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GOP Senators To Holder: Your Plans To Investigate Torture Will Endanger The Country


Attorney General Eric Holder

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Where have we heard this before...

Republican members of the Senate Judiciary and Senate Intelligence Committee are warning Attorney General Eric Holder that by appointing a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of torture by the CIA during the Bush era, he'll be endangering national security.

Such an investigation could have a number of serious consequences, not just for the honorable members of the intelligence community, but also for the security of all Americans," reads a letter the senators sent yesterday.

It goes on, obliquely recalling the September 11 attacks.

"The 9/11 Commission emphasized that keeping our country safe from foreign attack requires that the Justice Department work cooperatively with the intelligence community, but the appointment of a special prosecutor would irresponsibly and unnecessarily drive a wedge between the two."

The letter also lambastes Holder and the Justice Department for dedicating more resources to investigating torture allegations than to investigating terrorists.

Knock me over with a feather.

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August 20, 2009 1:35 PM   

Conveniently, at the same time this is being reported about Tom Ridge's comment about Bush's administration USING terror alerts to get re-elected, Republicans come out and say this?

Think maybe they are trying to counter the bad news?

Where were THEY during the Bush/Cheney years when they were LYING to the American people about possible terror attacks, possibly putting THEM in harms way?

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August 20, 2009 1:41 PM   

Sounds like someone has something they don't want to see the light of day, which means if it does, it'll be obvious to the most casual observer it's illegal as hell and everyone associated with the act and its' cover-up are guilty, perhaps of high crimes and misdemeanors to, god-forbid, treason.

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August 20, 2009 1:47 PM   

so wait, are the republicans pro-tyranny or anti-tyranny??

i thought for sure the republicans had taken an anti-tyranny stance. that's why they say they oppose healht care reform.

i'm confused.

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August 20, 2009 2:32 PM   

Tom Ridge has spoken what many of us knew was going on for 8 years..... the signators to that letter tells us more about the high crimes and misdemeanors committed in the name of the USA by these cowards.

A selective investigation will get us nowhere....a full investigation is needed, and I'm not talking any 9/ll Commission....we need one with an independent counsel and with subpoena power that will eventually lead to indictments.

This has serious implications not only national security but economic ones. Remember how the markets were responding to these phoney alerts? Well I do. What bastards!!

They did not keep us safe, they played on our fears.

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August 20, 2009 2:46 PM   

I'd be more impressed with what Ridge had to say had he:

1) Resigned rather than do it
2) Spilled the beans about the political manipulation of the American people for purely electoral gain
3) Not waited until he had a book to shill, by which time everyone more intellectually competent than a dining room table had already figured it out for themselves

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August 20, 2009 3:17 PM   

But bringing guns to town halls isn't a national security issue...Got it.

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August 20, 2009 4:07 PM   

When you look at the parade of douchebags who signed that letter, I'm actually surprised it wasn't more hyperbolic.

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August 20, 2009 5:26 PM   

The letter also lambastes Holder and the Justice Department for dedicating more resources to investigating torture allegations than to investigating terrorists.

Huh. I was sure that sentence was going to end with the words "voter fraud" until I got there.

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August 20, 2009 6:29 PM   

If Holder doesn't bring on criminal investigations of all these racketeers in the GOP (including Tom Ridge), he should be impeached.

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August 21, 2009 10:51 AM   

Geneva Conventions - Read them Adhere to them or You are a War Criminal Too. Holder and Obama must Investigate even suspected War Crimes, here we have definite, admitted to War Crimes. Try them, Fry Them ~ Frying Pans Free @ www.iviewit.tv

II : JURISDICTION AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Art. 6. The Tribunal established by the Agreement referred to in Article 1 hereof for the trial and punishment of the major war criminals of the European Axis countries shall have the power to try and punish persons who, acting in the interests of the European Axis countries, whether as individuals or as members of organizations, committed any of the following crimes.
The following acts, or any of them, are crimes coming within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal for which there
shall be individual responsibility:
(a) ' Crimes against peace: ' namely, planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression, or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances, or participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the foregoing;
(b) ' War crimes: ' namely, violations of the laws or customs of war. Such violations shall include, but not be limited to, murder, ill-treatment or deportation to slave labour or for any other purpose of civilian population of or in occupied territory, murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war or persons on the seas, killing of hostages, plunder of public or private property, wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity;
(c) ' Crimes against humanity.- ' namely, murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population, before or during the war, or persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds in execution of or in connection with any crime within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, whether or not in violation of the domestic law of the country where perpetrated.
Leaders, organizers, instigators and accomplices participating in the formulation or execution of a common plan or conspiracy to commit any of the foregoing crimes are responsible for all acts performed by any persons in execution of such plan.


