Will we ever know the extent of what Dick Cheney was up to?
Over the weekend, news surfaced that the former vice president ordered the CIA to withhold information from Congress about a secret spying program. This came in the wake of a report Friday that showed the Bush Administration ran an "unprecedented" surveillance system that went far beyond warrantless wiretapping.
These are just more examples of the Bush Administration's disrespect for the checks and balances established by our Constitution and for the rule of law. We cannot and will not turn a blind eye to these transgressions.
Urge Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Bush Administration abuses of power!
The special prosecutor must be given a wide mandate, given the extraordinary number of allegations that have surfaced over the past few years. In addition to these most recent claims of secret CIA dealings, the prosecutor must have authority to look into questions around
* Torture and "enhanced interrogation" tactics
* Warrantless wiretapping and additional surveillance systems
* The politicization of the Bush Justice Department
* Abuse of executive privilege and signing statements
* Any other abuses of power that come to light in the course of the investigation
The Attorney General has indicated that he's willing to appoint a prosecutor to investigate a narrow set of issues related to torture.
That's not good enough.
It is critical that this prosecutor have a wide berth to investigate the totality of alleged abuses of power by the past Administration. Continued secrecy and indifference to prior misconduct will do lasting damage to the very fabric of our democracy.
Now is the time. We cannot wait for another news story about another transgression by Cheney or other former officials.
Urge Attorney General Holder to appoint a special prosecutor on Bush Administration abuses of power immediately.
Thanks for all you do.
Sincerely,
Bob Edgar
and the rest of the team at Common Cause
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