From Roger Fitch and our friends down under at Justinian

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Bush: limitations

George Bush had to be "re-elected" in 2004, to run out limitations on his first term's crimes before another government could prosecute them. 

He needn't have worried. Barack Obama let all the criminal limitations run, even the five-year ones. Obama's AG also obstructed most civil cases against companies who colluded in CIA crimes, e.g, Mohamed v Jeppesen Dataplan, the Boeing subsidiary that organised rendition flights for the torture program.

A few civil cases e.g, against the CIA contract psychologists who designed the torture regime, and the Pentagon's prison-based contractors, survived, as "state secrets" was not asserted. These cases were allowed to proceed to civil adjudication. 

Two of the contractor cases sprang from the Abu Ghraib torture scandal, a story that broke exactly 20 years ago. 

CACI International, who provided prison interrogators, and the Titan Corporation, who provided interpreters, were outed in 2004. In 2008, the Center for Constitutional Rights brought suit against both companies on behalf of affected prisoners. 

The two companies vigorously fought the cases, claiming the Pentagon was responsible and the contracts conferred immunity. 

In 2013, Titan (now L3 Technologies) settled for $5 million, but CACI fought on, in Al Shimari et al v CACI, claiming the Alien Tort Statute didn't apply. 

Judge Leonie Brinkema denied multiple dismissal motions, and late last year ruled the case could proceed. CCR has the background.

The case began in Virginia federal court on April 15. Although the evidence was damning, the case received little media notice - the trial date was the same as that originally set for Trump's NY fraud case. There was, however, reporting by Voice of Indonesia, Al Jazeera, the Guardian and LA Times. 

The jury deadlocked after eight days' deliberation, and sadly, the case ended in a mistrial. 

READ THE REST OF FITCH HERE.