BUSH, CHENEY...WILL BE LEGAL TARGETS EVEN AFTER THEY LEAVE OFFICE: RATNER

[babylonsister]

BUSH, CHENEY, AND OTHERS RESPONSIBLE FOR TORTURE, INCLUDING LAWYERS, WILL BE LEGAL TARGETS EVEN AFTER THEY LEAVE OFFICE: RATNER
Submitted by davidswanson on Tue, 2007-11-13 16:45. Criminal Prosecution


THE MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL OF LAW INTERVIEW
World Radio Network, Dean Lawrence R. Velvel, Host

President Bush and any of his aides that advocated or participated in torture will be the targets of legal action even after they leave office, President Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights(CCR), New York, said.

“After Bush is out of office, the Center(CCR) will pursue Bush and (Vice-President) Cheney. We are not going to let go of these people,” said Ratner, whose organization coordinates the work of more than 600 lawyers nationally involved in defending the rights of prisoners held by the U.S. at Guantanamo, many of whom say they have been tortured. The non-profit CCR is the leading civil rights litigating and advocacy organization in the nation.

“We think (those responsible for) this systemic program of torture (conducted by) this country have got to be made accountable whether it takes us one year or five years or ten years. And (we’re going) to go after the key architects of this torture program and make it particularly hot for them, particularly to travel to Europe,” Ratner said.

Ratner said former Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and the authors of the so-called “torture memos” written by the Office of Legal Counsel in the Justice Department could be targets. “What you can’t do as a lawyer is to advise people to find ways to escape criminality and violate the laws,” Ratner said. “There’s no issue to me. These lawyers are deep deep into what we consider the torture conspiracy,” Ratner said.

He also said Vice President Cheney is considered to be “the architect of a lot of the torture programs” and “there’s a lot of evidence George Bush had to sign off on executive orders that approved essentially the torture program, (and) extraordinary rendition.” “We believe there is clear evidence the Bush administration went off the pages of law and implemented a torture program which essentially violated the Geneva Convention against torture and its own (U.S.) laws whether at Guantanamo or Abu Ghraib (Iraq) or Pakistan,” Ratner told Dean Lawrence Velvel of Massachusetts School of Law at Andover, host of the program, “What The Media Doesn’t Tell You,” aired globally over the World Radio Network.

more...

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/28671

[mmonk]

1. Not for long. Chronies are on the courts in this country.

[babylonsister]

2. Not every court, and this is an org. composed of 600 lawyers. I'd

guess they'd have their ducks in a row before taking any action, which I would love to see happen.

[rodeodance]

3. GRAND-they will have a prison like ball to carry around.

[indepat]

4. And pray ye, when does the CCR think junior and darth will be out of office: if the CCR is assuming

January '09, might that be a rather large assumption considering some of junior's pronouncements and EOs?

[LeftHander]

5. Hard to extridite from Bush's new South America ranch in Paraguay...nt

[Javaman]

6. Exactly. Last I heard, paraguay doesn't have extradition laws with the US

funny how that works.

[SammyWinstonJack]

9. Purchased just for that reason, I am sure. Well that and the very large aquifer

located conveniently on their hide-out property. Two birds, one stone. Always thinking ahead, those bu$he$ are. :evilgrin:

[robinlynne]

10. yep, several nazis down there. (literally)

[Poiuyt]

7. kick

[PDJane]

8. Neither does Saudi Arabia...

Isn't that where darth was headed?

[diane in sf]

11. This sounds like good news--we can have our version of the Nuremberg trials

[L. Coyote]

12. Rec this up!

[bdamomma]

13. I like the part of them not being able to go to Europe

and how many other countries will jump on the bandwagon to get these criminals and give them their just dues.

[yodermon]

14. ROFL. HRC will pardon dubya right after

dubya pardons crashcart and the rest of the cabal.

Gotta move on, ya know.

[derby378]

15. In that case, can we call for HRC's impeachment?

This shit has got to end somewhere, and I really don't think Hillary wants to fall on her own sword...