Law School Dean Calls Conference to Plan Bush War Crimes Prosecution

Law Schools

Law School Dean Calls Conference to Plan Bush War Crimes Prosecution

Posted Jun 17, 2008, 06:51 am CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss

The dean of Massachusetts School of Law at Andover is planning a September conference to map out war crimes prosecutions, and the targets are President Bush and other administration officials.

The dean, Lawrence Velvel, says in a statement that “plans will be laid and necessary organizational structures set up, to pursue the guilty as long as necessary and, if need be, to the ends of the Earth."

Other possible defendants, he said, include federal judges and John Yoo, the former Justice Department official who wrote one of the so-called torture memos.

“We must insist on appropriate punishments,” he continued, “including, if guilt is found, the hangings visited upon top German and Japanese war criminals in the 1940s."

Velvel elaborates in an introduction to a series of articles published in The Long Term View (PDF). He writes “there is no question” that Bush and other officials are guilty of the federal crime of conspiracy to commit torture.

He also criticizes Justice Department officials for their legal memos. “The DOJ lawyers who wrote the corrupt legal memos giving attempted cover to Bush's actions have been rewarded by federal judgeships, cabinet positions, and high falutin' professorships,” he writes. Yoo is a professor at the University of California-Berkeley law school, while another former Justice Department official who signed a Yoo memo, Jay Bybee, is a judge on the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Velvel tears into President Bush as well, writing: “The man ultimately responsible for the torture had a unique preparation and persona for the presidency: he is a former drunk, was a serial failure in business who had to repeatedly be bailed out by daddy's friends and wanna-be-friends, was unable to speak articulately despite the finest education(s) that money and influence can buy, has a dislike of reading, so that 100-page memos have to be boiled down to one page for him, is heedless of facts and evidence, and appears not even to know the meaning of truth.”

A Wall Street Journal editorial published today stands in stark contrast to Velvel’s criticism. It assails House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers for issuing subpoenas seeking information about the possible torture of Sept. 11 suspects. The editorial mentions the testimony of British professor Philippe Sands, who also contends U.S. officials are guilty of war crimes.

“Nearly seven years after 9/11, the U.S. homeland hasn't been struck again and American civil liberties remain intact,” the newspaper writes. “So how does Congress say ‘thank you’? By trying to ruin the men who in good faith set the legal rules that have kept us safe.”

A hat tip to Legal Blog Watch.

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Posted by associate - 3 months, 3 weeks, 4 days, 2 hours, 5 minutes ago

Well, I wish him good luck in finding those in Afghanistan and Iraq that have beheaded uniformed prisoners, mutilated the bodies of their opponents, murdered civilians, and fought out of uniform.

If the US, British, and other armies cannot find those guys, what makes him think he can?

(Yes, I know his point is pure politics, but the flipside of his little ‘to the ends of the earth’ shows his stupidity.)
Posted by Chris - 3 months, 3 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 28 minutes ago

Sounds like the Mass. School of Law should start looking for another Dean. Mr. Velvel sounds like he’ll be pretty busy.
Posted by msg - 3 months, 3 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 21 minutes ago

I think Dean Velvel should stop pursuing frivolous political claims and work on getting ABA accredidation which he promised all of the students when the law school first opened back in the early 90’s! He is a first class lunatic and needs to be ousted from the school!
Posted by Stonemason - 3 months, 3 weeks, 4 days, 33 minutes ago

“there is no question” that Bush and other officials are guilty of the federal crime of conspiracy to commit torture.

Why even bother with the trials then?
Posted by 2justearth - 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days, 23 hours, 13 minutes ago

pursuit..to the ends of the earth? Just that? Why not to the ends of the universe? Scared? Can’t boldly go where no man has gone before?

