THE LAWSUIT: Saleh v. Bush
BACKGROUND: 2016-09-04 Iraqi Woman Uses Chilcot Report in War Crimes Lawsuit Against George W Bush, Truthout
Note: the link at the bottom of the article, to the Oct 24th decision by the Court: the application to enable use of the Chilcot Report was denied.
UPDATE: from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saleh_v._Bush (Wikipedia)
Saleh v. Bush was a class action lawsuit filed in 2013 against high-ranking members of the George W. Bush administration (including George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condi Rice, Colin Powell, and Paul Wolfowitz) for their alleged involvement in premeditating and carrying out the Iraq War. In December 2014, the district court hearing the case ordered it dismissed with prejudice. The dismissal was affirmed by the United States Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit. . . .
On July 22, 2016, the plaintiffs filed a motion for judicial notice, submitting excerpts from the Chilcot Report in support of their claims.[4]
Oral argument was held on December 12, 2016, before Judges Susan Graber, Andrew Hurwitz, and Richard Boulware, heard thirty minutes of oral arguments on December 12, 2016.[d][e]
On February 10, 2017, the Ninth Circuit unanimously affirmed the judgment (INSERT: dismissed with prejudice) in an opinion by Judge Graber.[5][6]
RELATED:
- United States war crimes (see on Wikipedia)
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California Court confirms judges who will hear argument on legality of Iraq War December 12
The United States Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit today (Dec 5) confirmed that Judges Susan Graber and Andrew Hurwitz will hear arguments on December 12, 2016, in the case of Saleh v. Bush.
Witnessiraq.com reports:
San Francisco, Calif. — Today the United States Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit confirmed that Circuit Judges Susan Graber and Andrew Hurwitz, as well as District Court Judge Richard Boulware (sitting by designation) will hear oral argument on December 12, 2016, in Saleh v. Bush.
Saleh v. Bush involves claims by an Iraqi woman, Sundus Shaker Saleh, that former President George W. Bush and other high ranking Bush-era officials broke the law when they planned and waged the Iraq War.
Saleh alleges that former Bush Administration leaders committed the crime of aggression when they planned and executed the Iraq War, a war crime that was called the “supreme international crime” at the Nuremberg Trials in 1946.
Saleh is appealing the immunity provided to the Defendants by the district court in December 2014.
“We are pleased that the Ninth Circuit will hear argument. To my knowledge, this is the first time a court will entertain arguments that the Iraq War was illegal under domestic and international law,” Saleh’s attorney D. Inder Comar, legal director at Comar LLP, said. “This is also the first time since World War II that a court is being asked to scrutinize whether the war itself was an illegal act of aggression — a special war crime that was defined at the Nuremberg Trials in 1946.” Comar is handling Saleh’s case pro bono.
Assuming the oral argument takes place, the argument will be live streamed and recorded on the Ninth Circuit’s YouTube channel, permitting members of the public to watch the argument. The Court’s calendar commences at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time on December 12th; the case will likely be heard later in the morning, as it is last on the Court’s calendar.
In addition to former President Bush, Saleh has named former Administration officials Richard Cheney, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz as defendants in the case.
In December 2014, the district court dismissed Saleh’s lawsuit, holding that the defendants were immune from further proceedings because of the federal Westfall Act of 1988 (28 U.S.C. § 2679). The Westfall Act immunizes former federal officials in civil lawsuits if a court determines that the official was acting pursuant to the legitimate scope of his or her employment.
Saleh disputes the immunity, arguing that the planning and waging of a war of aggression against Iraq fell outside the legitimate scope of employment of former President Bush and the other defendants.
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I commented (edited):
Thank you very much for this information. And the earlier report that the Court denies entry of the Chilcot Report (UK). The decision is (I don’t know the right word). If it is “to be expected” then where are citizens? Why do people put up with a justice system that is not just?
I helped with the efforts in Canada to get Bush / Cheney arrested when they thought they could come here and be celebrities flogging books. They no longer come; at the last visit, protesters blockaded Cheney at a venue in Vancouver, for 7 hours.
I try to maintain a list of the various efforts around the World to bring these war criminals to justice (see Arrest George Bush. Rule of Law critical to Democracy). Sundus Shaker Saleh together with Comar Law is an important addition. Bless her and bless you for making this story known.