New jury to review Cheney, Gonzo indictments.

While a new grand jury will be impaneled in Willacy County to review the findings of prior grand jurors regarding high-level officials, including Vice President Richard B. Cheney, former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and State Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., the embattled former Willacy County district attorney isn't going away.

The review is in connection with the Nov. 17 indictments that a former grand jury under ex-DA Juan Angel Guerra returned. The indictments charged Cheney and Gonzales with profiting from private prisons, neglecting conditions and stopping inquiries into assaults.

Presiding Judge J. Manuel Bañales threw out the indictments, finding that two alternates who sat on the grand jury were not legally seated. He also banned Guerra from pursuing re-indictments, finding that he could not be impartial.

For DA Pro-Tem Alfredo Padilla, whom Bañales appointed to assess these and

fellow cases, tasks on his list this new year is to request the seating of a new grand jury.

"We'll be doing that within the next several weeks," said Padilla, who has left the Cameron County District Attorney's Office to re-enter private practice.
For Guerra, his next stop in continuing his complaints against Lucio, D-Brownsville, is the Texas Ethics Commission, which responds to ethics questions, concerns and violations regarding state officials.

In his last day in office Dec. 31, Guerra filed a civil lawsuit in Willacy County seeking to seize Lucio's 10.6-acre property in San Benito, alleging that it was purchased with money derived from the commission of a felony.

"It is just not right," Guerra said of consulting fees that Lucio has received from private firms.

Lucio's attorney, Michael R. Cowen, counters, "It is sad to see that Mr. Guerra refuses to follow the clear mandate of the Willacy County voters who threw him out of office as a result of his constant shenanigans."
Read on.

Judge to Guerra: Can't re-indict.

By Fernando Del Valle / Valley Morning Star

The region's top state judge ruled on Wednesday that Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra's hostility disqualified him from serving as prosecutor in cases against Vice President Dick Cheney and others.

Judge Manuel Bañales, the Fifth Judicial District's administrative judge, disqualified Guerra from prosecuting cases against Cheney, former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, state Sen. Eddie Lucio and the GEO Group, a private prison operator.

"With deep regret this court has heard evidence that shows you have violated (your) oath," Bañales told Guerra after a three-hour hearing.

"You have shown bias and prejudice ... to a high degree (to show) that you cannot prosecute this case."

Bañales said he stopped short of finding Guerra in contempt of court for refusing to answer questions on the witness stand.

"Some of the attorneys have (said) your conduct before this court shows little respect before this court and I agree," Bañales told Guerra.

"But I don't find you in contempt because I don't want to give you any dignity. Other judges probably would, but I won't."

On the witness stand, Guerra refused to answer several questions after Bañales ordered him to respond.

"Find me in contempt and put me in jail," Guerra told Bañales.

Tony Canales, a Corpus Christi attorney representing the GEO Group, told Bañales that Guerra was in contempt of court for failing to follow the judge's orders to answer attorneys' questions.
"You have exhibited great patience ... because he is offensive," Canales told Bañales. "I think it's insulting. I don't know of any other judge that would give so much leeway .... Mr. Guerra has been completely unprofessional. I've never seen a lawyer tell a judge that I'm going to refuse an order. He cannot be defiant to the court."

Guerra refused to answer whether he planned to ask the grand jury to re-indict Lucio, Cheney and the GEO Group. Guerra claimed negligence by the GEO Group's led prisoners to kill an inmate in a Raymondville prison in 2001.

Guerra told Canales he was ready to go to jail for contempt of court.

"If that's what it takes for your company to stop killing people, I will go to jail 20 times," Guerra told Canales. "That is my responsibility - to stop people like you from killing people."

Cowen argued Guerra's malice toward Lucio stemmed from Guerra's belief that the senator was behind an investigation that led to his March 2007 felony indictments. Bañales dismissed the indictments in October.

Cowen argued that Guerra used the media to try to smear Lucio with false accusations that he work as a consultant in exchange for "bribes."

"I believe you're seeking a political theater, not a court of law," Cowen told Guerra. "We believe your only purpose is to hurt my client and other people specifically."

Guerra claimed Lucio used his influence as a state senator to land work as a consultant.

"There's only one reason they're paying Eddie Lucio: to use his influence to get the contract," Guerra told Bañales.

