Cheating Justice

October 24, 2011
Former Democratic congresswoman Holtzman of New York teams up with Cooper (The Impeachment of George W. Bush) for a detailed investigation into how the Bush administration broke the law. While much speculation has been made over the former president’s awareness of the lack of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq before the declaration of war, this book barrels through his defense strategies to prove his guilt. Through carefully documenting the dates of speeches he gave to the public and Congress against the dates of investigations and reports back to him regarding the situation in Iraq, Holtzman alleges that the president was more than aware of the erroneous information in his addresses. She further examines how the Bush administration bypassed legality to set up wiretaps, tortured detainees, evaded internal investigations, and withheld government documents. It’s an impressive effort, but the book suffers from its brevity and poor organization. Some sections place quotations of legislation alongside countless memorandums and documents to create something that’s oftentimes incomprehensible. The case for conspiracy becomes confusing, the data disorienting, and at times the book is bafflingly dense. It’s unfortunate, as the amount of information collected is astounding, and the extent of the authors’ research is admirable. But without more explanation and analysis, accessibility is sacrificed.

November 1, 2011
A searing indictment of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney and their betrayal of the American people. Holtzman, who served on the House Judiciary Committee during the proceedings against Richard Nixon, and lawyer/journalist Cooper (The Impeachment of George W. Bush: A Practical Guide for Concerned Citizens, 2006, etc.) explain why and how Bush and Cheney should be charged with crimes against the nation and convicted by a judge, jury or Congress--or all of the above. Their indictment is grounded in specific laws, which they ably explain for a non-lawyer readership. These include the False Statements Accountability Act of 1996 and Title 18, Section 371 of the U.S. Code, which sets out the parameters of conspiracy to defraud the United States through deceit. The authors duly cover the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the torture of arrestees during the so-called War on Terror and the wiretapping of American citizens. In addition to explaining why Bush and Cheney should be prosecuted in the United States, the authors set out the argument for governments of other nations to prosecute the former president and vice president. Without prosecutions at home and abroad, Holtzman and Cooper write, the rule of the law is meaningless. For the most part, the authors avoid discussion about the likelihood of Bush and Cheney being held accountable in court, and common sense suggests that with each passing year, such prosecutions become increasingly unlikely. However, Holtzman and Cooper note two groups that faced trial decades after their transgressions: civil-rights violators and Nazi war criminals. A passionate book grounded in law.

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