Posted on 05/18/2009 12:36:13 PM PDT by reaganaut1
A coalition of left-wing advocacy groups filed legal ethics complaints on Monday against 12 former Bush administration lawyers, including three United States attorneys general, whom the groups accuse of helping to justify torture.
The coalition, called Velvet Revolution, asked the bar associations in four states and the District of Columbia to disbar the lawyers, saying their actions violated the rules of professional responsibility by approving interrogation methods, including waterboarding, that constituted illegal torture.
By writing or approving legal opinions justifying such methods, the advocates say, the Bush administration lawyers violated the Geneva Conventions, the Convention against Torture and American law.
Kevin Zeese, a longtime activist and lawyer who signed the complaints on behalf of Velvet Revolution, said the groups were acting because the Obama administration has resisted calls for a criminal investigation of abuse of prisoners under the Bush administration. The Obama administration has not ruled out the possibility of professional disciplinary action against some of those involved.
The torture issue needs to be taken out of the hands of politicians if it is going to be dealt with as the war crimes that it is, Mr. Zeese said. The complaints are available online at the groups Web site.
The filing comes as the Justice Departments ethics office, the Office of Professional Responsibility, completes a report on the department lawyers who wrote opinions authorizing harsh interrogations. The report, in the works for nearly five years and expected to be released during the next few weeks, is said to be highly critical of some authors of the opinions, including John C. Yoo, a senior official at the departments Office of Legal Counsel in 2002, and his boss, Jay S. Bybee.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Where is our coalition of right wing group to counter? THe left seem to have this suing thing down to a tee. Bout time we start suing them. Why cant we play too.
The Velvet Revolution's Press Conference.
Waxman and Leahy need to have one of their infamous “hearings” into these “advocacy groups” who support the Islamofascist terrorists groups. I think it would be nice for Americans to know exactly what it is that these groups are up to.
I will go to that link and study it, but from the hip, I personally no longer think that there is any ‘nice’ way to save our country.
I wonder if this tactic of seeking indictments is doomed to blow up in their faces. It seems fishy that the Obama Administration is concealing the memos that show what Pelosi knew about waterboarding and the intel EIT’s yielded (I know they say it’s because there are other open cases involving them - whatever). If Cheney is demanding they be released, I think this would have to be for reasons which vindicate him. To wit, if they provide us nothing, I doubt Obama would be withholding them.
If they drag this out in court, even if they won, I think they would lose big in the court of public opinion if it is found that that many lives were saved in the process. Cheney would be the hero - they would be the schmucks.
At best, the only thing that Leaky Leahy should be able to demand is 1 hour a day outdoor exercise and a shower every 4 days.
I would like to know who fund this group. CAIR? Other Islamic organizations? Or just friendly American citizens?
These idiots have never even read the memos, or they would know the entire subject matter was to answer an inquiry whether proposed EIT's violated the torture convention and implementing federal statute. They examined this law in detail to conclude the EIT's would not violate these laws.
I doubt these self-appointed Clarence Darrow's have read the Geneva Conventions, either, or they would know illegal combatants captured out of uniform don't get the protection.
You’ve got to wonder where the ACLU is on this one. The lwaywers examined the law and gave their legal opinion. Nothing more.
What kind of slippery slope are we sliding down when a lawyer can be prosecuted for giving a legal opinion? For making an “invalid” argument in front of the supreme court?
Will the government now be in charge of determining what is and is not a valid legal opinion?
Hmmm, this amounts to making it illegal to be a Republican. Let’s see, the Nazis outlawed competing parties in Germany, the Communists outlawed competing parties in The USSR, and The PRC. How well did that work out?
“Kevin Zeese, a longtime activist and lawyer who signed the complaints on behalf of Velvet Revolution”
Any freeper lawyers up to filing a bar complaint against this azzhat for alleging ethics violations for partisan political reasons? Isn’t that a breach of ethics in and of itself? (It may be premature now - prob have to wait to see how these charges play out.)
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