Franks to Holder: Repudiate Terror Trial Policy or Resign
November 18, 2010 -- Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02), a Member of the House Judiciary Committee and the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, today issued the following statement in response to the Ghailani verdict:
"Despite Attorney General Holder's promises that "these cases have to be won" and that "failure is not an option," yesterday's ruling will be remembered as one of the most blatant miscarriages of justice in the history of our federal criminal court system. I cannot imagine a greater affront to the families of the victims who have waited so long for justice on behalf of their loved ones, nor can I imagine a more dangerous signal that was sent to our enemies, than to see a man who had already admitted to the 1998 African Embassy bombings, and who continued to work as an Al Qaeda operative and even a Bin Laden bodyguard until as late as 2004, acquitted of more than 280 criminal charges due to procedural protections in the civil court that precluded critical evidence from being admitted.
"The Obama Administration has now fundamentally characterized itself with the word "failure." In this case, failure comes with the unspeakably high cost of the shock, pain, and grief to the families of the 224 innocent people who were murdered and the more than 4,000 people who were wounded in these horrific terrorist attacks, who were all just told by a federal court that the man who irrefutably helped create the bombs that maimed and slaughtered their innocent loved ones is not guilty of a single count of murder.
"If this insane policy of appeasing terrorists and granting them American Constitutional rights to be tried as quasi American citizens continues, the cost of this failure will pale in comparison to the cost of the failure that will undoubtedly yet occur as a result of this ruling. Terrorists now have incontrovertible evidence that they can exploit the American justice system and they will use this knowledge to train new terrorist recruits and manipulate their cases if and when they are caught.
"Yesterday's ruling was a demonstration of why military tribunals were created and why they are so important. Military tribunals have long been established for those accused of war crimes. By definition, these tribunals are set up to deal with the unique challenges dealing with those who commit, in cases such as this, acts of terror against innocent civilians. These types of tribunals have been used before with great success. For instance, during WWII a group of Nazis were charged with attempting to terrorize citizens within the United States, in an effort to dissuade them from entering the war. They were captured and tried in a military tribunal in less than a month.
"President Bush once said, 'We must not let foreign enemies use the forums of liberty to destroy liberty itself.' Because of the current Administration's blind commitment to a radically misguided and dangerous philosophy, President Obama is now responsible for one of the greatest cracks in the foundation of liberty I have witnessed in my lifetime. Our children and grandchildren may be made to pay a terrible price as a result.
"Unfortunately, the failure of the Ghailani verdict is just the beginning. In light of this disastrous ruling-- the obvious consequence of the Administration's own disastrous terror trial policy-- I call on Eric Holder to either repudiate the Administration's policy on terror trials, or resign immediately."
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Congressman Franks is serving his fourth term in the U.S. House of Representatives, and is a member of the Committee on Armed Services, Strategic Forces Subcommittee, Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee, Military Readiness Subcommittee, Committee on the Judiciary, Constitution Subcommittee, and is Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law.
Congressman Flake: So Just How Broke Are We?
Washington, D.C., Nov 15 - Republican Congressman Jeff Flake, who represents Arizona’s Sixth District, today illustrated the size and scope of the growing national debt.
It was announced last week that former President Bill Clinton will be taking on a cameo role in the upcoming movie, “The Hangover 2.” As a sequel to the hilarious “Hangover,” the new movie is expected to rival the original in tickets sales, especially given the star power of its cameo stars.
The U.S. is so broke, that based on the $277.3 million “The Hangover” grossed, Hollywood would have to produce approximately 46,880 more Hangover movies in order to pay down our nation’s frightening $13 trillion debt.
“Hopefully, Congress’ hangover after a spending binge is beginning to clear,” said Flake.
Along with Senator McCain, Congressman Flake introduced the Debt Buy-Down Act, which allows taxpayers to designate up to 10 percent of their federal income tax liability to reduce the national debt. The bill then requires Congress to reduce federal spending by that amount.
More information on the Debt Buy-Down Act can be found here.
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Dr. Gosar Completes Orientation week in Washington
Dear Friends,
I am just wrapping up my orientation week in Washington and I am inspired by all the people I have met. Your help truly made a difference this election and I can assure you that this incoming freshmen class is motivated to change business as usual on Capitol Hill.
We are bringing a fresh perspective to DC that is focused on listening to the people we represent and bringing about commonsense reforms. I stood up in front of my new colleagues and stressed the importance of incorporating the new Members into leadership so that we can bring about change and get back to the basics. Leadership listened and has doubled freshmen representation on the leadership team and beyond.
I also met with the Doctor’s Caucus and I'm looking forward to being an active participant in this group. Repealing Obamacare and implementing true health care reform remains one of our top priorities and I am looking forward to working with fellow healthcare providers on lowering the cost of health care once and for all.
Finally, it is an exciting time for Arizonans. I met with the Arizona Republican Congressional Delegation and we are moving full speed ahead. With so many strong leaders representing our great state, we truly are in a position to move our region forward and ensure that the problems facing us are not forgotten.
I cannot thank you enough for your support, your time and all that you have done to bring change to Washington. You are a part of this journey and I am looking forward to hearing your ideas to make our country a better place.
Sincerely,
Dr. Paul Gosar
P.S. view the start of my journey to Washington here:
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO
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