(Photo of William Pepper courtesy of Sandra Sigfusson)
William Pepper, legal advisor to the New York City 9/11 Ballot Initiative, today explained why the initiative's board has decided not to pursue the case any further. Appearing on the "Fair and Balanced with Kevin Barrett" radio show (archived here) Pepper said the odds of winning an appeal were too slim to justify the resources such an appeal would consume. Instead, he said, the NYCcan.org legal team is hoping to file a civil suit by 9/11 family members and others in a legal venue carefully selected to maximize the chances of success.
Pepper also confirmed the rumor that a professor who is an expert on election law, when asked to help NYCcan.org, asked Pepper to promise him that the results of a genuine 9/11 investigation would not hurt Israel. Pepper naturally said he could not promise what might come of an investigation. Contrary to my earlier erroneous report, the professor did NOT refuse to help NYCcan.org. A thank-you to Ted Walter for correcting this.
Along with his work for a real 9/11 investigation, Pepper is an advisor to Spanish Judge Garzon, who is moving forward on the impending prosecutions of dozens of U.S. war criminals including former president George W. Bush and former vice president Dick Cheney. Pepper drew up the legal brief that judge Garzon will use to show that his court has jurisdiction over the case. That brief argues that not only are war crimes and crimes against humanity "borderless crimes" that can be prosecuted anywhere, but even more pertinently, Spanish citizens were subjected to illegal detention and torture by the war criminals, so Spain unquestionably has jurisdiction in this case. Pepper stated that judge Garzon is surrounded 24/7 by a team of bodyguards, and that the war criminals could be charged by as early as December. When such charges are issued, interpol will put out arrest warrants, which will hinder or prevent international travel by Bush, Cheney, and their fellow pariahs.
While Pepper laid out the case, Bush was arriving in Edmonton, where his speech Tuesday, and his speech in Saskatoon Wednesday, have mobilized Canadians who are calling for his immediate arrest. Joshua Blakeney, one of those Canadian anti-war-crimes activists, joined Pepper and Barrett on the show and discussed plans for giving Bush a "hot welcome" in Saskatoon. Barrett urged students at the University of Saskatoon to use their free tickets to the Bush event to take the opportunity to hurl their shoes at the former War-Criminal-in-Chief.