All this will end up as a flash in a pan, and and opened can of worms.
Posted by Way Overdue - 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days, 21 hours, 48 minutes ago

We MUST force IMPEACHMENT. We MUST remove executive immmunity to allow prosecution for federal and international law violations as well as possible charges of treason (violating your oath of office to defend the Constitution is a form of treason).

If the lawyers in Pakistan have the courage to stand up to their government, why haven’t we?
Posted by Chris - 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days, 20 hours, 38 minutes ago

To “Way Overdue” because it’s a foolish pipe dream that’s why. Because anyone who tosses around a “war crimes” trial as a solution for their POLITICAL disagreement with how the Iraq war was handled is a zealot or not all there.
Let’s not forget that legal arguments can and have been made for the administrations decisions (abet bad decisions). Come on, we’re all supposed to be educated people here. Quit throwing around words like “war crimes”, “genocide”, “treason” or whatever the far left’s chic hysterical ranting happens to be today. You have a political disagreement with the president’s foreign policy (so do I). Your solution is the balot box. Dean Velvel needs to grow up.
Posted by Danny Hoy - 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days, 16 hours, 40 minutes ago

This guy clearly has a hard-on for the limelight. The fact this story is even printed gives the lunatic unwarranted and undeserved attention.
Posted by Way Overdue - 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days, 1 hour, 22 minutes ago

To “Chris” - It’s called the rule of law. It’s not a disagreement about politics. He lied to the American people and Congress, manipulated intelligence, violated federal law by revealing Valeria Plame was a covert CIA agent...the list of feederal crimes is lengthy and the evidence strong. It’s not zealotry, its about legality.
Posted by Mike Greiner - 3 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, 23 hours, 18 minutes ago

This is the best thing I have heard in 8 years. I wish I was a part of it. They have hung people in the past for treason and Bush and Cheney are not above the law. The world is waiting to see if the American people stand up to what is right.
Posted by Justice Scalia - 3 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, 22 hours, 28 minutes ago

Dean A$$HAT calls for, in no uncertain terms, the hangings of Bush and Cheney. But don’t think for a second that he would support the execution of a 20-something African-American male who was a serial rapist and then murdered his entire family with an ax...that would be cruel and unusual punishment, right out of the liberal playbook.

Rather, this is not about war crimes, or torture, or whateverthehell else, it’s about his dissatisfaction with the results of the 2000 election.

Liberals have harboured ill will since the Bush v. Gore decision was handed down “across political lines.” In reality, it was a 7-2 decision. The election was over—counting and recounting, eliminating vote blocks that did not help Gore, and then recounting counties that would help him, was just a sham to manufacture votes.

The democrat party playbook on election fraud, taken right from Chicago, Illinois, didn’t work. They didn’t get to keep their power. They are angry, frustrated, and result to the sickest forms of name calling, anti-Americanism, and hatred and disgust for our great country.

Liberals as a whole should be ashamed of this traitor. He should be kicked out of the deanship, disbarred from whatever Bar he is a member, and placed on trial himself…

And of course, he’s an Obama supporter!
Posted by Scott - 3 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, 13 hours, 58 minutes ago

The people here who are actually supporting the notion of President Bush and his associates being killed - KILLED - are wallowing in sheer evil. Get something straight: Anybody who tries to have these people killed should be thrown in jail. This nutcase dean can go Cheney himself.
Posted by Lau - 3 months, 3 weeks, 1 day, 9 hours, 53 minutes ago

As a future attorney and a moderate republican who does not politically support Obama nor McCain: This is about the rule of law which has constantly been broken in the last 8 years, (not to say Clinton didn’t either); we are the people who elected him, so we’re all at fault and further, in the case of the Nazis captured by the west, many knew what they were charged with even if they didn’t completely understand the charges against them. Pres. Nixon allegedly broke laws, but there were many positive benefits ot the world as a result of his presidency; if anyone can tell me one positive that this Pres. Bush has done for anyone but himself and his supporters which hijacked the Republican Party?
Posted by Linda Alvarez - 3 months, 3 weeks, 15 hours, 39 minutes ago

To the dearly benighted, Here are the plain facts, all you gotta do is read and learn & stop burying your heads in the sand:

1. Violating the United Nations Charter by launching an illegal “War of Aggression” against Iraq without cause, using fraud to sell the war to Congress and the public, misusing government funds to begin bombing without Congressional authorization, and subjecting our military personnel to unnecessary harm, debilitating injuries, and deaths.

