Cheney’s Legal Hit Man
He's been described as "the most powerful person you've never heard of," and "Cheney's Cheney." He's David Addington, the vice president's chief of staff, and he's behind the legal arguments to support presidential-sanctioned torture, the attempt to discredit Joe Wilson, and the bogus Niger uranium story. The New Yorker has a must-read profile.
He’s been described as “the most powerful person you’ve never heard of,” and “Cheney’s Cheney.” He’s David Addington, the vice president’s chief of staff, and he’s behind the legal arguments to support presidential-sanctioned torture, the attempt to discredit Joe Wilson, and the bogus Niger uranium story. The New Yorker has a must-read profile.
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...The New Yorker:
On December 18th, Colin Powell, the former Secretary of State, joined other prominent Washington figures at FedEx Field, the Redskins? stadium, in a skybox belonging to the team?s owner. During the game, between the Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys, Powell spoke of a recent report in the Times which revealed that President Bush, in his pursuit of terrorists, had secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on American citizens without first obtaining a warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, as required by federal law. This requirement, which was instituted by Congress in 1978, after the Watergate scandal, was designed to protect civil liberties and curb abuses of executive power, such as Nixon?s secret monitoring of political opponents and the F.B.I.?s eavesdropping on Martin Luther King, Jr. Nixon had claimed that as President he had the ?inherent authority? to spy on people his Administration deemed enemies, such as the anti-Vietnam War activist Daniel Ellsberg. Both Nixon and the institution of the Presidency had paid a high price for this assumption. But, according to the Times, since 2002 the legal checks that Congress constructed to insure that no President would repeat Nixon?s actions had been secretly ignored.
According to someone who knows Powell, his comment about the article was terse. ?It?s Addington,? he said. ?He doesn?t care about the Constitution.? Powell was referring to David S. Addington, Vice-President Cheney?s chief of staff and his longtime principal legal adviser. Powell?s office says that he does not recall making the statement. But his former top aide, Lawrence Wilkerson, confirms that he and Powell shared this opinion of Addington.
This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.
At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.
Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.
Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.
Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.
Donate now.
Truthdig tips its hat this week to Jack Goldsmith, who speaks out about his experiences during his nine-month tenure as head of the Office of Legal Counsel during a crucial phase of the Bush presidency in 2003-4 in his troubling and illuminating new book, "The Terror Presidency: Law and Judgment Inside the Bush Administration."
It's David Addington, Dick Cheney's new chief of staff, who has been instrumental in fashioning legal arguments to support presidential-sanctioned torture, the attempt to discredit Joe Wilson, and the bogus Niger uranium story. U.S. News has the goods in this fantastic profile.
Sickened by those "signing statements" that Bush uses to essentially ignore the laws Congress has passed? Addington has his fingerprints all over those.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.