Conyers Invites Ashcroft, Tenet, Feith, and Addington for Hearing on Use of Torture

[babylonsister]

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/04/conyers_invites_ashcroft_tenet.php

Conyers Invites Ashcroft, Tenet, Feith, and Addington for Hearing on Use of Torture
By Paul Kiel - April 11, 2008, 2:56PM


It would be quite a party.

Earlier this week, House Judiciary Committee Chair John Conyers (D-MI) invited John Yoo to testify before the committee on May 6th about the infamous legal memos on torture that he issued while with the Department of Justice. If Yoo did not want to appear, Conyers wrote, then the panel would subpoena him.

Now Conyers, following up on the reports in the last couple of weeks about the role of top administration officials in authorizing the use of "enhanced interrogation" techniques including waterboarding, has invited a slew of current and former officials to testify at the hearing. Among those invited are former Attorney General John Ashcroft, former CIA Director George Tenet, former Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith, Chief of Staff to the Vice President David Addington, and former Assistant Attorney General Daniel Levin, who headed up the Office of Legal Counsel for a brief time.

Says Conyers: “New and troubling allegations suggest that the decisions on torture came from the highest levels of government. These reports, if true, represent a stain on our democracy. The American people deserve to hear directly from those involved.”

Of course, you can be sure that the White House, the most ardent defender of executive privilege in our lifetime, would never, ever allow Addington, the great prophet of executive privilege, to testify under any circumstances. And it also seems unlikely that any members of the National Security Council's Principals Committee (Tenet and Ashcroft) will testify about content of those meetings. But it's worth a shot.

[Subdivisions]

1. Whoop-ty fucking doo-doo...n/t

[LSK]

3. are you kidding me?

:shrug:

[Subdivisions]

4. NO I AM NOT KIDDING YOU! What the hell has a subpoena

or a Congressional hearing accomplished so far?

WELL??? TELL ME, LSK!!!

[Subdivisions]

6. WELL???????? That's what I thought. You got nothin'.

[LSK]

14. now your just being a total asshole arn't you?

Excuse me for going to another thread for a few minutes.

[Subdivisions]

18. Don't turn your smartass bullshit

:shrug: on me! You're the one that jacked my comment!

[LSK]

19. after 3 minutes

"WELL???????? That's what I thought. You got nothin'."

How do you explain this response???

[Subdivisions]

22. You jacked my comment within 30 seconds of me posting it. n/t

[LSK]

23. 4 and a half years on DU and this is the 1st time I knew we had time rules

Why didn't I know about this sooner?

[Subdivisions]

26. I don't give a fuck how long you've been on DU. Don't jack

my comments unless you have something to back it up.

My apologies to you and to DU that you had to be rude and that I lost my cool. I am sick and tired of being attacked and seeing the venom on this board amongst people who are supposed to be working together, not tearing each other down.

[LSK]

29. the prospect of the people behind the torture memos being grilled is exciting to me

And your reaction to such news was "Whoop-ty fucking doo-doo". How am I supposed to react?

Is this not something that we should all want? What exactly are we working together to do? Not get these people under oath somewhere?

Yes Conyers "invited" them but then it says that he will subpeona them if they do not appear. I am sorry the process is slow and Conyers appears too drag his feet, but its not my fault.

Also you don't know how the next administration will use what is revealed in these hearings.

[Subdivisions]

31. Look, nothing would please me more than to see those assholes

drawn and quartered on The Mall. And I agree that seeing them being grilled by Congress would excite me into a paralyzed state. But this is a lilly-livered, do-nothing, scared little child of a congress run and extorted by a criminal regime they cower down to.

I've been around here long enough that you should know me by now. You are no dummy and you know for a goddamned fact what the OP says doesn't mean jack-shit. (BTW, thank you babylonsister). You've been around long enough to difine the context of "Whoop-ty doo-doo!" It was dubious sarcasm.

For the reasons I've already explained, your response blew my top. And in the process I found myself doing exactly what's been pissing me off about this place lately. I guess the profuse vitriol on this board is contageous. So, again, I apologize to you and to DU.

And thank you for toning it down so that we can have a reasonable conversation. I have no other issue with you and have always generally agreed with you and I'd always rather be friends than harbor a grudge.

[LSK]

33. cool, no hard feelings

[LSK]

7. is Gonzo still AG????

