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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT: Senator Russ Feingold Zach Lowe (202) 224-8657 |
On the Obama Administration’s Release of OLC Memos
Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
WASHINGTON - April 17 - “I applaud President Obama for his decision to release these memos
approving the CIA’s so-called enhanced interrogation program with only
minor redactions. This effort to level with the American people is long
overdue. I also strongly support the Office of Legal Counsel’s
action to officially withdraw these memos, in another repudiation of the
previous administration’s disregard for the rule of law.
“The president has stated that it is not his administration’s
intention to prosecute those who acted reasonably and relied in good faith upon
legal advice from the Department of Justice. As I understand it, his
decision does not mean that anyone who engaged in activities that the
Department had not approved, those who gave improper legal advice or those who
authorized the program could not be prosecuted. The details made public
in these memos paint a horrifying picture and reveal how the Bush
administration's lawyers and top officials were complicit in torture. The
so-called enhanced interrogation program was a violation of our core principles
as a nation and those responsible should be held accountable.”
1 Comment so far
Show AllI hope you are right Senator Fiengold! Were it not for Obama's vote on FISA I'd feel more inclined to agree with you.
However when Obama took office I'm sure the CIA and other national security agencies were already hard at work invoking self-preservation measures; I doubt even Obama was prepared for the scale of machinery he found that had to have already been put in motion. In fact, I wonder whether Obama's: "Let us look forward not back" adopted policy wasn't a gut level reflex reaction; a response to a newly discovered, potentially hazardous environment...has our government gotten THAT big?
Given the current political environment Senator Fiengold, I don't think there is a better time to rethink your efforts on campaign finance reform! In fact just this morning I was listening to Senator Bernie Sander's Town Hall on Thom Hartmann’s radio show (KTPK 1090AM Seattle), and a caller suggested that the tax deduction for lobbyists (in this instance, lobbyists for the military industrial complex) should be revoked (Bernie thought it was a good suggestion).
So in the aftermath of tax day I have to beg the question…why IS there a tax deduction for lobbyists?!