too

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A80364

So far, Bush has avoided all efforts to put him under oath. In 1996, his attorney, Al Gonzales, was able to keep his client from being selected for jury duty in a drunken driving case here in Travis County. But the stakes in that case were small and Bush wasn't the focus of the court action. Funeralgate is a different story. Bush has been named as a defendant in the whistleblower lawsuit brought by Eliza May, the former executive director of the Texas Funeral Service Commission; the suit alleges that Bush and others who got campaign contributions from funeral giant Service Corporation International worked to thwart an investigation into SCI's hiring of improperly licensed embalmers.

Just as he did in 1996, Gonzales, who is now the White House general counsel, will do all he can to keep Bush out of situations in which he must swear to tell the truth. May's attorneys have been trying to get Bush under oath for more than 16 months. And they have many reasons to support their argument that Bush, and only Bush, can answer questions about discrepancies in testimony given in the Funeralgate mess.

-------------

http://www.counterpunch.org/leopold09152005.html

May claimed that current White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales was also complicit in the matter and even helped SCI in a cover-up. Gonzales, who was also Bush's gubernatorial counsel, reportedly received a memo on April 22, 1996, suggesting possible improprieties by two funeral commissioners with ties to SCI.

"Bush and his top aides have heatedly denied the charges and suggested the entire matter was drummed up by Democratic lawyers with political motives, Newsweek reported.

McNeil stated in a deposition that after he received the Connelly memo, he faxed it to Polly Sowell, who then served as Bush's appointments secretary. "When she was questioned, Sowell was asked what she did with the memo. "I sent it to the General Counsel's Office," she said. But Sowell said she did not remember what happened after that and, in his interview with NEWSWEEK, Gonzales said such a memo was merely one of many that might have crossed his desk and was otherwise not memorable. In any case, Bush never acted on the memo's recommendations that the SCI affiliated commissioners be removed."

[murielm99]

7. Why does *,

who is so callow and stupid that he makes me want to scream, attract such blindly loyal followers? I will never understand it.

In my own life, I am loyal to some people. But if one of them was doing dangerous and stupid things, I would tell him or her. I would do everything in my power to get him or her to change course.

* is not handsome, intelligent or charismatic. What the hell is it?

[HCE SuiGeneris]

8. He has a stupid magnet

that others cannot resist. It is a false sense of belonging for the morans that they can't resist. Give me power kinda thing, false validation, yadda yadda...

[tularetom]

9. I dunno - maybe they are handsomely rewarded by poppy bush

I've often wondered the same thing - that's why it's important to start getting these asswipes under oath.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

10. That's a simple question:

He attracts people much like himself, because they know that by feigning complete loyalty, they will go places in their careers they could never go on their own.

Think simpleton prince and his courtiers.

[lutefisk]

12. Exactly

All they really have to do is tell Junior what he wants to hear. There are many, many people in this country who have sold their souls for much less.

I wonder if anyone is really, truly loyal to Bush- I think it's all about his last name, from Laura right on up the line. In the end, there is nothing to like about the guy.

[lyonn]

20. Speaking of Laura, doesn't their relationship seem real distant?

Getting off planes, etc., he seems to go out of his way to move away from her and she acts like she could care less. Each act like they want to get away from the cameras. I'm lovin' it. Bush looks meaner and worn out. He has lost his crown and boy is he pissed.

[Old and In the Way]

17. I tend to agree....those that are in Bush's court are enablers who trade

ego massaging for a place in the pecking order. Who really knows Alberto's background? Maybe he has a deep hatred of America and he saw his opportunity to strike back by aligning himself with a guy who could be manipulated. For all I know, Alberto could be the power behind the throne....he could be blackmailing the shit out of Dimson to do things that he wouldn't be predisposed to doing. We know Bush the Lesser has got all kinds of skeletons in his closet, maybe someone like Alberto has the solid proof.

[ninkasi]

21. Yes, you nailed it

Bush is a sociopath, and attracts other sociopaths. It's as simple as that. Just look at the people closest to him, and they all have a wide streak of sadism in their personalities. It's a pity that these sociopaths get attracted to positions of power, because they can cause countries to collapse. I'm afraid that's what is happening here.

