No laughing matter
This sounds so outrageous, it seems like a joke or something out of "The Onion."
Attorney
General Michael Mukasey is demanding that Congress issue a new
declaration of war so that anyone that this president or the next one
declares to be an "enemy combatant" can be held indefinitely without a
trial.
The
new declaration of war would make the entire globe — including the
United States itself — a “battlefield” where the president decides who
will be locked up forever.
With
only four weeks left in the Congressional schedule and only six months
left in the Bush presidency, Mukasey’s ridiculous power grab should be
laughed out of town. But given this Congress’ track record, the Mukasey
proposal is no laughing matter. Especially because it also includes a
cover-up of the Bush administration’s systemic torture and abuse of
detainees.
We
can’t take for granted that Congress will reject this outrageous
proposal. We have to meet it with an immediate wall of protest that
says to Congress: “Don’t you dare.”
I just told my members of Congress to reject the dangerous Bush/Mukasey plan. You can do the same thing here:
http://action.aclu.org/mukasey
Attorney
General Michael Mukasey has demanded that Congress issue a new
declaration of war. This would make the entire globe -- including the
United States itself -- a “battlefield” where the president gets to
decide who is an “enemy combatant” and lock that person up forever.
The
Bush/Mukasey plan also includes a congressionally-approved subversion
of the Constitution and a cover-up of the Bush administration’s
systemic torture and abuse of detainees.
At the same time, an
ACLU lawsuit has uncovered new evidence that the torture and abuse
Mukasey wants Congress to cover up was authorized by -- you guessed it
-- the Justice Department. One of the documents obtained by the ACLU is
a redacted version of a previously undisclosed 2002 Justice Department
opinion that authorizes the CIA to use specific interrogation methods,
including waterboarding.
Now, Mukasey -- as head of the Justice
Department -- wants Congress to cover up torture committed under the
watch of his predecessor, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. It’s
outrageous!
Don’t let it happen. Read the alert I’ve attached below and take action now at:
http://action.aclu.org/coverupAnthony D. Romero
Anthony D. Romero
Executive Director
ACLU
Tell Congress to reject the Bush/Mukasey plan to subvert the Constitution.Here
they go again. On July 21st, Bush’s Attorney General, Michael Mukasey,
called on Congress to take dramatic steps to subvert the Constitution.
Mukasey
is demanding that Congress issue a new declaration of war that would
make the entire globe -- including the United States itself -- a
“battlefield” where the president decides who will be locked up forever.
Instead of ending the Bush system of injustice, he wants Congress to make it permanent.
Tell Congress to reject the Bush/Mukasey plan to subvert the Constitution.Not only has Bush’s Attorney General called on Congress to issue a new declaration of war, but he is also asking Congress to:
1.
Gut habeas corpus -- the freedom that protects people from being thrown
in prison illegally -- with no help, no end in sight and no due process.
2.
Cover up the Bush administration’s systemic torture and abuse of
detainees. Judges would not be allowed to see evidence of torture and
abuse and would instead simply have to trust that a president is
holding the right people as ”enemy combatants.”
With only five
weeks left in the congressional schedule and only six months left in
the Bush presidency, Mukasey’s power grab should be laughed out of
town. But, given this Congress’ track record, the Mukasey proposal is
no laughing matter.
Tell Congress to reject the Bush/Mukasey plan to subvert the Constitution.Too
many times, we’ve seen Congress cave in to the most outrageous Bush
demands for out-of-control powers: The Patriot Act. National Security
Letters. The Military Commissions Act. The Protect America Act. And,
most recently, the congressional sell-out on FISA.
Four times
the Supreme Court has rejected the Bush administration’s efforts to
design a war on terror system of injustice that defies the Constitution
and mocks the rule of law. In the past, the administration has
responded, not by respecting the Constitution, but by counting on
Congress to legitimize its indefensible conduct.
There is no way
we can let that happen this time. Even as the House Judiciary Committee
investigates whether high-level Bush White House officials may have
committed crimes of torture and abuse, the Bush administration has the
arrogance to ask Congress to give it the power to detain people without
trial and hide torture and abuse from the courts.
Tell Congress to reject the Bush/Mukasey plan to subvert the Constitution.We
can’t take for granted that Congress will reject the Bush/Mukasey plan.
We have to meet this outrageous proposal with an immediate wall of
protest that says to Congress: “Don’t you dare.”
I urge you to
join defenders of freedom all across the country in raising your voice
against Attorney General Mukasey’s dangerous proposal.
Thanks for speaking out,
Caroline Fredrickson, ACLU
Caroline Fredrickson, Director
ACLU Washington Legislative Office
P.S.
You can read a blog post from Christopher Anders, ACLU Seinor
Legislative Counsel, on the Bush/Mukasey plan to subvert the
constitution here.