Appeals Court: Tortured US Whistleblowers Can’t Sue
Torturing Detainees 'Part of Human Nature,' Court Insists
by Jason Ditz, November 09, 2012
The 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals has thrown out a lawsuit by two US whistleblowers, Donald Vance and Nathan Ertel, who were tortured by the US military after coming forward with evidence of wrongdoing by the contracting company they were working for.
The court ruled that US military commanders “enjoy broad immunity” in cases of torture abroad and that the military chain of command “couldn’t be responsible” just because detainee abuse crossed a legal boundary. The ruling added that torturing detainees is “a part of human nature that is very difficult to control.” They added that being liable for the torture would “distract” the military’s leadership.
US Court of Appeals Judge James Gwim had previous rejected Obama Administration arguments to this effect, saying that torture lawsuits could continue against officials and that US citizens were always entitled to due process related to their detention. The administration condemned Gwim for “second-guessing” the military.
Vance and Ertel approached the government about an illegal program dubbed “beer for bullets,” in which the company they were working for smuggled liquor into Iraq to trade to US soldiers for their weapons and ammo, and then sold those weapons on the open market. When the company learned they were whistleblowers, they had their papers confiscated and the military captured them when they attempted to return to the US.
Dissenting Judge David Hamilton blasted the ruling, saying that there were clear avenues for handling torture cases inside the US, and there was no good reason to “erect hurdles” just because the US citizens were tortured by the US outside of the country.
“That disparity attributes to our government and to our legal system a degree of hypocrisy that is breathtaking,” Hamilton added. Vance and Ertel’s lawyer says the two have not decided whether or not to appeal to the next level, but said he believes the ruling’s grant of blanket immunity will eventually wind up in the Supreme Court.
What happened to the Rule of Law ? US citizens and whistleblowers - tortured by the US military for coming forward and revealing a scam their Contractor employer was running in Iraq , have their case thrown out by Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ..... yet General Petraeus can leak classified material to his lover and not even face charges ?????
CIA Chief Petraeus Resigns, Leaked Classified Info to Girlfriend
'Nothing to Do With Benghazi,' Military Officials Insist
by Jason Ditz, November 09, 2012
In a bizarre turn of events, CIA Director David Petraeus has tendered his resignation today after the FBI discovered he was having an affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, who is under investigation for improperly accessing classified information.
In his resignation letter, Petraeus couched the decision as a function of his moral failing, saying “such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours.” Petraeus has been married for 37 years. Broadwell is also reportedly married with two children.
The real question, however, is not so much about the “extensive access” to his person that Broadwell was given while penning the biography All In, but rather access she may have been given to his personal email account, which was being monitored by the FBI as part of the investigation. So far no charges have been filed and the FBI insists that Petraeus himself wasn’t under investigation.
Still, that one of the nation’s top spymasters may have ended up leaking classified information to his girlfriend by way of his email account is a major embarrassment even without charges, and leaves Mike Morell as acting CIA director.
The sudden resignation of Petraeus means he will no longer be testifying to Congress in relation to the September Benghazi fiasco, and rather that Morell, as his (at least temporary) successor will be doing so. Military officials insist Petraeus’ resignation has nothing to do with Benghazi.
The timing of the resignation is also telling, as indications are this FBI investigation has been ongoing for quite some time, but the resignation waited until immediately after the presidential election. President Obama has been a vocal supporter of Petraeus in numerous roles, and the revelation that he appointed a leader of the nation’s most visible spy agency who couldn’t even keep an affair under wraps would certainly have been politically damaging if it came out before the vote.
Obama went on to praise Petraeus after the resignation for his “intellectual rigor” and “patriotism,” insisting he made the nation safer. Exactly how safe will likely only be apparent to people who have access to the classified data, like Broadwell.
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