[annabanana]

34. He is very rich and powerful. That is it.. . . . n/t

[SammyWinstonJack]

36. Because they are also callow and stupid and might I add, greedy and self serving and self absorbed?

Typical republicans. :shrug:

[WiseButAngrySara]

11. I didn't think I could hate these evil thugs more. Wrong. KNR. ....n/t

[roguevalley]

13. he's like the cogs in the Nazi machine that signed all the papers and

did all the neat little signatures just so.

[peacetalksforall]

14. Combine what you learn here with another thread running

simultaneously about potential US Attys being questioned about what they had done for the Republican Party - qualifying them politically.

Now, we're learning that capital punishment was something of a criteria?

Is there a way that Leahy and the team can work in that question - were they asked how they stood on capital punishment - were they given a standard for executions if a finalist? Can Congress take the time to ask? It might prove in sync ideology and loyalty over legal aptitude?

Makes you wonder what kind of qualifications are established for WH jobs. Whether they come from the team that made fools of themselves in their duplitious roles like the door-pounders or whether they were election 'officials' - no matter how they have proven loyalty - do they still have to sign things saying they will do any kind of dirty trick for Republicans? Break any kind of law? Corral and subvert the Congress and submit new ideas on how to do it? Are job descriptions and pay and bonuses custom designed and described?

[cosmicdot]

23. The Federalist Society

... finding candidates for legal and judicial positions. TFS has chapters on college campuses.


(The Fascist Society)


"The Federalist Society

The Conservative Cabal That's Transforming American Law" by Jerry Landay

~snip~

Meyer has financial reasons to say this: The Society¹s tax-exempt status requires it to stay away from political activity. But to call the society apolitical is a bit of a stretch, says Alfred Ross, whose Institute for Democracy Studies tracks right-wing organizations and will soon publish a report on the Federalist Society. Ross points out that strategizing and working to change the law is an inherently political act. The Society "pollinates, permeates, and shapes the rhetoric and the debate about the law itself" says Ross. "To the extent that the judicial system is how a democratic society is organized, of course the Federalists are political."

To see that he¹s right, one need only review changes that litigators linked to the Federalists have wrought upon the law. They have weakened or rolled back statutes on civil rights and affirmative action; voting rights; women¹s rights and abortion rights; workers¹ rights; prisoners¹ rights; and the rights of consumers, the handicapped, and the elderly. Add to that the consequences of non-delegation if further extended. Regulatory oversight by federal agencies would then be kicked back to Congress and the states--like the power to preserve open pipelines in telecommunications, to regulate transportation, the drugs we take, the food we eat. Would we really want elected officials directly responsible for regulating industries that are also major sources of their campaign funds? That is very much a political question--one to which the Federalist Society¹s answer is unfortunately all too clear.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2000/0003.landay.html


http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Federalist_Society

Board of Visitors

* Hon. Robert H. Bork, Co-Chairman
* Hon. Orrin G. Hatch, Co-Chairman
* Hon. C. Boyden Gray
* Andrew J. Redleaf
* Hon. Lois Haight Herrington
* Hon. Donald Paul Hodel
* Gerald Walpin
* Hon. Edwin Meese III
* Professor Lillian BeVier
* Harvey Koch
* Hon. William Bradford Reynolds
* Robert A. Levy
* Hon. Frank Keating, II

what a list that is

Board of Directors

* Prof. Steven G. Calabresi, National Co-Chairman
* Hon. David M. McIntosh, National Co-Chairman
* Prof. Gary Lawson, Director
* Eugene B. Meyer, Director
* Hon. T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr., Counselor
* Brent O. Hatch, Treasurer <-- Orrin's kin???


Business Advisory Council

* Hon. C. Boyden Gray, Chairman, Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering
* John Stewart Bryan, III, Chairman, President/C.E.O. Media General Cable
* Joseph Cannon, C.E.O./Chairman, Geneva Steel
* R. Crosby Kemper, III, President, United Missouri Bank
* John G. Medlin, Jr., Chairman, Wachovia Corporation
* Nicholas John Stathis, Vice President, Orpheon, Inc.
* Paul S. Stevens, General Counsel, Investment Company Institute
* Robert L. Strickland, Chairman, Lowe's Companies, Inc.


