<http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=2SaIry7gIy2IsgtgEVQIMg..>          

*
Stop the CIA cover-up*

The C.I.A. admitted to destroying tapes of people being tortured. Demand
Attorney General Mukasey appoint an independent prosecutor to
investigate and, if appropriate, prosecute wrongdoing.

Sign the petition: Stop the C.I.A. cover-up.
<http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=Qk4ikpytfLgB9jArsTAlLg..>

When a defendant admits to destroying key evidence, it’s typically
called "obstruction of justice." When the Bush administration admits to
destroying evidence of wrongdoing, it’s called business as usual.

Last week, the head of the C.I.A., Michael Hayden, announced the agency
destroyed tapes of what /he called a "harsh interrogation" and what you
and I would call torture/. The reason? To protect agency operatives from
legal consequences.

We want to get to the bottom of this and the only way to do that is to
appoint an independent prosecutor.

Sign our petition: Demand Attorney General Mukasey appoint an
independent prosecutor to investigate and, if appropriate, prosecute
wrongdoing. <http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=g2E7Mn3W5pqc386ApulKlw..>

The C.I.A. withheld knowledge of the tapes’ destruction from the House
and Senate intelligence committees who oversee the C.I.A. They also
withheld the tapes from federal prosecutors and the 9/11 Commission even
though they were specifically asked for depictions of interrogations.
According to the former director of the 9/11 Commission, this could
amount to obstruction of justice.

Thankfully, members of Congress are already expressing their outrage
over this action. On the Senate floor, Senator Kennedy warned his
colleagues, "We haven’t seen anything like this since the 18 and a half
minute gap in the tapes of Richard Nixon."

Sign our petition: Demand Attorney General Mukasey appoint an
independent prosecutor to investigate and, if appropriate, prosecute
wrongdoing. <http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=q1kAYpDdQj0hAWcCnAbLCw..>

This is a cover-up of epic proportions. So far the attorney general has
responded by launching a "preliminary inquiry." But the Justice
Department and the C.I.A. cannot be trusted to investigate themselves --
they are the very agencies that authorized and carried out the
government's torture program. Only an independent prosecutor can get at
the truth.

Attorney General Mukasey now faces his first big test: Will he launch an
independent investigation and stick to promises to uphold the rule of
law, or will he continue Bush administration practices that put
government officials above the law?

We’ll deliver the petition to Attorney General Mukasey and we’ll also
copy members of Congress, who can keep the pressure on and pass a law
appointing an independent prosecutor if Mukasey won’t do his job.

Sign the petition: Stop the C.I.A. cover-up.
<http://action.aclu.org/site/R?i=yUXngmL3WPgHUd7IV-q7mQ..>

The destruction of these tapes appears to be part of an extensive,
long-term pattern of misusing executive authority to insulate
individuals from criminal prosecution for torture and abuse.

Now is the time to show that /no one is above the law: not the CIA, not
the Justice Department, not the President./ Thank you for getting involved.

Sincerely,

Caroline Fredrickson, ACLU
Caroline Fredrickson, Director
ACLU Washington Legislative Office

© ACLU, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor New York, NY 10004

<http://action.aclu.org/site/CO?i=uOB9xbsh4rpZ7sd6Ab8P20y8fa4LtCDZ&cid=0>