Guerra claimed law forbids Cheney from investing in the private prison industry that's outside of his blind trust.

But Cowen argued Cheney invested in a group of mutual funds.

Guerra refused to answer whether he knew the nature of Cheney's investments.

Bañales appointed attorney Alfredo Padilla to serve as special prosecutor in a grand jury session Friday.

After the hearing, Texas Rangers requested that Guerra turn over files in the cases of Cheney, Gonzales, Lucio and the GEO Group, Guerra said in an interview.

Guerra will not be able to speak to the grand jury without the presence of the pro tem district attorney and Guerra must immediately relinquish all related files to that temporary prosecutor.

Cheney and the for-profit prison scandal

Written by Biloxi
December 8, 2008

Last month, a Texas grand jury indicted Vice President Dick Cheney for “engaging in an organized criminal activity related to the vice president’s investment in the Vanguard Group, which holds financial interests in the private prison companies running the federal detention centers.” And former Attorney General Gonzales was indicted for using his position during his time as Attorney General to block an investigation into abuses at the detention centers, located in south Texas.Click to view the indictments of Cheney and Gonzales.

District Attorney Juan Guerra was the lead person based on evidence from Cheney's tax return records and Cheney's connections lead to an indictment of the Vice President. Last week, the Judge Manuel Bañales [The same judge who last month dismissed indictments that charged Guerra with extorting money from a bail bond company and using his office for personal business] threw out the indictments of Cheney, Gonzales, and other officials. Guerra attempted to have the judge replaced but that failed.Click here to download a copy of Guerra's affidavit. Guerra vowed to continue the fight and seek re-indictments. His main focus is not on the other officials but rather on Cheney and Gonzales. The judge and attorneys of Cheney and Gonzales are fighting to block Guerra from seeking re-indictments. Guerra's tenure as District Attorney ends December 31, 2008. Guerra said that he may seek an outside attorney to seek re-indictments which is allowed in this case.

I wanted to focus Cheney's role in the for-profit prison scandal as this case is much bigger than the media wish to ignore.

The three top prison companies Guerra researched were Corrections Corporation of America, GEO Group and Cornell. Those three have the Vanguard Group in common, which is an investment company that puts money into all three prison companies. According to Guerra, Cheney owns shares in the Vanguard Group, an investment company that has holdings in Corrections Corporation of America, GEO Group and Cornell. Willacy is operated by Geo Group, a subsidiary of Whackenhut .

And companies like Corrections Corporation of America specifically target small towns for their prison projects. As these companies profited, Cheney reaped the rewards of profit. And as immigration law was supposed to be one of Bush’s priorities in his first administration, this was put on the backburner and greed, political connections, and profit became the priority over the human rights of the detainees. Here are some examples:

Title: Private Prison Co. Again Accused of Human Rights Abuses [USA]
Author: Julia Dahl, ABC News [USA] Dated: 05 Aug 2008
Immigrants at a Washington State detention center run by the GEO Group...are being held in conditions that violate both international and U.S. law, says a new report released by the Seattle University School of Law and the human rights group OneAmerica. The report concludes that immigrants at the Northwest Detention Facility, including refugees and asylum seekers, are being held in "an atmosphere of intimidation" which includes verbal abuse, sexual harassment, strip searches, and poor to non-existent mental and physical health care.

Title: Immigrant Detainees Beaten, Lawsuit Claims [USA]
Author: Laura Strickler, CBS News [USA] Dated: 20 May 2008
A new lawsuit filed against a private contractor who runs an immigrant child detention center claims nine teenagers were beaten and abused by employees who work for Cornell Companies. The company has been cited by immigration officials for safety problems in the past…The plaintiffs claim they notified authorities of multiple beatings but no action was taken…A spokesperson for Cornell Companies…says the company strongly denies any abuse, “Every complaint has been investigated by the company as well as by the state…and none of these have ever found any evidence of anything that can back up the charges.”

And how does Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is connected to Cheney? Here is how:

In March 2003, President Bush appointed Michael J. Garcia as the Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). See White House website. Garcia is now the federal prosecutor with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.And Garcia was in charge of the federal investigation against the former governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer in the Emperor VIP club prostitution probe. Spitzer was not charged in that probe. And the House committee will have an investigation in 2009 into Spitzer's probe. Garcia worked for ICE from 2003-2005.