Art. 7. The official position of defendants, whether as Heads of State or responsible officials in Government Departments, shall not be considered as freeing them from responsibility or mitigating punishment.


Art. 8. The fact that the Defendant acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior shall not free him from responsibility, but may be considered in mitigation of punishment if the Tribunal determines that justice so requires.


Art. 9. At the trial of any individual member of any group or organization the Tribunal may declare (in connection with any act of which the individual may be convicted) that the group or organization of which the individual was a member was a criminal organization.
After receipt of the Indictment the Tribunal shall give such notice as it thinks fit that the prosecution intends to ask the Tribunal to make such declaration and any member of the organization will be entitled to apply to the Tribunal for leave to be heard by the Tribunal upon the question of the criminal character of the organization. The Tribunal shall have power to allow or reject the application. If the application is allowed, the Tribunal may direct in what manner the applicants shall be represented and heard.


Art. 10. In cases where a group or organization is declared criminal by the Tribunal, the competent national authority of any Signatory shall have the right to bring individuals to trial for membership therein before national, military or occupation courts. In any such case the criminal nature of the group or organization is considered proved and shall not be questioned.


Art. 11. Any person convicted by the Tribunal may be charged before a national, military or occupation court, referred to in Article 10 of this Charter, with a crime other than of membership in a criminal group or organization and such court may, after convicting him, impose upon him punishment independent of and additional to the punishment imposed by the Tribunal for participation in the criminal activities of such group or organization.


Art. 12. The Tribunal shall have the right to take proceedings against a person charged with crimes set out in Article 6 of this Charter in his absence, if he has not been found or if the Tribunal, for any reason, finds it necessary, in the interests of justice, to conduct the hearing in his absence.


Art. 13. The Tribunal shall draw up rules for its procedure. These rules shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter.


III : COMMITTEE FOR THE INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF MAJOR WAR CRIMINALS

Art. 14. Each Signatory shall appoint a Chief Prosecutor for the investigation of the charges against and the prosecution of major war criminals.
The Chief Prosecutors shall act as a committee for the following purposes:
(a) to agree upon a plan of the individual work of each of the Chief Prosecutors and his staff,
(b) to settle the final designation of major war criminals to be tried by the Tribunal,
(c) to approve the Indictment and the documents to be submitted therewith,
(d) to lodge the Indictment and the accompanying documents with the Tribunal,
(e) to draw up and recommend to the Tribunal for its approval draft rules of procedure, contemplated by Article 13 of this Charter. The Tribunal shall have power to accept, with or without amendments, or to reject, the rules so recommended.
The Committee shall act in all the above matters by a majority vote and shall appoint a Chairman as may be convenient and in accordance with the principle of rotation: provided that if there is an equal division of vote concerning the designation of a Defendant to be tried by the Tribunal, or the crimes with which he shall be charged, that proposal will be adopted which was made by the party which proposed that the particular Defendant be tried, or the particular charges be preferred against him.


Art. 15. The Chief Prosecutors shall individually, and acting in collaboration with one another, also undertake
the following duties:
(a) investigation, collection and production before or at the Trial of all necessary evidence,
(b) the preparation of the Indictment for approval by the Committee in accordance with paragraph (c) of Article 14 hereof,
(c) the preliminary examination of all necessary witnesses and of the Defendants,
(d) to act as prosecutor at the Trial,
(e) to appoint representatives to carry out such duties as may be assigned to them,
(f) to undertake such other matters as may appear necessary to them for the purposes of the preparation for and conduct of the Trial.
It is understood that no witness or Defendant detained by any Signatory shall be taken out of the possession of that Signatory without its assent.


IV : FAIR TRIAL FOR DEFENDANTS

Art. 16. In order to ensure fair trial for the Defendants, the following procedure shall be followed:
(a) The Indictment shall include full particulars specifying in detail the charges against the Defendants. A copy of the Indictment and of all the documents lodged with the Indictment, translated into a language which he understands, shall be furnished to the Defendant at a reasonable time before the Trial.
(b) During any preliminary examination or trial of a Defendant he shall have the right to give any explanation relevant to the charges made against him.
(c) A preliminary examination of a Defendant and his Trial shall be conducted in, or translated into, a language which the Defendant understands.
(d) A Defendant shall have the right to conduct his own defence before the Tribunal or to have the assistance of Counsel.
(e) A Defendant shall have the right through himself or through his Counsel to present evidence at the Trial in support of his defence, and to cross-examine any witness called by the Prosecution.

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