NEWS FROM:
ANDY MARTIN
“He works for
the People of Illinois”
Republican for U. S. Senator
Suite 4406
30 E. Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611-4723
(312) 440-4124
ATTENTION: ASSIGNMENT/DAYBOOK EDITORS
ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEWS CONFERENCE
U. S. SENATE CANDIDATE ANDY MARTIN DEMANDS BIPARTISAN INVESTIGATION OF CIA TAPE DESTRUCTION
MARTIN SAYS TORTURE HAS DISHONORED THE UNITED STATES, JOINS SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN IN CALLING FOR THE PRESIDENT TO SIGN ANTI-TORTURE LEGISLATION
(CHICAGO)(December 8, 2007) Republican U. S. Senate candidate Andy Martin will hold a sidewalk news conference Saturday, December 8 to announce that he has joined calls for an investigation of CIA tape destruction.
“I want to underscore my own concern that CIA records were destroyed,” Martin will state. “Like most government agencies, the CIA destroys almost nothing. The claim that the head of DO directed the destruction of tapes is simply not believable. He must be sworn and interrogated. The fact that the existence of the tapes was concealed from the 9/11 Commission is also unbelievable. The argument that the CIA was protecting the identities of interrogators is an insult to the intelligence.
“I am asking the Attorney General to investigate, and I would also suggest that Congress consider creating a bipartisan committee or special commission to investigate the destruction of this evidence. What we do not need to tear this country apart on a partisan basis.
“Republicans should be just as outraged as Democrats that evidence was destroyed, that government agencies (9/11 Commission) and, apparently, courts were deceived. As a former judge, the Attorney General is obviously aware of the seriousness of those implications.
“Senator John McCain and I are of one mind as to the uselessness and counter productivity of torture. There are many ways to deal with recalcitrant witnesses and torturing them is not one of the options. The fact that tapes of these abominations existed, and that conflicting claims are now being made as to who was notified and when, is just the latest installment in a tawdry series of disclosures about an essential government agency that was misused and abused for political purposes during the Iraq era. Make no mistake, we need the CIA, and almost all of the people who work at the CIA are honest and honorable and decent. I have met Porter Goss and I would be very surprised if his hands are dirty. The full truth has to come out to condemn the evil doers, and to exonerate the innocent.
“What no one has yet asked is, ‘Where were the tapes made?’ I think that is the first question I want answered. Were these ‘interrogations’ performed in Amman, as I suspect? Somewhere else? We need a full disclosure of the relevant facts. To date all we have had is another installment of cover-up. I believe that copies of these tapes still exist. We need to coax out these copies from those who have them.
“I strongly support the bipartisan proposal which is going through Congress to ban torture and to disassociate the United States from any questionable techniques in the future. I strongly urge the President to sign such legislation and to avoid any threats of a veto.
“Horrendous mistakes have been made. Shameful mistakes. Disgraceful mistakes. As a nation we have been dishonored by those who claimed super powers to ignore the constitution, to violate our laws and to attack the core of our democracy, which is respect for human rights and due process of law. We have laws and we have courts precisely because we cannot trust individuals who hold temporal and temporary power to hold the lines clear and true between that which is allowed and that which is condemned.
“That I why Senator McCain and I stand shoulder to shoulder in demanding an end to torture or the acceptance and toleration of torture. We have seen the consequences.
“I am sure we do not remotely have the entire truth even yet. But we must begin and continue the process of reconciliation and disclosure. The truth can set us free, but only if we expose and confront the truth. The events of the past couple of days indicate that some people in Washington still do not realize it is truth-telling time.
“Finally, on a political level, in a few days we will enter a new year, and a new political calendar. Republican candidates should not be asked to campaign while bearing the burden of continuing disclosures about abhorrent activity. The sooner the full truth is out, the better. If politicians understand little else, they do understand self-preservation,” Martin will state.
NEWS CONFERENCE DETAILS:
WHO: U. S. Senate candidate Andy Martin
WHERE: Sidewalk news conference, Southeast Corner
of Huron & Wabash Streets (St. James cathedral)
(or inside if necessary)
WHEN: Saturday, December 8, 2007 11:00 A.M.
WHAT: Andy Martin joins demands for investigation of CIA
tape destruction
MEDIA
CONTACT: (312) 440-4124; Cell (917) 664-9329
WEBSITE: AndyforUSSenator.com
E-MAIL: AndyforUSSenator@aol.com
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Chicago-based Internet journalist, broadcaster and media critic Andy Martin is the Executive Editor and publisher of ContrarianCommentary.com. © Copyright by Andy Martin 2007. Martin covers regional, national and world events with forty years of experience. He has almost 40 years of experience in the Middle East and served in Baghdad during 2003 as a bureau chief; he has written extensively for intelligence web sites based on his experiences in Viet-Nam and the Middle East. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. Columns also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com; contrariancommentary.wordpress.com. Comments? E-mail: AndyMart20@aol.com. Media contact: (866) 706-2639. Web sites: ContrarianCommentary.com.
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