Could Bush be prosecuted? Two recently published books address the possibility of prosecuting George W. Bush and top Bush administration officials for crimes committed while in office.('The 35 Articles of Impeachment and the Case for Prosecuting George W. Bush' and 'The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder')(Book review)

The 35 Articles of Impeachment and the Case for Prosecuting George W. Bush, by Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Los Angeles: Feral House, 2008, 124 pages, paperback.

The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, by Vincent Bugliosi, New York: Vanguard, 2008, 344 pages, hardbound.

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Reading through these two books on the possible criminal prosecution of George Bush is a bit like sifting through the wreckage of a home after a tornado. There's a lot of useless debris and garbage, a few items with sentimental value only, and a few items of genuine value.

Kucinich's book has taken on new significance now that the Bush administration is no longer in office and new Attorney General Eric Holder has pledged to Congress during his confirmation hearing that "no one is above the law." The criminal prosecution of top Bush administration officials and possibly former President George W. Bush himself--for crimes committed during Bush's presidency is now a possibility because federal prosecutors no longer depend upon President Bush's pleasure for their tenure in office. But it remains highly unlikely.

It was made less likely on January 22 when President Obama's intelligence nominee indicated he would act to protect perpetrators who engaged in torture. "I'm hesitating to set a standard here which will put in jeopardy some of the dedicated intelligence officers who checked to see that what they were doing was legal and then did what they were told to do," Director of National Intelligence nominee Dennis C. Blair told senators during confirmation hearings. Blair refused to call waterboarding torture during the hearing, unlike Attorney General Eric Holder, who openly called it torture during his own nomination hearings.

Congressman Dennis Kucinich's book includes the 35 articles of impeachment he introduced, and Congress ignored, in 2007. The Ohio Democrat included lots of useless debris in his 35 articles, such as charges of "an attempt to destroy Medicare" and "endangering the health of 9/11 first responders." In these cases, someone should have reminded him that a president can only be impeached for "high crimes" and not for political decisions you don't like.