Memorable Members

* Kenneth Starr
* John G. Roberts, Jr.


I wouldn't be surprised if Ed Meese didn't personally groom the careers of Alito and Roberts. Little to no decision trails.

~snio~

Former federal appellate judge Abner Mikva, an adjunct professor at the law school, expressed "amazement" over the "incredible influence" of the 140 campus Federalist chapters: "Where so many of the nation's leaders are groomed, the Federalists manipulate the landscape. It was once held that liberals ran the law schools. The liberals had the name but the Federalists own the game. For students on the go, there is no where else to go."
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2000/0003.landay.provocation.html


Institute for Democracy Studies
```````````````````````````````

Federalist Society leaders have emerged as the top attorneys for George Bush in both the Florida Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of the United States. With Federalist Society DC Chapter President Ted Olson as lead attorney before the Supreme Court, they are determined to win not just the Presidency, but to begin the process of institutionalizing a comprehensive agenda challenging every aspect of a democratic judicial system.*

Targeting the courts, the law schools, and the American Bar Association, the Federalist Society has emerged as an increasingly powerful coalition of conservative and libertarian legal activists developing broad-based challenges to fundamental principles of constitutional law.

Other Federalist Society leaders include Robert Bork, C. Boyden Gray, Edwin Meese, Scaife Foundation Trustee, T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr., former Christian Coalition President Donald Paul Hodel, and the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Orrin Hatch.

With 15 practice groups spanning every area of the legal system from civil rights and religious liberties to corporations law and telecommunications, with a presence in 140 law schools across the nation, and backed by millions of dollars from leading right-wing and libertarian foundations, the Federalist Society is quietly and successfully shaping the emerging jurisprudence.

The ongoing debate concerning the presidential election has raised many important questions about the future direction of the American legal system. This compelling new report from IDS provides striking new information about the infrastructure underlying the right wing assault on the democratic foundations of our legal system.

* For information on other Bush lawyers, see the Institute for Democracy Studies’ briefing paper, "The Assault on Diversity."

... the following can be viewed on-line by going to Publications:

"The Federalist Society and the Challenge to a Democratic Jurisprudence" (Introduction)

"Slouching Towards Extremism: The Federalist Society and the Transformation of American Jurisprudence."

http://www.idsonline.org/fedsoc.html

[peacetalksforall]

28. tidbits - Russert supposedly was having difficulty finding a

guest to defend Gonzales on last Sunday's show - who did he get? Hatch.

While Olson ran the show for the stolen and recount vote in 2004 and set up the Supreme Court for their not-so-supreme decision, C. Boyden Gray was the most frequent guest on right wing tv networks all through their campaigns of wars against us and was particularly active in the character assassination of Pres. Clinton. (He's now quiet because he is an Ambassador/Representative to the European Union as a recess appointment. - I think I heard Belgium - has lunch with Wolfkowitz?).

Yes, the Federalist Society is slowly rewriting our Constitution and are running a grooming school. The internet is full of stuff about their local city / state chapters.

Orrin Hatch is not an ordinary Republican, an ordinary Senator, an ordinary representative of Utah = he is a pariah against the belief most of us share - of, by, for the people.

In the end, the Constitution is being rewritten to make things work for corporations and for total control of the people according to their no rights.

I am ready and willing to believe that they share in the decisions of PNAC = no legal rights for people picked up off the streets on multi continents by foreigners for revenge and for money, plus the use of the direction of the CIA in the transfer and guidance in torture. Gonzales didn't attempt to justify the PNAC decision on his own. Not when they have a Baker Olson + link to the Fed Society.

The Republican Party has infested this country with hundreds of foundations, societies, organizations - and they are out to control us. We will be ants in a glass cotainer under their complete control if people don't wise up.