Garcia was replaced with Julie L. Myers. Myers, a niece of former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Richard B. Myers, served as Chertoff's chief of staff when he headed the Justice Department's criminal division. She rejoined Chertoff in 2006 and helped oversee ICE during the Bush administration's failed immigration overhaul push. Myers resigned from her position. She became a target of questioning by the Democrats in her position when Bush said that immigration law would be his priority i his first Administration. Myers had set records for three fiscal years in arrests of illegal immigrants with criminal records and those violating administrative deportation orders.

Lastly, all roads lead back to Halliburton-Cheney connection to for-profit private prisons:


In January 24, 2006 Halliburton’s subsidiary KBR (formerly Kellogg, Brown and Root) was awarded a $385 million contingency contract by the Department of Homeland Security to build "temporary detention and processing facilities" or internment camps. According to Halliburton, "The contract, which is effective immediately, provides for establishing temporary detention and processing capabilities to augment existing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Detention and Removal Operations (DRO) Program facilities in the event of an emergency influx of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs." Critics called that another remake blueprint of Gitmo camps. Read more on connections on Cheney-Halliburton.


Certainly these private prisons violated the 13th Amendment as we deal with currently with human trafficking, other conditions of forced labor, and inhumane rights of detainees in the U.S. and overseas. As much the media noted that nothing will come out of this indictment because Cheney is immune from criminal prosecution. But, that is not the case. According to the Memorandum for the United States Concerning the Vice President’s Claim of Constitutional Immunity, filed Oct. 5, 1973 by the Attorney General’s Office, a Vice President could be subject to indictment and criminal prosecution. In the Nixon Watergate scandal, this was the response to Vice President Spiro Agnew’s argument that both he and then President Richard Nixon were both immuned from criminal prosecution. Cheney didn't think that the Nixon Administration that he worked for and the Watergate probe would come back to haunt him.

DA Guerra could seek re-indictments.

By Emma Perez-Treviño / Brownsville Herald

State Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr.'s attorney hopes to preempt any possibility that District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra would attempt to re-indict the senator.

Presiding District Judge J. Manuel Bañales on Monday dismissed the indictment against Lucio and other high-level public officials, including Vice-President Dick Cheney and former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, on procedural grounds and not on their merits or lack thereof. However, Guerra could seek their re-indictment. A Willacy County grand jury is slated to meet Dec. 12.

"I will not comment on what the grand jury might or might not do. The grand jury is independent," Guerra said.

Lucio's attorney Michael R. Cowen plans to beat Guerra with case law established through Guerra's battles last year with former Willacy County special prosecutor Gustavo Garza.

The 13th Court of Appeals last year took action that resulted in the disqualification of Garza from prosecuting Guerra for alleged voter fraud in an election between Garza and Guerra due to the potential conflict that arose, Cowen said.

"Mr. Guerra has a personal vendetta against Senator Lucio and combined with ethical violations, this shows that he is legally and ethically disqualified," Cowen said, maintaining that the DA's animosity toward the senator rises to a potential conflict.

Cowen said Bañales has slated a hearing for 10 a.m. Dec. 10 at the Willacy County Courthouse in Raymondville to determine if Guerra should be disqualified from the Lucio case.

"They are citing a case that does not apply," Guerra said, contending that the circumstances are not similar. "People (defense attorneys) are making up laws as they go along." Guerra said.

The grand jury indicted Lucio Nov. 17 on six Class A misdemeanor counts of receiving fees from contractors for services that he would not have been requested to provide if he were not a senator.

Guerra said Tuesday that he would not be appealing his removal from prosecuting the cases of state District Judge Migdalia Lopez, District Judge Janet L. Leal, former special prosecutors Garza and Mervyn Mosbacker Jr. and Willacy County District Clerk Gilbert Lozano.

"I'm not interested in those five," Guerra said.

On a side note: Guerra said he could also get an outside attorney to present the case to the Grand Jury.

Texas district attorney Juan Angel Guerra expected indictment dismissals

The judge said there was not sufficient evidence to support the indictments of Cheney, Gonzo, and other officials.

UPDATE: Judge to Re-examine Charges on January 2nd

The judge ordered Guerra, who leaves office Dec. 31, not to present any new indictments against any of the eight defendants during his remaining weeks in office.

