Glenn Greenwald on "moving on":
Under all circumstances, arguing that high political officials should be immunized from prosecution when they commit felonies such as illegal eavesdropping and torture would be both destructive and wrong [not to mention, in the case of the latter crimes, a clear violation of a treaty which the U.S. (under Ronald Reagan) signed and thereafter ratified]. But what makes it so much worse, so much more corrupted, is the fact that this "ignore-the-past-and-forget-retribution" rationale is invoked by our media elites only for a tiny, special class of people -- our political leaders -- while the exact opposite rationale ("ignore their lame excuses, lock them up and throw away the key") is applied to everyone else. That, by definition, is what a "two-tiered system of justice" means and that, more than anything else, is what characterizes (and sustains) deeply corrupt political systems.
That's the two-tiered system which, for obvious reasons, our political and media elites are now vehemently arguing must be preserved.
Think about that. We are a nation of laws. Do elected officials legally get to decide where and when they apply, or do they get to offer a sweeping exemption to the members of a selected class? (Remember, there are already specific laws requiring prosecution of torture.)
We are not a banana republic. The law is for everyone, yet ordinary citizens (many of whom haven't harmed anyone but themselves) receive swift, punitive sentences. Why not politicians?
And honestly, I don't care what else this administration accomplishes. If they fail to hold responsible the people who have so abused the law to serve their political agenda, they will have failed miserably.
