Republicans trying to obstruct jusiice and coverup Bush* War Crimes?

[Q]

Published on Friday, June 18, 2004 by Knight-Ridder

Republicans Defeat Effort to Subpoena Justice Documents on Torture

by Sumana Chatterjee


WASHINGTON - Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday defeated a Democratic-sponsored effort to subpoena documents on torture and interrogation practices from the Justice Department. The 10 to 9 vote reflected the mounting partisan rancor over the abuse of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison and whether U.S. officials condoned harsh interrogation practices on prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The vote came a day after the Senate unanimously voted, without debate, to add a provision to a defense spending bill that the United States should abide by anti-torture laws and international treaties. But even that vote reflected the controversy over what practices are acceptable.

The voice vote without debate allowed lawmakers to keep to themselves their views on whether torture is justified and when. In interviews, though, some senators said torture may sometimes be acceptable.

"I think it is unwise for us to try to announce in concrete the absolute limits of the military in wartime," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., who taught refresher courses on the Geneva Convention to military police.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said he was grappling with what interrogation techniques, including torture, are acceptable in wartime. "We are in a brave new world," he said.

Thursday's Judiciary Committee vote was aimed at subpoenaing 23 documents, including an Aug. 1, 2002, memo that argued that the president wasn't bound by U.S. and international prohibitions against torture. Attorney General John Ashcroft refused last week to surrender the memo to the committee. --- http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0618-01.htm

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[molly]

1. We need to see who voted - how

[LittleApple81]

3. it was a party vote: 10 repugs stopped subpoena, 9 dems voted for it. n/t

[Q]

2. Sessions is an idiot...

""I think it is unwise for us to try to announce in concrete the absolute limits of the military in wartime," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.

- Sessions is giving a wink and a nod to torture. It's not placing 'limits' on the military to demand that they stop torturing 'suspects'. It's about respecting US and international law and sending a message that ALL prisoners of war should be treated humanely.

[molly]

4. What an ugly little man with such a whiny little voice

a bagger to be sure.

[Hubert Flottz]

5. Jeff Sessions is one of ten bad apples on that committee!

Remember how he preached morality douring the Clinton impeachment? Where are his morals now?

[Q]

6. The plain truth is that Sessions is a partisan hack...

...that wouldn't allow any other DEMOCRATIC president to get away with this type of criminality. This is ALL ABOUT Republicans covering up the crimes of a Republican president.

[kentuck]

7. Yep...sweep it under the rug.....throw dirt on it....cover it with a bag..

...blow smoke around it....cover it with the flag...shit on it and tell people it's chocolate pudding....anything...just don't let the people know the truth... Assholes!

[LittleApple81]

8. A slightly different set of statements here (Hatch!!!!):

Rumsfeld Admits He Told Jailers to Keep Detainee in Iraq Out of Red Cross View
By THOM SHANKER
Published: June 18, 2004

snip....
Also on Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee rejected a proposal by two Democratic senators, Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont and Dianne Feinstein of California, to subpoena Justice Department documents on the administration's policies regarding the treatment of prisoners. The proposal, which was rejected in a 10-9 vote, identified 23 memos, letters or reports from Sept. 25, 2001, through March of this year on topics that included the treatment of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and rules for interrogation.

According to the proposal, the documents include a memo from Mr. Rumsfeld to Gen. James T. Hill, the senior officer of the Southern Command, dated April 2003 and titled, "Coercive interrogation techniques that can be used with approval of the Defense Secretary." Another memo dated Jan. 4, 2004, written by the top legal adviser to Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, the senior American commander in Iraq, and sent to military intelligence and police personnel at the Abu Ghraib prison, is titled, "New plan to restrict Red Cross access to Abu Ghraib."

Mr. Leahy and several other senators asked Attorney General John Ashcroft for some of the documents at a June 8 hearing, but Mr. Ashcroft said he would not hand them over, an aide to Mr. Leahy said.

"A formal request would have to come by way of subpoena under the rules of the Senate," said Mark Corallo, a Department of Justice spokesman. "You would think that senators would know their own Senate rules." (my note: they know this would never happen with Hatch in charge and the rest of the criminal repugs in charge.)

Before the vote was taken, the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, Orrin G. Hatch, told committee members that he had read several of the memos and advised them against voting for the proposal. (my note: What???? HE has read them? what about the rest of the committee??? this is absolutely outrageous!)

"We should not reveal our interrogation techniques to our enemies," said Senator Hatch, Republican of Utah. "There must be some reasonable limits on what can and should be disclosed by the executive branch to Congress and the public about the war against terrorism." (my note: we should not confirm that we wanted torture to happen)

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/18/politics/18abus.html?th