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An Open Letter to the White House Staff
from Alan Bisbort
May 14, 2006
Dear White House staff member,
Your boss, in case you haven't noticed, is in serious trouble and, by association, you may be too. Seven out of every 10 Americans believe that Mr. Bush is a miserable failure as President. If that were the worst of it, though, you would have nothing to worry about. You would, like many Americans, simply be working for a boss who's a jerk. This situation, however, is not just about your boss's "popularity," or lack thereof. It is far more serious than that. Mr. Bush has, in all likelihood, lied to the American people and to Congress, violated his Oath of Office, ignored the U.S. Constitution, broken laws and shattered trust in the nation's democratic institutions. If he is found guilty of any of these high crimes and misdemeanors, you yourself may be an accessory to criminal acts.
Have you thought about what you are going to do when the police search your office and cart away evidence of your complicity in Mr. Bush's lies and deception? Did you know that this evidence can be used against you in a court of law? Have you put aside money for your legal expenses? Have you even considered the distinct possibility that you may be called to testify against your boss, under oath? And, if you lie under oath—as apparently Mr. Rove and Mr. Libby are beginning to learn—you will be guilty of perjury, a serious crime indeed. You will, as was said about the crimes of a former occupant of the Oval Office, be part of a cover up that is as serious as the original crime. Either way, you may soon be, as my father used to say, stuck out in left field without a glove.
Are you absolutely certain that you have followed the letter of the law in every procedure related to your job? Have you been asked to perform duties that you, at the time, felt were possibly compromising or at the very least unethical? Shredding public documents? Compromising national security? Defaming political enemies in the guise of public policy? Altering public documents after the fact to throw future investigators off the scent?
My friendly advice to you is, first of all, to take a moral inventory of yourself. Ask yourself one very important question: Am I willing to be more loyal to my boss than I am to my country, its democratic institutions and rule of law? If you answered "yes," start reading this letter again. You may already be in serious legal trouble. If, however, you answered "no," then you should
If you choose to walk toward the light of truth and freedom, history will smile upon you. If, however, you continue to work for the forces of darkness, all I can say is: God have mercy on your soul.
Sincerely,
Alan Bisbort, Citizen patriot
Alan Bisbort is a columnist for the Hartford Advocate. His book, "'When You Read This They Will Have Killed Me': The Life and Redemption of Caryl Chessman, Whose Execution Shook America," will be published this fall by Carroll & Graf.
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