"There is a time to be silent and a time to speak. This is the time
for lawyers to speak." - The Honorable Mario Cuomo, former governor
of New York, November 21, 2007

If you are a lawyer or a law student and are tired of seeing the Bush
administration violate the Constitution of the United States and
willfully defy the rule of law, it is truly time for you to speak.

Please join "American Lawyers Defending the Constitution" in signing
a statement -- included at the end of this email -- urging the U.S.
House and Senate Judiciary Committees to hold hearings to investigate
a broad range of executive abuses of power. To sign this statement,
click on the following link:

http://www.americanfreedomcampaign.org/lawyers
<http://www.americanfreedomcampaign.org/lawyers>

Leaders from the American Freedom Campaign, the National Lawyers
Guild, and the Center for Constitutional Rights launched the
"American Lawyers Defending the Constitution" project last month
after seeing coverage of recent events in Pakistan. Inspired by the
actions of lawyers in that country, who have risked their careers and
even their lives to defend their Constitution, the leaders of these
groups set out to organize lawyers in this country in defense of our
Constitution.

In a short time, the ALDC has brought together more than 70 prominent
lawyers, including former New York governor Mario Cuomo and scores of
law school professors. (Click here to see the list of original
signers.) In addition, the Alliance for Justice has joined the
campaign as an organizational sponsor. The initial goal of the
campaign is to present its call for congressional hearings to the
chairmen of the two committees in mid-December with the names of at
least 1000 lawyers and law students attached.

Please help the campaign reach its goal by visiting the following
site and adding your name to the statement:

http://www.americanfreedomcampaign.org/lawyers
<http://www.americanfreedomcampaign.org/lawyers>

 >From wiretapping to torture to defying congressional subpoenas, the
Bush administration has ignored and disrespected our Constitution and
our laws. It is time for someone to hold them accountable.

As Governor Cuomo said in a speech last month about the overreaching
Bush administration and the need to have it reined in, "If US lawyers
are marching in the streets in support of the rule of law in
Pakistan, why aren't we marching in support of the rule of law here?"

Please join our "march" by signing the American Lawyers Defending the
Constitution call to Congress:

http://www.americanfreedomcampaign.org/lawyers
<http://www.americanfreedomcampaign.org/lawyers>

Thank you in advance for standing up for the Constitution and the
rule of law.

Best,

Steve

Steve Fox
Campaign Director
American Freedom Campaign

==================

Message to House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers and Senate
Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy from

American Lawyers Defending the Constitution

We are lawyers in the United States of America. As such, we have all
taken an oath obligating us to defend the Constitution and the rule
of law from those who would violate and subvert them, and to hold
wrongdoers accountable.

We believe the Bush administration has committed numerous offenses
against the Constitution and may have violated federal laws.
Evidence exists that it has illegally spied on Americans, tortured
and abused men and women in its direct custody, sent others to be
tortured by countries like Syria and Egypt, and kept people in prison
indefinitely with no chance to challenge the bases of their
detention. Moreover, the administration has blatantly defied
congressional subpoenas, obstructing constitutional oversight of the
executive branch.

Thus, we call on House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers and Senate
Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy to launch hearings into the
possibility that crimes have been committed by this administration in
violation of the Constitution, federal statutes, and international
treaties. We call for the investigations to go where they must,
including into the offices of the President and the Vice President.
Should these hearings demonstrate that laws have in fact been broken
by this administration, we support all such legal and congressional
actions necessary to ensure the survival of our Constitution and the
nation we love.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Informant: Scott Munson