NLG Calls For Special Prosecutor To Investigate Bush Admin Officials Who wrote Torture memos

NLG Calls For Special Prosecutor To Investigate Bush Admin Officials Who wrote Torture Memos

www.commondreams.org

The NLG has issued a White Paper explaining why the memos, which purported to give objective legal advice, subject all those involved to prosecution under international and U.S. domestic law. This includes people who ordered the torture, approved it or gave advice to justify it.

Guild President Marjorie Cohn testified on May 6 before the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the House Judiciary Committee, that some lawyers in the Department of Justice were "part of a common plan to violate U.S. and international laws outlawing torture."

The 14-page White Paper details the ways in which the lawyers, including Yoo, Jay Bybee, David Addington, and William Haynes, counseled the White House on how to get away with war crimes.

(visit the link for the full news article)



[edit on 12-5-2008 by DimensionalDetective]

[edit on 12-5-2008 by DimensionalDetective]

Well, if anything will ever be done, or these war criminals were to ever be brought to justice, it will either be by something like this-independent of the ever-croney-laiden and corrupted Dept of INjustice, or in an international tribunal setting. Hopefully these guys will get somewhere, but I won't hold my breath. The entire system is like a giant, stinking cesspool.

It was recently revealed that Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, George Tenet, and John Ashcroft met in the White House and personally oversaw and approved the torture by authorizing specific torture techniques including waterboarding. President Bush admitted he knew and approved of their actions.

"They are all liable under the War Crimes Act and the Torture Statute," Professor Cohn testified. "Under the doctrine of command responsibility, commanders, all the way up the chain of command to the commander-in-chief, are liable for war crimes if they knew or should have known their subordinates would commit them, and they did nothing to stop or prevent it. The Bush officials ordered the torture after seeking legal cover from their lawyers."

The National Lawyers Guild calls on Congress to appoint a Special Prosecutor, independent of the Department of Justice, to investigate and prosecute the high officials of the Bush administration and the lawyers who advised them, for their roles in misusing the rule of law and legal analysis to justify torture and other crimes.

The White Paper can be read at www.nlg.org/news/statements/White Paper - Yoo hearing.doc

www.commondreams.org
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 12-5-2008 by DimensionalDetective]

At least someone is trying! I've never heard of the NLG, but I think that any group that defends our country and its laws should be supported.

Great post!

I am soooo sick of hearing about people "CALLING for investigations or CALLING for impeachment proceedings". I am really starting to believe that this is merely a carrot being dangled in-front of the public to keep us thinking that something will be done. When the reality is that nothing will be done. It seems to me that the majority of people that have read Yoo's memo agree that it is essentially showing guilt of war crimes. Yet, people are only CALLING for an investigation. Freaking START an investigation and not by some biased party like the sham that was the 9/11 commission.

Soooo aggravating.

BTW, I admire your ability to get more flags than responses on a regular basis

Originally posted by Karlhungis
I am soooo sick of hearing about people "CALLING for investigations or CALLING for impeachment proceedings". I am really starting to believe that this is merely a carrot being dangled in-front of the public to keep us thinking that something will be done. When the reality is that nothing will be done. It seems to me that the majority of people that have read Yoo's memo agree that it is essentially showing guilt of war crimes. Yet, people are only CALLING for an investigation. Freaking START an investigation and not by some biased party like the sham that was the 9/11 commission.

Soooo aggravating.

BTW, I admire your ability to get more flags than responses on a regular basis

You have hit the proverbial nail on the head. At some point the American people (at the very least) should be empowered to COMPEL a government response to this matter. This nonsensical 'calling for' is a media 'wag the dog' technique to make it appear that the press is 'reporting' on this issue. What they should be reporting is the RESPONSE. The talking heads should be discussing the process of redress, who (by name) is reviewing the request, by what time must they answer, etc.

Excuse me for being a little obtuse here - but are not most of the current administration MEMBERS of the NLG?

This strikes me as being a diversion to make us think something is actually going to be done.

In my experience it is about as difficult to get lawyers to prosecute fellow lawyers as it is for doctors or law enforcement.

Yeah, I'm going to have to agree with the general consensus of the group here.

I'll believe it when I see it.

We've heard many other calls for prosecution in the past. This one just adds to the list.
But calling for it, and actually prosecuting these war criminals are totally different things.

