Obama bashers, please ignore: Conyers begins torture investigation that is better than Leahy's!

[zulchzulu]

If you still think that Obama is ignoring the torture issue or even backs Bush's policies, please don't read on. Information is apparently bad for you. For the others that think that Obama should be the person to investigate Bush's torture actions since he has nothing else better to do, you may not want to read on either.

But for those of you with a clear mind and a pretty good understanding about Civics 101 as well as how investigations into past administrations can happen outside the Oval Office, this information is probably something you figured was happening anyway.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) today issued not one but two press releases responding to the latest batch of Bush-era Office of Legal Counsel torture memos produced yesterday by the Justice Department in response to Freedom of Information Act litigation brought by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Conyers, of course, has been pressing for a “National Commission on Presidential War Powers and Civil Liberties,” composed of experts outside government “to investigate the broad range of policies of the Bush administration that were undertaken by the Bush administration under claims of unreviewable war powers.” Unlike Sen. Pat Leahy’s (D-Vt.) proposed “Commission of Inquiry,” the House bill, which has 27 cosponsors, would not provide immunity for officials who broke the law.

http://washingtonindependent.com/39447/conyers-renews-call-for-investigation-of-bush-administration-actions

Here's HR104: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-104 and the summary:

Establishes the National Commission on Presidential War Powers and Civil Liberties to investigate, and report to the President and Congress on, the broad range of policies of the Bush Administration that were undertaken under claims of unreviewable war powers, including: (1) detention by the Armed Forces and the intelligence community; (2) the use by such entities of enhanced interrogation techniques or techniques not authorized by the Uniform Code of Military Justice; (3) "ghosting" or other policies intended to conceal an individual's capture or detention; (4) extraordinary rendition; and (5) domestic warrantless electronic surveillance.

Not providing immunity for those who are having to under testimonial scrutiny is absolutely critical. Consider how Oliver North was able to just about say anything he wanted in the Iran-Contra hearings. Consider all the others who went before the 911 Commission that had legal immunity.

As some well know, Obama has clearly defined that torture is illegal and also released torture documents that clearly show that the Bush administration was lying. Besides the fact that the White House is not the only place where legal investigations are initiated and realized, as some here know on DU, the Judiciary Committee, run by Conyers, can report to Obama on what they have found.

As for those that think Obama is "for torture", is "just like Bush", etc., here's the statement made by Obama as part of his release of CIA torture documents:

“The secret authorization of brutal interrogations is an outrageous betrayal of our core values, and a grave danger to our security. We must do whatever it takes to track down and capture or kill terrorists, but torture is not a part of the answer - it is a fundamental part of the problem with this administration's approach. Torture is how you create enemies, not how you defeat them. Torture is how you get bad information, not good intelligence. Torture is how you set back America's standing in the world, not how you strengthen it. It's time to tell the world that America rejects torture without exception or equivocation. It's time to stop telling the American people one thing in public while doing something else in the shadows. No more secret authorization of methods like simulated drowning. When I am president America will once again be the country that stands up to these deplorable tactics. When I am president we won't work in secret to avoid honoring our laws and Constitution, we will be straight with the American people and true to our values."

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2007/10/sweet_blog_special_obama_react.html

Yeah, he's obviously for torture... or, um, actually not. The New York Times article that reported his release of the CIA documents has this little tidbit:

Mr. Obama said that C.I.A. officers who were acting on the Justice Department’s legal advice would not be prosecuted, but he left open the possibility that anyone who acted without legal authorization could still face criminal penalties. He did not address whether lawyers who authorized the use of the interrogation techniques should face some kind of penalty.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/17/us/politics/17detain.html

Oh yeah... there is the Executive Order that Obama instituted on January 22, 2009 (two days after his inauguration):

EXECUTIVE ORDER -- ENSURING LAWFUL INTERROGATIONS

By the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, in order to improve the effectiveness of human intelligence gathering, to promote the safe, lawful, and humane treatment of individuals in United States custody and of United States personnel who are detained in armed conflicts, to ensure compliance with the treaty obligations of the United States, including the Geneva Conventions, and to take care that the laws of the United States are faithfully executed, I hereby order as follows:

Section 1. Revocation. Executive Order 13440 of July 20, 2007, is revoked. All executive directives, orders, and regulations inconsistent with this order, including but not limited to those issued to or by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from September 11, 2001, to January 20, 2009, concerning detention or the interrogation of detained individuals, are revoked to the extent of their inconsistency with this order. Heads of departments and agencies shall take all necessary steps to ensure that all directives, orders, and regulations of their respective departments or agencies are consistent with this order. Upon request, the Attorney General shall provide guidance about which directives, orders, and regulations are inconsistent with this order.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/EnsuringLawfulInterrogations/

Obama is for torture? He wants Bush to get away with it? You would absolutely disagree with those questions if you are informed.