Bradley Manning: top US legal scholars voice outrage at 'torture'

[The Northerner]

Obama professor among 250 experts who have signed letter condemning humiliation of alleged WikiLeaks source

More than 250 of America's most eminent legal scholars have signed a letter protesting against the treatment in military prison of the alleged WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning, contesting that his "degrading and inhumane conditions" are illegal, unconstitutional and could even amount to torture.

The list of signatories includes Laurence Tribe, a Harvard professor who is considered to be America's foremost liberal authority on constitutional law. He taught constitutional law to Barack Obama and was a key backer of his 2008 presidential campaign.

Tribe joined the Obama administration last year as a legal adviser in the justice department, a post he held until three months ago.

He told the Guardian he signed the letter because Manning appeared to have been treated in a way that "is not only shameful but unconstitutional" as he awaits court martial in Quantico marine base in Virginia.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/10/bradley-manning-legal-scholars-letter

[upi402]

1. Saw that on Salon this AM

kick and rec!
:patriot:

[Smarmie Doofus]

2. It's OK. "He's got this." He asked the Pentagon and they told...

...him everything's ok.

[Bluebear]

5. He's got it alright.

[gratuitous]

3. Oh, who's gonna listen to a bunch of dirty fuckin' hippies, anyway?

If Laurence Tribe was any kind of legal "scholar" he'd be on the Supreme Court with Antonin Scalia or Clarence Thomas. At least, he'd have been appointed Attorney General, like Alberto Gonzalez. He hasn't even been an Assistant Attorney General, like John Yoo. So what could HE know?

For those who don't know, Laurence Tribe is one of the really good guys, a lawyer's lawyer who has fought the good fight for decades. The above paragraph is meant as satire, and shouldn't be taken seriously.

[jaxx]

4. Looks like a walk back........

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=860721&mesg_id=860722

[chill_wind]

6. It's not a "walkback". Jack Balkin updated the letter shortly after he first posted it.

Within a day or so. It went onto to get many more signatories. I know, because I watched that page every day for days and watched the list grow daily.

He's raising questions, while trying to be fair about what isn't known for fact in lieu of conflcting accusations. That's the point of the letter, it's very clear, and the signatories want answers. The administration could and should respond to this very pointed petition for them. They have yet to do it.