Congress Must Appoint Special Prosecutor On White House Torture
On Friday, hoping that the story would die away with the distractions of a warm and sunny springtime weekend, George W. Bush admitted that he approved the use of torture techniques such as waterboarding.
That action was a blatant violation of the War Crimes Act, the Geneva Conventions, the Anti-Torture Act and other federal laws. It was a war crime. It is was a high crime.
Over the weekend, calls for a special prosecutor have increased. A special prosecutor would investigate top White House officials, including President Bush, to determine the facts about their role in the organization and implementation of torture. The prosecutor would have the power to demand information and issue subpoenas for White House officials, including the President, to testify under oath. If the White House obstructed the investigation, that in itself would be grounds for impeachment and charges of contempt of Congress.
The Seattle Post Intelligencer joined the call for the appointment of a special prosecutor by Congress over the weekend, saying, “Congress cannot look the other way; it must demand an independent investigation and independent prosecutor.”
Unfortunately, the Seattle PI is wrong. Congress has proven that it is all too adept in looking the other way.
