Dear Friends,
In a story that is now the lead of nearly every news outlet, you have undoubtedly seen how Senator Dianne Feinstein, Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, took to the Senate floor on Tuesday to discuss the Committee's investigation into CIA torture. She described how the CIA repeatedly removed documents it had provided the Committee and how it, possibly illegally, monitored the Committee's work. She also suggested that the CIA's general counsel may have attempted to intimidate Committee staffers. Senator Feinstein stated that she believed that the executive summary and conclusions of the Committee's report should be made public so that "we will be able to ensure that an un-American, brutal program of detention and interrogation will never again be considered or permitted."
Please write to your Senators today to tell them that you believe in effective congressional oversight and that you oppose any attempt by the CIA to interfere in a congressional investigation. Tell your Senators that you believe that the public should have the facts – the facts contained in the Senate Intelligence Committee report on torture. You can use the sample email we have prepared...
Senator Lindsey Graham was quoted responding to Senator Feinstein's comments saying, "Heads should roll, people should go to jail if it's true. … If it is, the legislative branch should declare war on the CIA." Please write to your Senators now. They need to know that you also see this as a serious issue and that you believe the first step toward addressing it is to ensure that the public has access to the facts contained in this report.
Sincerely,
Matt Hawthorne
