You.. can be a millionaire.. and never pay taxes! You can be a millionaire.. and never pay taxes! You say.. “Steve.. how can I be a millionaire.. and never pay taxes?” First.. get a million dollars. Now.. you say, “Steve.. what do I say to the tax man when he comes to my door and says, ‘You.. have never paid taxes’?” Two simple words. Two simple words in the English language: “I forgot!” How many times do we let ourselves get into terrible situations because we don’t say “I forgot”? Let’s say you’re on trial for armed robbery. You say to the judge, “I forgot armed robbery was illegal.” Let’s suppose he says back to you, “You have committed a foul crime. you have stolen hundreds and thousands of dollars from people at random, and you say, ‘I forgot’?” Two simple words: Excuuuuuse me!!”
Steve Martin on Saturday Night Live (1977)
Who knew that Steve had stumbled on to a brilliant legal strategy, at least when used by the Bushioso. Today, we learn that Alberto Gonzales was told prior to testimony before Congress that the FBI had abused the Patriot Act. (Aside to Congress: It is a given that the FBI will abuse any arbitrary power it is given). How did Abu know? Because the FBI told him so.
Based on what’s in this article, Abu has two possible lines of defense, should he ever put himself in the position of having to testify about this under oath (and believe me, it will be under oath). He can say that he didn’t read the reports, or he can simply say “I forgot”. My prediction is that once again he’ll trot out the Steve Martin defense, which he has already raised to a high art:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IBvZlRqOTw[/youtube]
My guess is that he’ll never testify. We will soon be treated to the spectacle of a President claiming that his cabinet officers cannot be required to testify before Congress. They will claim executive privilege and run out the clock in the courts.
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