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Judiciary Democrats Call for Special Counsel on Torture

Congressman John Conyers

For Immediate Release
April 28, 2009
Contact: Jonathan Godfrey
Lillian German

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) and fifteen other Judiciary Democrats today called on Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special counsel to investigate possible violations of federal criminal law related to the interrogation of detainees.  The attorney general acknowledged in his confirmation hearings that waterboarding is torture.  Moreover, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the top Bush administration official in charge of military commissions have also concluded that the United States engaged in torture of detainees.  The Geneva Convention and the Convention Against Torture both require the United States to investigate, and if necessary prosecute, alleged violations.  Justice Department regulations provide for the appointment of a special counsel when a criminal investigation is both warranted and in the public interest, and when an investigation may pose a conflict of interest within the Department.  Since these conditions are present, the signatories below conclude that a special counsel should be appointed.

The signatories include:
Rep. John Conyers, Jr., Chairman
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Chairman, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Rep. Robert Scott, Chairman, Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security
Rep. Steve Cohen, Chairman, Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law
Rep. Hank Johnson, Chairman, Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy
Rep. Mel Watt
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee
Rep. Maxine Waters
Rep. Robert Wexler
Rep. Pedro Pierluisi
Rep. Luis Gutierrez
Rep. Tammy Baldwin
Rep. Anthony Weiner
Rep. Linda Sánchez
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Rep. Daniel Maffei

The text of the letter is here

 

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