Rep. Baldwin Introduces Bill to Undo and Prosecute Bush-Cheney Crimes

[davidswanson]

Rep. Baldwin Introduces Bill to Undo and Prosecute Bush-Cheney Crimes

Baldwin Calls for Executive Accountability To Reverse Illegal Actions and Prevent Further Abuses

Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin has introduced the Executive Branch Accountability Act of 2008, calling on the next President to reverse the damaging and illegal actions taken by the Bush/Cheney Administration and to collaborate with Congress to proactively prevent any further abuses of executive branch power.

“Over the past several years, serious questions have been raised about the conduct of high ranking Bush/Cheney Administration officials in relation to some of the most basic elements of our democracy: respect for the rule of law, the principle of checks and balances, and the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights,” said Baldwin. “The list of abuses of executive branch power is long, as are the Administration’s attempts to impede congressional oversight.

Indeed, Congress has presented President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and other Bush/Cheney Administration officials with ample opportunities to reverse these abusive actions and restore our democracy. At each step, they have, instead, chosen to show contempt for the Congress and the American public. We must look to the next administration – and the next President – to show leadership in restoring executive branch accountability,” Baldwin said.

The Executive Branch Accountability Act of 2008 calls on the next President of the United States to immediately and publicly reaffirm our nation’s commitment to the rule of law. It specifically directs the next President to:

* Fully investigate Bush/Cheney administration officials’ alleged crimes and hold them accountable for any illegal acts.

* Ensure that any Bush/Cheney administration official guilty of a war crime is prosecuted under the War Crimes Act and the Anti-Torture Act.

* Affirm that it is the sole legal right of Congress to declare war.

* Restore the writ of habeas corpus as an essential principle of our democracy.

* Ensure that torture and rendition are uniformly prohibited under United States law.

* Immediately close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp.

* Ensure that Americans can bring claims against their government.

* Immediately take affirmative steps to protect all documents from the Bush/Cheney Administration and publicly reaffirm that the Office of the Vice President is indeed part of the executive branch.

* Publicly review potential abuses of the presidential pardon process.

* Reform the use of presidential signing statements.

“On January 20, 2009, the next President of the United States will stand before the American people and take an oath of office to ‘…preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.’ Along with this oath, it is my fervent hope that he will take the decisive actions detailed in this legislation to restore our democracy,” said Baldwin.

###

A copy of the Executive Branch Accountability Act of 2008 as introduced is at:
http://afterdowningstreet.org/baldwinbill

[L. Coyote]

1. Affirm that it is the sole legal right of Congress to declare war.

Important. But, we might want to renounce war altogether instead.

[aquart]

2. "Renounce war"?

Only an idiot would do that seriously.

[mike_c]

27. start by renouncing wars of aggression and war as an instrument of foreign policy....

eom

[geckosfeet]

42. I believe the poster meant renounce "preemptive" war as standard policy.

[Vincardog]

22. Affirm that it is the Congress that has the sole legal right to declare war. Congress also has the

power of the purse and OVERSIGHT.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sarcasmo]

4. Kick and Nom.

[Octafish]

5. I'm glad somebody's interested in investigating the crimes and treason of George W Bush.

I like:

“Over the past several years, serious questions have been raised about the conduct of high ranking Bush/Cheney Administration officials in relation to some of the most basic elements of our democracy: respect for the rule of law, the principle of checks and balances, and the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights,” said Baldwin. “The list of abuses of executive branch power is long, as are the Administration’s attempts to impede congressional oversight."

She should have 434 co-signers.

[FLAprogressive]

7. We'd have at least 235 if we didn't have so many sellouts in our party.

DLC
New Democrats
Blue Dogs

Anyone else?

[Fridays Child]

6. I'm going to ask my rep. to co-sponsor this legislation.

k/r

[eowyn_of_rohan]

8. I've never been more proud of my Rep!

Go Tammy!

[Shiver]

37. Hell yeah! Our Rep kicks ass.

I love this woman! If she didn't have my vote already, she would now.

[bobthedrummer]

9. YES! k&r.

:patriot:

[upi402]

10. Need to oust the activist judges that Repukes stuffed into the courts too n/t

[Wizard777]

11. I'm all for it. With reservations about Gitmo.

What will we do with POW's in the war on terrorism? The existance of Gitmo maybe one of the few things we are doing right. Not the way it's being run. Gitmo is basically a POW camp. We cannot take these POW's and hold them in prisons. That's a violation of the Geneva Convention. If we close Gitmo. What do we do with the POW's?

