LEAHY TO BUSH ADMIN: Give Us Torture Docs Or We Will Subpoena Them...

[kpete]

Dem judiciary leader seeks torture documents

Brian Beutler
Published: Friday November 17, 2006

In a letter addressed to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, soon to be chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has requested the release of documents that outline the Bush Administration's interrogation policies.

If the request is not met, the Democratically-controlled judiciary will have the option to subpoena when the new congress begins in January.

The documents, which have long been thought to exist by observers and critics of America's national security policies, were confirmed to exist as the result of a still-pending Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by the ACLU.

One of those documents is believed to be a companion piece to the now-infamous August 2002 memorandum which redefined torture and, as a result, broadened the range of interrogation tactics permitted in the field.

more:
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Dem_judiciary_leader_seeks_torture_documents_1117.html

edit to include Leahy's Letter to Gonzalez:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/11/17/132649/91

[helderheid]

1. RECOMMENDED!!!

[H2O Man]

7. " n/t

[ixion]

18. " "

:kick: :patriot:

[stop the bleeding]

21. '

:toast:

[calimary]

64. No KIDDING!

Man, we don't mess around, do we? First Christopher Dodd taking aim at the MCA to restore habeas corpus, and now this!

Great payback to cheney from the guy he insulted on the Senate floor and told to go fuck himself. How 'bout - go fuck YOURSELF, dick? Back ATCHA. Turnabout is fair play.

So let's celebrate (here's an I-Love-DU gift):

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2750391

[Beelzebud]

2. That sounds like music to my ears! Kick some ass Senator Leahy!

[LilyLibber]

3. Absolutely.

Go get 'em, Leahy! K & R

[madokie]

4. Recomended for the truth coming out

[Marnieworld]

5. love that guy

I love how they are starting work now instead of January. Go Leahy!

[AdvancedProgress]

6. WooHoo

Go get 'em!

:thumbsup:

[Felinity]

11. WooHoo Too n/t

[rocktivity]

8. Yum!

And if they say no, poor Nancy will have no choice but to put impeachment back on the table...

:P
rocknation

[Beetwasher]

9. And When They Refuse, Send In The Federal Marshalls

Enough of this bullshit fucking around. There MUST be consequences for refusing to cooperate w/ Senatorial/Congressional subpoenas and requests for info.

K&R!

[Atman]

10. Damned democrats and their disarray! Where is Pelosi?

She's obviously lost control. We're doomed. Our only choice is to wait until '08 for the republicans can save us from Leahy's type of bad-for-America shenanigans!

.

[Felinity]

15. Did you forget the sarcasm "smilie"?

Assuming you did, I would just like to say,

Hooray for a Congress that is not under anyone's thumb.

:toast:

[Donkeykick]

12. I do not mind...

exposing Bush for what he is; however, I'm not for an impeachment. One must think of 08.

[MetaTrope]

52. Indeed, Clinton got impeached by Repubs, and Bush won the presidency

Sounds like a fine strategery to my!

[Zhade]

56. False. b*s* did NOT win.

In fact, this very website was created as dissent against his illegal ascension to power.

[MetaTrope]

61. That's cool, does that mean we also get to steal the next election

after Bush is impeached?

[Zhade]

81. Huh?

Not following you.

[A Simple Game]

72. I am for impeachment.

Screw '08, I'm thinking of my children and grandchildren.

These people must be taught that crime does not pay.

[Gwerlain]

13. This matter needs to be addressed...

as soon as possible. K&R. Hopefully we will clean the skeletons out of this closet next year. This conduct is unforgivable in a US administration.

[zanne]

68. But why make this demand before we're in power?

It seems to me it would carry a lot more water if we were actually in power. Kind of seems like a waste of time and energy.

[kedrys]

80. They're not waiting , and that's the point

There's actually little they can do before the new Congress is seated in January, IMO, but giving everyone a preview of possible things to come establishes that the Dems won't play nice and won't lie down. Suits me fine.

[mitchleary]

14. go

Mr Leahy, Go!!!! Time to expose these crooks.

[Bobbie Jo]

16. Here we go!....n/t

[yellerpup]

17. Kick!

Keep pushing, keep demanding answers, don't let up. :kick: :kick: :kick: Go Leahy!

