Statement on Prosecution of Former High OfficialsNEW YORK - February 24 - We urge Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a non-partisan independent Special Counsel to immediately commence a prosecutorial investigation into the most serious alleged crimes of former President George W. Bush, former Vice President Richard B. Cheney, the attorneys formerly employed by the Department of Justice whose memos sought to justify torture, and other former top officials of the Bush Administration.
Our laws, and treaties that under Article VI of our Constitution are the supreme law of the land, require the prosecution of crimes that strong evidence suggests these individuals have committed. Both the former president and the former vice president have confessed to authorizing a torture procedure that is illegal under our law and treaty obligations. The former president has confessed to violating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
We see no need for these prosecutions to be extraordinarily lengthy or costly, and no need to wait for the recommendations of a panel or "truth" commission when substantial evidence of the crimes is already in the public domain. We believe the most effective investigation can be conducted by a prosecutor, and we believe such an investigation should begin immediately.
Drafted by The Robert Jackson Steering Committee
http://www.afterdowningstreet.
org/robertjackson Signed By:
Center for Constitutional Rights
The National Lawyers Guild
After Downing Street
http://www.afterdowningstreet.
org American Freedom Campaign
http://www.
americanfreedomcampaign.org Ann Wright, retired US Army Reserve Colonel and US diplomat
http://www.voicesofconscience.
com Backbone Campaign
http://www.backbonecampaign.
org Brad Blog
Cities for Peace
CODE PINK: Women for Peace
Daniel Ellsberg, Truth-Telling Project
Defending Dissent Foundation
http://www.defendingdissent.
org Delaware Valley Veterans for America
http://www.delvalvets4america.
org Democrats.com
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
Gold Star Families for Peace
http://www.
cindysheehanssoapbox.com Grandmothers Against the War
http://www.
grandmothersforpeace.org/gatw Grassroots America
http://www.
grassrootsamerica4us.org High Road for Human Rights Advocacy Project
http://www.
highroadforhumanrights.org Iraq Veterans Against the War
Justice Through Music
Marcus Raskin, co-founder of Institute for Policy Studies, member of editorial board of the /Nation/, member of the special staff of the National Security Council in the Kennedy Administration
Media Freedom Foundation/Project Censored
http://www.projectcensored.org
Naomi Wolf, author of /End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot/, and /Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries/
National Accountability Network
Northeast Impeachment Coalition
Op Ed News
Peace Action
Peace Team
The Progressive
Progressive Democrats of America
Republicans for Impeachment
http://
republicansforimpeachment.com United for Peace and Justice
Velvet Revolution
http://www.velvetrevolution.us
Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity
http://www.afterdowningstreet.
org/vips Veterans for Peace
http://www.veteransforpeace.
org Voters for Peace
http://votersforpeace.us/
index2.php War Crimes Times
Wisconsin Impeachment/Bring Our Troops Home Coalition
World Can't Wait
Organizations and individuals can add their names to this statement at http://prosecutebushcheney.org
CONTACT: National Lawyers Guild (NLG)
Marjorie Cohn, NLG President, marjorie@tjsl.edu
Heidi Boghosian, NLG Executive Director, director@nlg.org
Friday, February 27, 2009
Support Coalition to Prosecute the War Criminals
Yesterday, the National Lawyers Guild and a diverse coalition of groups and individuals released the following statement:
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