[From the diaries by susanhu.]
Over the Bush years, many people have moaned, “Where’s our Woodward & Bernstein?” Well, he’s in England, and has been hammering away for quite some time. Michael Smith, Times On Line
This story started last April 29th in the UK press: 2002 RAF Bombing Raids Tried to Goad Saddam Into War, by Michael Smith, UK TimesOnLine. He followed up the next day with the first publication of the Downing Street Memo, later known as the Downing Street Minutes…. notes of a meeting at No. 10 Downing Street on July 23, 2002 from which we got the phrase, “intelligence was being fixed to suit the policy” of an inevitable aggressive war against Iraq.
Michael Smith’s Weblog
February 25, 2006
The Bullying of the Press
I’ve just been interviewed by Jose Pagliery, a student at the Florida International University’s School of Journalism for a documentary on the Downing St Memos. I say memos because while the initial focus among the bloggers and web newspapers which drew them to the attention of the US people was on just one memo, the minutes of a meeting of Tony Blair’s war cabinet in July 2002. But there were in fact ten.
I reported on eight of the memos while working at the Daily Telegraph in September 2004. I then moved to the Sunday Times, where I obtained the other two memos, the minutes of that war cabinet meeting and the briefing paper for those attending.
Continue reading Michael Smith at:
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
Why did so many people get so excited about the publication of the memos? Because it was the first hard incontrovertible evidence of impeachable offenses:
The following is quoted from a Daily Kos member, cdicely:
- * If intelligence and facts were dishonestly “shaped” by the President, he deliberately abrogated that Constitutional duty with respect to PL 107-243, for the direct purpose of depriving Congress of its Constitutional prerogative to decide the conditions under which the United States goes to war. This is a serious violation of the Constitutional order of government and one for which there is not (and could not be) a truly effective remedy through regular civil or criminal law. That’s not to say they are not also violations of existing criminal law, because they are: 18 USC 1001 provides:
* Except as otherwise provided in this section, whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully– (1) falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact; (2) makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or (3) makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry; shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
You might start at:
Go to:
and go to:
The City Council of Arcata California passed an impeachment resolution. It can be done!
FOR OUR WOODWARD & BERNSTEIN
I’ll soon find out if Mr. Smith enjoys Glenlivet… If so,
THANKS A MILLION, MR. SMITH !!!
(I have a zip file of a collection of Michael Smith’s articles 2002-2005 if anyone’s interested I’ll e-mail them to you, if I’m able.)
