Impeachment: American Freedom Campaign Update: We Welcome All To The Struggle To Regain, Retain And Maintain Our Democratic Way Of Life.

AMERICAN FREEDOM CAMPAIGN UPDATE: WE WELCOME ALL TO THE STRUGGLE TO REGAIN, RETAIN AND MAINTAIN

OUR DEMOCRATIC

WAY OF LIFE.

AMERICAN FREEDOM CAMPAIGN

Lawyers and law students:

Sign this statement to encourage Congress to hold hearings into unconstitutional and potentially criminal activity by the Bush administration

Our goal is to have more than 1,000 lawyers and law students sign this statement before it is presented to Congress. Please add your name today! To see a list of the 70+ original signers, click here.

* * *

We, the undersigned lawyers in the United States, have been inspired by the many lawyers in Pakistan who have risked their own liberty and careers in an effort to preserve their nation's freedoms.

Their courage has deepened our own resolve to defend the rule of law in our nation. As lawyers, we have both a moral and professional responsibility to preserve and defend the Constitution of the United States.

To that end, we are committed to creating a movement of lawyers in this nation dedicated to monitoring and, when appropriate, challenging the actions of our government when those actions threaten our nation's freedoms.

As our initial act, we are issuing the following statement to the U.S. House and Senate Judiciary Committees, urging hearings into the unconstitutional and possibly criminal actions of the Bush Administration.

Message to House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy from

American Lawyers Defending the Constitution

We are lawyers in the United States of America. As such, we have all taken an oath obligating us to defend the Constitution and the rule of law from those who would violate and subvert them, and to hold wrongdoers accountable.

We believe the Bush administration has committed numerous offenses against the Constitution and may have violated federal laws. Evidence exists that it has illegally spied on Americans, tortured and abused men and women in its direct custody, sent others to be tortured by countries like Syria and Egypt, and kept people in prison indefinitely with no chance to challenge the bases of their detention. Moreover, the administration has blatantly defied congressional subpoenas, obstructing constitutional oversight of the executive branch.

Thus, we call on House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers and Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy to launch hearings into the possibility that crimes have been committed by this administration in violation of the Constitution, federal statutes, and international treaties. We call for the investigations to go where they must, including into the offices of the President and the Vice President. Should these hearings demonstrate that laws have in fact been broken by this administration, we support all such legal and congressional actions necessary to ensure the survival of our Constitution and the nation we love.

Signed,

(The contact information you provide below will not be used for any purpose other than to convey your endorsement of this statement and to keep you informed about this project. It will not be provided to any other organization, individual, or entity.)

Lawyer Signatures

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The following individuals were the original signers of the "American Lawyers Defending the Constitution" statement to the U.S. House and Senate Judiciary Committees. Except where noted, all organizations listed are for identification purposes only:

Nan AronPresident, Alliance for Justice*

Marjorie CohnProfessor of LawThomas Jefferson School of LawPresident, National Lawyers Guild*

Michael RatnerPresidentCenter for Constitutional Rights*

Vince WarrenExecutive DirectorCenter for Constitutional Rights*

* Sponsoring organizations

Richard L. AbelConnell Professor of LawUniversity of California, Los Angeles

George J. AnnasEdward Utley Professor and ChairDepartment of Health Law, Bioethics & Human RightsBoston University School of Public Health, School of Law, & School of Medicine

Fran AnsleyDistinguished Professor of Law EmeritusUniversity of Tennessee College of Law

Elvia R. ArriolaAssociate Professor of LawNorthern Illinois University

Frank AskinProfessor of Law and Director, Constitutional Litigation ClinicRutgers Law School

Michael AveryProfessor of LawSuffolk Law SchoolPast President, National Lawyers Guild

C. Edwin Baker Nicholas F. Gallicchio Professor of Law and Professor of CommunicationUniversity of Pennsylvania Law School

Derrick BellVisiting Professor of LawNew York University School of Law

Barbara L. BezdekProfessor of LawUniversity of Maryland School of Law

Maria BlancoExecutive DirectorEarl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity and DiversityBerkeley School of Law, University of California

Carolyn P. BlumClinical Professor of Law EmeritusBoalt Hall Law School, University of California, Berkeley

Richard BoswellProfessor of LawUniversity of California, Hastings College of the Law

Cynthia Grant BowmanDorothea S. Clarke Professor of LawCornell Law School

Richard Oliver BrooksProfessor EmeritusVermont Law School

Doug CasselProfessor of Law and Director, Center for Civil and Human RightsUniversity of Notre Dame Law School

