President, Center for Constitutional Rights
President of the Center for Constitutional Rights, a nonprofit civil-rights organization, and author of numerous books and articles, including Against War with Iraq and Guantanamo: What the World Should Know; co-counsel for the Guantanamo Bay detainees in the US Supreme Court
Eric Holder for Attorney General? Barack Obama’s nominee for Attorney General got some tough grilling from Senate Republicans today. But he was introduced to the Judiciary Committee by Virginia’s newly-retired Republican Senator John Warner as a man whose “misjudgments will not be repeated.” Holder’s admission of mistakes came in the context of President Clinton’s pardon of Mark Rich, a financier who fled the country under charges of tax evasion—and whose wife had contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Clinton Library and the Democratic Party.
The CIA Torture Tapes In 2005, the CIA destroyed videotape that showed interrogations of terrorist suspects. Today's New York Times reports that CIA lawyers gave written permission--despite advice from the White House and the Department of Justice, and without asking their own boss. CIA Director Michael Hayden says the objective was protecting the identities of the interrogators themselves. Today, Hayden was called to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee —behind closed doors, about why the videotapes, despite advice from the White House. Outside the closed hearing, Democrats and Republicans are among those suggesting possible crimes of torture and obstruction of justice. Might the tapes have made a difference to the 9/11 Commission , trials of accused terrorists and enactments by Congress? Are there any new lessons about the CIA and the quality of US intelligence?
Judge Michael Mukasey and the Department of Justice Yesterday, former Federal Judge Michael Mukasey promised to resist White House political meddling, to restore the integrity of the Justice Department and to balance the requirements of national security with Constitutional liberties. His chances of being confirmed to replace Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General were looking good. But today, some Democrats said they were "very disappointed" by his failure to clearly answer the question , "is waterboarding torture?" Approval of harsh means of interrogation got Gonzales in trouble with civil libertarians of both political parties. Others insist Mukasey should be required to appoint a special prosecutor to clean up the political taint left by Gonzales. We hear different opinions about Mukasey's record, the legal challenges he faces and morale at the Department of Justice .
Calls for Accountability over Iraq War Three weeks before last month's elections, 51% of Americans favored impeachment of President Bush, but House Speaker elect Nancy Pelosi says it's "off the table." This weekend, rallies and forums are planned to build grassroots momentum. A court in Germany has been asked to press "war crimes" charges against Donald Rumsfeld over the prisons at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo Bay. Has the President exceeded the powers granted him by the Constitution? Can foreign courts prosecute US officials for the way they do their jobs?
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
Janesville and the American Dream Janesville, Wisconsin is the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he couldn’t prevent the closing of the General Motors factory after 100 years. On this Memorial Day rebroadcast of To the Point, we hear what’s happened to what once was a model of American middle-class unity.