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Dick Cheney on Crime
Vice President of the United States under George W. Bush
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Aggressively sought Scooter Libby pardon in 2007 & 2009
Critics alleged that someone had committed a crime by intentionally leaking the identity of a CIA operative, [Valerie Plame, in the 2003 Iraq-Niger case]. Dick's chief-of-staff, Scooter Libby, was indicted for perjury, obstruction of justice, and making
false statements. Scooter was sentenced to 30 months in prison.I faced an agonizing decision. I could let Scooter go to jail. Or I could commute his sentence. Some in the White House, led by the vice president, pushed aggressively for a pardon. In
2007, I announced, "The prison sentence given to Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the sentence."
In the closing days of the administration in 2009, Dick pressed his case that Scooter should be pardoned [to clear Libby's criminal record]. I
reached the same conclusion as in 2007, and I informed Dick that I would not issue a pardon. He stared at me with an intense look. "I can't believe you're going to leave a soldier on the battlefield," he said. In 8 years, I had never seen Dick like this.
Source: Decision Points, by Pres. George W. Bush, p.103-105
, Nov 9, 2010
Cap non-economic damages and limit awards for attorneys
CHENEY: We need to cap non-economic damages, and we also think you need to limit the awards that the trial attorneys take out of all of this. Over 50 percent of the settlements go to the attorneys and for administrating overhead. EDWARDS: I’m proud of
the work I did on behalf of kids and families against big insurance companies, big drug companies and big HMOs. We do have too many lawsuits. And the reality is there’s something that we can do about it. We want to put more responsibility on the lawyers
to require to have the case reviewed by independent experts to determine if the case is serious and meritorious before it can be filed; hold the lawyers responsible for that, certify that and hold the lawyer financially responsible if they don’t do it;
have a three-strikes-and-you’re-out rule so that a lawyer who files three of these cases without meeting this requirement loses their right to file these cases. That way we keep the cases out of the system that don’t belong in the system.
Source: Edwards-Cheney debate: 2004 Vice Presidential
, Oct 5, 2004
Funds to fight gangs; more parole; juvenile clearinghouse
Cheney co-sponsored the following bills in Congress:- H.R.5358 (1988): A bill to establish a clearinghouse federal of juvenile justice.
- H.R.5359 (1988): A bill to provide grants to private nonprofit community-based organizations to prevent
and reduce the participation of juveniles in the activities of gangs that commit crimes.
- H.R.5360 (1988): A bill to provide supervision of juveniles who are released after committing acts that would have been crimes if committed by adults.
Source: Thomas Register of Congressional Votes
, Jan 1, 1988
Character education; community service; pay restitution
Cheney co-sponsored the following bills in Congress:- H.R.5361 (1988):A bill to carry out demonstration projects to provide character education to juveniles confined in juvenile detention facilities.
- H.R.5362 (1988):A bill to confine juveniles
who commit unlawful violent acts, to require such juveniles to perform community service.
- H.R.5363 (1988):A bill to require juveniles who commit unlawful acts to pay restitution to their victims.
Source: Thomas Register of Congressional Votes
, Jan 1, 1988
Death penalty OK for espionage & treason
Cheney co-sponsored the Congressional bill H.R.704 (1986):- Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criteria for the imposition of the death penalty for treason and espionage.
- Requires the Government, for an offense punishable by death,
to serve notice upon the defendant a reasonable time before trial or acceptance of a plea that it intends to seek the death penalty, as well as notice of the aggravating factors upon which it will rely.
- Requires a separate sentencing hearing before
a jury or the court upon motion by the defendant when the defendant is found guilty or pleads guilty to an offense punishable by death.
- Conditions imposition of the death penalty on a unanimous finding by the jury that: (1) some aggravating factor
exists in addition to a threshold factor; and (2) the aggravating factor sufficiently outweighs any mitigating factor found to exist.
- Directs the court to impose the death penalty upon a finding that such sentence is justified.
Source: Thomas Register of Congressional Votes
, Jan 1, 1986
Co-sponsored bills for stricter & mandatory sentencing
Cheney co-sponsored the following bills in Congress:- H.R.1946 (1986):A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to provide mandatory penalties for certain drug offenses involving the importation or exportation, or the manufacture, of
controlled substances.
- H.R.2943 (1986):A bill to amend the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Statute (RICO) to allow a civil action to be brought by a plaintiff only when the private suit rests on an injury caused by conduct that led
to the defendant’s conviction of one of the predicate offenses listed in the statute or of a criminal violation of RICO itself.
- H.R.4125 (1986):A bill to authorize prosecution of terrorists who attack US nationals abroad, and for other purposes.
- H.RES.546 (1988):A resolution expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding allocating funds to State and local governments under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 for drug control activities.
Source: Thomas Register of Congressional Votes (1980s History)
, Jan 1, 1986
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