Biden Campaign: Welcomes Edwards’ support for special counsel
12/14/2007
Des Moines, IA (December 14, 2007) – On December 9th, speaking on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” Sen. Joe Biden began the call for an special counsel to investigate the destruction of CIA tapes.
Yesterday, Sen. John Edwards became the second Democratic presidential candidate to join the call for an independent prosecutor. During a campaign stop yesterday in Iowa, Edwards said, “I’m completely supportive of an independent prosecutor. I think that having somebody who is not from the Administration is the best way to get to the bottom of this.”
Following Edwards’s comments, Biden for President Campaign Manager Luis Navarro issued the following statement:
“Sen. Biden applauds Sen. Edwards for joining his call for a special counsel to investigate the Bush White House’s involvement in the CIA tapes scandal. Presidential candidates who are calling only for a congressional investigation are not doing enough. Other presidential candidates should also put pressure on the administration and recognize the need for an independent review of the facts in this case. It would be nice if this administration had enough integrity to police itself but unfortunately it does not.”
Today, the Sioux City Journal published an op-ed by Sen. Biden. “The evidence destroyed depicted the president's policy of snatching terrorist suspects from the streets of foreign countries, hiding them away in secret prisons, and torturing them. The president has created a culture of criminal misconduct and cover up, has injected politics into the administration of justice, and has made public policy a slave to his ideology,” wrote Sen. Biden. “Moreover, the investigation necessitates that criminal investigators pose direct questions to, and demand answers of, high-ranking administration officials.”
December 11th: Richardson Called on Congress to Investigate CIA Torture-Tapes Scandal. “It is imperative that Congress get to the bottom of the CIA torture-tapes scandal,” Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico said. “The American people deserve to know whether laws were violated and whether the president was directly involved in illegal activities. Torture is a black-and-white moral issue.”
December 7th: Obama Said CIA Incident Deserves Further Congressional Inquiry. In a press release, Sen. Obama said, “Mr. President, this incident deserves further congressional oversight and inquiry - neither the CIA nor this interrogation program is immune to our laws. This is yet another chapter in a dark period in our constitutional history.”
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