On his show this morning, Imus was irate about the conditions at Walter Reed, and in the midst of a rant, said something like"Bush should be kicked out of office, and The Vice President should face a firing squad." Now, I am sure he did not mean it literally, but is such speech protected? Will he be getting a call from the Secret Service?
I had this in mind when I posted the OP. I realize that Imus and Cheney were not face to face, so the situations are not completely analogous, but still, has he done anything legally wrong?
I don’t see Imus on the same level as, say, Chris Matthews or one of the other more influential/important talking heads. By his own admission, he’s a not-too-bright entertainer with political opinions.
Seeing as his show basically consists of over-the-top comments on just about everything, his comments would be taken about as seriously as Chris Rock’s or David Letterman’s. I’m sure the Secret Service has a list of everyone who’s ever made a negative comment about the Prez or the Veep, but I believe that kind of speech is protected and largely ignored by those who work to protect our leaders.
and I can’t believe this is the first time I’ve seen him mentioned on the SDMB except for the one time I did!
Yes, but will they let him broadcast from Gitmo…? 
He’s just insulted the singularly most dirty, corrupt and vindictive administartion in US history, bar none. Do you really think they are going to let it go?
Of course they are going to let it go. This will probably be the only mention of it.
Aren’t they obliged to investigate? I mean, it’s possible that both the Secret Service don’t take it seriously and that they’ll look into it anyway.
Saying someone should face a firing squad isn’t the same thing as saying you are planning kill them, which I think is the illegal thing where our Glorious Leaders are concerned. A firing squad implies some sort of trial, etc. I have said on several occasions that I think Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Perle should be in jail in the Hague facing a war crimes tribunal, with hanging as a very possible outcome. This isn’t the same thing as a call to kill them outright.
Sure. As soon as they get off the other line with Ann Coulter.
Sailboat
Do they seriously think Imus is planning to arrest the Vice President, bring him to trial, prosecute him, and then execute him?
The Secret Service is not known for its common sense approach:
Wal-Mart Turns in Student’s Anti-Bush Photo, Secret Service Investigates Him
Wait… Isn’t this the same Imus that, when I was a kid, would “nuke” anyone a caller asked him to?
I don’t know. Did he ever nuke the Vice President?
Look, I don’t think Imus did anything wrong. That’s why I asked the question. But, as **Squink **pointed out, and as the link in the OP suggests, the Secret Service, can be very stupid about such stuff.
Unless Imus has a firing squad at his disposal there is nothing to investigate.
He doesn’t by the way.
Sorry if I wasn’t clear… His idea of “nuking” them was to play a sound effect of a bomb exploding. That’s all.
Even in Cheney’s case, I’m against capital punishment.
But life without parole in some Spandau-type prison after a conviction on war-crimes charges? It wouldn’t make up for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, but I’d still be glad to see the day.
Do you realize you’re the first person in this thread even to suggest that putting Cheney in front of a firing squad might not be a good idea?
I’ll be the second, for similar reasons as those put forward by Rufus.
It may turn out to be moot. Cheney’s in hospital with a blood clot, says CNN.
Whose blood was it?