Customer Reviews

United States v. George W. Bush et al.

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I read Ms. De la Vega's book in two sittings -- hard to put down. She makes a clear, easy to read, convincing case that -- as most American's by now believe -- we were defrauded into the Iraq war by Bush and his administration. I am an avid reader of newspapers, so much of the information was not new to me, but it was startingly to see it all laid out. Account by account falsehoods and misleading representations, day by day, lead up to the infuriating conclusion that this war was truly a war of choice.

I disagree with the reader who stated that one's enjoyment depends on politics. This book should be required reading by every American -- our country was lead into war. We need to hold those responsible accountable. There is nothing partisan or political about the legal analysis.

Only quibble is -- as the Publisher's Review quote notes -- the attempts at humor and conversations with the grand jurors seems forced and cutesy. Stick with the facts of your case -- they are an absorbing read all alone.

I'm not surprised that there are a few reviewers who call the book "anti-bush". I have a feeling the people who wrote those reviews haven't even read the book. de le Vega lays out the facts that any layman with a brain could understand. The facts are all checkable & indisputable. The book is a quick read and for those of us who KNOW this administration should be prosecuted for high crimes and misdemeanors, a ray of hope that something will eventually be done. Instead of "anti-bush", let's call it "pro-justice".

A peek into what would be the most critical grand jury room of our time. To the point dialogue laced with humorous banter, serve to crystallize the meticulously researched and documented facts into an enjoyable read. One of the most dire happenings in our nations history that goes by like a "who dun it." Ms. de la Vega's "just the facts Mam" style is void of the shrill and emotional rhetoric that might allow this subject matter to be dismissed as a partisan witch hunt.
Readers waiting for the next protest march to begin as well as those waking up from a six year coma should consider this required reading.
The service Ms. de la Vega has done with this work is the stuff of true patriotic heroism. I Thank Her, it remains up to the rest of us to see that this is step one not the end of the story.

Shortly after this book became available, but before I became aware of it, I asked the federal prosecutor (or "AUSA" for Assistant US Attorney) we were working with at the time whether we could indict Bush & Cheney. As I expected, the question was not answered. Another member of the federal Grand Jury sharply and quickly asked me "Who would write the indictment?" Ms. de la Vega points out in the first paragraph of her Introduction that writing an indictment of Bush & Cheney is not a smart move for an AUSA to make if they wish to remain employed. Had I known of retired AUSA de la Vega's book, I might have pushed for our Grand Jury to issue our own indictment without the help of the staff of the local US Attorney's office! There just might have been 11 other jurors besides myself who would have voted in favor of such an action... While Bush's Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez would be unlikely to allow prosecution of his fellow Republicans, the issuance of an indictment by a sitting federal Grand Jury would probably garner some interesting news coverage!

Like reviewer Prall, I found a number of small errors in the text, but the criminal behavior is quite clearly defined and there is plenty of evidence to exceed the "Probable Cause" standard for issuing an indictment. On page 48 de la Vega refers to "all 24 of you". On page 238 the Grand Jury is called a "group of 25 people", which appears to be another error unless the court reporter and AUSA are included in the group! Federal Grand Juries (in my district at least) are populated with exactly 23 members, not 24 or 25. Any action taken requires 12 jurors to vote in favor. The odd number of jurors avoids tie votes. Also, my experience was that the only time all 23 jurors met at the same time was on the day of impanelment; the minimum number of jurors required to be present for any business to occur is a quorum of 16. Somebody always seemed to be absent! On some days the start of the Grand Jury session needed to be postponed until a quorum appeared. It was during these interludes of waiting with the AUSA present that questions like "Can we indict Bush & Cheney" could be entertained.

I have long believed that Bush, Cheney, Rice, Powell, and Rumsfeld are criminals. Elizabeth de la Vega provides the evidence and legal framework clearly meeting the "Probable Cause" standard to indict these people. They appear to have committed serious crimes against the people of the USA, and should be held to account.

