War Crimes Trials for BushCo

Well not quite but it's good to be reading about possibilities in Newsweek prior to Bush's departure. It mentions that giving a blanket pardon for any and all war crimes committed (I'm sure it will be phrased a bit differently, but that's basically what chimpy would have to say) might be a tad awkward and could be construed as an admission of guilt. Bush also as the power to pardon himself - that would really be a final fuck you from him and would certainly cement his legacy although not quite the legacy he had in mind.

The Noose Tightens

     Rumsfeld, Ashcroft and other top Bush officials could soon face legal jeopardy                   By Jonathan Tepperman | Newsweek Web Exclusive          

     Dec 19, 2008

The United States, like many countries, has a bad habit of committing wartime excesses and an even worse record of accounting for them afterward. But a remarkable string of recent events suggests that may finally be changing—and that top Bush administration officials could soon face legal jeopardy for prisoner abuse committed under their watch in the war on terror.
...
High-level charges, if they come, would be a first in U.S. history. "Traditionally we've caught some poor bastard down low and not gone up the chain," says Burt Neuborne, a constitutional expert and Supreme Court lawyer at NYU. Prosecutions may well be forestalled if Bush issues a blanket pardon in his final days, as Neuborne and many other experts now expect. (Some see Cheney's recent defiant-sounding admission of his own role in approving waterboarding as an attempt to force Bush's hand.)
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Constitutionally, Bush could pardon everyone involved in formulating and executing the administration's interrogation techniques without providing specifics or naming names. And the pardon could apply to himself. Such a step, however, would seem like an admission of guilt and thus be politically awkward. Even if Bush takes it, civil suits for monetary damages could still proceed; such cases, though hard to win, are proliferating.
... (link Newsweek via AMERICAblog)