:shrug:

[Subdivisions]

11. IS THAT ALL YOU FUCKING GOT????

[LSK]

17. no, i got that your a total asshole who likes the capslock

[EFerrari]

10. I'm afraid I agree with you. n/t

[SammyWinstonJack]

16. Are you kidding? Seriously?

[Subdivisions]

21. No, I am NOT KIDDING! I'll ask it again

What has any Congressional "invitation" accomplished so far?


ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

[LSK]

24. so Congress should NOT have hearings anymore???

Ask no questions anymore???

[driver8]

27. They can ask all of the questions that they want. But who are they going to

ask these questions of when everyone ignores their "invites"?

No one is held accountable for anything -- these subpoenas don't seem to frighten anyone into showing up.

[Subdivisions]

28. Will any of those people show up? Just like Miers and Bolton,

they ignore the subpoenas and they'll receive a sternly-worded letter from Conyers and then all will be forgotten.

[LSK]

30. I thought Congress filed Contempt charges against them

Just because THIS Justice Department does not act on it, does not mean that the NEXT one will not prosecute them.

You dont make their job easier by not asking questions.

They want Congress to just go away, it makes their life easier.

[driver8]

25. I think I've got to go with Texas Explorer on this one...

How many people have been "invited" to appear, and how many have shown up?

This is more of the same. This administration does whatever it wants, when it wants, and where it wants.

An invitation from Conyers doesn't mean shit.

[LSK]

2. I can see Ashcroft going on his own, the others are probably headed for Central America

[bdamomma]

5. he invites them oh, how nice.

subpoena their a$$es. again, these thugs will ignore any request that calls them forward to be accountable.

Conyers can you be more forceful sir??? these thugs are just using and laughing at Conyers. Call inherent contempt of Congress will you please lock them up!!!!!!!!!!!

hey I just heard an idea from a caller on Thom Hartman, pool all of those checks that will coming in mail in May, and let the people appoint their own special prosecutor someone like Fitz, could it be done???

[orleans]

9. that's what i was thinking. he "invites" them? (kill me!) n/t

[L. Coyote]

8. Is this the public preface for IMPEACHMENT? One way around Executive Privilege.

What info has the committee seen that we have not?

[SammyWinstonJack]

12. "Invites"? ROFL! Way to "get" tough on these torturemongers! This will show 'em!

:silly: :argh: What is the farking point, anymore? :banghead:

[bobthedrummer]

13. In the meantime, Chairman Conyers, proceed posthaste with Richard Bruce Cheney's

IMPEACHMENT that's been sitting in your House Judiciary Committee!!!

[navarth]

15. Invites, heh? That drives me fucking nuts

Send some sergeants-at-arms to carry those assholes to the committee and force them to talk under threat of contempt of congress.

This story give ME contempt of congress.

C'mon John, what the fuck. Inviting? Shit.

[warren pease]

20. You send out invitations to weddings and funerals...

You send out subpoenas to criminals.

And if they blow subpoenas off, then you charge them with inherent contempt, drag their asses out of their homes or offices in handcuffs, put them in that basement holding cell underneath the capitol building and bring them up to testify under oath when the committee's good and ready.

Meanwhile, how's those invitations to Rove and Meirs working out so far?

I feel another strongly worded letter coming up, filled with words like "disappointing" and "unfortunate." That'll definitely scare the shit out of the Bushies.


wp

[UTUSN]

32. K&R #5 for biggest HAH!1 of the day. Did he enclose R.S.V.P.s?!1 n/t

[thereismore]

34. Well we know what is going to happen. Is he going to subpoena them? nt

[laststeamtrain]

35. What? Is he pretending again? The guy's got no follow through. Does he need more money?

I think he just likes the 'congressional' lifestyle.

Conyers has been a major disappointment.

[slipslidingaway]

36. Called yesterday and emailed this to Conyers today...

President Bush called on all nations to investigate and prosecute all acts of torture. Our nation should not be excluded and Congress should be investigating this issue, and a host of others as well, if not then every member of Congress is complicit and has condoned the acts of this administration including launching an agressive war. Is there any reason to keep the Democrats in power in the Congress if all they do is have hearings and issue stern warnings that are not acted upon. All talk and no action while the reputation of our country sinks because elected officials are too concerned with the next election. What a sad message from the Democrats.

:(

[L. Coyote]

37. K & R & Impeach two too. Ya gotta luv the Oversight Age.

Remember when Rs controlled the Committees! only shouts resounded where today it snows subpoeneas.

[Disturbed]

38. Conyers invites the Torture supporters.

They "respectfully" decline the invitation. End of story.

[tavalon]

39. We don't need invitations, we need enforceable subpeonas