May 1, 2009 Bush's House of Cards Begins to Fall

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May 1, 2009 Bush's House of Cards Begins to Fall

Bush's House of Cards Begins to Fall
By Jameel Jaffer, Director,
ACLU National Security Project
The Bush administration built an elaborate house of cards to justify
torture, but thanks in part to some recent ACLU victories, the house
of cards is finally beginning to fall.


Over the last few weeks, we’ve secured the release of the Bush
administration’s torture memos and won an important appeals court
ruling in our challenge to Jeppesen DataPlan’s involvement in the
CIA’s rendition program. We are also anticipating the release of
torture photographs that the Bush administration managed to suppress
for years.


These victories didn’t happen overnight. In fact, the ACLU first
filed
a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on the treatment of
prisoners on October 7, 2003. Since then, ACLU lawyers and
cooperating
lawyers have filed dozens of legal briefs and appeared at dozens of
court hearings. ACLU suits have resulted in the release of more than
100,000 pages of government documents relating to the abuse and
torture of prisoners in U.S. custody. We were gratified to finally
get
the Bush administration’s torture memos on April 16, but it’s worth
noting that it took us several years to get them. We wouldn’t have
been able to invest that time without your consistent support.
Earlier this week, a federal appeals court overturned a decision that
would have dismissed the ACLU’s case against Jeppesen DataPlan, a
subsidiary of the Boeing Corporation that facilitated the CIA’s
rendition program. The Bush administration -- and then the Obama
administration -- had argued that the case could not be litigated
without the disclosure of “state secrets. ” However, we asked the
court of appeals to overturn that decision, and it did. Now our case
can move forward and our clients -- victims of the CIA’s rendition
program -- can have their day in court.
In connection with our long-running Freedom of Information Act
litigation, the Department of Defense has agreed to release, by May
28, a substantial number of photos depicting the abuse of prisoners
by
U.S. personnel.
In the same lawsuit, the judge has ordered the CIA to disclose
records
related to the agency's destruction of 92 videotapes. The tapes
captured CIA interrogators waterboarding prisoners in their custody.
We’re now focused on ensuring comprehensive transparency about the
torture program and on ensuring that those who authorized torture are
held accountable for it.


As the stories in this special edition of ACLU Online indicate, the
ACLU is at the forefront of exposing the truth of the Bush
administration’s illegal torture program. We’re grateful for the
support you’ve given us, and we ask for your continued support as we
press for accountability.


Thank you for standing with us.


More Than 250,000 People Demand Accountability
By Jeani Murray, ACLU National Field Director
Attorney General Eric Holder heard the voices of more than a quarter
million Americans who called on him to appoint a special prosecutor
to
investigate torture and detainee abuse.


ACLU activists and members of the Stop Torture Now coalition
delivered
more than 250,000 petition signatures to the Attorney General during
a
Justice Department budget hearing on Capitol Hill. The pressure from
concerned citizens like you on members of Congress made sure Holder
was asked tough questions about the recently released torture memos
and his plan to seek accountability.


Appropriations Committee Chair, Rep. David Obey (D-Wisc.), opened the
hearing stating that the recently-released memos definitely described
torture. The ACLU staff present at the hearing knew right then and
there that all our hard work to deliver the petitions had paid off.
As
the hearing continued, member after member sought the Attorney
General’s view on the issue of prosecutions and asked for his
thoughts
on what actions to take.


At one point, Holder said, "It is my responsibility as the Attorney
General to enforce the law. If I see wrongdoing, I will pursue it to
the full extent of the law.”


That’s encouraging news -- especially since Holder said unequivocally
that waterboarding was torture during his confirmation hearing. But
we
all know the political realities of getting there.