Erwin ChemerinskyAlston & Bird Professor of Law and Political ScienceDuke University

Kenneth D. ChestekClinical Associate Professor of LawIndiana University School of Law – Indianapolis

Carol ChomskyProfessor of LawUniversity of Minnesota Law School

Kenneth ClokeDirector, Center for Dispute ResolutionSanta Monica, CA

Luke W. ColeExecutive DirectorCenter on Race, Poverty & the Environment

Ruth ColkerHeck Faust Memorial Chair in Constitutional LawMoritz College of LawThe Ohio State University

Lois CoxClinical Professor of LawUniversity of Iowa College of Law

The Honorable Mario Cuomo Former Governor of New York

Constance de la VegaProfessor of Law and Academic Director of International ProgramsUniversity of San Francisco School of Law

Pamela EdwardsProfessor of LawCUNY School of Law

Nancy EhrenreichProfessor of LawSturm College of Law, University of Denver

Peter ErlinderProfessor of Const. Criminal LawWm. Mitchell College of LawPast President, National Lawyers Guild

Anthony Paul FarleyRaymond and Ella Smith Distinguished Professor of LawAlbany Law School

Martin FlahertyLeitner Family Professor of International Human Rights and Co-Director, Leitner Center for International Law & JusticeFordham Law School

Ann L. IijimaVice Dean for Academic ProgramsWilliam Mitchell College of Law

Marc GalanterJohn & Rylla Bosshard Professor Emeritus of Law and South Asian StudiesUniversity of Wisconsin Law School

Paul HarrisCharles Garry Professor of LawNew College Of California School of Law

Phoebe A. HaddonProfessor of LawJames Beasely School of Law, Temple University

Kathy HesslerProfessor of Law and Associate Director, Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Conflict and Dispute ResolutionCase Western Reserve University School of Law

Steven J. HeymanProfessor of LawChicago-Kent College of Law

Aziz HuqDirector, Liberty and National Security ProjectBrennan Center for Justice

Eileen Kaufman Professor of LawTouro Law CenterCo-president, Society of American Law Teachers

Kevin KeenanExecutive DirectorACLU San Diego & Imperial Counties

Walter J. Kendall, IIIProfessorThe John Marshall Law School

Stephen LoffredoProfessor of LawCity University of New York (CUNY) School of Law

Gregory P. MagarianProfessor of LawVillanova University School of Law

Tayyab MahmudProfessor of LawSeattle University School of Law Co-president, Society of American Law Teachers

Wendy K. MarinerProfessor of Health Law, Bioethics, and Human RightsBoston University School of Public Health

Vanessa MertonProfessor of LawPace University School of Law

Margaret MontoyaProfessor of LawUniversity of New Mexico School of Law

Jennifer MooreProfessor of LawUniversity of New Mexico School of Law

Kate O'NeillAssociate ProfessorUniversity of Washington School of Law

Angela Onwuachi-WilligProfessor of LawUniversity of Iowa College of Law

James Gray PopeProfessor of LawRutgers Law School

Kevin G. PowersRodgers, Powers & Schwartz LLPBoston, MA

William P. QuigleyProfessor of LawLoyola University New Orleans

Jamin Raskin Professor of Law and Director of the Law and Government Program Washington College of Law at American University

Arlene Rivera FinkelsteinProfessor of Legal Methods and Director, Public Interest Resource Center Widener University School of Law

Ruthann RobsonProfessor of Law & University Distinguished ProfessorCity University of New York (CUNY) School of Law

Naomi Roht-ArriazaProfessor of LawUniversity of California, Hastings College of the Law

Florence Wagman RoismanWilliam F. Harvey Professor of LawIndiana University School of Law – Indianapolis

David Rudovsky Senior FellowUniversity of Pennsylvania Law School

Liz Ryan ColeProfessor of Law and Director, SiP/ESWVermont Law School

Herman SchwartzProfessor of LawWashington College of Law at American University

Judith A. Scott,General CounselService Employees International Union (SEIU)

Peter M. ShaneJacob E. Davis and Jacob E. Davis II Chair in Law and Director, Project on Law and Democratic Development Moritz College of Law The Ohio State University

Steven ShiffrinCharles Frank Reavis Sr. Professor of LawCornell Law School

Marjorie A. SilverProfessor of LawTouro Law Center

John StraitAssociate Professor of LawSeattle University School of Law

Jamienne S. StudleyPresident Public Advocates Inc.

Lawrence VelvelDeanMassachusetts School of Law

Joan VogelProfessor of LawVermont Law School

Peter WeissPresidentLawyers Committee on Nuclear PolicyNew York, NY

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