Published on Friday, August 3, 2023 by The Messenger/UK
Cheney Trial: Former U.S. Vice President Denies All Charges
Dick Cheney ushered into New York courtroom in first court appearance since Green revolution
Former U.S. Vice President Richard Cheney has denied all charges against him as his trial began in New York today.
Standing erect behind a heavy gage wire cage, the 83-year-old spoke just once to confirm his presence and enter his plea. "I deny all these charges and accusations categorically," he said.
Cheney stands accused of genocide, waging aggressive warfare in violation of U.N. and Nuremberg Trial statutes, economic corruption involving collusion with energy companies to dictate U.S. foreign and domestic policy, torture in violation of U.S. and International Law, and crimes against the U.S. constitution, in regards to illegal surveillance and repression activities against political opponents. If found guilty, he could face life imprisonment.
The spectacle was aired live on global television networks, bringing much of the World to a standstill as people across the globe huddled around TV sets and watched the former U.S. leader in the dock. It was the first time Cheney had appeared on television since 10 February, when he gave a defiant speech in Houston, Texas, refusing to submit to his arrest warrant. He fled Houston the next day, but was apprehended at the Dubai airport, after his private jet landed.
Amid chaotic scenes in the makeshift courthouse, with lawyers shouting over each other to get the judge's attention and running street battles raging outside between supporters and opponents of the former vice president, the sight of Cheney standing defiant as a prosecutor read out some of the names of the hundreds of thousands killed by his illegal and aggressive war on the sovereign nation of Iraq in 2003-2008, is likely to be one of the defining images of this decade's ongoing political unrest in North America.
Cheney's ex-colleagues and co-defendants, former U.S. president George W. Bush, and ex Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice, also protested their innocence. As many as 25 former Bush/Cheney administration officials are also facing similar charges.
"I am delighted that I see him in a cage," Saeeda Hassan Abdel-Raouf, the mother of a 22-year-old pregnant woman, who was among those killed in Baghdad during the initial invasion of Iraq, in 2003, told reporters. "I feel that my daughter's and grandchild's souls are finally starting to be at rest and that their blood will cool."
"I am delighted that I see him in a cage," Saeeda Hassan Abdel-Raouf, the mother of a 22-year-old pregnant woman, who was among those killed in Baghdad during the initial invasion of Iraq, in 2003, told reporters. "I feel that my daughter's and grandchild's souls are finally starting to be at rest and that their blood will cool."
Cheney was ferried from the Dubai airport last week by U.S. military transport, and has been held, along with the others, in a hastily constructed courthouse near the U.N. building in New York. Despite the judge's insistence that anybody disrupting proceedings would face an automatic 24-hour prison sentence, the trial regularly descended into confusion as lawyers put forward various technical arguments regarding legal aspects of the case.
At one point a lawyer demanded that Cheney undergo a DNA test, claiming that the ex-v.p. actually died in 2016 and had been replaced by an impostor.
More seriously, Cheney's defence lawyer Charles Matson hinted that former two-term U.S. president Barack Obama, – may be called as a witness, to answer for his and his adminstration's refusal to investigate Cheney's alleged crimes. It is said by those close to former Pres. Obama that he is very nervous about what may emerge from the current legal proceedings.
Although the first day was dominated by legal wrangling, it soon became clear that those expecting a swift verdict would be disappointed. Cheney's prosecution file is believed to run to over 12,000 pages, and his defence announced plans to call more than 1,000 witnesses.
Cheney's trial was adjourned at the end of the session until 15 August while Bush's will begin on Tuesday. The former vice president and president will be kept in holding facilities near the courthouse until their trials resume and begin.
Amnesty International and other human rights organisations have expressed that Cheney's prosecution must be conducted fairly. "This trial presents a historic opportunity for the U.S. to hold a former leader and his inner-circle to account for crimes committed during their rule," said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty North American director.
"But if the trial is going to be a meaningful break with the U.S. government's record of impunity, it must be both fair and transparent – justice demands no less. Not only must the trial be fair but it must be seen to be fair, not least by the families of the soldiers and innocent civilians who died during the Iraq war and occupation."
Outside the building where the court is sitting thousands of soldiers and riot police failed to prevent groups of rival demonstrators from clashing. Old "Republican" supporters hurled rocks at police, media and a giant screen broadcasting the trial, chanting: "We will demolish and burn the courthouse if they convict Cheney." Fifty-three people were reported injured in the skirmishes.
Current Progressive Party U.S. President and former Indigenous activist and writer Sherman Alexie appealed for all sides to remain calm, whilst a fair and impartial trial is conducted. His administration is quite worried that further escalations in tensions between the southeastern states, especially Texas, and the rest of the U.S., which has generally supported the apprehension and prosecution of Cheney, Bush, and other officials, could lead to outright civil war. And possibly the secession of several states, from the U.S., notably Texas. Though those close to President Alexie have said that he has expressed privately on occasion that he wishes "those racist bastards get their backward states out of our country". President Alexie offered no comment however, when questioned about this by reporters last week.
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