Not so fast, Scottie

I was sitting next to Common Dreams' Russell Mokhiber at a White House press conference, sneering at Scott McLellan last November when Mokhiber posed this question:

Mokhiber: Kofi Annan in September said that the Iraq war is an illegal war. If it is an illegal war, then the 100,000 who have died there – according to the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health – are victims of war crimes. Now, the President is going to Canada later this year. And the largest circulation newspaper in Canada (the Toronto Star) printed a column yesterday titled “Should Canada Indict Bush?” – raising the question of a war crimes prosecution. They have a war crimes law in Canada. And I’m wondering –

Scott McLellan: Do you have a question or is it just a statement of opinion?

Mokhiber: No, this is the question. Has the White House counsel looked at the President’s legal exposure to a war crimes prosecution?

Scott McLellan: It is a ridiculous question that you bring up. You were out on the Nader campaign at the time that this issue came up. It was addressed at that time. And I’m not going to go through it again.

So...Bush is immune to any sort of prosecution, eh? Then what do you have to say about this?

Coalition of citizen groups seek formal inquiry into whether Bush acted illegally in push for Iraq war

This doesn't mean Bush is headed for the Hague, but a Resolution of Inquiry is the first step of an investigation into whether his offenses warrant impeachment.

"White House press secretary Scott McClellan waived off the letter, saying he had 'no need to respond.'"

We'll see.