Bush “The Torture President?”

Statement by Elizabeth Holtzman on Granting Immunity to President Bush Under the Military Tribunals Law

October 17,2006

To: National Desk

Contact: Stephen Kent, 845-758-0097, or skent@kentcom.com , for The Hon. Elizabeth Holtzman

NEW YORK, Oct. 17 /U.S. Newswire/ --The following is a statement by The Hon. Elizabeth Holtzman about President Bush signing the military tribunals bill into law today. The new law not only guts detainee protections of the War Crimes Act and Geneva Conventions, but perhaps most significantly and least well known, grants a stealth pardon for President Bush and high cabinet officials by quietly conferring on them immunity from prosecution for detainee abuse crimes like the ones committed at Abu Ghraib, retroactive to 9/11/01.

Holtzman is a former four-term Congresswoman from New York who served on the House Judiciary Committee during Nixon's impeachment. She co-authored the 1973 special prosecutor statute, and has co-written a new book (with Cynthia L. Cooper) analyzing illegal, unconstitutional and/or impeachable actions of the current administration, "The Impeachment of George W. Bush" ( http://www.impeachbushbook.com ). er recent op-ed analyzing under the new military tribunals law grant of immunity to President Bush is posted at http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/ 68705,CST-EDT-REF23B.article.
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Statement by Elizabeth Holtzman on Granting Immunity to President Bush Under the Military Tribunals Law

"Today will go down in the annals of infamy. By signing the military tribunals bill into law, President Bush has taken this country down a long dark road of shame.

"The bill countenances abuse of detainees in defiance of the Geneva Conventions and the country's past moral values and it suspends habeas corpus in defiance of the constitution. As bad as these features is the bill's grant of a pardon to President Bush and his top Cabinet officials for any crimes they may have committed under the War Crimes Act of 1996.

"When a president violates the country's criminal laws and then gets a secret grant of immunity for those crimes, he makes a mockery of the rule of law. Then all lawlessness is permissible.

"This provision in the bill creates a culture of impunity for torture and abuse of detainees. It was slipped into the bill in secret, without hearings or debate. Most members of Congress, most reporters and most Americans have no idea that this has happened.

"By doing this the President has stuck a horrific blow at our basic democratic values and our constitutional system.

"Instead of pardoning himself with the complicity of Congress, the President should be making public what acts of prisoner abuse he authorized the CIA to undertake or what acts of theirs he ratified."

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Bush signs law authorising harsh interrogation

17 October 2006

Steve Holland Washington, United States

United States President George Bush signed a law on Tuesday authorising tough interrogation and prosecution of terrorism suspects and took an indirect, election-year swipe at Democrats who opposed the legislation.

Bush, trying to help Republicans maintain control of the US Congress by emphasising national security, called the Military Commissions Act of 2006 "one of the most important pieces of legislation in the war on terror".

Human rights groups charge that the measure would allow harsh techniques bordering on torture, such as sleep deprivation and induced hypothermia.

In a White House East Room ceremony, Bush praised members of Congress who approved the law over the opposition of the Democratic leadership in both the Senate and House of Representatives.

"Every member of the Congress who voted for this Bill has helped our nation rise to the task that history has given us. Some voted to support this Bill even when a majority of their party voted the other way," Bush said.

Much of the new law, which critics say still does not protect detainees' rights and predict will face legal challenge, was negotiated in September after senior Republicans rebelled against Bush's plan.

The new law means Bush can continue a secret CIA programme for interrogating terrorism suspects whom he believes have vital information that could thwart a plot against America.

Bush said the law will allow intelligence professionals to question suspects without fear of being sued by them later.

"This Bill spells out specific recognisable offences that would be considered crimes in the handling of detainees so that our men and women who question captured terrorists can perform their duties to the fullest extent of the law," he said.

The White House has refused to describe what techniques will be allowed or banned.

Challenges seen
Critics and legal experts have predicted the new law will draw vigorous court challenges and could be struck down for violating rights guaranteed under the US Constitution.

They cited provisions that strip foreign suspects of the right to challenge their detentions in US courts and what they described as unfair rules for military trials.

Bush insisted the law complies with the spirit and letter of international agreements. "As I've said before, the US does not torture. It's against our laws and it's against our values," he said.

The law also establishes military tribunals for terrorism suspects, most of whom are held at the US military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

The law was prompted by a Supreme Court ruling in June that said Bush lacked legislative authority in setting up his first system of military commissions. Future legal battles will likely also end up in the high court.

Shortly after Bush signed the law, the Republican National Committee issued a press releasing headlined, "Democrats would let terrorists free" and listed the names of many House and Senate Democrats who opposed it.

The American Civil Liberties Union expressed outrage, calling the new law "one of the worst civil liberties measures ever enacted in American history".


Link:

Bush signs terror interrogation law

President Bush Signs Military Commissions Bill