Federal Court immunizes Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and others from civil inquiry regarding Iraq War

Bush, CheneyIf you are a regular reader of Quiet Mike, you’ve no doubt been following attorney Inder Comar’s year and a half long attempt to hold the Bush Administration accountable for invading Iraq on behalf of his client, Iraqi refugee and single mother, Sundus Shaker Saleh.

Unfortunately, late last Friday, a federal judge not only dismissed the civil claim filed against George W. Bush and other high-ranking officials, but he also immunized them from further proceedings.

“This is an early Christmas present to former Bush Administration officials from the federal court,” Inder Comar of said. “This was a serious attempt to hold US leaders accountable under laws set down at the Nuremberg Trials in 1946. I am very disappointed at the outcome.”

The case alleged that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz committed aggression in planning and waging the Iraq War. Specifically, the lawsuit claimed that high-ranking Bush officials used the fear of 9/11 to deceive the American public into supporting a war against Iraq, and that they issued knowingly false statements that Iraq was in league with Al-Qaeda and had weapons of mass destruction.

The main reason the case was lost was due to the Westfall Act. Last year, Obama’s Department of Justice requested that the lawsuit be dismissed pursuant to this federal law that immunizes any government official from a civil lawsuit if that official was acting “within the scope of his office or employment.”

As Witness Iraq points out, Judge Jon S. Tigar, an Obama appointee, ruled that the defendants were shielded by the Westfall Act regardless of the accusations made in the Complaint.

“The decision guts Nuremberg,” Comar said. “Nuremberg said that domestic immunity was no defense to a claim of international aggression. This Court has said the opposite.”

Comar is not giving up. While he understood that this case was a long shot, he said “The plaintiff will consider all her options, including an appeal. Judicial inquiry into possible wrong-doing that led to the Iraq War is warranted.”

10 COMMENTS

  1. 12 Dec 2014 “(CNN) —A recently released CIA cable casts heavy doubt on a key claim used by the Bush administration to justify the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.”

    There is little doubt bush/cheney et al cooked up the reasons to invade Iraq. What is in doubt is the integrity of the US Government to prosecute war crimes at the highest levels. Well maybe there is no doubt.

    http://www.wtae.com/national/cia-cable-discounts-claim-linking-iraq-911/30194738

  2. It’s a ridiculous stretch to compare a domestic ruling to gutting Nuremberg. Put the Kool-aid down & step away before you reinvigorate your counter party base in 2 years….never mind, just keep talking.

  3. Disgusting. Prosecutors, politicians and judges get immunity. Name one other occupation who cannot be sued for wrongdoings it commits while on the job OTHER than these three groups? This is special interest legislation and a horrific example of Social Conflict theories of criminology: where the rich and the powerful create laws to keep them rich and powerful and to repress the not-so-rich and not-so-powerful.

  4. American can NEVER hold itself above other nations and condemn those who start war under false premise, resulting the murder and torture of others. Shame, shame on America – we are no better than those infamous entities of death and destruction. Merry Christmas America – something to celebrate – the harboring of war criminals.

Leave a Comment