by Michael Salla

March 7, 2009

from TheExaminer Website

Bush Truth Commission Petition Website

A petition launched by the office of Senator Patrick Leahy for “the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission” gains steam as more call for an investigation into “the Bush-Cheney Administration's constitutional abuses.”

 

Launched soon after Leahy first proposed his Truth Commission on February 9 at Georgetown University, the petition currently has over 70,000 signatures. It seeks the investigation of abuses that,

“include the use of torture, warrantless wiretapping, extraordinary rendition, and executive override of laws.”

If the Senate Judiciary committee or the House Judiciary Committee decide to launch a Truth Commission, then the broad mandate described in the petition is necessary. A broad mandate can expose Bush administration abuses including suppression of UFO information.

The Senate Judiciary committee hearing held on March 6 focused on abuses concerning the treatment of detainees. Cases of abuses arising out of “executive override of laws” were not mentioned.

 

It is the investigation of precisely this category of abuse that a detailed understanding can emerge of how the Bush administration violated or skirted many laws including those concerning disclosure of UFO information. According to President Clinton’s former Chief of Staff and co-chair of President Obama’s transition team, the non-disclosure of UFO information is a violation of the law.

 

In a 2002 Press Conference, John Podesta stated:

I think it's time to open the books on questions that have remained in the dark on the question of government investigations of UFOs. It's time to find out what the truth really is that's out there. We ought to do it because it's right, we ought to do it because the American people, quite frankly, can handle the truth and we ought to do it because it's the law.

 

Podesta was referring to laws such as the Freedom of Information Act and Presidential Executive Order 12958 that specified conditions for the release of classified information. Podesta was influential in President Obama releasing a Freedom of Information Act Memorandum on his first full day of office on January 21, 2009.

 

It is the willful disregard for laws such as FOIA by members of the executive branch of government that constitutes an abuse worth investigating. Incorporating “executive override of laws” into the mandate of a Truth Commission has a greater potential to reveal abuses including suppression of UFO information; and, as the petition requests,

“make sure they never happen again.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee or its equivalent in the House, should be encouraged to go ahead with the establishment of a Truth Commission with the broadest possible mandate. Signing the Leahy petition that includes “executive override of laws” as an abuse to be investigated gives a wider scope to the proposed “Truth Commission.”

 

This will help disclose information about UFOs and possible extraterrestrial life that was illegally suppressed during the Bush administration, and reveal whether abuses also occurred in earlier Presidential administrations.

 

 

UFOs Exist: Government Documents Prove

Truth Long Suppressed

 

 

 

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Will Truth Commission Expose 9-11 & UFO Secrets?

by Michael Salla
March 6, 2009

from TheExaminer Website

Senator Leahy at Truth Commission Hearing.

Photo:AP

On March 3, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy, held a hearing on creating a nonpartisan "commission of inquiry" to investigate wrongdoing during the eight years of the Bush administration. The proposed “Truth Commission” focuses on a number of areas since 9-11 where the Bush administration broke the law in the "war against terrorism".

 

According to a statement released by Leahy,

“Nothing has done more to damage America’s place in the world than the revelation that this Nation stretched the law and the bounds of executive power to authorize torture and cruel treatment.”

Six expert witnesses spoke at the hearing on behalf of or against Leahy’s proposed Truth Commission which he believes will help restore America’s “moral leadership.” Leahy’s proposal needs to be expanded to investigate all wrong doing in the Bush administration.

 

A Truth Commission with a broad mandate can expose many areas in addition to those pointed out by Leahy where laws were violated in classified programs. Getting witnesses to emerge to reveal these violations has the potential to expose many secrets, including unanswered questions about 9-11 and the facts behind the UFO phenomenon.

Leahy’s proposal is a compromise between those wanting Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate wrong doing during the Bush administration, and those seeking, in the words of Leahy, to “obstruct and delay” such an investigation.

 

Leahy further elaborated on the merits of his “middle ground” position:

"Over the last month, I have suggested a middle ground to get to the truth of what went on during the last several years, in a way that invites cooperation. I believe that that might best be accomplished though a nonpartisan commission of inquiry…. Such a commission of inquiry would shed light on what mistakes were made so that we can learn from these errors and not repeat them.”

If a Truth Commission goes ahead, then former Bush administration officials are given amnesty to testify about all they knew.

 

According to Leahy:

"People with first-hand knowledge would be invited to come forward and share their experiences and insight, not for purposes of constructing criminal indictments, but to assemble the facts. If needed, such a process could involve subpoena powers, and even authority to obtain immunity to secure information, in order to get to the whole truth. Of course, this avenue would be pursued in consultation with the Justice Department and would not rule out prosecution for perjury."

A Truth Commission will encourage many former officials, in exchange for amnesty, to testify about all they know and did.

 

Many illegal activities can be revealed that occurred in classified programs that provide cover for those authorizing such activities. The idea of restricting a Truth Commission solely to the Bush administration’s policies in dealing with detained prisoners, however, should be dismissed.

 

A much broader mandate is needed.

 

 

Truth and Consequences panel Senate Judiciary

March 4, 2009

 

While a Truth Commission will allow the truth to emerge, it also gives wrong doers an escape strategy from potential prosecution.

 

This will upset some since the historical results of Truth Commissions have been mixed.

 

Critics of Leahy’s Truth Commission view it as unnecessary since the Department of Justice has all the power it needs to conduct an investigation and to prosecute wrong doers. When Leahy first proposed his idea of a Truth Commission at Georgetown University in Feb 9, 2009, one of the most trenchant criticisms came from George Washington University Law School Professor, Jonathan Turley.

 

Turley said the proposed Truth Commission is a “shameful” effort to “block the investigation” of “war crimes” by the Bush administration.

 

 

Countdown - Jonathan Turley on Truth Commission
 

Turley and other "Truth Commission" critics overlook the high standards of evidence needed to successfully prosecute criminal cases.

 

For example, the criminal investigation into the leaking of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame's name lasted more than three years (December 2003 - March 2007) and resulted in the conviction of a single person many regard as a scapegoat - Lewis “Scooter” Libby.

 

More senior officials responsible for authorizing Valerie Plame’s name for political purposes were never prosecuted since documentary evidence was hidden and/or destroyed. A Truth Commission would be more likely to have the truth emerge on Bush administration policies since it would not be burdened by the high evidentiary standards needed for criminal prosecution.

If Leahy’s Truth Commission goes ahead with a broader mandate to explore all wrong doing in the Bush administration, then truth will emerge about more issues rather than soley the treatment of terrorism detainees.

 

Three months after President Bush began office on January 20, 2001, a Press Conference was held at the National Press Club in Washington DC., concerning UFOs (below video).

 

 

Twenty two witnesses came forward on May 9, 2001, to reveal evidence that UFOs are intelligently guided vehicles of possible extraterrestrial origin, and governments are illegally suppressing the release of this information.

 

Four months later, the world was absorbed by events on September 11, and interest in the May 9 UFO Press Conference quickly waned. There has been relatively little interest in a possible relationship between 9-11 and UFO secrets revealed at the May 9, 2001 Press Conference.

 

A Truth Commission will do much to release the secrets behind unanswered questions concerning 9-11 and the truth behind the UFO phenomenon.

 

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