[seafan]

19. WH strategist: "A cataclysmic fight to the death" if Democrats try to subpoena.

Dem judiciary leader seeks torture documents , Raw Story, November 17, 2006


Paul Krugman wrote in the NY Times, on November 6, 2006, the day before the midterm election:

The Constitution says that Congress and the White House are co-equal
branches of government, but Mr. Bush and his people aren't big on
constitutional niceties. Even with a docile Republican majority
controlling Congress, Mr. Bush has been in the habit of declaring that
he has the right to disobey the law he has just signed, whether it's
a law prohibiting torture or a law requiring that he hire qualified
people to run FEMA.

Just imagine, then, what he'll do if faced with demands for
information from, say, Congressional Democrats investigating war
profiteering, which seems to have been rampant. Actually, we don't
have to imagine: a White House strategist has already told Time
magazine that the administration plans a "cataclysmic fight to the
death" if Democrats in Congress try to exercise their right to issue
subpoenas - which is one heck of a metaphor, given Mr. Bush's
history of getting American service members trapped in cataclysmic
fights where the deaths are anything but metaphors.

Them's FIGHTIN' WORDS, Karl.

[texpatriot2004]

23. Bring it on nm

[tridim]

33. Is that supposed to be a metaphor?

Or is it meant to be literal? I can't really think of any congressional procedure that would fit the metaphor.

[Richard Steele]

20. No such documents exist. Cheney has 5 tons of new paper mulch, though. nm

[wtmusic]

78. Not so easy--many have been identified

and the DOD has acknowledged they exist.

[babylonsister]

22. YES!! Roberts, are you listening? You're next! nt

[Jcrowley]

24. YOO KNOW

that's a good idea.

Who's drinkin' Rummy behind those Bushes? Let's hop the Cheney link fence and take a peek.

K&R

[Vincardog]

25. Let the investigations begin.

[StrictlyRockers]

26. Subpoena them anyway, Patrick!! Nail those bastards to the wall!!

[Joe Chi Minh]

38. Then waterboard them.

[malaise]

27. Hope someone sent him this

http://law.shu.edu/news/guantanamo_report_final_2_08_06.pdf

[plcdude]

28. excellent

contribution. Don't you ever wonder why the MSM ignores these subjects and documents? Going to stop at Montego Bay in February

[malaise]

29. Another thread mentioned

that AP received a copy. The AP report said this would be released today so I googled and found it. Should reach MSM later today. I can hope right.

Mobay is far from Kingston.:D

[grasswire]

34. that's something else

The report released to the AP was done by law professors and students. Not the same thing.

[malaise]

37. From the AP report

The analysis of transcripts and records by two lawyers for Guantanamo detainees, aided by more than two dozen law students, found that hearings that determined whether a prisoner should remain in custody gave the accused little opportunity to contest allegations against him.

"These were not hearings. These were shams," said Mark Denbeaux, an attorney and Seton Hall University law professor who along with his son, Joshua, is the author of the report. They provided an advance copy of the report to The Associated Press late Thursday and planned to release it Friday on the Internet.
-----
same report

[seafan]

31. Today's AP story: AP Gets Shocking New Report on Gitmo

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003409443


Great find, malaise!

[IWantAChange]

32. thanks for the link seafan - forwarded to Olbermann - hope his

producers have the info and are researching it.

[malaise]

41. I printed a few copies

and will read mine in detail tonight. It still shocks even though it should not be a surprise.

[let us vote]

30. Go Leahy

We may get impeachment, despite Conyers and Pelosi

[Ian_rd]

35. They're off to a good start. Do your job fellas and mommas! Keep it up!

[Kurovski]

36. K&R-nt

[cassiepriam]

39. To win in 08, the truth must come out. The truth will lead to impeachment.

No way around it.

[DearAbby]

40. :BigToothysmiley:

[Marrak]

42. That's looks damn refreshing!

<>

[sutz12]

43. Can you hear the shredders going in the background? nt

[nam78_two]

44. I want to mail a hug to Sen. Leahy

I LOVE that man...if DUers ever decide to do the whole roses thing for Leahy, you can COUNT ME IN...

[spanone]

45. K & R

[cool user name]

46. Leahy = wicked cool

Hell yeah!

[Imagevision]

47. Gonzo-boy typical response? ---> "none"

[stepnw1f]

48. The "Check" in Checks and Balances (nt)

[Left Coast Lynn]

49. Your headline is a little misleading.

"Give Us Torture Docs Or We Will Subpoena Them"

Story says

"the Democratically-controlled judiciary will have the option to subpoena"

[Ignis]

50. Show 'em some spine! (nt)

[David Zephyr]

51. K&R.

Yes!

