Letters to the Editor

• Something We Can Do

  [Read the article: John Yoo: Spearhead or scapegoat?]
  [Read more letters about this article: Here]

  Attorney and former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, among others, is asking American citizens to join him in signing this letter to House Judiciary Committee Chair John Conyers, who (under Speaker Nancy Pelosi's 'overwatch') sits in the catbird seat, holding the powers given to the people by our Constitution, with regard to impeachment:

  Dear Congressman Conyers:

  .

  We are writing out of deep concern for our nation. The President and members of his administration have violated, and continue to violate, our Constitution, significant and numerous treaty obligations, customary international law, and laws passed by Congress. However, the federal courts and Congress (even with a Democratic majority) have utterly failed to hold the President and his administration accountable and to put an end to the egregious violations of law and abuses of power.

  When the President abuses and exceeds the powers vested in the executive branch, the people of our nation have reason to expect, and our Constitution contemplates, that the other co-equal branches of government – the courts and Congress – will rein in the President, not only holding him to account, but also making it clear that such abuses and excesses will not be tolerated, now or in the future, in our constitutional democracy.

  [snip]

  Because the courts are not providing a means of disclosing, or holding the Bush administration accountable for, serious violations of the law, it is particularly essential that Congress vigorously assume its constitutional prerogative and duty to thoroughly investigate and disclose the truth about the abuses of power and excesses of President Bush, Vice-President Cheney and others in the administration, all of which have caused extreme damage to our country.

  Of course, the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives is best suited to conduct any inquiry into abuses of power by the President and others in his administration, particularly when violations of domestic statutory law, the Constitution, and treaty obligations have occurred. As Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, you have an historic opportunity and solemn responsibility, through the holding of hearings, to discover and disclose, and to bring the President and others to account for the astounding abuses of power and violations of the law arising from the following misconduct, all of which have been severely injurious to our great nation:

  • Authorizing, permitting, and condoning the kidnapping, disappearance, imprisonment and torture of people throughout the world, in violation of the US Constitution, domestic statutory law, treaty obligations, and customary international law. (In connection with the investigation of the illegal "extraordinary rendition" program, the Judiciary Committee should consider recommending passage of a compensation bill for Khaled el-Masri, Maher Arar, and others who have been kidnapped, imprisoned and tortured by U.S. agents and who have been denied any recourse to justice in US federal courts.)

  [snip]

  • Authorizing, permitting, and condoning the electronic surveillance of US citizens' communications, including emails and telephone conversations, without a warrant, in violation of the US Constitution and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

  [snip]

  In addition to inquiries into the above grave criminal misconduct and other gross abuses of power, we urge that Judiciary Committee hearings include an inquiry into the use of false propaganda by members of the Bush administration, which has served as the source for articles in the news media that misled many of the people in the United States and elsewhere concerning the supposed "threat" posed by Saddam Hussein and the execution of the war. When our government lies to the people, with the aid of an inept and credulous news media, our democracy is at grave risk.

  The rest of the letter - and the website where you can add your name to the letter - is here:

  http://restoreruleoflaw.com/

  Also see this from co-signer John Nichols:

  http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?bid=1&pid=309223

  [On the subject of torture, be sure not to miss, from another principled attorney, 'looseheadprop's' profoundly humane, just, and wise blog posts at FDL focusing on the Yoo Torture Memo. Her two most recent:

  http://firedoglake.com/2008/04/12/scalia-yoo-and-fitzgerald/

  and

  http://firedoglake.com/2008/04/13/deja-vu-all-over-again-us-v-joseph-altstoetter/]

  Permalink Sunday, April 13, 2008 01:42 PM