Report May Indicate Ethical Violations by Bush Lawyers
The OLC served as a linchpin of the Bush administration’s strategy of relying on faulty legal justifications to rationalize its policy of official cruelty and to circumvent the law on humane treatment. The memos made unprecedented legal claims, ignored highly relevant case law, and
reached clearly erroneous conclusions, including that the President is not necessarily bound by statutes prohibiting torture. To prevent future abuse and to restore the proper role of the OLC in providing accurate and principled legal advice, it is imperative that the public be made fully aware of how brutal conduct came to be authorized. The American people have a right to know how the U.S. Justice Department came to issue legal opinions approving acts of cruelty that shocked the world, damaged U.S. moral authority and harmed efforts to combat terrorism effectively.
OPR began its review of this matter over four years ago. The completion of its final report is long overdue. Requests for release of the OPR report have been met with excessive delay and insufficient explanations. We urge you to release the OPR report now and send a clear message that transparency in government and adherence to the law are core American values as well as key assets to U.S. national security.
Sincerely,
American Civil Liberties Union
Amnesty International, USA
Brennan Center for Justice
Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for the Study of Human Rights in the Americas
Human Rights First
Human Rights Watch
International Center for Transitional Justice
International Justice Network
National Religious Campaign Against Torture
Open Society Institute
Physicians for Human Rights
Rutherford Institute
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