The trouble is that the Fed Society chose the wrong person with Hatch (maybe not). He has become a joke because he doesn't even try to be credible. Perhaps he should be pitied. He must bow to so many, but perhaps to religious radicals and the Fed Society more than other Senators.

[G_j]

15. as we were trying to point out to the Congress-critters who voted for

the criminal
This information has been available to those who cared enough to know.

there is no excuse

[DCKit]

16. Execution of the mentally disabled was the last straw for me

Now that I know them better, I realize they have no compassion at all. That one execution should have lost them the race, but it didn't.

Shame on them, killing their own.

[Skittles]

25. installing the mentally disabled into the White House sucked too

yes INDEED

[enid602]

18. Bush

When asked by the press how he could be sure of the condemneds' guilt, Bush replied that God told him.

[hang a left]

19. Scathing editorial

He is being thrown to the dogs.

He is history.

Done.

Don't eat popcorn. It's tainted.

He has been assigned as the fall guy.

Lookout.

[Tatiana]

22. I'm shocked that mealy-mouthed Cohen actually took the time to write a decent commentary.

This piece is rightfully scathing and illustrates perfectly not only Gonzales' incomptetence, but his lack of understanding and support of some of justice system's hallmark values.

[rumpel]

24. wow - he really said that... ;) n/t

[WilliamPitt]

26. I have a busted watch. It's right twice a day.

Cohen...wow...that's a thumper of a line, and no mistake about it.

Wait a day. He'll reverse course.

[formercia]

27. Gonzo is just the kind of guy Junior needs

to implement the 'Final Solution.'

[Solly Mack]

29. Nothing surprising there

[PA Democrat]

30. WOW! Some of the details in the Atlantic Monthly article are chilling.

Consider this:

Although Terry Washington's guilt was never seriously disputed, in at least two other capital cases profound doubts about guilt were raised by the defense but virtually ignored by Gonzales. In the case of David Wayne Stoker, for example, Gonzales devoted just eighteen sentences to the extraordinarily complex circumstances of the crime, leaving out essentially all the mitigating evidence and failing to address a multitude of questions about both the evidence against Stoker and his due-process rights. Ronnie Thompson, a key state witness, initially told the police, and then the court, that Stoker had confessed to a 1986 murder. But following Stoker's conviction Thompson recanted, explaining that he'd lied in court because the prosecutor had threatened to bring a perjury charge against him if he didn't stick to his original account. Bush should have been told that. During Stoker's trial, in 1987, Thompson's wife, Debbie, left him to move in with Carey Todd, the prosecution's chief witness; she got a piece of the Crime Stoppers reward that Todd received for naming Stoker. Gonzales failed to mention that drug and weapons charges against Todd were dropped the very day he testified against Stoker; and that Todd thus had an apparent motive for setting him up. Gonzales also failed to mention that a state investigator, a police officer, and Todd all lied in court about what Todd received for his testimony; that the jury wasn't told about Todd's possible motive for framing Stoker; and that James Grigson, a psychiatrist who testified that Stoker was a sociopath who would "absolutely" be violent again (thereby making him eligible for a death sentence), had never even examined Stoker. Grigson, whose expert testimony has helped send dozens of men to death row, earning him the nickname Dr. Death, had been expelled from the American Psychiatric Association two years before the Stoker case was reviewed by Gonzales and Bush, because his testimony had repeatedly been found to be unethical. Another expert medical witness against Stoker, Ralph Erdmann, had relinquished his medical license in 1994 after pleading no contest to seven felonies tied to falsified evidence and botched autopsies. A special prosecutor's investigation of Erdmann concluded that he falsified evidence in at least thirty cases, and that if "the prosecution theory was that death was caused by a Martian death ray then that was what Dr. Erdmann reported." All this information was in the public record, yet Gonzales mentioned none of it in his memorandum to Bush.


http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200307/berlow

[indepat]

31. Some like to kill, some like to maim, some like to destroy, some like to torture, some like it all

[northofdenali]

32. OMG, I think I'm going to be sick.

:cry::cry::cry:

[Leopolds Ghost]

33. "I resent that. I'm no cog. I'm an independent contractor."

Of course, of course. You're an important man. A BIG WHEEL!

[Skittles]

35. well we know he is pro-torture

being pro-death should not surprise us