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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.
FOIA Request for OPR Report
January 7, 2010
The Robert Jackson Steering Committee
c/o Lawrence Velvel
500 Federal Street
Andover, MA 01810
Ms. Marlene M. Wahowiak
Special Counsel for the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts
Office of Professional Responsibility
Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue
Suite 3529
Washington, D.C. 20530
Dear Attorney Wahowiak:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"), 5 U.S.C. § 522, and is submitted on behalf of the Robert Jackson Steering Committee.
We request the following:
1. The long-overdue ethics report of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) regarding the performance of Bush administration lawyers in the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) from 2002-2007. The Attorney General last promised to release this report by the end of November, 2009, and it still has not been released.
2. The first OPR ethics report on the performance of Bush administration lawyers in the OLC, completed in December, 2008.
3. Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey's 10-page rebuttal of the December, 2008 report, referenced in The New York Times of May 6, 2009.
4. A copy of OPR regulations regarding settled procedure on conducting a misconduct investigation and producing a report.
5. A copy of any OPR regulations that allow the subjects of the investigation to a) read the final report, b) make changes to the report, and c) allow the Attorney General to rebut the report.
6. Copies of all written warnings from 2001 on from veteran members of the Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) training program to the Department of Justice, including the OLC, stating that SERE methods of interrogation on detainees were ineffective in eliciting the truth and designed more to elicit false confessions.
7. Copies of all communications from military and national security lawyers and professionals to the Department of Justice, including the Office of Legal Counsel, objecting to the form of interrogation methods proposed by the CIA and adopted by the Bush White House and the OLC lawyers in 2002.
8. Given John Yoo's statement on p 15 of the New York Times Magazine of January 3, 2010, that "if there's a conflict between the president and the Congress, then you have to pick one or the other," we also request any documents shedding light on whom an OLC lawyer is supposed to 'represent' in rendering a legal opinion: the President, Congress, the Constitution, or the entire framework of domestic and international law?
For purposes of FOIA fee assessment, we ask that our request be placed in the category of news media requester. A good number of our members are journalists, including two of the undersigned, and frequently write on the subject of the treatment of detainees. The information obtained from this request will be disseminated to the public.
Additionally, we request a waiver of all processing fees because the release of this information will contribute significantly to the public's understanding of the activity and operations of the government.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Charlotte Dennett, Esq.
Peter Weiss, Esq.
David Swanson, chair
On Behalf of The Robert Jackson Steering Committee
Transmittal Letter
Press Release
