[Vision2020] Cheney and Gonzalez Indicted

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (November 19, 2008) Spokesman Review -

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Cheney, Gonzalez indicted 
State charges concern Texas' private prisons
Christopher Sherman (Associated Press)
November 19, 2008

McALLEN, Texas – 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.

The indictment returned Monday has not yet been signed by the presiding 
judge, and no action can be taken until that happens.

The seven indictments made public in Willacy County on Tuesday included 
one naming state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. and some targeting public officials 
connected to District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra's own legal battles.
 
Regarding the indictments targeting the public officials, Guerra 
said, "the grand jury is the one that made those decisions, not me."

Guerra himself was under indictment for more than a year and half until a 
judge dismissed the indictments last month. Guerra's tenure ends this year 
after nearly two decades in office. He lost convincingly in a Democratic 
primary in March.

Guerra said the prison-related charges against Cheney and Gonzales are a 
national issue and experts from across the country testified to the grand 
jury.

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.

Megan Mitchell, a spokeswoman for Cheney, declined to comment on Tuesday, 
saying that the vice president had not yet received a copy of the 
indictment.

The indictment accuses Gonzales of using his position while in office to 
stop an investigation in 2006 into abuses at one of the privately-run 
prisons.

Gonzales' attorney, George Terwilliger III, said in a written 
statement, "This is obviously a bogus charge on its face, as any good 
prosecutor can recognize." He said he hoped Texas authorities would take 
steps to stop "this abuse of the criminal justice system."

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Oh, yes.

Hope springs eternal.

Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
 
"We're a town of about 23,000 with 10,000 college students. The college 
students are not very active in local elections (thank goodness!)."

- Dale Courtney (March 28, 2007)


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