A Texas grand jury indicted former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Vice President Dick Cheney for the supposed abuse of prisoners. According to the indictment filed yesterday, both men engaged in "organized criminal activity" based on the supposed abuse leading to the 2001 death of an inmate. As a Reuters article mentioned:
The grand jury in Willacy County, in the Rio Grande Valley near the U.S.-Mexico border, said Cheney is "profiteering from depriving human beings of their liberty," according to a copy of the indictment obtained by Reuters.The indictment also laid blame at Democratic state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. His lawyer claimed that Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra was “settling political scores in his final weeks in office.”
The indictment cites a "money trail" of Cheney's ownership in prison-related enterprises including the Vanguard Group, which owns an interest in private prisons in south Texas.
Former attorney general Gonzales used his position to "stop the investigations as to the wrong doings" into assaults in county prisons, the indictment said.
Gonzales has been under fire for aledgedly abusing his power during his time as Attorney General including the accused partisan firing of eight federal attorneys. A recent Justice Department (DOJ) probe blasted Gonzales for “abdicating his repsonsibilty” as top cop; ironically, the DOJ agreed to use taxpayer funds to pay for his private counsel.
Image- WELT ONLINE
Sources- The Latin Americanist, miamiherald.com, Houston Chronicle, Reuters, CNN
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