2. Violating U.S. and international law by authorizing the torture of thousands of captives, resulting in dozens of deaths, and keeping prisoners hidden from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

3. Violating the Constitution by arbitrarily detaining Americans, legal residents, and non-Americans, without due process, without charge, and without access to counsel.

4. Violating the Geneva Conventions by targeting civilians, journalists, hospitals, and ambulances, and using illegal weapons, including white phosphorous, depleted uranium, and a new type of napalm.

5. Violating U.S. law and the Constitution through widespread wiretapping of the phone calls and emails of Americans without a warrant.

6. Violating the Constitution by using “signing statements” to defy hundreds of laws passed by Congress.

7. Violating U.S. and state law by obstructing honest elections in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006.

8. Violating U.S. law by using paid propaganda and disinformation, selectively and misleadingly leaking classified information, and exposing the identity of a covert CIA operative working on sensitive WMD proliferation for political retribution.

9. Subverting the Constitution and abusing Presidential power by asserting a “Unitary Executive Theory” giving unlimited powers to the President, by obstructing efforts by Congress and the Courts to review and restrict Presidential actions, and by promoting and signing legislation negating the Bill of Rights and the Writ of Habeas Corpus.

10. Gross negligence in failing to assist New Orleans residents after Hurricane Katrina, in ignoring urgent warnings of an Al Qaeda attack prior to Sept. 11, 2001, and in increasing air pollution causing global warming.
Posted by Yes! - 3 months, 3 weeks, 10 hours ago

Can I nominate Linda Alvarez for a new Special Prosecutor post? If so, maybe, just maybe, we could restore our country’s reputation, restore some faith in the concept of justice.
Thanks for the excellent post, Ms. Alvarez.
Posted by Res Ipsa Loco - 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 minutes ago

It’s high time the liberals got over the 2000 elections and Bush v. Gore.

Hnagings? Please. And Linda, you’ve been reading too many George Soros websites, and ignore another premise of the Iraq invasion—Iraq and Saddam’s breach of the ceasefire agreement put in place after Gulkf War I, which included the firing on coalition aircraft in no-fly zones, the attack and murder of thousands of Kurds in Northern Iraq, and the illegal sale of oil, arranged by King Kofi Annan, to France, Germany and other Eurotrash socialists, financing Saddam’s thuggery and murder.

Wake up! Gore lost by 537 votes. Get over it!
Posted by Scott - 3 months, 2 weeks, 6 days, 11 hours, 38 minutes ago

"Gross negligence regarding Hurrican Katrina...”

Does that mean you’re going to send Ray Nagin to the hoosegow, or the gallows? Eh?
Posted by Lisa Sarinelli - 3 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 19 hours, 16 minutes ago

FYI Res Ipsa Loco - Iraq was responding to US incessant bombing - we provoked it. Do the research!
Posted by mark lazen - 3 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 15 hours, 57 minutes ago

At issue is the sanctity of the rule of law. That’s why the professor’s lynching frame of mind is so misplaced.

Howeve, the administration has disdained the law in every instance--that they did so out of fear makes it more, not less disgraceful, and it has weakened the country rather than made it stronger.

