Cheney Aide Addington to be Subpoenaed in Probe of Interrogation Practices

By Jeralyn, Section Terror Detainees
Posted on Tue May 06, 2008 at 10:09:45 AM EST
Tags: detainees, interrogation practices, Abu Ghraib (all tags)

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The House Judiciary Committee today voted to subpoena Dick Cheney aide David Addington in its probe into the Bush Adminstration's interrogation practices.

Addington refused to testify without a subpoena. John Yoo has agreed to testify without a subpoena.

Former Attorney General John Ashcroft, former Under Secretary of Defense Douglas Feith, and former Assistant Attorney General Daniel Levin have also agreed to give testimony at a future hearing. Former CIA Director George Tenet is still in negotiations with the committee, according to House Judiciary Committee spokeswoman Melanie Roussell.

The Judiciary Committee hearings are meant to determine what role administration lawyers played in creating and approving interrogation procedures that went far beyond those traditionally used by U.S. forces, and whether any of them violated their legal or ethical obligations, said Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich.

In related news, the Center for Constitutional Rights has filed a new lawsuit alleging torture at Abu Ghraib by military contractors. [More...]

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Emad Al-Janabi, a 43-year-old Iraqi blacksmith, who alleges that he was beaten and forced from his home by people in U.S. military uniforms and civilian clothing in September 2003. He was released from Abu Ghraib without charge in July 2004.

The defendants are CACI International Inc. (NYSE: CAI) and CACI Premier Technology, Inc., of Arlington, Va.; L-3 Communications Titan Corporation (NYSE: LLL), of San Diego, Calif.; and former CACI contractor Steven Stefanowicz, a Los Angeles resident known at Abu Ghraib as “Big Steve.”

The complaint is here (pdf.)

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Cheney Aide Addington to be Subpoenaed in Probe of Interrogation Practices | 12 comments (12 topical)

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And they better make these two (5.00 / 1) (#10)
by kredwyn on Tue May 06, 2008 at 11:14:04 AM EST

take oaths.

What's sad and scary (none / 0) (#1)
by Danbury on Tue May 06, 2008 at 10:17:20 AM EST

is that, whenever I read this sort of thing, I yawn and think, "Next!"

Yesterday I received an email from a friend that is a petition drive by John Kerry to get an investigation going into the Pentagon's propaganda program of sending out ex military brass to spout the admin's lies for them. Again, I though, "Yeah, right." (Btw, did Kerry every follow through on that Swifties challenge over his Vietnam record? Nope.).

I've not seen any teeth from Congress in actually doing something about this lawless, reckless, and destructive administration, only tough, but meaningless talk.

How unfortunate that both Congress and this admin. have bred so much cynicism!

It's because (none / 0) (#3)
by madamab on Tue May 06, 2008 at 10:24:46 AM EST

on Day 1, Cheney and Rove went after the Justice Department. David Addington was one of the prime offenders. It was completely deliberate because the Terrible Twosome knew that what they wanted to do to America was completely illegal and that they would need a firewall to prevent them from suffering the consequences of their criminality.

These subpoenas have no teeth because the DOJ won't enforce them.

The situation is unheard of in modern times. To have an Executive that is completely unaccountable to either the Legislative or Judicial branches is a total nightmare.

The true remedy would be impeachment, but Pelosi & Co. won't do it. That is the great failure of the 110th Congress, IMHO, because they know very well that nothing can be changed without removing Bush and Cheney from office.


: I've felt all along... (5.00 / 2) (#5)
by Danbury on Tue May 06, 2008 at 10:31:12 AM EST

that the first step in restoring this country's reputation is to remove Bush and Cheney from power, thereby showing the world that we acknowledge the error of our ways and mean business when we say we want to amend it.
Bush has done this country one huge service, though: he's shown us how quickly and easily this country can be destroyed from within.
I'm not convinced we've learned the lesson.

I all the hoopla (none / 0) (#2)
by Lil on Tue May 06, 2008 at 10:23:08 AM EST

regarding this campaign, we should never forget how corrupt this Bush administartion has been. The only good thing that came out of it was activating more of us to pay attention and do something.

: Amen to that! (none / 0) (#4)
by madamab on Tue May 06, 2008 at 10:25:57 AM EST

I hope Emad... (none / 0) (#6)
by kdog on Tue May 06, 2008 at 10:32:08 AM EST

takes the US govt. to the cleaners. For once, our tax dollars wouldn't be wasted, they would be used to make a little right out of a great wrong.

Only slightly off topic . . . (none / 0) (#7)
by wurman on Tue May 06, 2008 at 10:40:59 AM EST

I would like some enterprising journalist to ask Sen. Clinton & Sen. Obama how soon after the swearing-in ceremony either of them intends to arrest, imprison & charge Bu$h xliii, Buckshot Cheney, Rummy & the next 150 or so down the chain of command for violations of the Geneva accords, war crimes & crimes against humanity.

And I also wonder if the pretendisent will pardon all on the way out the door, including himself.

: I'd love to hear them... (none / 0) (#8)
by kdog on Tue May 06, 2008 at 10:52:30 AM EST

dodge that question too.
Arrest Bush and the crew? No way, they're on the same team...

Problem with any investigation that may (none / 0) (#9)
by Florida Resident on Tue May 06, 2008 at 11:13:14 AM EST

lead to Cheney and above is, that this is being conducted by the same people who said that things such as impeachment were off the table even before they were elected to the majority.

Fascists cant help it: (none / 0) (#11)
by jondee on Tue May 06, 2008 at 11:34:32 AM EST

They tend to see the world as only offering up a choice between their way of being and the terrifying prospect of utter chaos.

Which isnt to say we shouldnt be protected from them.

As an Aside on the Lawsuit (none / 0) (#12)
by The Maven on Tue May 06, 2008 at 11:40:28 AM EST

I'm not sure why this new lawsuit was filed in the Central District of California, considering that two other suits have been proceeding largely in tandem at the D.C. District Court for several years now (Ibrahim v. CACI and Saleh v. CACI, docket nos. 04-1248 and 05-1165, respectively), and CCR, Burke O'Neill and Akeel & Valentine are counsel in one of them. All the claims against Titan/L-3 Communications were dismissed by Judge James Robertson last November, principally on the government contractor defense. Both cases now have multiple appeals before the D.C. Circuit Court.

But it seems as though one of the first things the defendants will do here is ask that the case be transferred to D.C. and then that all relevant rulings from Ibrahim and Saleh be applied to the newly filed matter. At least, that's how it looks to me.