Report | The Constitution in Crisis
By House Judiciary
Committee Minority Staff
Tuesday 20 December 2005
The Downing Street minutes and deception, manipulation,
torture, retribution, and coverups in the Iraq war.
Full Report: www.truthout.org/3.122005ConRes.pdf
Executive Summary
This Minority Report has been produced at the request of Representative
John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee. He made this
request in the wake of the President’s failure to respond to a letter submitted
by 122 Members of Congress and more than 500,000 Americans in July of this year
asking him whether the assertions set forth in the Downing Street Minutes were
accurate. Mr. Conyers asked staff, by year end 2005, to review the available
information concerning possible misconduct by the Bush Administration in the run
up to the Iraq War and post-invasion statements and actions, and to develop
legal conclusions and make legislative and other recommendations to him.
In brief, we have found that there is substantial evidence the
President, the Vice President and other high ranking members of the Bush
Administration misled Congress and the American people regarding the decision to
go to war with Iraq; misstated and manipulated intelligence information
regarding the justification for such war; countenanced torture and cruel,
inhuman and degrading treatment and other legal violations in Iraq; and
permitted inappropriate retaliation against critics of their Administration.
There is a prima facie case that these actions by the President,
Vice-President and other members of the Bush Administration violated a number of
federal laws, including (1) Committing a Fraud against the United States; (2)
Making False Statements to Congress; (3) The War Powers Resolution; (4) Misuse
of Government Funds; (5) federal laws and international treaties prohibiting
torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment; (6) federal laws concerning
retaliating against witnesses and other individuals; and (7) federal laws and
regulations concerning leaking and other misuse of intelligence.
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