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Edited on Wed Apr-15-09 08:01 PM by ThirdChoice
April 15th, 2009- Velvet Revolution and a broad coalition of organizations and individuals dedicated to an honest and accountable government launched "Restore Justice At Justice", www.RestoreJusticeAtJustice.com , a campaign to clean up the Department of Justice's sad record of political prosecutions under the Bush Administration. These organizations, representing hundreds of thousands of members, have a strong track record of spurring action on crucial issues. VR Co-Founder Brad Friedman, on behalf of the coalition, has sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, available on the Restore Justice At Justice website, requesting that he quickly investigate and identify those targeted, and vacate their convictions, beginning with Alabama ex -Governor Don Siegelman and Attorney Paul Minor.
Under the Bush administration, the Department of Justice was driven by ideology, and prosecutions were often used to settle scores and intimidate the opposition. The GOP, under the direction of Karl Rove, used the DOJ to target political enemies including Democratic contributors and those who were a threat to GOP electoral gains and big business interests. The Department was used as an arm of the White House to destroy these Democrats. This political profiling resulted in the criminal prosecution of many on the GOP list, including Don Siegelman and Paul Minor.
"Last week, Attorney General Holder ordered the dismissal of charges against Senator Ted Stevens because of prosecutorial misconduct," said coalition spokesperson Brad Friedman. "Because targeted political prosecutions also constitute prosecutorial misconduct, AG Holder should apply the same standard to Siegelman, Minor, and all the others identified as targeted by the Bush DOJ," said Friedman. "Siegelman and Minor were targets of political profiling, which is as unjust as racial profiling. President Obama and Attorney General Holder promised to return justice to the Justice Department and free the Department from politics. We demand that they do so."
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of the signers at RestoreJusticeAtJustice.com , has stated publicly that "Paul Minor is an innocent man" who was targeted by Karl Rove, prosecuted by "crooked Justice Department prosecutors," and sentenced to "a breathtaking 11-year sentence for non-violent, white collar crimes he did not commit," while Minor's wife of 41 years died on Monday from cancer, unable "to utter the word l-o-v-e to her husband." Kennedy summarizes the case this way: "Karl Rove's crooked henchmen at the U.S. Justice Department have turned this dignified gentleman's life into a horrible ordeal that is a disgrace to American democracy."
We urge other organizations that care about justice to sign on to this campaign by sending an email to RestoreJusticeAtJustice@VelvetRevolution.us . Individuals can sign on at www.RestoreJusticeAtJustice.com .
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