American Civil Liberties Union

In order to restore the rule of law and the credibility of the American justice system, there must be a thorough investigation of those who ordered and authorized the Bush administration's torture policies. Torture is a crime, and the fact that crimes were committed during the interrogations of detainees can no longer be doubted or debated. Despite the voluminous evidence that senior Bush administration officials authorized torture, the only people who have been held accountable for this maltreatment of prisoners are low-ranking soldiers. President Obama has said that no one is above the law, and Attorney General Eric Holder has said that the Department of Justice will follow the facts wherever they lead. It's time to hold them to their word.

All three branches of government must be involved if we are to achieve meaningful accountability. The Attorney General should appoint an independent prosecutor to investigate issues of criminal responsibility. Congress should form a select committee to investigate the failed policies of the Bush administration, including the origins of the torture policy. Restoring government transparency is a critical part of accountability – this requires releasing critical documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and allowing lawsuits challenging government policies to proceed.

An independent prosecutor is a lawyer appointed by the Attorney General to conduct a criminal investigation when an issue presents a conflict of interest for the Department of Justice and the issue under investigation is deemed of the “public interest.” An independent prosecutor is given full investigatory and prosecutorial powers, as well as the latitude and degree of autonomy to fully investigate and where warranted, prosecute any allegations of wrongdoing without day-to-day oversight by DOJ officials. At the conclusion of the investigation, a report is provided to the Attorney General, and where evidence of wrongdoing warrants prosecution, the independent prosecutor will begin criminal proceedings. Moreover, the Attorney General has very limited authority to reverse an independent prosecutor's decisions, or to remove the prosecutor.

A select committee is a bi-partisan congressional committee created to perform a specific task that is usually investigative in nature. A select committee is complimentary to other oversight efforts, and is empowered with the staff, resources and tools to complete its investigation outside of the day-to-day demands of the standing committee structure. The committee may issue subpoenas to compel testimony as well as production of materials and evidence related to the investigation. At the conclusion of the investigation, the committee will issue a a public report with legislative recommendations.

The ACLU's defense of individual liberty has always included a commitment to holding the government responsible for its actions. Our very first report in 1920 was a blistering attack on the Palmer Raids, the illegal Justice Department mass arrests of thousands of immigrants and suspected radicals. We have long kept a watchful eye on government, and stood ready to expose and challenge potential abuses of power – from filing suit to stop the mass detentions of Japanese Americans during World War II to calling for impeachment in response to the 1973 Watergate scandal, which exposed a presidency not accountable to the rule of law.