The Political Chase

Conyers schedules torture review with Addington, Ashcroft, Feith, Daniel Levin, and Tenet

Prompted by ABC’s recent exposure of the White House torture review program, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers invited five top Bush administration officials (former and current) to a hearing to review the administration’s "torture policies and other potential abuses of executive power."

Conyers sent letters to David Addington, John Ashcroft, Doug Feith, Daniel Levin, and George Tenet informing them of the May 6 hearing. While each letter is specific to the recipient’s role in the administration, he stated (directly or indirectly) a common interest:

"Among the subjects likely to be explored at the [May 6] hearing are the United States policies regarding interrogation of persons in the custody of the nation’s intelligence services and armed forces, issues on which you appear to have played an important role."

In his letter to David Addington (Cheney’s current chief of staff), Conyers specifically referenced Addington as a "principal author of the…memo justifying torture" and his participation in the "preparation of the key legal memorandum concluding that the protections of the Geneva Conventions are ‘obsolete’."

Writing to former Attorney General John Ashcroft, Conyers conveys his intention to explore "issues regarding the nature and scope of Presidential power in the time of war and the current Administration’s approach to these questions under U.S. and international law."

It is not unreasonable to presume George Bush will invoke Executive Privilege. Surely by now, Fred Fielding’s assistant has a Word template that only requires adding the applicable name(s).