[buddysmellgood]

53. Cheney should resign first. Otherwise they are going down together and will hand us

President Pelosi.

[judaspriestess]

54. Its just seems surreal. This admin set out to screw over

this nation from the moment they were "elected". They came out of the gate with rockets shooting out of their asses. How arrogant and shameful.

[Hotler]

55. Isn't Leahy the one that Cheney told to go F himself? eom

[Mr_Spock]

57. Good for him

This is what they need to focus on.

[Synnical]

58. Oh, is that way Cheney was Shredding Docs at his home last month?

http://wonkette.com/politics/dick-cheney/shreddin-with-dick-211028.php

Spotted on 10/19, by an eagle-eyed Wonkette reader: The Mid-Atlantic Shredding Services truck making its way up to the Cheney compound at the Naval Observatory.

Fun fact: Mid-Atlantic Shredding Services has been contracted by the Secret Service for our Executive Branch’s record-not-keeping needs.

The present contractor providing Pickup & Destruction of Sensitive Waste Material services is Mid Atlantic Shredding Services and the current rate is $0.095 cents per lbs.

You better get crackin’, Dick — that evidence won’t destroy itself!

[zulchzulu]

59. It's Smackity Smackity Smack Smack TIme!

Impeachment is off the table....and on the podium.

[bettyellen]

60. .

[fooj]

62. Leahy is on fire!

:patriot:

[Bobbie Jo]

63. He's just poking them right now....getting warmed up for the KO.

[coznfx]

65. The light at the end of the tunnel for neocons

is a big, fat Demo-train, gonna chug blue all over you! Other commenters have said how great it is that our elected Democratic leaders are starting their chores now and not waiting until January, and I totally agree. It's wonderful to again have some hope that our nation and its government may continue to be guided by our precious Constitution.

IMHO, whether or not criminal activity should be subject to lawful justice is not debatable. Efforts by ANY American citizen, rich or poor, politically powerful or homeless in the street, to impede or thwart our system of justice cannot be tolerated. Regardless of possible political gains or losses at some future time, there is NO OPTION but to investigate and, if warranted, impeach, try and convict.

Thank you, Mr. Leahy, and also to all you folks in Washington who intend to pull us from the stinkhole Bushco has enthusiastically dumped us in.

[coznfx]

66. 14 more donations to DU

came in while I wrote my last comment. Cool! If you haven't donated, c'mon ... cough up a buck or two!

[newyawker99]

79. Hi coznfx!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Maryland Liberal]

67. The Timing is POOR on this one

Good Idea- wrong time. That traitor Lieberman has "said" he will caucus with the Democrats - but he is a well known hawk on defense issues - and not to be trusted. Lets get his vote for leadership under our belt B4 we start launching the supoenas.

[bobthedrummer]

69. kick

[FredStembottom]

70. NOW.....I'm excited about the election results!

I was just too scared for my country to be excited after the election. The limpness of the Democrats in D.C. (going all the way back to Iran-Contra) gave me no confidence that they would ACT.

Even a historical victory gave me no excitement. After 26 years of lameness and co-option, I just don't have it in me.

BUT.....I am not just a curmudgeon - genuine ACTION against unconstitutionality can cheer me up in a nano-second.

With this and the initial move to restore Habeas Corpus......I am cheering up! This is already more than the entire Iran-Contra hearings produced.

I am now getting some election night excitement in my blood.

Please, please, please let real ACTIONS continue.....please?



:applause:

[me b zola]

71. k&r

:thumbsup:

[ThomWV]

73. So Basically He's Telling Them What To Shred Now, Instead Of In January

[yurbud]

74. they should issue subpoenas the second they take office.

[yurbud]

75. vote it up on DIGG

http://digg.com/politics/Torture_documents_demanded_by_incoming_Democratic_judiciary_chairman

[ToolTex]

76. The crisis will come when Gonzales ignores a subpoena, then the SCOTUS

has to decide if they concur with Congress. And what will the current court do? What will happen when Gonzales ignores that. Only then will the world and the freepers understand what has happened to the US of A.

Remember Nixon ignored Congress' subpoena for the Watergate Tapes, saying he would have a bonfire on the White House lawn first. Then the SCOTUS weighed in with their concurrence that he must comply. That is what triggered Nixon's resignation.

But keep in mind that neither Congress nor the Court have an Army. Only the Executive has an Army, and who knows who the current crop of "Yes Sir" generals might listen to at such a dangerous time.

[Sugar Smack]

77. Oh, that is so wonderful.

Wonderful. I'm speechless.