I want to see those who authorized torture get the justice they deserve. They seem to think they are above the law... they need to be brought down for it.


If the US deems it OK to torture, who's to say anyone who abducts and tortures US citizens is doing anything wrong.

Why don't the American people stand outside the Capitol and DEMAND impeachment or at least a full-scale investigation into the lies, war crimes, torture issues, etc.. that his Administration has committed?

I fear the only way this Administration will be held accountable is if the American people do their duty and go on the front lines to demand/FORCE accountability. Until we, as a Nation, do this, this Administration will do whatever it wants, whenever it wants.

And don't think the Clinton/McCain/Obama Administration will be any different. Either take back your country, or suffer the consequences. To me, it looks like people are just fine with suffering the consequences. As long as they don't have to get their hands dirty, everything is A-Okay.

reply to post by Double Eights


This will likely have to happen, but it's not so easy as it appears. These maniacs have already put all sorts of measures into place to stop this type of activity ("free speech zones") and folks demanding justice have been tasered and hauled off to jail. But the populace is only going to be oppressed and held down so long, and we are nearing a breaking point as a nation, with a select few tyrants who just keep kicking us while we're down.

Something will have to break eventually with the way things keep going.

I wish there wolud be a real investigation of the Adminstration but,there seems to be a lack will to go through with it.We have an apathtic public and a cowardly political system.

[edit on 14-5-2008 by mike dangerously]

[edit on 14-5-2008 by mike dangerously]

reply to post by mike dangerously

sadly true..how about an eye-for-an-eye???

reply to post by DimensionalDetective


Whilst it is a good cause and a worthy cause, do you really thin k anything will be done about this? War criminals they may be, but they are American war criminals, and therefore nothing will happen to them. That is just fact, otherwise GWB would have been captured and hung a long time ago!

reply to post by wow23


No, I don't think much, if anything will occur on domestic soil, as broken and entirely corrupted as the entire system is. But the more light that gets shed on these criminals and their subversion of domestic and international law, the better I say.

And I do have a feeling that on an INTERNATIONAL scale, these war criminals and torturers will be charged eventually. The system may be a cesspool here, but they do not rule over every justice system beyond our borders.

What's currently happening in Italy, with their courts trying the CIA for illegal kidnapping and torture is an an omen of things to come IMO.

Bush is ridiculous: Today on Yahoo, there was a video of him being interviewed and was being asked questions about torture.. He was like.. duh.. "We don't torture people". He said this playing the same legalize/contextual game that Bill Clinton did while trying to hide his bj in the oval office by saying it wasn't "sex" because his penis didn't enter Monica's vagina. Bush basically is saying that "what" we are doing is "legal" and that he will not discuss the "techniques" that have been supposedly legalized. He also constantly tries to justify all this by playing the fear card and stating over over.. "I'm just protecting your family". Well, it's bunch of BS. Bush and bu#es listen up: Torture is torture no matter what the legal pretense. The fact that we are doing makes us no different than anyone else that does it. We may be getting away from with this crap for now but rest assured, it's ALL going to catch up with you. It's just matter of time. Oh, and btw.. do any of you consider that fact that Hitler did the EXACT SAME THING? If not, do your homework. You bloodthirsty warmongering globalist neocons are going to get what you want, just wait.

AHAHAHa investigations.

Any investigation by the government usually results in a taxpayer dollars being spent on lawyer friends instead of anything real meaningful.

Lawyers issuing white papers complaining about the lack of ethics and immoral/illegal conduct of other lawyers? What's wrong with this picture? Lawyers, by profession, will advocate any position on any given subject... for a price. The strength of their advocacy is directly proportional to the fee they're being paid and has precious little to do with the facts or circumstances at issue.

Politics, power and money are inseparable. Power and politics use their money to manipulate their legal mouthpieces. Anytime you hear a lawyer speak (or write) you can be pretty sure he's pushing the agenda of his client. Modern lawyering has more to do with public relations and the control of perception than it has to do with actual matters of law. Its all about noise and spin.

It should surprise nobody that "investigations" seldom, if ever, result in civil or criminal legal action. The issue is almost never about matters of law. Its all about controlling the hearts and minds of the targets... that would be us common people. A lie told often enough and convincingly enough by people perceived to be honest has the effect of becoming the truth in many people's minds. Some of us are just cheaper to convince than others.