WASHINGTON -- January 31 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Party leaders declared their opposition to the nomination of Alberto Gonzales to the office of Attorney General, and urged Democrats to filibuster the nomination in the U.S. Senate.

Mr. Gonzales, who currently serves as White House Counsel, has justified legal loopholes allowing abuse of prisoners by U.S. personnel, and claimed that prohibitions in treaties signed by the U.S. on cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment does not apply in the treatment of noncitizens abroad.

Mr. Gonzales also argued before the Supreme Court, in the cases of Yaser Hamdi and Jose Padilla, that the President should have the power to imprison American citizens indefinitely, incommunicado, and without recourse to lawyers or the court. Greens claim that a nominee who takes such a position will subvert rather than uphold the U.S. Constitution, and will place the President above the law.

"Since the purpose of the Geneva Conventions and the 1994 Convention Against Torture is to eliminate torture and degrading treatment of prisoners worldwide, Mr. Gonzales's goal in seeking loopholes can only be license for the U.S. to violate those treaties," said Rebecca Rotzler, Deputy Mayor of New Paltz, New York.and a member of the Green Party's Peace Action Committee (GPAX). "Mr. Gonzales should be investigated and censured or prosecuted for offering such counsel to the White House. His confirmaton would bring shame on the highest law enforcement position in the nation."

The Green Party has sharply criticized the Bush Administration for what Greens called a prolonged assault on the U.S. Constitution and the rule of international law <http://www.gp.org/press/pr_10_28_04.html>. Greens note that the treatment of prisoners and denial of due process for American citizens justified by Mr. Gonzales violates the letter and principles of the Fifth and Eighth Amendments (due process; freedom from cruel and unusual punishment).

"President Bush's nomination of Alberto Gonzales is especially outrageous in the wake of revelations of abuse and murder of detainees at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay," said Mark Dunlea, New York delegate to the party's national Coordinating Committee and GPAX member. "Before the Bush Administration can proclaim itself the champion of democracy abroad, it must show that it is committed to the rule of law at home. It would send a wrong message to the world if the Senate were to confirm a nominee who has been unwilling to recognize our responsibility to comply with international legal obligations. Our country's response to 9/11 must be a celebration of our commitment to the rule of law, not an excuse for its demise."

"A lot more than the reputation of the U.S. is at stake," added Mr. Dunlea. "An Attorney General who espouses policies of flexibility on torture for American citizens will place American military personnel who are taken prisoner by current or future enemies at terrible risk of similar treatment in retaliation."

GPAX has issued an alert to party members and friends, urging them to call U.S. Senators and demand that they oppose Mr. Gonzales' confirmation. In taking this position, Greens have joined a growing number of civil and human rights organizations, peace groups, military veterans, religious leaders, lawyers, judges, and elected officials.

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