March, 07 2010, 07:20am EDT
ACLU New York Times Ad Today Calls On President Obama Not to Back Down on 9/11 Civilian Trials
Group Makes Same Plea in Letter to President
NEW YORK
The American Civil Liberties Union today published a full-page ad in
the New York Times calling on President Obama not to back down from his
administration's decision to prosecute the 9/11 suspects in civilian
courts. The ad comes in response to news reports that the Obama
administration is on the verge of reversing Attorney General Eric
Holder's November decision, turning instead to the discredited military
commission system.
The ad features a picture of President Obama morphing into a picture of former President Bush.
The following can be attributed to Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU:
"We placed this ad because it's critical that Americans know what is at
stake here: nothing less than America's commitment to the Constitution
and the rule of law. The military commissions are seriously flawed and
unprepared to handle these complex cases. If President Obama reverses
his attorney general's principled decision under political pressure, it
will strike a devastating blow to American values and do serious damage
to our nation's credibility. We urge the president to do the right
thing and keep these cases in federal court, where they belong."
The ACLU also sent a letter to President Obama urging him to keep the
9/11 trials in civilian court and detailing the problems of the
military commission system and its inability to provide fair, effective
trials in these cases. The letter, signed by Romero, states:
"I
believe that you will face few, if any, greater challenges to who we
are as a nation and to our commitment to the rule of law than this
question of sustaining the Attorney General's principled decision to
use federal criminal courts for these trials... The trials of the
defendants alleged to have had roles in the September 11 attacks are
the most important terrorism trials - and arguably the most important
criminal trials - in the entire history of the nation. It would be a
colossal mistake to reverse the administration's decision to try these
defendants in federal criminal court and again relegate these landmark
trials to irretrievably defective military commissions."
The full letter can be found at: www.aclu.org/national-security/aclu-letter-president-obama-regarding-federal-criminal-trials-911-defendants
The ACLU New York Times ad is available online at: www.aclu.org/aclu-ad-what-will-it-be-mr-president
The full text of the ad reads:
What will it be Mr. President?
Change or more of the Same?
Candidate
Barack Obama vowed to change the Bush-Cheney policies and restore
America's values of justice and due process. Many of us are shocked and
concerned that right now, President Obama is considering reversing his
attorney general's decision to try the 9/11 defendants in criminal
court. Our criminal justice system has successfully handled over 300
terrorism cases compared to only 3 in the military commissions. Our
criminal justice system will resolve these cases more quickly and more
credibly than the military commissions.
President Obama can vigorously prosecute terrorists and keep us safe without violating our Constitution.
As president, Barack Obama must decide whether he will keep his solemn
promise to restore our Constitution and due process, or ignore his vow
and continue the Bush-Cheney policies.
Tell President Obama not to back down on his commitment to our justice
system, and to try the 9/11 defendants in criminal court.
Remind the world that America stands for due process, justice, and the rule of law.
More information about the ACLU's call to use civilian trials to try the 9/11 suspects is available online here: www.aclu.org/national-security/obama-administration-verge-reversing-decision-911-prosecutions
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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Critics Blast 'Reckless and Impossible' Bid to Start Operating Mountain Valley Pipeline
"The time to build more dirty and dangerous pipelines is over," said one environmental campaigner.
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Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC sent a letter Monday to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Acting Secretary Debbie-Anne Reese seeking final permission to begin operation on the MVP next month, even while acknowledging that much of the Virginia portion of the pipeline route remains unfinished and developers have yet to fully comply with safety requirements.
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U.S. workers' rights advocates and groups celebrated on Tuesday after the Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 along party lines to approve a ban on most noncompete clauses, which Democratic FTC Chair Lina Khansaid "keep wages low, suppress new ideas, and rob the American economy of dynamism."
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As Economic Policy Institute (EPI) president Heidi Shierholz explained, "Noncompete agreements are employment provisions that ban workers at one company from working for, or starting, a competing business within a certain period of time after leaving a job."
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Already, the tax services and software provider Ryan has filed a legal challenge in federal court in Texas, arguing that the FTC is unconstitutionally structured.
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Demand Progress' Emily Peterson-Cassin similarly commended the commission "for taking a strong stance against this egregious use of corporate power, thereby empowering workers to switch jobs and launch new ventures, and unlocking billions of dollars in worker earnings."
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One plaintiffs' attorney said the ruling "makes our democracy better and ensures that North Carolina is not able to unjustly criminalize innocent individuals with felony convictions who are valued members of our society."
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Democracy defenders on Tuesday hailed a ruling from a U.S. federal judge striking down a 19th-century North Carolina law criminalizing people who vote while on parole, probation, or post-release supervision due to a felony conviction.
In Monday's decision, U.S. District Judge Loretta C. Biggs—an appointee of former Democratic President Barack Obama—sided with the North Carolina A. Philip Randolph Institute and Action NC, who argued that the 1877 law discriminated against Black people.
"The challenged statute was enacted with discriminatory intent, has not been cleansed of its discriminatory taint, and continues to disproportionately impact Black voters," Biggs wrote in her 25-page ruling.
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As similar battles play out in other states, Democratic U.S. lawmakers led by Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont in December introduced legislation to end former felon disenfranchisement in federal elections and guarantee incarcerated people the right to vote.
Currently, only Maine, Vermont, and the District of Columbia allow all incarcerated people to vote behind bars.
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