Legal Commentary

Cheney, Gonzales Indicted

By TChris

This is just too fun:

Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have been indicted on state charges involving federal prisons in a South Texas county that has been a source of bizarre legal and political battles under the outgoing prosecutor.

Just writing the headline was a joy-rush. Unfortunately, of all the real and imagined crimes for which Cheney and Gonzales deserve indictment, these are far down the list. Don't expect Cheney or Gonzeles to do the perp walk any time soon.

Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra brought the indictment, but as he said, "the grand jury is the one that made those decisions, not me." Guerra has an interesting history: [more ...]

Guerra himself was under indictment for more than a year and half until a judge dismissed the indictments last month.

Here's the charge:

Cheney is charged with engaging in an organized criminal activity related to the vice president's investment in the Vanguard Group, which holds financial interests in the private prison companies running the federal detention centers. It accuses Cheney of a conflict of interest and "at least misdemeanor assaults" on detainees because of his link to the prison companies.

Unless Cheney shot some inmates in the face, it's difficult to understand how he could have assaulted inmates by investing in Vanguard which in turn invests in private prison companies. As willing as some of us might be to believe that Cheney is indeed the kingpin of a vast criminal enterprise that could include Vanguard Group and private prisons (not to mention Haliburton and the CIA), judges aren't likely to accept whatever legal theory Guerra fed to his grand jury.

(h/t to Peter G for catching the story)

Full post as published by TalkLeft on November 19, 2008 (boomark / email).