The handcuffs were barbaric. Under U.S. law Rigas is innocent until proven guilty. If the handcuffs were meant as "punishment" rather than as restraints to prevent him from resisting arrest, they violated his right to a fair trial. They put the punishment before the conviction. It may even be that Rigas' defense builds on the issue of the climate in which Rigas can't receive a fair trial.
Bush and Cheney are big "crooks". With the connivance of brother Jeb and the supremes, they stole an election. Bush and Cheney were, apparently, sleazy businessmen, too. Whether they did anything "illegal", though, is another matter. The point is not whether or not they broke any laws, the point is that political connections paved a rosy path for them to profiteer. The problem with any punishment for Bush or Cheney is that it would likely be in the context of crass symbolism. They would be sacrificed as scapegoats so that the system of monied political corruption could go on, with perhaps a few inconsequential concessions to popular democracy. On second thought, maybe the sight of Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justices Scalia, Kennedy, O'Connor and Thomas being led away in handcuffs would "send a clear signal that things have changed" Justice Stevens: "One thing, however, is certain. Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year's Presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the Nation's confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the rule of law. I respectfully dissent."
