ACLU Files Lawsuit Seeking Disclosure of Still-Secret Torture Documents

[Hissyspit]

Source: ACLU Press Release

ACLU Files Lawsuit Seeking Disclosure of Still-Secret Torture Documents

Case Marks Launch Of Group's "Accountability For Torture" Initiative

NEW YORK, June 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a lawsuit seeking the disclosure of still-secret records relating to the torture of prisoners held by the U.S. overseas. The requested documents include legal memos authored by John Yoo and Steven Bradbury, who were lawyers in the Bush administration Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), as well as documents sent by the Bush White House to the CIA. The government has failed to turn over the documents in response to a December 2008 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

"The information already in the public domain makes clear that the torture policies were devised and developed at the highest levels of the Bush administration, but there are still unanswered questions about precisely what the policies permitted, how they were implemented and who specifically signed off on them," said Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project. "This lawsuit is an effort to fill some of the gaps in the narrative."

- snip -

"We can't sweep the abuses of the last eight years under the rug," said Alex Abdo, a legal fellow with the ACLU National Security Project. "Restoring the rule of law and the moral authority of the United States requires us to confront the abuses of the Bush administration, recognize the victims of that administration's torture policies and hold accountable the officials who put unlawful policies in place."

The records sought in today's lawsuit include:

documents between the White House and CIA concerning the use of the CIA's so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques;"

a legal memorandum or letter dated July 22, 2002 from Yoo to Alberto R. Gonzales regarding the applicability of the Convention Against Torture; and

a 2007 opinion by Bradbury analyzing the legality of the interrogation techniques authorized for use in the CIA program under Common Article 3, the Detainee Treatment Act and the War Crimes Act.

Read more: http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?A...

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

[No Elephants]

2. Recommended. Please make the best donation you can to the ACLU. Here's

the link:

http://action.aclu.org/site/PageServer?pagename=FJ_dona...

Better yet, become a proud, card-carrying member of the ACLU: for $35 a year (or less, or more)

https://secure.aclu.org/site/Donation2?df_id=2125&2125....

The Bill of Rights loves you. Love it back. It can't live without you. Literally.

[KaryninMiami]

7. Thank you for the reminder-! Guys- everyone- please consider donating to the ACLU

They speak for all of us and but need our support to be able to continue.

[No Elephants]

14. You're welcome. I hope someone takes our entreaties to heart.

[Oceansaway]

3. K&R...n/t

[Xipe Totec]

4. K&FR!

[Soylent Brice]

5. K&R

[katty]

6. K&R

[Better Believe It]

8. K & R

[npk]

9. If there is nothing to hide, release the documents

If there is something to hide, we do ourselves no service by covering it up. This must be done. Otherwise our government has failed.

K&R

[MasonJar]

10. Good luck getting them out of Obama.

[Wednesdays]

11. K&R

[Dragonfli]

12. K&R - Transparency + Accountability = Honest Government.

Anything Less is less than American.

[Senator]

13. Good FWIW. But We Need To Chase People, Not Papers.

This is way beyond not having enough information.

It seems pretty clear that the Obama admin will continue to drive the Torture Getaway Car, regardless of how much atrocious behavior is revealed. The torturers are on TV bragging. There just isn't a secret "smoking gun" to find.

It's time to try to force people to choose between imagined national security and having a national soul.

--

[No Elephants]

15. One hopes that revealing more will gin up the public outtcry beyond some liberals at DU. The

Democratic Party has made the calculation that it needs to cater to the middle because liberals have no other realistic choice but to vote Democratic anyway. I wish they were wrong, but I can't figure out how, especially since both parties and the media have pretty much cooperated on freezing out third parties since Perot made such a surprisingly good showing.

I have decided to aim my donations to things like ACLU, Amnesty International, and PBS, rather than to any party or candidate, but I am not sure yet what I will be doing with my vote--Democratic, third party or protest write in. Not that it matters anyway. (I live in Massacchusetts. It always goes blue.)

[Senator]

17. Well, the public has been crying out for years about torture.

And have been victims of the same "freezing out" by the DC/Euphemedia Analstocracy.

But even in Massachusetts there could be the opportunity to support an anti-torture/coverup candidate in the Dem primary.

--

[No Elephants]

18. I hope so.

[Tesha]

19. In Massachusetts a hard-leftie's vote should *ALWAYS* go to a party left of the Democrats.

Since, as you observe, the Democrats will almost always win anyway,
the best thing hard-lefties can do is remind the Democrats that we're
*NOT* willing to stand for their constant drift rightwards.

Here in New Hampshire, unfortunately, we don't have that luxury
because it's, at best, a horse-race between the Republicans and
the DLCrats. Well, except for Paul Hodes, our 2nd CD Congressman,
who seems to be a genuine lefty!

Tesha

[No Elephants]

21. I am not a hard leftist, except when compared to someone like Emmanuel. I am

a typical Sixties Liberal, and NOT the radical kind.

Human rights, civil liberties, conserving for the planet, giving people a hand up if they truly need one. I am dead against fiscal waste and needlessly big government, though. And, I am fundamentally a capitalist, though not a pitiless one, and my motives for being capitalist are not pro-business.

I consider (real) Socialists and Communists the hard left. I am as surprised as anyone to find, after all these years, that I probably am no longer a mainstream Democrat. I didn't change, though. The Party did.

[Vidar]

16. Many thanks to the ACLU.

[L. Coyote]

20. Error: you can only recommend threads which were started in the past 24 hours