This is a compelling book.The previous reviewer is missing the point of the book when he says "this book will not be helpful to you as it is a book about political opinion", and "your like or dislike for Bush will determine whether this book is for you". This is not a personality contest. In her indictment, Ms de la Vega clearly spells out the Federal Laws Bush has violated. This book lays it out in sequence for all to understand, despite your politics.

Whether you are a casual reader just beginning to explore how we got bogged down in Iraq, or a scholar seeking new insight into one of the most disastrous administrations in our history, "U.S. v. Bush" is not to be missed.

Elizabeth de la Vega has produced a tantalizing, highly readable analysis of the run up to the war in Iraq. Through the device of a fictionalized grand jury presentation, she brings the story to life without turning it into a flight of fancy. And de la Vega builds a powerful case for greater accountability and integrity in our nation's highest offices. The facts revealed in "U.S. v. Bush" are ones that, for the sake of our country, we cannot afford to ignore.

Let me draw an analogy to Elizabeth Kolbert writing in the New Yorker about chimate change, where she lays out a reporter's travelogue rather than making a global warming argument on principle -- but where, after you have finally been carried through the story, you draw your own conclusions quite easily because of the depth of the reporting.

That's what de la Vega does for our national trauma since the saber-rattling started in the summer of 2002. This is a quite serious analysis of why a beyond-Enron-scale fraud was committed by Bush et al in their systematic misleading of Congress and the public.

Read it and weep. But she does it with an obvious expertise (as an Assistant US Attorney who specialized in fraud cases), combined with the writer's technique of being a flea on the wall of the grand-jury room as FBI agents present the evidence for an indictment. It's not partisan but a just-the-facts organized so that the pattern becomes obvious. The analogies to the Enron fraud trial are particularly telling.

A compelling argument for impeachment of Bush, et.al. Everyone in America should read this book.

The persuasive and informative little book U.S. v Bush by retired prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega lays out a strong case for the prosecution of George Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condaleeza Rice and Colin Powell for defrauding the American people. It is of course hypothetical, but that adds to its interest and importance for the reader regardless of their political persuasion. With an introduction "A fraud worse than Enron" she lays out the basis for such an indictment; "tricking the American people into a war or in legal terms conspiracy to defraud the United States". Ms de la Vega then artfully constructs the hypothetical indictment section (conveniently printed in a gray shade for easy reference - though in my opinion the case is anything but gray), assembles a fictitious Grand Jury with an entertainingly diverse cast of characters and witnesses and marches them through her imaginary proceedings. And the verdict? Well that is left to the fictitious Grand Jury and the reader to decide.



Woven into the narrative is of course the confounding mixture of truth, spin and contradictions - and worse -consequences in which Bush et al have enmeshed themselves; she helps us to make it all out and better still she clearly shows how many times laws were broken, with -in this case - the tragic result of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives lost as well as those of over 3300 American soldiers and almost ten times that number of wounded.



The spotlight is also on many real instances where a lack of accountability on the part of an official is evident, but we also learn through her instructions to the jury that such spin may actually be illegal: "White House officals, just like CEOs, are legally required to make sure that they have a reasonable factual basis for their assertions before they make them......Moreover if they have notice that an assertion they are making is not true or even dubious, they are legally obligated to inquire further". Wow! Dream on.



Those who claim that America is nothing if not a nation of laws while at the same time supporting either the Bush administration or its actions or both had better read this book, if for no other reasons than to prepare their own rebuttals. Elizabeth de la Vega doesn't leave them much wiggle room. I can only hope that at some future date this book will be on the required reading list for high school civics classes.

Elizabeth hits the nail on the head. This is a 5 star fantasy, I can imagine being in the courtroom and sitting on my hands so I don't jump up and cheer when she twists the knife!
Great book! Thanks for giving me a great fantasy...now let's visualize impeachment!