In a situation like this, it is sad but true that the solution must come at the ballot box. But in retrospect this episode will appear at least as shameful as the red scares of the 50’s or the internment of the japanese during WWII.

http://onlysayin.blogspot.com/2007/10/how-to-frighten-lawyer.html
Posted by jer - 3 months, 2 weeks, 3 days, 19 hours, 3 minutes ago

G.W. Bush went to war, he argues, because there was probable cause we would be attacked by Iraq. Sure there is sufficient probable cause to bring him before the court for the various violations cited by Linda Alvarez above. It is hard to believe anyone would argue that Bush is innocent of all of these charges.
Posted by foolmeonce - 3 months, 2 weeks, 3 days, 13 hours, 43 minutes ago

The one and only thing you Neo-Cons, or excuse me, you Brownshirts do well is follow in lock step. Gore v Bush has nothing to do with what has occured in the past 7+ years. How on Earth do you think that liberals are still mad...hell, the elections were stolen anyway but why should we be concerned with facts. Brownshirts don’t relate to facts because you don’t think...you follow and repeat all the talking points over and over again. Your “leader” has bankrupt our country, taken away your civil liberties, killed our troops that they support so much and over a million Iraqis...who by the way, had nothing to do with 911. But please, continue keeping us entertained with all your self-hate behavior. Back to reality, do you have children...grandchildren - are you so selfish that you cannot think about their futures? Of course not. Denial of the Truth will eventually eat away at what little soul you might have remaining.

Liberals rock...because we believe in truth and justice and the facts don’t lie.
Posted by ginloi - 3 months, 2 weeks, 1 day, 23 hours, 23 minutes ago

I am in complete agreement with LInda Alvaraz’ catalogued points. This country has become desensitized to what has actually happened to the Rule of Law and the implications of all the International Law violations enumerated. The US was quick to act after WWII to prosecute the villains of the Third Reich. It is still beyond me that the Sadaam trial was not conducted in an international venue with the ICJ in place. What has been uncovered about GW administration “contractors” working via an “island nation” route, and the quickness with which, as a lame duck, we should do offshore drilling instead of the more prudent development of electric cell batteries to retrofit our cars is amazing. It would seem that we don’t need all that foreign oil after all. We can do for ourselves with that “American Ingenuity” our melting pot country was founded upon.

If the US could have drilled for the oil 5 years ago, pre-invasion, why didn’t we? Is it that important that the “contractors” get any oil money before the term expires? How can the American people feel free to travel the globe, now that our collective images have been sullied as a result of this war, with 4,000 bodies as the price, never mind the countless limbless others who languish in the VA Hospitals which are no prize package?

We can “disagree” without being “disagreeable.” My personal opinion is that this President does not like lawyers. Lawyers may not enjoy the top rank for popularity for many reasons, but they are the “gatekeepers” of American Liberty.

We are on the fast-track to becoming a second-class democracy with the volume of outsourcing of jobs, weakening of labor and preemption.

Dean Velvel does give us something to think about, whether you agree or not, and we should be civil. There should be some consequences for those who mislead the American public.

We Americans travel internationally, now, at our own peril.

I am a proud MSL grad. It is a tough program and it took everything in me to graduate. The courses were straightforward, the workload was heavy, and the grading was very tough, but fair. I consider myself lucky to have gone there with many who, like myself might not have had the opportunity to have the privilege of studying the law.

That said, I happened to be in an International Law class that semester that we invaded Iraq, and also had the opportunity to hear Bernard Kouchner speak at the Harvard School of Public Health, 2 days prior to the Invasion. He told quite a different story of the French Position. Kouchner said that “philosophically” most French supported us, but there was a French Oil “deal” that needed to be honored. That was prior to the big WMD “falsehood” discovery.

There were certainly “humanitarian” reasons for the invasion, which could have been supported, but that is not the reason for the involvement.

Perhaps we should all take a step back, and look “backwards” at what happened with this “Neo-Vietnam,” with all we know, and the “contempt” for the law, from non-lawyers, as if our future depends upon it, because it does.
Posted by Chris - 3 months, 2 weeks, 1 day, 19 hours ago

To all who think that this is some trumped up political bull.

