Insomnia (insomnia) wrote,

Republican talking points on Ford's death.

"President Ford helped heal our land and restore public confidence in the presidency." - George W. Bush

"When he left office, he had restored public trust in the presidency." - Dick Cheney

"No man could have been better suited to the task of healing our nation and restoring faith in our government." - Arnold Schwarzenegger

"President Gerald Ford will be remembered as the man who restored respect to the presidency..." - George Sensenbrenner

... because nothing restores public trust in corrupt politicians like not holding them accountable for their crimes in office.

What crimes?

How about:
- Perjury / lying under oath
- Conspiracy to commit a crime (breaking and entering of the Democratic National Committee)
- Conspiracy to commit a crime (breaking and entering of the offices of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist)
- Conspiracy to commit a crime (planned breaking and entering of the Brookings Institute)
- Conspiracy to commit a crime (planning the break-in of the above, impersonating firemen)
- Conspiracy to commit a crime (theft of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatric records)
- Conspiracy to commit a crime (leaking confidential information to the press)
- Conspiracy to commit a crime (planning the assault of Daniel Ellsberg)
- Conspiracy to commit a crime (the bribery of Judge Byrne, a key judge involved in the case, who was offered the position of FBI Director if he helped hush up the Watergate break-in.)
- misuse of federal election campaign funds
- knowingly accepting illegal campaign contributions
- violations of federal banking and securities laws
- obstruction of justice
- concealing evidence
- violations of laws guaranteeing free trial
- violations of statutes limiting jurusdictions and regulating the legal activities of the CIA and FBI
- tax fraud
- misprision of felony -- at least ten counts.
- misuse of Government funds (for his private home)
- violating the civil rights of Daniel Ellsberg and his former psychiatrist, Lewis Fielding.

So, does anyone really believe that not holding a president accountable for committing crimes while in office actually restored trust in government? Or did it simply set a precident for other presidents in the future?

"Howard Hunt, one of the people who had been arrested or -- involved in the Watergate break-in, was demanding more money. And there was no money to pay these people. We didn't know how to do any of this. And I told (Nixon), I said, “This is going to go on forever and ever, and it’s going to cost who knows how much.” And he said to me, “Well, John, how much might it cost?” And I pulled what I thought then was a hefty number out of thin air, which is $1 million. He said, “John, that's no problem. I know where we can get $1 million.” - John Dean, quoting Richard Nixon
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