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You don't have to be a crackerjack analyst to figure out why Cheney changed the active to the passive voice and struck out "this Pres." The evidence indicates that President Bush was more directly involved in the Valerie Plame affair than is now understood.
Implicating Bush
Despite six months of resisting demands for a serious investigation of Bush-Cheney wrongdoing, Holder appears, finally, to be stepping to the plate with the intent of appointing a special prosecutor, albeit one whose authority may be tightly circumscribed.
But Cheney doesn't want to risk the chance that a special prosecutor might insist on expanding the probe beyond the possible indictment of a few low-level operatives who exceeded the Bush administration's prescriptions on how much water to use in waterboarding a prisoner.
So, Cheney appears to be pursuing a new strategy of pre-emption. His most obvious tactic is to tie his actions on torture tightly to Bush. On May 10 when Bob Schieffer asked Cheney how much Bush knew about the "enhanced interrogation techniques," the former Vice President stated clearly, if redundantly:
"I certainly, yes, have every reason to believe he knew - he knew a great deal about the program. He basically authorized it. I mean, this was a presidential-level decision. And the decision went to the President. He signed off on it."
Cheney seemed eager to answer the question. The idea, of course, would be to juice the jitters he already perceives at senior levels of the Obama administration, and to make it clear that no one will take Cheney down alone; i.e., without Bush right beside him.
In Cheney's view, this image of a former President in the dock is sure to deter dithering lawyers and politicos at the top of the White House and Justice Department, who are more interested in sniffing the political winds than in enforcing the rule of law.
My worst fear is that Cheney may be right.
This article appeared first on Consortiumnews.com.
