Nation briefs: Cheney, Gonzales indicted in prison case

November 19, 2008 By Compiled from news dispatches

A Texas judge has set a Friday arraignment for Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and others named in indictments accusing them of responsibility for prisoner abuse in a federal detention center. Cheney, Gonzales and the others will not be arrested, and do not need to appear in person, Presiding Judge Manuel Banales said. In a bizarre development, the lame-duck...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/18/cheney-gonzales-indicted_n_144749.html

Cheney, Gonzales Indicted In South Texas County

CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN | November 18, 2008 10:18 PM EST

McALLEN, Texas — Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have been indicted on state charges involving federal prisons in a South Texas county that has been a source of bizarre legal and political battles under the outgoing prosecutor.

The indictment returned Monday has not yet been signed by the presiding judge, and no action can be taken until that happens.

The seven indictments made public in Willacy County on Tuesday included one naming state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. and some targeting public officials connected to District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra's own legal battles.

Regarding the indictments targeting the public officials, Guerra said, "the grand jury is the one that made those decisions, not me."

Guerra himself was under indictment for more than a year and half until a judge dismissed the indictments last month. Guerra's tenure ends this year after nearly two decades in office. He lost convincingly in a Democratic primary in March.

Guerra said the prison-related charges against Cheney and Gonzales are a national issue and experts from across the country testified to the grand jury.

Cheney is charged with 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. It accuses Cheney of a conflict of interest and "at least misdemeanor assaults" on detainees because of his link to the prison companies.

Megan Mitchell, a spokeswoman for Cheney, declined to comment on Tuesday, saying that the vice president had not yet received a copy of the indictment.

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, left, and Vice President Dick Cheney are shown in this 2006 file photo at the White House. Cheney and Gonzales have been indicted on state charges involving federal prisons in a South Texas county that has been a source of bizarre legal and political battles under the outgoing prosecutor. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, file)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/cheney-gonzales-indicted
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/18/cheney-gonzales-indicted_n_144749.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/grand-jury-indicts-alberto-gonzales

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQEMPdIxZcY