Attorney General Holder Opens Door For Bush & Co. Extradition For Trial Internationally?

The AP buried this statement deep in their article of Holder commenting on the status of closing Gitmo and the topic of the Spanish inquisition of Bush came up. Apparently, they either don't see the danger of this thinking or they know it is and are trying to save Obama from another embarrassing quote from his Cabinet. My vote is for the latter:

In speaking to reporters Wednesday, Holder also said it is possible the United States could cooperate with a foreign court's investigation of Bush administration officials.

Holder spoke before the announcement that a Spanish magistrate had opened an investigation of Bush officials on harsh interrogation methods. Holder didn't rule out cooperating in such a probe.

"Obviously, we would look at any request that would come from a court in any country and see how and whether we should comply with it," Holder said.

Hold it right there. ANY request from ANY foreign court will be considered.

What?

This is a nightmare for Obama just waiting to happen. The One will be flooded with requests from every two-bit court in the Middle East bent on punishing "the Great Satan" and every liberal European judge who wants to drag Dubya through the mud.

Mr. Holder needs to think before he speaks.

Ed Morrissey had this to say about Holder's statement:

Again, as I wrote last month, such machinations are an insult to American sovereignty.  The Obama administration has a duty to defend American sovereignty and to stop old colonial powers (heh) from imposing their laws on other nations.  That’s the height of arrogance, and if Barack Obama doesn’t want to stand up to it, Congress should demand to know why Obama and Holder are cooperating with an attempt by Spain to impose their laws on American citizens.  It goes against everything for which this nations stands.

He has a point. If Obama acquiesces to the Spainish court's demands, the sovereignty of the US as a nation might as well not even exist.

Dafydd ab Hugh takes it a step further:

If Garzón (Spanish judge) has legal authority to demand we hand over evidence, he also has legal authority to demand we hand over "war criminals," from American military personnel, to John Yoo, to Jay Bybee, to William Haynes, to Douglas Feith, to Alberto Gonzales, to Richard Myers, to Dick Cheney -- even to former President George W. Bush himself.

This would open a can of worms that would put every administration not just Bush's but also Clinton, the first Bush, or, dare I say it, The One himself in danger of getting carted off to only God knows where to stand trial for various "crimes" real or imagined.