Constitutional Law

Balkin Reiterates Call for "Truth Commission"

After Sen. Leahy’s proposal for an investigation into alleged abuses of executive authority under the Bush administration, Yale law professor and frequent ACS contributor Jack Balkin had this to say: “[W]e need truth commissions in our current circumstances, … and a single truth commission may not be sufficient.”

Balkin also repeated Sen. Leahy’s statement that “We need to get to the bottom of what happened – and why – so we make sure it never happens again.”

There are three reasons for investigating accusations of torture and domestic spying, Balkin wrote in his Jan. 10, New York Times op-ed. “First, we must restore America’s commitment to human rights by exposing and condemning our own abuses. Second, we must counteract the tendency toward secret laws that facilitate these violations. Third, we must create a public record of government misconduct as a lesson to future generations and a caution to future administrations.”

Full post as published by ACS Blog on February 11, 2009 (boomark / email).