The specific charges remain cryptic. The one against Gonzales seems the easier:
The indictment accuses Gonzales of stopping an investigation into abuses at the federal detention center.
Gonzales could conceivably have done that as Attorney General, although it's asking a lot to believe that he knew what was happening in a federal detention center in south Texas when he denied knowing much of anything about events that happened inside his own Washington office. How Gonzales' alleged abuse of federal authority in a federal detention center would violate a state criminal law continues to be a mystery.
The accusation against Cheney is even more bizarre.
The grand jury accused Cheney of a conflict of interest because of his influence over the county's federal immigrant detention center and his substantial holdings in the Vanguard Group, which invests in private prison companies.
Is it really a crime in Texas for the Vice President to have a conflict of interest between his official duties and his private investments?
It's a little cheeky of Guerra to accuse Cheney of having a conflict of interest, given this:
District Clerk Gilbert Lozano, District judges Janet Leal and Migdalia Lopez, and special prosecutors Mosbacker and Gustavo Garza, a longtime political opponent of Guerra, were all indicted on charges of official abuse of official capacity and official oppression. The grand jury tied all of their charges to an earlier investigation of Guerra's office.
Assuming the Texas Rangers find Guerra in good health and persuade him to come to the arraignment on Friday, and assuming a death ray does not interfere with Guerra's attendance, the proceeding should be entertaining. If the judge shows even the slightest inclination to exercise any authority over Cheney, the VP's lawyers will get a federal judge to shut him down. (That's shut him down, Mr. Cheney. Not shoot him down. Shut him down.)
While shutting these jokers and their mockery of a judicial system down would be the right thing to do, it's difficult to feel too much outrage when Cheney and Gonzales are their targets. What does Guerra have against them? Guerra should idolize those guys. Cheney and Gonzales set the standard for abusing official authority.
The local court authorities who are under indictment are probably less amused. Perhaps their lawyer can shame the judge into dismissing the indictment on Friday.
