April, 22 2009, 05:28pm EDT
Attorney General Holder Says He Will "Follow The Law" And Investigate Torture
Independent Prosecutor Should Be Promptly Appointed, Says ACLU
NEW YORK
Attorney
General Eric Holder said today that the Justice Department will "follow
the law wherever it takes us" in investigating the U.S. officials
behind the CIA torture policies under the Bush administration.
The American Civil Liberties Union
renews its call for Attorney General Holder to appoint an independent
prosecutor who will be impartial and free from political influence.
The following can be attributed to Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU:
"It is encouraging to hear the
attorney general state that the Justice Department will fulfill its
most basic mandate of enforcing the law. Torture is a crime, and the
Justice Department is the right place to initiate an independent
top-to-bottom investigation of it.
"To fulfill the Department's
essential role as enforcer of the nation's laws, Attorney General
Holder is compelled by his oath of office to initiate investigations of
those who authorized, legally sanctioned and carried out unlawful acts
of torture that have been a stain on our nation's name and its
commitment to human rights and the rule of law."
Information on the torture memos
recently released through the ACLU's Freedom of Information Act lawsuit
and on the ACLU's work to fight torture can be found online at: www.aclu.org/olcmemos
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
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Mar 02, 2026
President Donald Trump's unprovoked, unconstitutional, and politically unpopular war against Iran is about to cause pains for Americans at the gas pump.
CNBC reported on Monday that Brent crude oil prices surged by 9.3% to a 52-week high of $79.40 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices spike by 9% to $73.10 per barrel.
This spike in oil prices is projected to directly lead to an increase in gas prices in the coming days.
Petroleum industry analyst Patrick De Haan noted in a Monday update on his Substack page that gas prices in the US had already risen by roughly six cents in the last week, and that war with Iran would drive these prices higher.
"Developments surrounding Iran—particularly any threat to regional production or shipping flows—are likely to remain the dominant driver of oil prices," wrote De Haan, "and could keep crude elevated or push it higher if tensions intensify further."
A Sunday research note from Wells Fargo cited by CNBC drew attention to the importance of the Strait of Hormuz, which the Iranian government closed off over the week and which is used to transport roughly 20% of the global supplies of petroleum and liquified natural gas.
According to Wells Fargo, a "prolonged" closure of the strait would result in "an oil shock to $100+ per barrel," which it described as the "worst-case scenario" for global stock markets.
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According to a report from Bloomberg, Saudi Arabia’s largest oil refinery at Ras Tanura had to cease operations on Monday after being struck in a drone attack.
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Trump's justification for launching the war has shifted wildly since he began amassing troops in the region. Trump has most recently said the strikes were intended to stop an "imminent threat" from Iran; meanwhile, the Pentagon has told Congress there was no sign Iran was planning an attack unless the US did so first.
The president previously said his push for war was to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, an assertion at odds with his claim that his strikes in June "obliterated" the country's nuclear capabilities.
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But American presidents cannot simply do whatever they want. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll out Sunday, less than 25% support the president's aggression against Iran. In the first wave of the US military attack, an Iranian school for girls was bombed, killing over 108 civilians, mostly children.
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