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Re: An open letter to Congressman Ellison about torture
This is a well written letter that highlights the hypocrisy of being against government-sponsored torture when the President is a Republucan, but going silent when a Democrat occupying the White House does everything in his power to obstruct accountability for the top officials who authorized torture.
The fact is that when succeeding Presidents conspire to obstruct prosecution of President-ordered torture, such a crime effectively becomes *legal* if committed by a President. It's not good enough for President Obama to promise that HE will not dirty his hands with torture while he is in office. At best he has put torture in remission for the next President to bring back
Generally, there is a maximum eight year statute of limitations for federal crimes not carrying the death penalty. Legal experts generally agree, however, that the eight-year limitation has not even begun to run when the people who committed the crime -- and their successors -- were in charge of prosecuting the crime they committed and obstructed justice.
Maybe some of the most culpable and higher-ranking former officials who authorized torture will pass away before there is any prosecution for these horrible human rights crimes. Take note: some of those will be around for prosecution 30 or 40 years from now when Dick Cheney and George W. Bush's staunchest supporters are long gone.