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Dick Cheney indicted for organized crime by Texas grand jury

John Amato

More news coming out of TX…

Cheney is accused of investing some $85 million in the Vanguard Group that houses federal inmates. The grand jury accuses Cheney and Alberto Gonzalez of engaging in organized criminal activity.

Too bad he didn’t have to do a perp walk for us.

Michael Froomkin has more:

CNN, Cheney, Gonzales indicted for alleged prisoner abuse: Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have been indicted on separate charges related to alleged prisoner abuse in federal detention centers, Willacy County, Texas, District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra told CNN Tuesday.

The indictment stems from Cheney’s investment in the Vanguard Group — an investment management company that reportedly has interests in the prison companies in charge of the detention centers, according to The Associated Press. It also charges Gonzales halted an investigation into abuse at the detention centers while he was attorney general.

You might think there are some federalism issues here. And there are. You might think there are some qualified/absolute immunity issues here, and there are. (Cf. In re Neagle, 135 U.S. 1 (1890) (creating federal officer immunity defense.)) But what you might not know is that there’s a federal removal statute that deals with state criminal prosecutions, 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1):

§ 1442. Federal officers or agencies sued or prosecuted

(a) A civil action or criminal prosecution commenced in a State court against any of the following may be removed by them to the district court of the United States for the district and division embracing the place wherein it is pending:

(1) The United States or any agency thereof or any officer (or any person acting under that officer) of the United States or of any agency thereof, sued in an official or individual capacity for any act under color of such office or on account of any right, title or authority claimed under any Act of Congress for the apprehension or punishment of criminals or the collection of the revenue.

So step one will be a removal to the federal District Court…read on

Cheney and Gonzales Indicted In Prisoner Assault Case

Ian Welsh

Gonzales and Cheney have been indicted by a grand jury.  The indictment is related to prisoner abuse at Wallace County Federal detention centers, which are run by Vanguard Group.  Cheney has an investment in Vanguard and is charged with conflict of interest and “misdemeanor assault” on detainees through the company, while Gonzales is charged with using his office to quash an investigation. (h/t Perris)

Get out the popcorn, this could be interesting.

And maybe it will shine a light on the privatization of the prison system in the US, which has led to even greater abuses of prisoners than before.

(Video here)

Cheney indicted!

Mercury Rising

According to David Kurtz of TalkingPointsMemo, it probably will come to nothing, but it’s a nice headline. A Texas Grand Jury has indicted Dick Cheney.

The indictment accuses Cheney and [Alberto] Gonzales of engaging in organized criminal activity. It criticizes Cheney’s investment in the Vanguard Group, which holds 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 by working through the prison companies.

Congratulations, Willacy County!

Cheney, Gonzales Indicted

PoliShifter

Time will tell if the moral arc of the Universe really does bend toward justice…

Vice president, former AG, state senator indicted
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Cheney’s indictment on a charge of engaging in an organized criminal activity criticizes the vice president’s investment in the Vanguard Group, which holds 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.
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Full Article Here