'House Judiciary Issues Scathing Report on Bush/Cheney Imperial Presidency'

From Firedoglake here.

In a report just made public (PDF), the House Judiciary Committee issues a scathing report on the Bush/Cheney abuses against the rule of law. Entitled "Reining In the Imperial Presidency," the report details a myriad of issues which have plagued Congress and the judiciary where the Bush/Cheney administration has overstepped constitutional boundaries.

From the forward by Chairman Conyers:

...The contrast with the Bush Department of Justice could not be starker. In this Administration, too many Department leaders abandoned that proud tradition of independence and integrity, and made decisions based on political objectives rather than the facts and the law. Young political operatives were given control over the most sensitive operations of the Department, and federally protected, non-partisan law enforcement positions were used to provide political patronage. The Civil Rights Division was twisted to obtain partisan electoral advantage, rather than protect the most vulnerable among us from discrimination. . . .

There have been additional transgressions against the Constitution and the country by the Bush Administration. There was the contrived and manipulated drive to a preemptive war of aggression with Iraq. In the words of the Downing Street Minutes, “the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy.” There was the unconscionable use of detention without cause; enhanced interrogation if not outright torture; extraordinary rendition; the extralegal use of national security letters; warrantless wiretaps of American citizens; the unilateral weakening of our regulatory system; the use of signing statements to override the laws of the land; and the intimidation and silencing of critics and whistleblowers who dared tell fellow citizens what was being done in their name. . . .