Eric Holder Declares Rule of Law Back in Force at Justice
From remarks the Attorney General gave today at the Jewish Council for Public Affairs:
… There is no reason we cannot wage an effective fight against those who have sworn to harm us while we respect our most honored constitutional traditions. We can never put the welfare of the American people at risk but we can also never choose actions that we know will weaken the legal and moral fiber of our nation.
The rule of law is not, as some have seen it, an obstacle to be overcome, but the very foundation of our nation. It is the rule of law that has held us together despite our differences, while other nations have faltered, and it is the rule of law that has made the United States a beacon to the world, a nation that others aspire to emulate. …
… While many practices will be subject to review under these executive orders, one in particular will not. As I unequivocally stated in my confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate, waterboarding is torture. My Justice Department will not justify it, rationalize it, or condone it. The sanction of torture is at odds with the history of American jurisprudence and American principles. It undermines our ability to pursue justice fairly, and it puts our own brave soldiers in peril should they ever be captured on a foreign battlefield. …
Obama Transparency Train Makes a Stop at Justice Dept.
Several Bush/Cheney Memos Secret Memos Not Secret Any Longer
If there’s one thing the Bush/Cheney Administration loved, it was secrecy. They would say the president had the power to authorize things like shipping enemy combatants to other countries to be softened up, write a memo or legal opinion, then lock it away. Today, several of these memos were released by the U.S. Dept. of Justice after years of being locked in someone’s safe there.
Now, these legal opinions may see the light of day where scholars and the public can judge their merits.
Why should you care? Because we elect presidents to exercise their power within the bounds of the Constitution, existing laws and treaty obligations. This is the rule of law. We deserve to know whether or not the law is being observed or bent to the will of maniacs like DICK Cheney and David Addington.
Full Text: U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Remarks on Black History Month, ‘Nation of Cowards’
(Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice)
As Prepared for Delivery – February 18, 2009
Every year, in February, we attempt to recognize and to appreciate black history. It is a worthwhile endeavor for the contributions of African Americans to this great nation are numerous and significant. Even as we fight a war against terrorism, deal with the reality of electing an African American as our President for the first time and deal with the other significant issues of the day, the need to confront our racial past, and our racial present, and to understand the history of African people in this country, endures. One cannot truly understand America without understanding the historical experience of black people in this nation. Simply put, to get to the heart of this country one must examine its racial soul.
Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards. Though race related issues continue to occupy a significant portion of our political discussion, and though there remain many unresolved racial issues in this nation, we, average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race. It is an issue we have never been at ease with and given our nation’s history this is in some ways understandable. And yet, if we are to make progress in this area we must feel comfortable enough with one another, and tolerant enough of each other, to have frank conversations about the racial matters that continue to divide us. But we must do more- and we in this room bear a special responsibility. Through its work and through its example this Department of Justice, as long as I am here, must – and will – lead the nation to the “new birth of freedom” so long ago promised by our greatest President. This is our duty and our solemn obligation.