[mmonk]

13. Gitmo right?

Hundreds have been held there that are not terrorists. It's an evil that needs to be shut down. Only tyrants create prisons outside the rule of law, not free countries or democracies. Release those not engaged in hostilities and transfer the POW's. It can be done. We have fought wars without illegal prisons before.

[Wizard777]

26. That all has to with the way it's being run. I agree whole heartedly it's criminal.

Gitmo is not outside of American law. They're being held in a country that's neutral to our war with Al Qaida. That is provided for in the Geneva Convention also. Tranfer the POW's to where? Gitmo is not a prison. It's a prison camp. There is a difference. After sending 8 years bitching about everylast violation of the GC. We can't do it ourselves. Also Gitmo like Abu Ghraib is a crime scene that we cannot allow to be destroyed.

[chknltl]

20. WHO Told us that there are 'terrorists' held in Gitmo as POWs?

Was it the same crowd that tells us tax breaks for the wealthy corporatists would be good for our economy?
Was it the same crowd that has been shredding our Constitution?
Was it the same crowd who believes itself above the very laws of our land?
Was it the same crowd who stole not just one but two presidential elections and is trying to steal another?
Was it the same crowd who would have us believe that global warming is a myth?
Was it the same crowd who told us to be worried about Saddam Hussein's WMDs????
Was it the same crowd that has mismanaged the supposed war on terrorism?
Was it the same crowd who led us off to a fiasco war in order to steal another country's oil and pass that resource out to it's big oil friends?
Was it the same crowd who has cost Iraq over a million dead citizens and 2 million refugees in their quest for that oil?

You ask: "What will we do with POW's in the war on terrorism?" Which court of law ANYWHERE has tried these souls and found them guilty of the crime of committing terrorism? Your answer as to what to do with these 'POW's STARTS when you stop believing them to be terrorists. They are human beings, innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Before you even try to rebuff this because you want to say that these souls are not Americans, that they are not subject to our laws, ask yourself if you take pride in our nation and it's laws. WHY are those laws not good enough to extend to those we detain, regardless of the detainees nationality?
Would you advocate for our government to detain our own citizens in places like Gitmo-to be tortured like those souls have been without even being tried for crimes they have been accused of-accused by those we all believe to be liars and crooks to begin with? Would you stand idly by why bush's minions broke into your neighbors home kidnapped members from that household and whisked them off to Gitmo for detention and torture all the while telling you that this is for the good of our nation? I suspect not.

If Gitmo is to be used as a prison camp of any sort for ANYONE it should be used for those who have truly caused our world the nightmares it has faaced over the years. I suspect you can agree to that. If Gitmo is to actually to be used as a 'terrorist' POW camp, let us be sure that those detained there ARE ACTUALLY TERRORISTS first! If some of those detainees were once American citizens who are currently in our White House, then that is the way things should be. We were once a nation of laws, it is time to get back to being a nation of laws again. THAT is what we should do with the detainees in Gitmo (and our secret 'POW' camps elsewhere).

[Wizard777]

29. I agree with that. Especially because of the dual nature of having soldiers posing as civilians.

But if we are going to maintain that what we are fighting is a "war." Then we will need POW camps for those captured in that war. Now if Congress is going to officially down grade this to a law enforcement effort against an international criminal gang. Then we don't need POW camps. You can put any criminals in a prisions. As I've said in another post. Gitmo like Abu Ghraib is a crime scene that we cannot allow to be destroyed.

[chknltl]

33. Yes, I agree 100% Gitmo and others like it are indeed crime scenes!

To be honest, I never thought of it that way. Crimes committed there, sure I knew that, but thinking of it as a crime scene with evidence that can be investigated by a criminal investigation team, (preferable an international criminal investigation team), was a step that had yet to occur to me! My thoughts tended to fixate on rescue for the victims of those crimes we likely committed in their detention and in their torture. I just had not taken things in my mind to the next logical step!

[Vincardog]

23. POWs belong in POW camps not illegal prisons.

[mike_c]

28. prisoners at Gitmo are not afforded POW rights-- living up to the Geneva Conventions...

...would be a start. But only a step in the right direction, IMO. I disagree with your basic premise. The WOT is a sham. Who is the "enemy?" How does one determine who is a "lawful combatant" in a war against ideas and tactics rather than states? In fact, I think the criminal justice system is exactly the place to prosecute WOT cases-- just like we prosecute "war on drugs" cases.

[Wizard777]

30. Actually Gitmo detainees are afforded GC protections. I think SCOTUS has ruled on that.

But we are also holding a POW in the "war on drugs." Gen. Manuel Noriega. I know for a fact that he has Official POW Status. He is being held illegally in a Miami prison. He's now fighting extradition to France. The Geneva Convention also prohibits extradition. He must be repatriated to Panama.

