May 16, 2005
(Washington, DC) – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), along with more than 50 members of Congress, sent a letter to US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Friday, calling on him to appoint a special counsel to investigate whether high-ranking Bush administration officials violated US and international law by allowing the use of prohibited torture techniques in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“Over a year has passed since we learned of the horrors committed at Abu Ghraib and there has been no investigation of or any accountability for the architects of the policies that led to this abuse,” said Lee. “Our nation’s commitment to human rights and the rule of law has been called into question by these horrible abuses, and that undermines our national security - there needs to be accountability.”
The letter states that while enlisted soldiers and low-ranking officers have been disciplined for specific offenses, “the pattern of abuse across several countries did not result from the acts of individual soldiers who broke the rules. It resulted from decisions made by senior US officials to bend, ignore, or cast rules aside.”
The letter argues that a special prosecutor is required, not only because of the criminal nature of the abuses and the need for public accountability, but because an investigation by the Justice Department would present a conflict of interest.
“A special counsel is necessary not only because high-ranking administration officials, including Cabinet members, are implicated, but also because you personally, and the Department of Justice generally, may have participated in this conspiracy to violate the War Crimes Act,” the letter states.
Lee signed on to a similar letter that was sent to Attorney General John Ashcroft in May of 2004, but received no reply.
The text of the letter is available on the House Judiciary Committee Democrats website: http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/letters/agspecialcounseltortureltr51205.pdf
###
Barbara Lee Calls for Investigation of Torture Policy
Letter to Gonzales Requests Special Counsel to Investigate Officials Responsible
(Washington, DC) – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), along with more than 50 members of Congress, sent a letter to US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Friday, calling on him to appoint a special counsel to investigate whether high-ranking Bush administration officials violated US and international law by allowing the use of prohibited torture techniques in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“Over a year has passed since we learned of the horrors committed at Abu Ghraib and there has been no investigation of or any accountability for the architects of the policies that led to this abuse,” said Lee. “Our nation’s commitment to human rights and the rule of law has been called into question by these horrible abuses, and that undermines our national security - there needs to be accountability.”
The letter states that while enlisted soldiers and low-ranking officers have been disciplined for specific offenses, “the pattern of abuse across several countries did not result from the acts of individual soldiers who broke the rules. It resulted from decisions made by senior US officials to bend, ignore, or cast rules aside.”
The letter argues that a special prosecutor is required, not only because of the criminal nature of the abuses and the need for public accountability, but because an investigation by the Justice Department would present a conflict of interest.
“A special counsel is necessary not only because high-ranking administration officials, including Cabinet members, are implicated, but also because you personally, and the Department of Justice generally, may have participated in this conspiracy to violate the War Crimes Act,” the letter states.
Lee signed on to a similar letter that was sent to Attorney General John Ashcroft in May of 2004, but received no reply.
The text of the letter is available on the House Judiciary Committee Democrats website: http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/letters/agspecialcounseltortureltr51205.pdf
###