I post this in the BooMan spirit of speaking up for the right actions. Ask Bush to resign. Even if he doesn’t, you’ve put it out there. Tell Rumsfeld he’s going to be before the docket in the D.C. federal court. Even if this suit lapses for whatever reason, it’s out there:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 22, 2005
WASHINGTON — A lawsuit that seeks to hold Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and others directly responsible for the abuse and torture of detainees in U.S. military custody will be heard in a federal court in the District of Columbia, a seven-judge panel ruled yesterday. The lawsuit, which was the first to name Secretary Rumsfeld in the ongoing torture scandal in Afghanistan and Iraq, was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights First on behalf of eight Afghan and Iraqi men who were tortured while they were held in U.S. detention facilities. …
More below … and LOOK at the list of co-counsel in the suit!
“This brings us one step closer to proving in court that the legal responsibility for the systemic abuse and torture of detainees in U.S. custody in Iraq and Afghanistan lies at the top of the chain of command and not at the bottom,” said Lucas Guttentag, lead counsel in the lawsuit and director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project.
In transferring the case to the federal court in the District of Columbia, the seven-judge panel, known as the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, consolidated for pretrial proceedings the suit against Secretary Rumsfeld with three separate complaints filed by the ACLU against Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinsky, and Col. Thomas Pappas. The decision to transfer the case to the District of Columbia was opposed by government lawyers representing the senior military commanders who argued that the cases should be heard in the Eastern District of Virginia.
“We welcome this decision and hope that we are closer to having a federal court reverse policy decisions that have led to torture and abuse,” said Michael Posner, Executive Director of Human Rights First.
The case will be heard by Chief Judge Thomas F. Hogan.
The groups are joined as co-counsel in the lawsuit by Rear Admiral John D. Hutson (Ret. USN), former Judge Advocate General of the Navy; Brigadier General James Cullen (Ret. USA), former Chief Judge (IMA) of the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals; and Bill Lann Lee, Chair of the Human Rights Practice Group at Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP and former Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Department of Justice. Admiral Hutson and General Cullen are “of counsel” to Human Rights First.
More information on the lawsuit is available on line at www.aclu.org/rumsfeld or www.humanrightsfirst.org.
…the VERY least, I hope this will give Rumsfeld the nightmares he deserves! At best, frog-marched in handcuffs to the prison van would work for me.
One can only pray this gets the media attention it deserves. Love the list of co-council.
…consolidated for pretrial proceedings…three separate complaints filed by the ACLU
Previous press releases covered the suit and legal team [5 March ’05]. All court docs are on the ACLU site here.
out there. Slowly but surely I regain but a glimmer of hope!
It is good to see military officers standing up for the integrity of the troops. Too many high level asshats are destroying the military…starting at W and Rumsfeld.
RWCM will probably not cover this….
There are a lot of people in the military who get lumped into this crap, like there are many in America, who, internationally, get lumped into being “American”, like its something bad. As the military regains their voices of reason, we do the same. It is up to us to rebuild the house Bush et al burned.
This week between the DSM focus, Bush’s sinking poll numbers on the war and economy, and now this- a lawsuit in federal court against Rumsfeld and others engaged in the torture and abuse of detainees.
It feels like a Christmas box sent but never delivered, was found and delivered to my door today. It’s late but look at the wonderful gifts!
Thanks, Susan for posting this. I plan to track this via the web sites you provided!
Mark Morford went on a fine rant this morning which touches on the stuff of BooMan’s excellent impeachment piece yesterday, the DSM, and the issues encompassed in this lawsuit, ending it this way:
This lawsuit is great news — I am so hopeful that the steady piling-on of these kinds of stories is ultimately going to bury them.
just keep throwing so much at them, they don’t have time to react to an allegation before a dozen more are piled up outside the White House gates.
The difference is these serious allegations have evidence, fact, and law to back them up, as opposed to a Swift Boat liar type of smear campaign.
We have no end of ammunition due to the corruption and arrogance of this administration.
The biggest stumbling block to this court case is the press..if they don’t cover it will anyone know?
Seems this is another ‘job’ for the Internet to make sure this case is keep alive until it reaches critical mass like the DSM are starting to do.
The list of co-counsel seems especially impressive and will help negate or should many of the wingers who will be screaming about the ACLU-as they always do. Trying to make the whole thing about the ACLU and deflecting what the case is really about and no doubt what might be unearthed or come out of this trial.
And I’m starting to feel just a slight glimmer of hope that this regime might be brought down.
he gets convicted, he can hide out at Gitmo for the remainder of his life. After all it’s outside of US jurisdiction. I’m sure he’ll enjoy the tasty meals they have to offer.
Wow. That transfer ruling by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation means that any appeal of pre-trial proceedings will be to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, and not to the uber-conservative, 4th Circuit (as it would have been if it had been transferred to Virginia). IMHO, this choice of transfer court by the JPML is significant. However, I have no knowledge of the DC Circuit, or of Judge Hogan.