Courtwatch
October 31, 2009 10:56 AM

The Trick Was On Us

By
Andrew Cohen
Topics
In The News
(GETTY)
And so it came to pass that on the day before Halloween 2009 we all were reminded that most of the biggest tricks of the past decade were on us.

First, we learned that Bernard Madoff mocked regulators in a jailhouse interview in which he expressed astonishment that his huge fraud was not unraveled earlier by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The young investigators, Madoff said, should have "checked basics like his account with Wall Street's central clearinghouse and his dealings with the firms that were supposedly handling his trades," the Times reported. "If you're looking at a Ponzi scheme, it's the first thing you do," Madoff said, in what could pass as an epitaph for the costly debacle.

Next, we learned that former Vice President Dick Cheney had a convenient and extraordinarily broad case of amnesia in 2004 when he was questioned under oath in the Valerie Plame CIA leak investigation.

Over and over again, Cheney failed or refused to specifically answer pertinent questions about his role in the leak or its cover-up. If his name were Dick Smith, and he were not a heartbeat from the presidency at the time, the Feds surely would have indicted him based upon this implausible and incomplete testimony. Martha Stewart was convicted for less — and, you could argue, so was I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby (above, with Cheney).

Finally, from a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, we learned more details Friday night about Bush-era interrogation policies and tactics. We learned more about the philosophical and strategic struggles between agents of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We learned that some well-meaning bureaucrat/officer wrote a memo asking if Saddam Hussein could be interviewed without the benefit of the recitation of a Miranda warning. Permission was granted.

None of these revelations ought to shock us. We've known for a while that Madoff is a crook, that Cheney is proud to flaunt his monarchal bent, and that the CIA and FBI fought like lions and hyenas over the soul of terrorism law following the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Still, when this sort of corroborating evidence emerges into the light of public scrutiny, it becomes harder for those who deny the basic facts to continue to do so. The third or fourth draft of history is usually clearer than the first.

So, the trick this Halloween is the recognition that there are still plenty of liars and con men and rogues running around doing great damage to our legal and political and economic systems.

The treat this Saturday is the knowledge that they usually get busted in the end — and sometimes even before all the damage is really done.


(CBS)
Andrew Cohen is CBS News' Chief Legal Analyst and Legal Editor. CourtWatch is his blog with analysis and commentary on breaking legal news and events. For columns on legal issues before the beginning of this blog, click here. You can also follow him on Twitter.

Add a Comment See all 17 Comments
by bobnjersey November 1, 2009 5:04 AM EST
[So, the trick this Halloween is the recognition that there are still plenty of liars and con men and rogues running around doing great damage to our legal and political and economic systems.

The treat this Saturday is the knowledge that they usually get busted in the end ? and sometimes even before all the damage is really done. ]

interesting. is this meant to infer that there's a treat to be had somewhere.

i see only tricks.

tremendous damage has been done ... damage that was made possible by a system that both didn't initially prevent it from occuring ... and from this same system that hasn't really changed at all to prevent it from happening again.

there's a myriad of examples ... well beyond what mr. cohen presents ... where what passes for success is getting what one wants ... justifying it as necessary or appropriate ... and in many cases it becoming a standard of acceptance.

our culture has degraded to a state where the moral/ethical 'touchstone' (what you go to to decide should i ... or shouldn't i) for most is now 'can i get away with it'. if you let someone get away with it ... they'll keep doing it. it's only 'standing in the way' of those practicing in this deluded form of justification that stops it. allowing/accepting it condones and reinforces it.

why isn't anyone really standing in the way of this nonsense? these people are supported blindly by those who align with their 'ends' ... and justify the means because they themselves believe they are the ones that gain somehow.

we all lose when this is allowed to continue to occur. why isn't everyone 'standing in the way' ... when are people going to stop only looking out and caring for their own 'ends' to be served?
Reply to this comment
by enwr77 November 1, 2009 7:56 AM EST
That is a good question. "When are people going to stop only looking out and caring for their own 'ends' to be served?" When we realize the divides use and how they are used to conquer. The two main divides are race and class. Its reinstatement began with the Nixon Presidency. Then there is red state and blue state. We are the United States. I am tired of seeing my American Brothers and Sisters struggle and suffer. I am angry that they are losing their homes and jobs. I am angry that they are being duped in healthcare and left to illness and debt or to die. I wonder what will happen to the children (to some grandchildren) of those whose parents serve several tours in Iraq and Iran. I care about the people.
by troyjared November 1, 2009 4:41 AM EST
Andrew Cohen is not a complete idiot; he actually has a very careful way of spreading weak arguments. His entire essay is organized to draw the reader in by discussing a person of current conflict, Bernard Madoff. He then discusses the past Vice President, bringing out the conflict of amnesia he supposedly had while going through interrogations. Finally, after proper set up, Andrew Cohen hopes to instill or reassure a certain bias to the past ten years and how much the Bush presidency is to blame for problems. The goal of Cohen and CBSNews seems to be convincing us to have a certain image of the past then years, and the Bush Presidency.

