Two groups called the Velvet Revolution and Voters for Peace have taken action to have twelve Bush administration officials disbarred, or lose the ability to legally practice law, for “providing legal cover for the war crime of torture.” That quote is from Kevin Zeese, a board member of both organizations, and a Green Party Senate candidate in 2006. He ran in Maryland and got 1.5 percent of the vote. Zeese was actually nominated by the Greens, Libertarians, and Populists in that state, but the law changed during his campaign so that he could only accept one party’s nomination. He was also active in other Green campaigns, and was Ralph Nader’s spokesman in 2004.
Multiple attorney generals and Bush administration officials, like John Yoo and David Addington, are being targeted for their justification of techniques ranging from waterboarding to sleep deprivation. The website for the coalition of groups seeking to disbar the attorneys is here.
I’ve worked with Kevin Zeese on a few projects. He’s a great guy and sharp as a tack. He offers some excellent credibility and knowledge that would be an asset for any group, albeit lefty, that is lucky enough to have him.
Hurt em, hurt em, hurt em!
Good.
Kevin Zeese. very very good man.
The actual list of organizations here is way larger than two. The Associated Press report seriously misrepresents what is happening here, continuing a long list of points where it has been accused of slanting its reporting to favor the Bush Republican War Crimes Party. A more accurate list of sponsors is found (aren’t search engines a wonderful invention) here
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/5/18/8155/37195
with a list of organizations including
Republicans for Impeachment
Progressive Democrats of America
Democrats.com
Impeach Bybee
Prosecute Bush/Cheney
After Downing Street
Buzz FlashOp Ed News
Coalition Repair Project
Progressive Magazine
Global Network
Justice Through Music
Media With Conscience
Bend-C Friendship Project
Citizens for Legitimate Government
Center for Study of Democratic Societies
The World Can’t Wait
American Freedom Campaign
Liberty Tree
BFUU Social Justice Campaign
Peace for Justice Forums
WESPAC Foundation
PDA Marin County
Central Jersey Impeach Group
Chesapeake Citizens
Topple Bush
Stop Recruiters WWU
Whatcom Peacebuilders Club
Iraq Veterans for Justice
Longmont Citizens for Justice and Democracy
Bill of Rights Defense Committee
The Democratic Activists
The Solution Zone
Patrick Henry Democratic Club
Epluribus Media
Consumers for Peace
No Nukes North
Veterans for Peace
Florida Peace Action Network
Reclaim the GOP
Boston Anti-War League
Voters for Peace
Campaign for Fresh Air and Clean Politics
Thanks for the comments.
I hope other groups will sign on to the effort. Go to DisbarTortureLawyers.org and sign up. Individuals and organizations are welcome.
At VotersForPeace.US we see this as part of an ongoing campaign that we hope will build. Please visit the site and sing up so you can be part of it.
There are other torture lawyers still in the government and out of government that may be targets of additional complaints. We will let it be known that if they come forward with information about the development of the torture policy they will be less likely to find themselves defending the legal license.
KZ
Kevin
I will get Impeach For Peace to sponsor it also.
problem is, how do we make this happen when the Democrats are the ones getting in the way and legions of progressive groups refuse to hold them accountable?
That website put my organization name under the individual names section. Ooops. Anyways, the Libertarian Party of West Virginia is signed on. 🙂
I remember a Kevin Zeese from my days starting off as a drug war reformer . I wonder if its the same dude?
gotta be 🙂
@5: Apparently the groups supporting the action are all part of the Velvet Revolution coalition. Democracy Now reported the same:
“On Monday, a coalition of advocacy groups called the Velvet Revolution filed disciplinary complaints with state bar licensing boards on the grounds that the attorneys violated the Geneva Conventions, the Convention Against Torture and American law.”
And speaking of Velvet Revolution, Vaclav Havel announced yesterday that he is supporting the Green Party in European elections:
http://www.greenpartywatch.org/2009/05/19/vaclav-havel-lends-support-to-czech-greens/
@9, the Wikipedia entry on him says he’s active in that area so it should be him.
News of this was posted at The Jurist yesterday too:
Andrew Morgan, “Lawyers who authored interrogation memos should be disbarred: coalition“, The Jurist, May 18, 2009
Michael Cavlan, why are you pitching GOP talking points? The progressives I know are screaming for torture investigations; Pelosi be damned, if that’s the way the cards play. Leahy is still calling for investigations, as are many Democratic legislators. They are being blocked by all Republicans and a a few blue-dogs on The Hill. So why blame the Democrats first?
Party shouldn’t matter on this issue. There should be investigations and anyone who broke the law should be prosecuted appropriately.
Glad to see this. And thanks for the info. re: supporting groups, George. Iraq Veterans for Justice should be a particularly persuasive group.
BTW, anybody who says attorneys can’t be prosecuted or disbarred for stating an opinion should be forced to watch “Judgement at Nuremburg” until they hallucinate.
The Green Party folks doing great work again.
Thank you Kevin!
This activity seems very worthwhile. I appreciate all efforts to target war criminals.
John Yoo recently got an editorial position of some sort with the Philadelphia Inquirer. Time for a boycott?
Jim,
Please announce a boycott for the Enquirer. Philly newspapers need all the help and attention they can to stay afloat 🙂