Judge Tosses Cheney, Gonzales Indictments

Case alleged responsibility for federal prison abuse
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 2, 2008 10:09 AM CST
Judge Tosses Cheney, Gonzales Indictments
A judge dismissed the indictments against Cheney and Gonzales today.   (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, file)

A judge has dismissed indictments against Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzales, telling the Texas prosecutor who brought the case to exercise caution as his term in office ends. Juan Angel Guerra had accused the political heads of responsibility for abuse in privately-held federal prisons—in which the Vanguard Group that Cheney has a stake in invests—during two weeks of sometimes-bizarre court proceedings.

"I expected it. The system is going to protect itself," says Guerra, who, even in thorough defeat, saw the outcome as confirmation of the very conspiracy he had pursued. Guerra ran the investigation into alleged federal prisoner abuse with a siege mentality. He says he worked it from his home, dubbed it "Operation Goliath," and kept it secret from his staff.
(More Dick Cheney stories.)

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