Please examine the weakness of the key point Cohen attempts to set up. "We learned that some well-meaning bureaucrat/officer wrote a memo asking if Saddam Hussein could be interviewed without the benefit of the recitation of a Miranda warning. Permission was granted." My friends, the Miranda rights are unique to the people of the United States. Absolutely Saddam didn't deserve to be read these rights earned by the forefathers of the United States. Please don't allow Cohen's bold and clear biased ways to affect your ways of reasoning.
Reply to this comment
by bobnjersey November 1, 2009 5:10 AM EST
[My friends, the Miranda rights are unique to the people of the United States. Absolutely Saddam didn't deserve to be read these rights earned by the forefathers of the United States. Please don't allow Cohen's bold and clear biased ways to affect your ways of reasoning. ]

these rights are symbolic of who we are supposed to be as a society. whether or not they technically apply to one group or another may be your foundation for your 'reasoned' argument ... but don't allow your own bias to 'justify' actions that serve 'your' own ends ... at the expense of who we're really suppossed to be.
by enwr77 November 1, 2009 7:42 AM EST
The Miranda Rights are the results of the 1960's Power to the People Anti War, Civil Rights Movement era, not our forefathers. When several minority men were bullied by the police into confessing to a crime they did not committ. The Miranda Rights and the Right to Legal Representation were enacted. The main part of this is that the power was with the people. This is because of a well educated people. The last generation to be more educated than their parents.
by pleiku1 October 31, 2009 8:13 PM EDT
"a convenient and extraordinarily broad case of amnesia in 2004 when he was questioned under oath in the Valerie Plame CIA leak investigation." No, everyone give him a break. Its not amnesia. Please don't say bad things about Cheney. He played too many football games without wearing a helmet. He was brain damaged from waaay back.
Reply to this comment
by 13StinkyFeet October 31, 2009 7:11 PM EDT
It would be interesting to learn Mr. Cohen's reaction at the time to republican members of Congress that were trying to roll back the risky home mortgage loan program. I also wonder if Mr. Cohen ridiculed the Bush administration back in 2004 about flu vaccine shortages. Certainly, we should keep a copy of the current analysis and apply its principles to the administration of our 44th president.
Reply to this comment
by bobnjersey November 1, 2009 5:25 AM EST
[It would be interesting to learn Mr. Cohen's reaction at the time to republican members of Congress that were trying to roll back the risky home mortgage loan program. ]

why did you stop there. why didn't the republicans 'roll back' the risky progam? why didn't they ever really bring these things for a vote on the senate floor. the republicans had control of everything. should't they have been able to force thru what they wanted ... they did with everything else that they 'really' wanted.

gwb regularly took credit for and supported affordable mortages as a keystone in the alleged economic successes during his term.
by mrrayman77 October 31, 2009 5:03 PM EDT
My how we conveniently forget that Hillary and Bill could never remember anything important when under oath. Pardon me but your bias is showing.
Reply to this comment
by curse914 November 1, 2009 12:41 AM EDT
The comparison is ridiculous. Cheney's amnesia may have cost the lives of informants and exposed an important information gathering tool. You may want to rethink your comparison.
by KPeters_from_UK November 1, 2009 9:11 AM EST
by mrrayman77 October 31, 2009 5:03 PM EDT
My how we conveniently forget that Hillary and Bill could never remember anything important when under oath. Pardon me but your bias is showing.

His adultery was never the cause of two wars. If he spefically lied to cover up a misdeed it was done to protect himself from his wife not in order to punish a CIA spy, invade a country for profits, and spy on his own citizens.
by mrrayman77 October 31, 2009 5:01 PM EDT
My how we so conveniently forget that both Hillary and Bill could never remember anything important when under oath. Pardon me but your bias is showing.
Reply to this comment
by bobnjersey November 1, 2009 4:40 AM EST
[My how we so conveniently forget that both Hillary and Bill could never remember anything important when under oath. Pardon me but your bias is showing. ]

about what?

pardon me but your petty partisanship is showing.
by antoniof123 November 2, 2009 3:14 PM EST
Dude:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/williamjclinton

In summary:

During the administration of William Jefferson Clinton, the U.S. enjoyed more peace and economic well being than at any time in its history. He was the first Democratic president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win a second term. He could point to the lowest unemployment rate in modern times, the lowest inflation in 30 years, the highest home ownership in the country's history, dropping crime rates in many places, and reduced welfare rolls. He proposed the first balanced budget in decades and achieved a budget surplus. As part of a plan to celebrate the millennium in 2000, Clinton called for a great national initiative to end racial discrimination.

This is from a government website it is documented and well get the picture your lies are ending and most are getting tired of them plus the nonsense.
by mrrayman77 October 31, 2009 5:01 PM EDT
My how we so conveniently forget that both Hillary and Bill could never remember anything important when under oath. Pardon me but your bias is showing.
Reply to this comment
by mrrayman77 October 31, 2009 5:00 PM EDT
My how we so conveniently forget that both Hillary and Bill could never remember anything important when under oath. Pardon me but your bias is showing.
Reply to this comment
by proudmilvet October 31, 2009 3:52 PM EDT
I believe the most disturbing part is the fact that Cheney actually considers himself a Great Patriot, & is entitled to Reap any Reward he Deems Appropriate. In the meantime REAL Patriots who, unlike Cheney Actually Served, are Nickled & Dimed to Death by the Federal Govt., the Pentagon, & the V.A. So this is Ronald Reagan's "Shining City on a Hill."
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