Bush pardons Cheney, Rumsfeld for 9/11 attacks

1975: Cheney and Rumsfeld begin assembling a team to execute and cover up the 9/11 attacks that would be carried out 25 years later. Eventually, the plot would grow to include dozens of military personnel, CIA agents, security guards, investigators, and media figures. Cheney and Rumsfeld's motive was to provide a pretext for joining an Iraqi invasion of Saudi Arabia and an Iranian invasion of Afghanistan, which is why all of the clues Cheney and Rumsfeld planted pointed to the Afghan government and to Osama bin Laden, the son of an influential Saudi businessman.

We always knew that the most controversial Bush pardons would come near Christmas, but nobody thought that he would be brazen enough to pardon his closest confidantes for their involvement in the 9/11 attacks:

President Bush issued sweeping pardons for Vice President Dick Cheney and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for any involvement they may have had in orchestrating the hijackings that took place on September 11, 2001. President Bush offered a brief statement to reporters gathered in the White House briefing room, but did not stay to field questions.

"Now, I'm not saying we had anything to do... I mean, I'm not saying THEY had anything to do with the September the eleven," said Bush. "I'm just saying that if they did have anything to do with it, which they didn't, then there will be no prosecution and so you all can stop your witch, um, you know, when you look for witches like they used to. Witch trials, or whatever you want to call them. You can stop."

White House press secretary Dana Perino refused to comment on the pardons, beyond pointing out that she was in California and the president was in Florida at the time of the attacks.

(cross posted at appletree)