Nadler Asks for Special Prosecutor for Torture
By David Swanson

Congressman Jerrold Nadler has just publicly asked that the Attorney 
General appoint a special prosecutor. Please 
<http://www.house.gov/nadler/contact.shtml>THANK HIM, and please ask 
him and <http://prosecutebushcheney.org>ask your congress member to 
jointly send to Eric Holder 
<http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/39727>the letter that Nadler 
and 55 other congress members sent to Michael Mukasey requesting a 
special prosecutor last summer, or an 
<http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/41743>updated version thereof.

Here is a release from Nadler's office:

CONGRESSMAN JERROLD NADLER
8th Congressional District of New York
Nadler Applauds Obama Administration's Transparency on Torture Memos
Renews Call for Special Prosecutor and Congressional Investigation

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-08), Chair of 
the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights 
and Civil Liberties, praised President Obama and the Department of 
Justice for releasing four legal memos on the torture of detainees 
that had previously been concealed by the Bush administration. Rep. 
Nadler, however, called on the Obama administration to go further and 
appoint a special prosecutor to investigate and, if necessary, 
prosecute those responsible for authorizing the torture. He also said 
that a Congressional investigation is absolutely warranted. Rep 
Nadler released the following statement:

"While I applaud the Obama administration for releasing these torture 
memos in the spirit of openness and transparency, the memos' alarming 
content requires further action. These memos, without a shadow of a 
doubt, authorized torture and gave explicit instruction on how to 
carry it out, all the while carefully attempting to maintain a legal 
fig leaf.

"These memos make it abundantly clear that the Bush administration 
engaged in torture. Because torture is illegal under American law - 
as the U.S. is a signatory to the Convention Against Torture - we are 
legally required to investigate and, when appropriate, to prosecute 
those responsible for these crimes.

"I commend President Obama for his unequivocal rejection of torture 
and for his resolve to move forward. The President's intentions are 
honorable, but don't go far enough. All history teaches us that 
simply shining a light on criminal acts without holding the 
responsible people accountable will not prevent repetition of those 
acts.

"I have previously urged Attorneys General Gonzalez and Mukasey to 
appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the torture abuses of the 
Bush administration, and now I will convey that same necessity to 
President Obama and Attorney General Holder. We sorely need an 
independent investigation that will provide accountability for these 
terrible crimes. This investigation should not be a witch-hunt to 
punish those rank-and-file C.I.A. operatives who acted in good faith 
on Justice Department instructions. At the very least, those who 
wrote and authorized the memos knowing full well that they were 
instructing others to torture must be held accountable to the law.

"We must have a criminal investigation if the U.S. is to reclaim its 
moral authority and prevent repetition of these crimes.

"As Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights said 
yesterday, 'Whether or not to prosecute law breakers is not a 
political decision. Laws were broken and crimes were committed. If we 
are truly a nation of laws . . . a prosecutor needs to be appointed 
and the decisions regarding the guilt of those involved in the 
torture program should be decided in a court of law.'

"Furthermore, the revelations contained in these memos make it 
abundantly clear that we need additional Congressional oversight 
hearings on this matter. We intend to hold such hearings.

"Finally, I particularly want to thank the American Civil Liberties 
Union for their role in bringing these memos to light and for their 
vigilant efforts to ensure that the United States government does not 
engage in torture."

Following are the memos released yesterday: 
<http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/politics/20090416_memos.pdf>http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/politics/20090416_memos.pdf.

###

Jerrold Nadler has served in Congress since 1992. He represents New 
Yorks 8th Congressional District, which includes parts of Manhattan 
and Brooklyn.

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David Swanson is the author of the upcoming book "Daybreak: Undoing 
the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union" by Seven 
Stories Press and of the introduction to "The 35 Articles of 
Impeachment and the Case for Prosecuting George W. Bush" published by 
Feral House and available at Amazon.com.  Swanson holds a master's 
degree in philosophy from the University of Virginia. He has worked 
as a newspaper reporter and as a communications director, with jobs 
including press secretary for Dennis Kucinich's 2004 presidential 
campaign, media coordinator for the International Labor 
Communications Association, and three years as communications 
coordinator for ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for 
Reform Now. Swanson is Co-Founder of AfterDowningStreet.org, creator 
of ProsecuteBushCheney.org and Washington Director of Democrats.com, 
a board member of Progressive Democrats of America, the Backbone 
Campaign, and Voters for Peace, a convenor of the legislative working 
group of United for Peace and Justice, and chair of the 
accountability and prosecution working group of United for Peace and 
Justice.

To receive updates from After Downing Street register at

<http://afterdowningstreet.org/user/register>http://afterdowningstreet.org/user/register

To subscribe to other lists go to

<http://davidswanson.org/node/921>http://davidswanson.org/node/921




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