ACLU - Obama Administration Reportedly Considering Withholding Vital Information In Torture Memos

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Obama Administration Reportedly Considering Withholding Vital Information In Torture Memos (4/15/2009)

New Administration Should Not Cover Up Bush Administration Crimes, Says ACLU

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org

NEW YORK – In response to a troubling Wall Street Journal report that the Obama administration is considering withholding key information from Bush-era memos that authorized torture, the American Civil Liberties Union today once again urged the Justice Department to turn over the memos in full. According to a deadline set in an ACLU Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, the government has until tomorrow to turn over memos authored by Jay Bybee and Steven Bradbury, then top lawyers in the Office of Legal Counsel, that supplied the framework for the Bush administration interrogation program – or else explain why they continue to withhold them from the public. Until now, reports have indicated that the White House wanted to release the memos but was facing pressure from CIA officials to keep them a secret.

The following can be attributed to Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project:

"The new Justice Department should turn over unredacted versions of these memos, not blacked out versions that cover up critical information. The information in these memos is vital to the historical record and to informing the public about what actions were carried out in its name. The release of the memos is also crucial to holding officials accountable for authorizing torture. Withholding this information would be completely inconsistent with the Obama administration's promise of transparency and its commitment to turn the page on the abuses of the last eight years."

:grr:

Just release the fucking things already...in full, no redactions.

and act upon them. prosecute for war crimes.

http://www.aclu.org/safefree/torture/39276prs20090402.html?s_src=RSS

ACLU Agrees To Extension Of Torture Memo Deadline Based On DOJ Pledge To Consider Releasing Bybee Memo (4/2/2009)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org

"NEW YORK – The Justice Department has sought an extension of the government's deadline to decide whether to disclose three legal memoranda authored in May 2005 by Steven Bradbury, then a lawyer in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). The memos authorized the CIA to subject prisoners to torture methods including waterboarding. In ongoing Freedom of Information Act litigation brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, a federal judge had given the Justice Department until today to disclose the memos or explain its refusal to do so. The ACLU has consented to extend the production deadline to April 16 in return for the government's representation that high-level officials will consider the release not only of the Bradbury memos but also a memo authored in August 2002 by Jay S. Bybee, who was then the head of the OLC. The Bush administration had previously withheld the Bybee memo.

The following can be attributed to Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project:

"We reluctantly consented to this extension based on the government's representation that within two weeks it will re-review not only the May 2005 Bradbury memos included in today's deadline but also the August 2002 Bybee memo that was one of the cornerstones of the CIA's torture program. Collectively, these memos supplied the framework for an interrogation program that permitted the most barbaric forms of abuse, violated domestic and international law, alienated America's allies and yielded information that was both unreliable and unusable in court. Using national security as a pretext, the Bush administration managed to suppress these memos for years, denying the public crucial information about government policy and shielding government officials from accountability. While we are disappointed that the Bradbury memos were not released today, we are optimistic that the extension will result in the release of information that would not otherwise have been available to the public."

The Justice Department's letter seeking an extension is available online at: www.aclu.org/safefree/torture/39274lgl20090402.html

eom

Congressmen, Senators?

I am a HUGE Pres Obama supporter, but this is the first issue since he was elected where I am not willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. These memos need to be released and ALL who are implicated should be indicted regardless of who they are or the parties they serve.

America needs a BIG justice enema in order to put this issue behind us.

President Obama, this is utter BULLSHIT! Release the memos - the citizens of the US deserve the truth!

It looks like "We can't handle the truth" or our president would release the information. It was done in our name, with our tax dollars, so we have a right to know the whole truth.

Our government is more than happy to share the debt for the Wall Street calamity with us, so why not share the truth about everything? If they have nothing shameful to hide what are they afraid of? I voted for "CHANGE" because I was tired of being lied to and bullshitted around. Obama promised us "Change" in exchange for our trust and our votes...we delivered and now it's his turn to do the same.

It would not surprise me if some of the stuff in those memos is so horrendous, exposing it could easily set off some terrorist nutjob. Think about all the things we do know about the Busheviks' misdeeds, and consider how badly they turn your stomach. My guess is that some of this is much, much worse.

admittedly withholding information makes them as complicit as Bush - the only difference is by degree.

That being said - I think Pres. Obama will EVENTUALLY do the right thing. I think that this is posturing for some reason that we weak-minded citizens are not wise and brave enough to understand.

Who?

if it looks and quacks like a cover-up...