Bañales ruled there was no probable cause to begin indictments against any of the defendants, but Guerra begged the judge to hold an examining trial to determine if charges of engaging in organized criminal activity against Cheney, Gonzales, GEO Group and GEO official David Forrest.

The judge granted the request, but the hearing will be Jan. 2, after Guerra leaves office.

Guerra later told news reporters in his office that Bañales had manipulated the legal system by scheduling the examining trial two days after his term as DA expires.

UPDATE 2: Guerra vows to fight after leaving office.

And this piece of information from Guerra about Cheney's ties:

Cheney's son-in-law, Phillip Perry, was placed in charge of the federal prison system, Guerra said, citing that as a blatant example of corruption at high levels.

Breaking: Indictments against Cheney, Gonzo, and other officials dismissed

Not surprised by the outcome. This case should be taken federal.

By Christopher Sherman / Associated Press

RAYMONDVILLE, Texas — A judge has dismissed the indictments brought by a South Texas prosecutor against Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Administrative Judge Manuel Banales ruled Monday that eight indictments, including those involving Cheney and Gonzales, were improperly returned by a

Willacy County grand jury last month. The indictments against Cheney and Gonzales centered on the alleged abuse of inmates at private prisons in the county.

Banales ruled that five of the indictments against two district judges, two special prosecutors and the district clerk connected to an investigation of Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra were unlawful because Guerra was the alleged victim and the person presenting the cases.
Banales earlier survived a recusal motion brought by Guerra. Banales then dismissed an indictment against state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. that accused the Brownsville Democrat of corruption.

Also, bad news for DA Juan Guerra. His home is in foreclosure:

By Lynn Brezosky / San Antonio Express-News

RAYMONDVILLE — Amid the final months of what he termed the “shenanigans” of the Willacy County justice system, District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra has neglected to pay his home mortgage.

Update: Guerra will continue the fight.

Chron.com:

With his term expiring at the end of the month, Guerra was told to exercise caution in his remaining days.

"I suggest on behalf of the law that you not present any cases to the grand jury involving these defendants," Banales said, before scheduling a hearing for Dec. 10 to hear a motion to disqualify Guerra from those cases.

Earlier in the day, District Judge Michael Peden rejected Guerra's attempt to disqualify Banales from hearing the cases. Guerra had argued Banales was part of the same conspiracy to silence him and could not be impartial.

David Oliveira, another attorney representing The GEO Group, called it one of the most "bizarre" proceedings he had ever seen.

But back in his office, Guerra refused to quit. He ranted against Banales for creating technicalities where none existed and promised to persist.

"I am going to continue fighting for the corruption," Guerra said. "I am still the district attorney."

Judge to remain on Cheney-Gonzo indictment case

RAYMONDVILLE, Texas — A South Texas judge whose authority was challenged will continue to hear the court cases involving indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez and other officials.


Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra had sought to have Administrative Judge Manuel Banales recused from the case. But on Monday another judge ruled that Banales should stay on the case.


The ruling came after two hours of testimony on Guerra's motion to recuse Banales. District Judge Michael Peden said he heard nothing that led him to believe Banales would not be impartial.



Source:Chron.com

DA Guerra on Texas indictments: Elected officials embedded into prison business

An excerpt from Raw Story:

Guerra told KVEO 23, an NBC affiliate in Texas, that "elected officials were embedded into the prison business and that it goes all the way to the top." "Now that these indictments have seen the light of day, Guerra says, it's important they are not quashed," the station reported."I'm going to try and do what I can do," Guerra told KVEO. "Impose it to you guys, and educate you guys, so you don't let it die."

On ABC affiliate KRGV Newschannel 5, Guerra showed "records that he says could be used to prove Dick Cheney is guilty of criminal activity.""Greed will get you discovered and arrested every time, and that's what happened to Cheney," Guerra said.

Excerpts from KRGV's report:

Guerra says he went through Cheney's financial records and the prison companies' financial records and found the connection. The three top prison companies Guerra researched were Corrections Corporation of America, GEO Group and Cornell.

Those three have the Vanguard Group in common, which is an investment company that puts money into all three prison companies."We knew Vanguard was the key," said Guerra.Guerra showed us the Vice President's financial disclosure from last year and it shows he owned shares in the Vanguard Group.

Guerra estimates Cheney has $85 million invested in Vanguard and in turn, into the prison companies."The problem you have is he now has a direct interest," said Guerra.

And according to Guerra, it's a direct interest in making sure the prison companies stay in business.

Action 4 News has posted a full and unedited copies of a Willacy County indictments filed against Vice President Dick Cheney, former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and others.

2008-CR-0128-A

Richard B. Cheney and Alberto Gonzales

Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity

2008-CR-0131-A

Mervyn Mosbacker, Jr.

Abuse of Official Capacity

Official Oppression

Click here from more.

FULL KRGV REPORT AT THIS LINK

Also, a link of Cheney's full and unedited copies of his indictment will be posted on the left hand side of the sidebar. And I will be writing a summation of this case this weekend.

Finally, Cheney's top income and asset sources from The Center of Public Integrity website:

Top 5 Income Sources

The VanGuard Group - Inter-Term Treasury Fund Admiral Shares (VFIUX) $115,002 - $1,050,000

The VanGuard Group - Inter-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Admiral Shares (VWIUX) $100,001 - $1,000,000

The VanGuard Group - Limited-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Admiral Shares (VMLUX) $100,001 - $1,000,000

The VanGuard Group - Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Admiral Shares (VWSUX) $100,001 - $1,000,000

Grantham Mayo VanOtterloo & Co. LLC - Tax Managed US Equity Fund III (GTMUX) $15,001 - $50,000

Top 5 Assets

The VanGuard Group - Inter-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Admiral Shares (VWIUX) $5,000,001 - $25,000,000

The VanGuard Group - Limited-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Admiral Shares (VMLUX) $5,000,001 - $25,000,000

The VanGuard Group - Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Admiral Shares (VWSUX) $5,000,001 - $25,000,000

Grantham Mayo VanOtterloo & Co. LLC - Tax Managed Small Companies Fund III (GTMSX) $1,000,001 - $5,000,000

Grantham Mayo VanOtterloo & Co. LLC - Tax Managed US Equity Fund III (GTMUX)

[View Income Detail Records]

[View Asset Detail Records]

Also,

Cheney Financial Disclosure 2001 Vice President

Cheney Financial Disclosure 2002 Vice President

Hearing set for Monday to oust or not oust judge in Gonzo, Cheney indictment

RAYMONDVILLE, Texas — A hearing was set to determine whether or not to disqualify the judge presiding over the cases filed by a South Texas prosecutor against Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and others.

The state Supreme Court's chief justice appointed District Judge Michael Peden of San Antonio to preside over a hearing Monday on a motion to recuse and disqualify Judge J. Manuel Banales.

The prosecutor asked that Banales not hear the case. District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra contends Banales has worked closely with state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., one of the defendants in the case.
Read on.

Texas district attorney Juan Guerra's affidavit to Texas Supreme Court

KGBT-4 :

The Texas Supreme Court is expected to decide a request from Willacy County District Attorney Juan Guerra some time this week.

Guerra is asking that a new judge preside over the hearing for his indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney and other politicians.
Cheney and the others are accused of profiting and covering the abuse of prisoners in Willacy County.

In court documents obtained by Action 4 News, Guerra is accusing State District Judge Manuel Banales of unfair and unequal treatment in his court.
Guerra asked the Texas Supreme Court to assign a new judge to preside over the hearings for the indictments.

Click here to download a copy of Guerra's affidavit.

Follow Cheney's money trail in the Texas indictment.

Follow the "Cheney money trail."

This is what Cheney and Gonzales were indicted for by the Texas grand jury:

71.02 ENGAGING IN ORGANIZED CRIMINAL ACTIVITY
IN THE NAME AND BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE STATE OF TEXAS

Read Cheney and Gonzales indictment.

And here is what former U.S. Attorney Mervyn Mosbacker Jr. indicted for:

39.02 OFFICIAL ABUSE OF OFFICIAL CAPACITY
39.03 OFFICIAL OPPRESSION
IN THE NAME AND BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE STATE OF TEXAS

Read the Mosbacker indictment

Click here to read other indictments from the other officials.

Hearing on Dick and Gonzo indictment turns chaotic

We certainly need more Guerras in the DOJ today.