You have not taken note of the loss of our freedoms and the many laws that people in our goverment have broken. I would sugest that you take a look at the things that have changed in the last five years and how many of them are unconstitutional. Any one whom was involved in those ileagle activities should be tried just as any one else in this country is if they do some thing ileagle is.
Posted by Justin Woods - 3 months, 2 weeks, 1 day, 3 hours ago

First of all, the 2000 election was not stolen away. Yes, the Court ended the recounts, but in independent recounts, conducted pursuant to Gore’s requested methods, Bush still won Florida. So I guess the liberals can come back and say that Bush was stuffing ballot boxes or something, but otherwise, it was a clear, clean, fair victory.
Second, maybe Bush’s entrance into Iraq was wrong. But even he himself has admitted that he had intelligence that led him to believe that going in was proper and necessary, but that intelligence proved to be wrong. It happens. That’s the result of Congress’s post Cold-War budget cuts to the intelligence community- we don’t have enough actual boots-on-the-ground intelligence. And even if the invasion was based on groundless intelligence, we’ve done some good. Iraq is moving towards a true democracy, instead of an oppressive dictatorship. The Iraqi government is starting to fend for itself, violence is down, troop deaths are at an all-time low, the country is seeking foreign investment. In 10 years Iraq will be a jewel of the middle east. But we can’t just stop now. If we pull all of our troops out now, or in 18 months, or 2 years, everything we have done there, all the troops we have lost, all the Iraqis that have died will be for naught. We are very close to a complete victory in Iraq, but we must maintain a presence in order to secure and stabilize the country. The troop surge, the one that all the liberals decried as useless and wasteful, has worked. All the people actually on the ground and seeing these things up close and personal have said the surge is working. So everyone needs to sit down, shut up, and let our military work.
Posted by Matt Sherman - 3 months, 2 weeks, 23 hours, 4 minutes ago

This is awesome!

Great Job Guys! It’s good your doing what our looser congressman and senators can’t get done.

Impeach and Imprision!

Demand Truth in Leadership!

Happy 420,

Matt Sherman
Posted by Jyl Berryhill - 3 months, 2 weeks, 23 hours ago

It’s about time our country got justice!

Thank you for fighting for truth and our American way of life.

Bush has shit all over America and stolen our money through high level fraud.

For every soldier who has died in a bogas war, Impeach and Imprision the imposters.

When the truth is told Bush never won a election in the first place.

He has never been America’s true President!
Posted by 5 year attorney - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 23 hours, 21 minutes ago

My God, people! Were myself and my classmates so idealistic and stupid six years ago???

About 80% of the comments I have read here are completely idiotic, and based solely on the emotional reactions that started on day 1 when GW Bush took office! The man was under attack from the left even BEFORE 9/11!!!

The facts are, since the 9/11 attacks, there has not been a single attack against innocent Americans on US Soil!!! Get it?

Iraq was an aggressor, attacking its neighbors, threatening the world with chemical and biological weapons, and had been defeated and submitted to a cease fire agreement, which was violated daily for EIGHT YEARS during the Clinton Administration!

America is safer today than we were during the Clinton Administration. Anyone who thinks that the proper venue to deal with terrorism is a courtroom is an idealistic idiot. The proper place to deal with them is on the battlefield, and in military courts, where they can be taken outback and shot.

Wake yourselves up, people. The next airliner you see might fly right through the window of your future idealistic biglaw firm and smack you right in the face!

With America’s best and brightest looking like most of you, I weep for our country’s future! We truly are doomed.
Posted by Ellen Hammond - 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 1 minute ago

I’m hoping & hoping that this time those that have broken our laws will get what they deserve. How many murders have they committed & lives destoryed all for nothing just so they could fullfill thier dreams of world conquest. Read PNAC, especially page 55 or 56, where it says they have to have another “Pearl Harbor” & see if 9/11 wasn’t thier other “Pear lHarbor”

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