[mike_c]

31. good point about Noriega....

I don't believe the Supremes have made any such ruling regarding the GC, but I might be mistaken, of course. My understanding is that the whole "illegal enemy combatant" thing, around which the military tribunals are organized, is a dodge meant specifically to avoid rights due to POWs under the GC.

[Wizard777]

35. The GC even has provisions for those war aren't real war like the war on drugs.

But domestically it's a civil war so international laws cannot be applied. How ever they can be adopted. This why Iraq's civil war was called "sectarian violence." International interference in a civil war is no no under international law. Even though it happens all the time.

Actually Al Qaida's and these nonuniformed combatants have a more proper military designation as spys. Not just because they were formerly employed by our CIA. They fight like spys. Espionage and sabotage. 9/11 was sabotage. Terrorist and terrorism are political designations not military designation. Spy is a military designation. 9/11 began with an infiltration than lead to espionage that produced the sabotage of four flights and three targets. If a spy is caught is in the act of espionage or sabotage. They can be killed upon the discovery. Otherwise they are also entitled to GC protections. But they are either military and entitled to GC protections or civilian and entitled to due process. But a new no mans land designation cannot be created. There is really nothing new to left to invented in the art of war except new weapons. Even if we invent a lazer gun or death ray. It'll still have to be carried openly in a war. Just like any other gun or weapon.

[Jackpine Radical]

38. If we MUST house POW's, let us house them on American soil

where all due legal protections will apply to them. And I do not necessarily grant that we need to be housing POW's at this time. Certainly not in the numbers or for the reasons that apply at Gitmo.

Gitmo exists under the fiction that they are "unlawful combatants." You don't hold kangaroo trials for POW's.

[mmonk]

12. Excellent. True patriots must act to restore

Constitutional government.

[Fluffdaddy]

14. Waste of time....NOTHING WILL COME OF THIS

[magellan]

15. DLCer calls desire to return to the rule of law a waste of time

Shocking.

[FLAprogressive]

18. I'm surprised someone here would so blatantly advertise that they're DLC. nt

[mmonk]

16. We patriots are going to still "waste" our time until

representative government in line with the Constitution is restored.

[Joe Chi Minh]

36. We can do without fluff, here , sonny. What do you know about what the future portends?

Your DNC friends have been complicit in the destruction of your country by these anarchists. When it really hits, you personally won't know which way you're pointing.

[mmonk]

17. This might be a good thread to promote Naomi Wolf's new book

"Give Me Liberty: A Handbook For American Revolutionaries", Simon & Schuster. In it, she tells how to become an activist to restore our republic and it's system of government under it's Constitution. It gives you the resources and ideas to keep the fight for liberty alive.

[MadrasT]

24. Oh hey, thanks!

I'm on my way to buy it now. :hi:

[mmonk]

47. Got it yet? We have alot to do.

[Usrename]

19. I say we round 'em all up and and find a few stress positions for them.

It could take YEARS to get a bill like that through the Congress. In the mean time...

[bertman]

21. Isn't she the Rep from Wisconsin who stood with Dennis Kucinich in the Impeachment Article hearing?

She's another American hero.

[Shiver]

41. Wisconsin's 2nd Congressional District...

..to be specific. From my hometown as well, and so awesome I can forgive her for having gone to West...

[pleah]

25. Oh, hell yeah! You go Tammy Baldwin!

:yourock: It may not get very far, but still :yourock:

[judasdisney]

32. "Too divisive" says Pelosi The Neocon Mole

Red meat for the "Constitution First" Left-wingers whom Pelosi considers dopes.

[Hekate]

34. Kick for this courageous veteran. She stands tall for our country. nt

[gravity]

39. It's too divisive

the worst thing that can happen for our country in the future is for us to have a bitter battle over the past. Nothing practical will result from impeachment, except for satisfying our primal desire for vengeance. Lets move forward so we can pursue the Democratic causes instead of creating divisions that will help the Republicans.

[PADemD]

44. I strongly disagree

We need to prevent this from ever happening again in our Democracy.

[jeff30997]

40. Kick.

I love that word: Accountability.

[eggplant]

43. While I'd love to see them all dragged off to the Hague...

"Ensure that any Bush/Cheney administration official guilty of a war crime is prosecuted under the War Crimes Act and the Anti-Torture Act."

People aren't guilty until they've *been* prosecuted and found guilty.

I get the idea, and I'm all for it, but if we're all about restoring the rights of our citizens, we have to take the bad with the good.

[dchill]

45. Go, Tammy go!

[Overseas]

46. Yes please !! Go Tammy !! //n