Chron.com:

Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra, who is accusing the public officials of culpability in the alleged abuse of prisoners at a federal detention center, asked presiding Judge Manuel Banales to recuse himself. Guerra has complained about Banales' handling of the case, a probe he has dubbed "Operation Goliath."

Attorneys for the vice president and other defendants leapt to their feet in objection, as Guerra pounded the table and accused Banales of giving the defendants special treatment in allowing motions to quash the indictments to be heard before the defendants were arraigned.

"Now all of a sudden there is urgency!" Guerra shouted at Banales. "Eighteen months you kept me indicted through the election!"

Charges accusing Guerra of extorting money from a bail bond company and of using his office for personal business were dismissed in October, but he had already lost the March Democratic primary.

The defendants in the prisoner abuse case, who were not required to be in court, were all expected to waive arraignment, but the hearing never progressed that far.

"Did you think, judge, my grand jury didn't take this seriously?" Guerra said. "They indicted the vice president."

Banales called a recess to contact the chief justice of the state Supreme Court for suggestions on how to proceed, and ordered Guerra to remain in the courthouse.

"I will not obey that order," Guerra said, but agreed to stay if the judge asked him respectfully.

Banales adjourned until Wednesday.

Outside the courtroom, defense attorneys suggested Guerra was unstable.

"What came out today was the mental state of the prosecutor was exposed to the court," said Tony Canales, co-counsel representing private prison company The GEO Group. But that talk only incited Guerra, who said he's heard himself called "loco" before.

"I know exactly what I'm doing," the district attorney said.

Unlike the initial hearing last Wednesday when Guerra was absent and media and attorneys for the indicted appeared in equal numbers, curious residents packed the courtroom.

Half of the indictments returned Monday are linked to privately run federal detention centers in the sparsely populated South Texas county. The other half target judges, special prosecutors and the district clerk who played a role in an earlier investigation of Guerra.

Banales appointed a temporary prosecutor to handle the officials indicted along with Cheney, Gonzales and state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., because Guerra has sparred with them for years and would be a witness in their cases.

Lucio, D-Brownsville, said Friday that he was disappointed the judge was not able to hear their motions to quash what he called "baseless charges."

Hearing comes to a halt, DA in Texas indictment case files motion to recuse judge

By Emma Perez-Trevino / Brownsville Herald

RAYMONDVILLE - A recess has been called at a hearing in Willacy County where attorneys representing U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and other state, federal and local officials are attempting to quash a number of indictments that accuse the officials of various charges related to a private jail construction project in Willacy County.

But just as the proceedings got started, they took a number of surprising twists.
First, Willacy County District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra, who only has six weeks left in office, filed a motion to have State District Judge J. Manuel Bañales recused from the case.

Then Bañales, called a recess to the hearing, telling the court he would call the Texas Supreme Court for guidance on whether he should recuse himself from the hearing.

But special prosecutor Al Padilla, who Bañales appointed to the case, did not agree with Guerra's motion. He told the judge, that since he was the special prosecutor, Guerra's motion should be dismissed.

But Guerra argued differently. In an emotional voice, sometimes breaking, he told the judge, "do you really think that my grand jury didn't take this seriously?" Adding, "they (Vice President Richard Cheney) took it very, very, seriously."

Guerra told the judge to void the order that disqualified him (Guerra), noting that the statute is very clear.

Attorney Tony Canales, who represents Cheney, Gonzales and the GEO Corporation, formerly Wackenhut Corrections Corp., told the judge to recess the hearing and to call the supreme court to appoint someone, if need be, for the other cases.

"We have invested too much time," Canales said.

Texas district attorney and his following the Texas investigation money trail.

Who knew that a Texas district attorney who was once indicted would bring down Cheney and Gonzo. It is too bad that the media won't pay attention to this case. Here an except from Texas state attorney of Democracy Now on how the money trail was traced in order to indict Cheney, Gonzo and other officials:

Democracy now.org:

JUAN ANGEL GUERRA: Well, I mean, it’s—trying to lay it out in a very, very compact—first of all, this investigation has been going on for quite a bit. I personally started back in ’01, when the death of De La Rosa occurred, and so that quickly escalated. I prosecuted the individuals that killed De La Rosa, the other two inmates, and at that point I realized that the security and the welfare of the inmates was very lax. And at the same time, we also learned—I investigated the auditor, who was in the—also involved in the corruption. So the two things were coming in at the same time. So when the issue came up about the corruption, we brought the federals to get involved.

