John Dean: Will Obama Investigate Bush War Crimes?

John Dean: Will Obama Investigate Bush War Crimes?

The American public overwhelmingly supports an investigation into terror tactics. So why is Obama hesitating?

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

Keith Olbermann tackled the issue of a possible prosecution of the Bush Administration in a segment this week on his program Countdown. Olbermann noted that there has been a great deal of chatter in the progressive blogosphere lately over the push by some Americans for the appointment of an independent prosecutor to investigate Bush’s alleged authorization of the use of torture and warrantless wiretapping. As Nation contributor Ari Melber noted on his blog recently, this issue has become the number question posed to the incoming administration on Obama’s official site Change.gov. The Obama team’s response to this push has been somewhat vague however. Joe Biden has said “we should be looking forward, not backwards,” while others have similarly evaded an official stance on the issue. For the latest on Obama’s views on torture, read Melber’s update.

Marissa Colón-Margolies

Check out more great Nation videos on our YouTube channel.

Hold the powerful to account by supporting The Nation

The chaos and cruelty of the Trump administration reaches new lows each week.

Trump’s catastrophic “Liberation Day” has wreaked havoc on the world economy and set up yet another constitutional crisis at home. Plainclothes officers continue to abduct university students off the streets. So-called “enemy aliens” are flown abroad to a mega prison against the orders of the courts. And Signalgate promises to be the first of many incompetence scandals that expose the brutal violence at the core of the American empire.

At a time when elite universities, powerful law firms, and influential media outlets are capitulating to Trump’s intimidation, The Nation is more determined than ever before to hold the powerful to account.

In just the last month, we’ve published reporting on how Trump outsources his mass deportation agenda to other countries, exposed the administration’s appeal to obscure laws to carry out its repressive agenda, and amplified the voices of brave student activists targeted by universities.

We also continue to tell the stories of those who fight back against Trump and Musk, whether on the streets in growing protest movements, in town halls across the country, or in critical state elections—like Wisconsin’s recent state Supreme Court race—that provide a model for resisting Trumpism and prove that Musk can’t buy our democracy.

This is the journalism that matters in 2025. But we can’t do this without you. As a reader-supported publication, we rely on the support of generous donors. Please, help make our essential independent journalism possible with a donation today.

In solidarity,

The Editors

The Nation

Ad Policy
x