Patrick Leahy: “after months of stonewalling by this administration, we are still trying to uncover the truth about the abuse of…”

“after months of stonewalling by this administration, we are still trying to uncover the truth about the abuse of prisoners in U.S. custody overseas. I have long said that somewhere in the upper reaches of the executive branch a process was set in motion that rolled forward until it produced this scandal. To date, senior administration officials have avoided any accountability for these atrocities. The Senate is today including the nomination of David Nahmias to serve as a U.S. Attorney in Georgia in a final package of confirmations for this Congress. Mr. Nahmias has held senior positions at the Department of Justice where he worked on the legal underpinnings of the President's war against terror. The overbroad assertions of executive power have been rejected by the Supreme Court and other Federal courts. In speeches, he has unequivocally supported the President's authority as Commander in Chief to designate and detain suspected terrorists, including American citizens, as enemy combatants without judicial review by an article III court.”