The federals picked up the investigation and dragged it all through 2006. In November 2006, they convicted the commissioners and Cortez, who worked for a private prison. But then, a week later, Cortez and commissioners were given only a three-month sentence, and at that point, they basically shut down the investigation. The US attorney for the southern district who was under investigation was—informed me that the investigation was over, even though just a week prior had told me that these individuals were given very light sentences, because they were bringing down higher-ups. So that stopped the federal investigation.

That was in ’06, when—the same time the other eight US attorneys were also told to stop other investigations. So I felt that at that point I needed to continue with the investigation. I knew basically, you know—since I was the one that started it, I continued it. That’s where my problem started at that point. You know, I ended up getting arrested, getting indicted in frivolous charges. And so, I knew that I was stepping on people’s toes. The person that indicted me was Marvin Mosbacker, who was there when we started the investigation, working under the Cheney and Bush administration. He was an attorney working under them, so they brought him in, Marvin Mosbacker, an ex-US attorney for the southern district, to go ahead and indict me.

So we continued tracking the money all these years, and finally my charges were dismissed about two weeks ago, after eighteen months of being indicted. And, of course, that hurt my being elected.

The question was, do I just look the other way? The foot soldiers at the FBI and the Texas Rangers were telling me that I was on my own, because, you know, that the private investigation was off-limits. So I continued on my own in gathering information. Four months ago, we started Operation Goliath, when they thought that I had already lost the election and that the investigation—I mean, it was pretty much over. And so, that kind of left me open, because nobody knew that I had started the investigation again. And so, not even my staff, nobody knew in my little county. I was working out of my office, and I only trusted very few people. So we started bringing experts from throughout the country with regard to the private prisons, and then we started following the money. And there’s no—

JUAN GONZALEZ: Juan Guerra, just to get clear now, the relationship of Cheney and Gonzales to this, to what you say is corruption and mistreatment of prisoners in private prisons? What was their connection to this?

JUAN ANGEL GUERRA: Well, the connection, it’s organizing criminal activity. It has all the elements. Vice President Cheney is at the very top, and he has a lot of influence on ICE and Homeland Security. They determine how much money they’re going to pay the private prisons per day and per person. So, right now, the contracts go through the GEO Group, which is one of the highest, the biggest private prisons, CCA and Cornell. Now, these three are the biggest companies. When you round up the inmates, this is where they end up. Their money is—they’re getting paid at—right now it’s at $80 per person per day. It used to be $54, now it’s $80. And that’s controlled by the administration as to how much money they’re going to pay per person. They’re fixing to going up to $120. So this—

AMY GOODMAN: Juan Guerra, the Vice President’s attorney says this is bizarre, that you had Cheney invested in Vanguard Group, which is a mutual fund that, yes, does invest in the private prison industry, but can you indict him for being responsible for abusive behavior in the prison?

JUAN ANGEL GUERRA: Well, yes, because, again, you have the activities, the criminal activities, that his involvement is that he is aware with the Vanguard Group. The Vanguard Group has invested—is invested. It’s a top ten companies that are investing in the three top private prisons companies, the private prisons. So if you follow Vanguard, then he ended up investing $85 million.

The problem here is that the Vanguard Group is not part of his blind trust. This is money that he has, quote, “on the side.” It is reported in his income tax with his signature there. So he knows exactly where his money is invested. If this was part of his blind trust, then he would have no control. So because he has control, so now they’re trying to increase the number, the price. Instead of $80, they’re trying to go to $120, which means that these private companies are going to end up making more money, which means that Vanguard would make more money, which means that obviously the Vice President would make more money.

AMY GOODMAN: And Alberto Gonzales’s connection?

JUAN ANGEL GUERRA: That’s one. You have the top boss, which is the Vice President, and then you have Alberto Gonzales, the enforcer to making sure that that criminal activity which is going on in the private prisons—we had numerous deaths that are occurring throughout our country. We brought in experts and witnesses that were telling us that the numbers of prison inmates dying in the private prisons is staggering. It’s about five times as high as the public prisons, so that all this criminal activity that is going on is contributed to now allowing investigations into what is going. Alberto Gonzales’s part was to make sure that private prisons would not get investigated, so that when we started the investigation, the FBI took over the investigation. The assistant US attorney that was handling the investigation, Marvin Mosbacker— On a side note: Former US attorney Marvin Mosbacker is one of the officials indicted in this case.

