Reinforcing my previous post supporting a special prosecutor to investigate the CIA torture tape scandal, I sent the following message to my U.S. Senators & Representative in support of the ACLU’s call to action (their annoying boilerplate in italics):
The CIA torture tape scandal is yet another black mark on the reputation of United States and another reason the people of American and the world have lost faith in the integrity of our government. For that faith to be restored, we must have a full, public accounting of what happened and everyone involved in criminal acts, regardless of political position, must be brought to justice.
Given the Department of Justice’s role in the development of an illegal program of torture and abuse, it cannot be trusted to conduct this investigation internally. Instead, Attorney General Mukasey must appoint a special counsel to lead a thorough and independent investigation to uncover not only who destroyed CIA tapes of interrogations but also who authorized, ordered, and carried out any alleged criminal acts of torture. Those acts may be more serious crimes than the destruction of the tapes and therefore must not be beyond the scope of an investigation.
I have voiced my opinion to Attorney General Mukasey directly on this matter and I now call on you, as my elected representative, to bring your influence to bear. Our nation is founded on the notion that no one and no purpose is above the law. Please see that the full facts of this case come to light in a thorough and independent investigation. The American people expect you to protect our Constitution and our national ideals. Please discharge your responsibility by seeing that justice is impartially executed in this case.
Again, please keep the pressure on Attorney General Mukasey to appoint a special counsel — someone with real independence and transparency who can undertake a comprehensive investigation not only into the destruction of videotapes, but also those who may have authorized, ordered or carried out criminal acts of torture and abuse.
For more detailed arguments on this important matter, please read the ACLU’s letter to Congress at: