The Torture Trial of George W. Bush

by Joseph Suste

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Pub Date Apr 07 2016 | Archive Date Nov 10 2016

Joshua Tree Publishing | Centaur Books

History | Politics & Current Affairs

Description

It’s no secret that President George W. Bush ordered the torture of terrorist suspects in the years following the 911 attack, yet powerful political forces and a legal firewall have protected him and his accomplices from prosecution. It takes the courage and dedication of Special Prosecutor Timothy Madegen to skirt an impotent U.S. Justice system and bring the torturers to trial. Allies join him: A reluctant federal judge holds off establishment forces, a protective Vietnam vet is driven by loyalty to Madegen’s dead father, a curmudgeon law professor offers inventive legal tactics, and a pretty political scientist falls in love with him. Ruthless forces oppose Madegen with slander, subversion, and violence. When a runaway grand jury stirs the media and the public, an unprincipled private investigator stalks him, and a famous defense attorney challenges him in court.

Fact-based fiction, entertaining and informative, The Torture Trial of George W. Bush calls for action and pricks the conscience of political leaders and the American People.

A Note From the Publisher

Joseph Suste published his first novel, Sharp Obsidian, in 2014, about a headstrong teenage girl testing boundaries and her panicked father. Suste’s activist attempts to stop abusive interrogation tactics inspired this book. The story is a plea to the American people to remember a dark period in U.S. history and to reclaim national humanitarian values by bringing the guilty to justice. Suste turned to writing in his sixties, taking creative writing classes at Southern Oregon University. He’s an engineer, real estate broker, actor, playwright, fiction writer, and poet.

Advance Praise

“Joseph Suste imagines a trial of George W. Bush for the torture of prisoners in U.S. custody. Although there is probable cause to believe Bush committed several crimes, it is unlikely he will ever be held accountable for the torture and abuse conducted during his presidency.”
Marjorie Cohn, professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and
editor of The United States and Torture: Interrogation, Incarceration, and Abuse.

Available Editions

EDITION	Paperback
ISBN	9781941049464
PRICE	$18.95 (USD)

Additional Information

Average rating from 4 members

Featured Reviews

Steven F, Reviewer

The Torture Trial by Joseph Suste is a surprising mix of a political polemic with a gripping court room drama. Imagine George Bush being brought to trial for authorising torture after 911, it could never happen? But it does in the Torture Trial.

Joseph Suste is a campaigning writer who seems to know his stuff about the US legal code, international law on torture and what went on post 911. The novel is extensively footnoted with hundreds of references, I don’t know whether his quotes are in or out of context, but to me at least, he makes a convincing case against Bush and his senior advisers. But, The Torture Trial is not just a well argued case for prosecuting the perpetrators of torture at the highest level of the US administration, it’s a really good court room drama, the characters are engaging, the plot is full of believable skullduggery – I didn’t want to put it down.

Read this, it’s gripping, instructive and most importantly it will make you question your ideas on what is acceptable within our democracies to defend us against those who want to do us harm. Think torture, think intrusive monitoring of our communications, think destabilising regimes that are considered a threat and think supporting some of the most anti democratic fascistic homophobic dictatorships in the world. All in the name of preserving our democratic values.

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Rob F, Reviewer

Run of the mill courtroom drama except it isn't as it involves George Bush, Condoleeza et al. I found it fascinating and enjoyable ending. Now I wait for a similar one involving the alleged warmonger Mr T Blair?