Dick's lawyer files motion to quash indictment

By Lynn Brezosky and Peggy Fikac / San Antonio Express-News

RAYMONDVILLE - Some of the top names in South Texas legal defense converged at the Willacy County courthouse with briefcases and a sense of conviviality about indictments reaching as far as the White House.

Lawyers like J.A. "Tony" Canales, a former U.S. attorney who is representing Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, said they hoped to get a range of charges brought by embattled District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra quickly dismissed.

Guerra, a 53-year-old Rio Grande Valley prosecutor who drew national attention for suing counterparts in the county justice system and staging a protest with barnyard animals, long has alleged high-ranking corruption in the deals that brought the impoverished county a $60 million immigration detention center.

More on the Dick and Gonzo Texas indictment.

And it is without a doubt that Cheney and Gonzales will try to squash and dismiss the indictment. More on why Cheney was indicted:

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A grand jury in South Texas indicted U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and former attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Tuesday for "organized criminal activity" related to alleged abuse of inmates in private prisons.

The indictment has not been seen by a judge, who could dismiss it.

The grand jury in Willacy County, in the Rio Grande Valley near the U.S.-Mexico border, said Cheney is "profiteering from depriving human beings of their liberty," according to a copy of the indictment obtained by Reuters.

The indictment cites a "money trail" of Cheney's ownership in prison-related enterprises including the Vanguard Group, which owns an interest in private prisons in south Texas.

Former attorney general Gonzales used his position to "stop the investigations

as to the wrong doings" into assaults in county prisons, the indictment said.

More...

According to indictment, Cheney is accused of investing some $85 million in the Vanguard group that houses federal inmates. And of course, Cheney had some big bucks invested in Vanguard. And Vanguard has connections to Halliburton:

On Meet the Press sometime ago, Cheney disavowed any present connection to Halliburton: "And since I left Halliburton to become George Bush's vice president, I've severed all my ties with the company, gotten rid of all my financial interests. I have no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven't had now for over three years."

The Vanguard Group holdings are easily among Cheney's largest holdings.: The Vanguard Group, with 7.6 million shares of Halliburton stock, worth about $176 million. Vanguard, also 10th largest mutual-fund shareholder in Halliburton, is a huge owner in ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips. Cheney's disclosure statement shows millions of his retirement money invested through Vanguard. Read on.

Finally, Cheney's indictment is referenced to a case of another prison company.

Chron.com:

Last month, a Willacy County grand jury indicted The GEO Group, a Florida private prison company, on a murder charge in the death of a prisoner days before his release. The three-count indictment alleged The GEO Group allowed other inmates to beat Gregorio de la Rosa Jr. to death with padlocks stuffed into socks. The death happened in 2001 at the Raymondville facility, just four days before de la Rosa's scheduled release.

In 2006, a jury ordered the company to pay de la Rosa's family $47.5 million in a civil judgment. The Cheney-Gonzalez indictment makes reference to the de la Rosa case.

Breaking: Dick and Gonzo indicted.

And I kid you not, folks. Who knew Texas of all places would have the guts to indict Cheney and Gonzo?

Thinkprogress:

A South Texas grand jury has returned multi-count indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on charges related to the alleged abuse of prisoners in Willacy County’s federal detention centers:

The indictment accuses Cheney and Gonzales of engaging in organized criminal activity. It criticizes Cheney’s investment in the Vanguard Group, which holds interests in the private prison companies running the federal detention centers.

It accuses Cheney of a conflict of interest and “at least misdemeanor assaults” on detainees by working through the prison companies.

Gonzales is accused of using his position while in office to stop an investigation into abuses at the federal detention centers.

Update 1: Another indictment charges state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. with profiting from his public office by accepting honoraria from prison management companies.

Update 2: The indictments have not been made public, but NEWSCHANNEL 5 has learned Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, Texas State Senator Eddie Lucio Junio, Judge Migdalia Lopez, Judge Janet Leal, and Willacy County District Clerk Gilbert Lozano were among those indicted.

From Newschannel 5 video: