Human Rights First's U.S. Law and Security Digest is a weekly report to help keep you up to date about developments in U.S. national security law and policy that have an impact on civil liberties and human rights.

ATTORNEY GENERAL ALBERTO GONZALES RESIGNS
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced his resignation on Monday, following months of scrutiny regarding his role and statements concerning the government's warrantless surveillance program and firings of U.S. attorneys. Mr. Gonzales also refused to provide information about interrogation policies and practices to Congress, culminating in the issuance of an Executive Order on the CIA's detention and interrogation program in July. Maureen Byrnes, Executive Director of Human Rights First, welcomed Mr. Gonzales' resignation as an "opportunity to name a new attorney general who will unequivocally reject the use of torture and safeguard the values for which this country stands and which it seeks to project to the rest of the world." In 2005, Human Rights First opposed confirmation of Mr. Gonzales as attorney general, marking only the second time in the organization's nearly 30-year history that it opposed a presidential nominee. As attorney general, Mr. Gonzales continued to play the central role he had as White House Counsel in formulating detention and interrogation policies that violated U.S. law and international standards. "Under Mr. Gonzales, the Justice Department gave legal cover to a policy of official cruelty in the treatment of prisoners," added Byrnes. "With his resignation, this policy must end. Congress should investigate the abuses that occurred on his watch." Solicitor General Paul Clement will serve as acting attorney general starting in mid-September. Read more.

LONE OFFICER CHARGED IN ABU GHRAIB SCANDAL RECEIVES ONLY A REPRIMAND
Army Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan, former director of the prison at Abu Ghraib and the only officer charged in connection with detainee abuse at the Iraqi facility, received only a reprimand on Wednesday for his actions. A military jury on Tuesday acquitted Lt. Col. Jordan of three charges relating to the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib but found him guilty of disobeying Maj. Gen. George Fay's orders not to discuss the 2004 investigation into the scandal. Eleven enlisted soldiers have been convicted for their roles in the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal, but not a single officer or civilian official responsible for the abusive interrogation and detention policies has been criminally punished. Hina Shamsi, Senior Counsel and Deputy Director of the Law and Security Program at Human Rights First, criticized the "accountability gap" between military and government officials who formulate interrogation techniques and the soldiers who implement the techniques, stating: ''None of the cases brought to date has given the systemic accounting the nation needs of what happened, why and how far up the chain of command responsibility lies." Read more.

MILITARY APPEALS COURT HEARS ITS FIRST CASE
The newly formed U.S. Court of Military Commission Review heard arguments last Friday to determine whether halted military commission trials could proceed. The court formed in response to June rulings by two military judges, who determined in the cases of "enemy combatants" Omar Khadr and Salim Hamdan that military commissions had the authority to try only "unlawful enemy combatants," not "enemy combatants." The three-judge appeals court must now decide whether the military commissions can proceed or whether Combatant Status Review Tribunals must re-hear the cases against the Guantanamo detainees. Also, it was reported on Thursday that nearly a quarter of all Department of Justice civil appellate lawyers have refused to work on the Guantanamo Bay detainee cases because of the government's legal approach. Read more.

TERROR SCREENING OF AID GROUPS MOMENTARILY SCALED BACK
The Bush administration announced on Tuesday it was reducing the scope of a global screening program aimed at U.S. Agency for International Development recipients due to arguments that it was unnecessary and overbroad. The Federal Register first announced the program on July 17 as a means to screen U.S. foreign aid contractors for ties to terrorism. The plan faced concerns over intrusion of privacy from many organizations, which objected to turning over what would amount to thousands of employees' personal information to the FBI and other government agencies. A meeting between government officials and nonprofit groups on Monday established a revised program that will initially focus only on aid recipients in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as opposed to the original plan to screen organizations worldwide. The pilot program in the West Bank and Gaza will run until the end of September, at which point USAID officials hope to establish a more permanent and far-reaching plan. Read more.

SEPTEMBER 5: A SURVEY OF AMERICA'S TOP EXPERTS ON THE WAR ON TERROR AND U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY
The Center for American Progress and Foreign Policy recently issued the latest volume of The Terrorism Index, a comprehensive assessment of the U.S. national security situation and counterterrorism efforts. Moises Naim and John Podesta will co-moderate a panel featuring Paul Pillar, Steven Simon and R. James Woolsey. The event will begin at 9:00 a.m. at 1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor in Washington,DC. More information.

SEPTEMBER 7: LIBERTY AND NATIONAL SECURITY CONFERENCE
The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law and the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy present "Building Freedom, Building Security: America's Challenge for the Next Five Years" at the New York University School of Law. The conference will feature 9/11 Commission Chair Gov. Thomas Kean and the co-Chair of the National Commission on Terrorism Sen. Gary Hart, amongst other national security experts gathering to discuss counterterrorism measures and the need to uphold justice. Events will begin at 9:00 a.m. in Vanderbilt Hall (40 Washington Square South). Admission is free but individuals planning to attend are asked to please register. More information.

back to top

© 2006 Human Rights First