Sign here in support of holding everyone to the rule of law.
Join Our Campaign
Sign Up Fast Here
Recent blog posts
Please post this link:
User login
"To the end it may be a government of laws and not of men." -- Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, John Adams.
"The common sense of mankind demands that law shall not stop with the punishment of petty crimes by little people. It must also reach men who possess themselves of great power and make deliberate and concerted use of it to set in motion evils which leave no home in the world untouched. The Charter of this Tribunal evidences a faith that the law is not only to govern the conduct of little men, but that even rulers are, as Lord Chief Justice Coke put it to King James, 'under ... the law.' And let me make clear that while this law is first applied against German aggressors, the law includes, and if it is to serve a useful purpose it must condemn aggression by any other nations, including those which sit here now in judgment." -- Opening Statement of The Chief Prosecutor, Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson, at Nuremberg.
"The common sense of mankind demands that law shall not stop with the punishment of petty crimes by little people. It must also reach men who possess themselves of great power and make deliberate and concerted use of it to set in motion evils which leave no home in the world untouched. The Charter of this Tribunal evidences a faith that the law is not only to govern the conduct of little men, but that even rulers are, as Lord Chief Justice Coke put it to King James, 'under ... the law.' And let me make clear that while this law is first applied against German aggressors, the law includes, and if it is to serve a useful purpose it must condemn aggression by any other nations, including those which sit here now in judgment." -- Opening Statement of The Chief Prosecutor, Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson, at Nuremberg.
Should U.S. war criminals be subject to the rule of law?
The Robert Jackson Steering Committee works to bring about the criminal prosecution of top government officials in the United States whom there is probable cause to believe have committed war crimes.
- Indefensible: A Reference for Prosecuting Torture and Other Felonies Committed by U.S. Officials Following September 11th, January 2012
- FOIA Request to DOJ on Torture Cites Effort to Conceal Crimes, October 2010
- Dear Eric Holder: Try Accused Criminals in Courts of Law, March 2010
- No End in Sight to the Controversy over Bush "Torture Lawyers", February 2010
- FOIA Request Filed for OPR Report on Bush's Lawyers, January 2010.
- A Call for Congress to Take Action on Torture, October 2009.
- 217 Groups Request Special Prosecutor for Bush, Cheney, et alia, February 2009.
- Memorandum on the Federal Prosecution of War Criminals, 2008.
Do you support enforcing laws against everyone equally? Then sign up here.
The Robert Jackson Steering Committee was established in September 2008.
No Immunity for Torture
Wed, 01/04/2012 - 11:44 — davidswanson 
This recently released report, Indefensible: A Reference for Prosecuting Torture and Other Felonies Committed by U.S. Officials Following September 11th, serves as a practitioner’s reference addressing the domestic and international laws implicated by the actions of certain former high-ranking government officials. The report lays the groundwork for litigation against those responsible for approving and using illegal interrogation techniques that were the official policy of the Bush Administration.
More than a decade after the onset of the Bush Administration’s post-9/11 anti-terrorism policies, not a single torture survivor has succeeded in holding a top government official accountable in a U.S. court for the indefensible act of torture due in large part to legal maneuvering by both the Bush and Obama Administrations. While certain actions taken by President Obama indicate his desire to break with the lawlessness characterized by the Bush Administration, he has failed to fulfill his international legal obligation to investigate these crimes of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The report is a call for action. If accountability cannot be achieved through the courts, it becomes even more critical that the U.S. government properly investigate acts of torture either through the appointment of a Special Counsel or alternatively by Congressional enactment of a Commission of Inquiry.
The report is the result of a multi-year collaborative effort between Human Rights USA and the International Human Rights Law Clinic at American University Washington College of Law.
Read the full report, and view the press release. In addition, you may request a hardcopy of the report by e-mailing info@humanrightsusa.org. Please include “Accountability Report Request” in the subject line, as well as the appropriate return address listed in the body of the e-mail. You may also make a request by calling (202) 296-5702.
