Michael Mukasey

John Ashcroft led DOJ when torture memos were penned; important questions remain on torture timeline and role of NSC principals

WASHINGTON, DC, 7/17/2008 – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) calls on former Attorney General John Ashcroft, in today’s House Judiciary hearing, to provide Congress and the American people with answers to questions about when, why and how the use of torture was authorized. Ashcroft presided over the Department of Justice (DOJ) during President Bush’s first term in office, when the legal rationale for using torture and abuse during interrogations of detainees held by the United States was first articulated in a series of legal memos.    » read more »

The court's latest rebuke of Guantanamo Bay won't close the prison down. But it's a step toward curbing Bush's unilateral tactics.

Jun. 13, 2008 | For the third time in four years, the U.S. Supreme Court has slammed the Bush administration's detention policies at Guantánamo Bay – locking up terrorist suspects indefinitely and beyond the law.

Guantanamo protesters, London: Photo by Val Kerry (CC)    » read more »

13 June 2008 -- "The Carter Center and I welcome the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Boumediene v. Bush, restoring the constitutional rights of habeas corpus for Guantanamo detainees. This hallmark decision represents a victory for the rule of law and will improve the United States' image as a champion for human rights and freedom across the world, as well as ensure that individuals in Guantanamo will be afforded an adequate treatment as guaranteed by our nation's Constitution.

It is my hope that this decision will mark an end to an era of indefinite detentions, torture, coerced evidence, and other egregious violations of civil rights in the name of the war on terror, and that compliance with the ruling will be expedited."

Source: The Carter Center

June 12, 2008 -- Chicago, IL - "Today's Supreme Court decision ensures that we can protect our nation and bring terrorists to justice, while also protecting our core values. The Court's decision is a rejection of the Bush Administration's attempt to create a legal black hole at Guantanamo - yet another failed policy supported by John McCain.

Barack Obama mural, Brooklyn: Photo by Shira Golding (CC)    » read more »

June 12, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC— Anthony Coley, spokesman for Senator Edward M. Kennedy, today issued the following statement on the Supreme Court’s decision in Boumediene v. Bush.

“When Congress passed the Military Commissions Act in 2006, Senator Kennedy called the Act ‘fatally flawed’ and said ‘its evisceration of the writ of habeas corpus for all non-citizens is almost surely unconstitutional.’ Today, the Supreme Court agreed, and rejected the Bush Administration’s blatant attempt to create a legal black hole beyond the reach of the rule of law.”    » read more »

June 12, 2008 -- Washington, DC – Former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) issued the following statement today after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Boumediene v. Bush, which held that Guantanamo Bay prisoners have the right to contest their detention in federal courts:

Guantanamo Bay protest outside US Supreme Court: Photo by takomabibelot (CC)

“Today, our nation’s highest court again rejected the Bush Administration’s expansive view of executive power.    » read more »

April 17, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey expressing concern over a statement he made, which appears to be inaccurate, regarding Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) safeguards.

Code Pink protesters: Photo by Talk Radio News Service (CC)

In the letter, Senators Casey and Whitehouse asked Attorney General Mukasey to correct remarks he made on March 27, 2008 in San Francisco, CA that implied that FISA safeguards may have stopped the U.S. government from preventing the 9/11 terrorist attacks.    » read more »

April 14, 2008 -- (Washington, DC)- Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr., and Subcommittee Chairmen Jerrold Nadler (D-NY, Constitution Subcommittee) and Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA, Crime Subcommittee) sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey demanding that he provide answers, not public relations spin, to disturbing revelations about pre-9/11 intelligence failures and subsequent civil liberties abuses.    » read more »

April 10, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement in response to new reports that high-ranking members in the Bush Administration authorized the use of torture in CIA interrogations.

“Today’s press reports bring yet another astonishing disclosure about the Bush administration and its use of torture.

Anti-Bush, anti-torture protester: Photo by jarnocan (CC)    » read more »

Press Reports Signal Department Attorney Fired Unlawfully

WASHINGTON -- April 9, 2008 – Responding to press reports about the dismissal of a Department of Justice attorney, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey asking that he ensure that Department of Justice managers are aware of laws and policies against discrimination and intimidation.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey being sworn in at Senate Judiciary Committee hearing: Photo by Talk Radio News Service (CC)    » read more »

February 28, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. – Today, Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent the following letter to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, informing him of the enclosed referral letter sent to U.S. Attorney of the District of Columbia Jeffrey Taylor on contempt citations of former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten. Taylor is required by law to bring the matter before a grand jury. However, Mukasey has indicated that the Justice Department intends to prevent Taylor from complying with the law.    » read more »

Discuss Cooperative Efforts to Promote the Rule of Law Throughout Iraq

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2008, BAGHDAD — U.S. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey today traveled to Baghdad to meet with Iraqi and U.S. officials involved in ongoing efforts to establish the rule of law in Iraq. In addition to participating in meetings with General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker, the Attorney General met with some of the more than 200 Department of Justice personnel who are currently serving in the U.S. Mission in Iraq.    » read more »

WASHINGTON (Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008) – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who also sits on the panel, sent a letter Thursday urging Attorney General Michael Mukasey to clarify testimony given to the Committee during last week’s Department of Justice oversight hearing. In the letter, they ask the Attorney General to explain the scope of the Department’s investigation into the CIA’s destruction of videotapes showing the use of harsh interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, of al Qaeda terrorist suspects.    » read more »

February 6, 2008 -- Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today asked Attorney General Michael Mukasey whether it is legal for the CIA to rely on contractors in interrogations that involve the use of coercive interrogation techniques.

Senator Feinstein’s letter came one day after CIA Director General Michael Hayden, in response to questions from Senator Feinstein during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, acknowledged for the first time that the CIA sometimes uses contractors in interrogations.    » read more »

07 February 2008 -- Lawmakers pressed the U.S. attorney general on Thursday for more specifics about the legal justifications used by the Bush administration in authorizing the past use of the extreme interrogation technique known as waterboarding. The subject was also a major topic in congressional hearings, and the focus of more questions at a White House briefing, as the debate continues over interrogation techniques.    » read more »