Email 1/11/10 from the National Religious Campaign Against Torture

Dear Friends:

We emailed you in December about calling for the release of the Department of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) report that is believed to detail instances of professional misconduct by lawyers in the previous Administration's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). Specifically, it is reported to demonstrate how lawyers in the OLC intentionally misinterpreted the law in order to sanction torture and other abusive acts.

Today we again ask you to email the Attorney General about the OPR report. Release of this report is crucial to understanding the breakdowns that occurred in the OLC that lead to lawyers misconstruing the law in such a way as to provide legal cover for the use of torture. Understanding those breakdowns is essential to preventing the future use of torture.

NRCAT has asked the Attorney General to have a conference call with Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, Rabbi Steve Gutow, President, Jewish Council for Public Affairs and Dr. Ingrid Mattson, President, Islamic Society of North America. They will ask him to release the OPR report as soon as possible. NRCAT was told to call at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, January 13 to learn if the conference call will take place.

Please email the Attorney General's office as soon as possible to ask him to release the OPR report. A model email can be found here.

Thank you,

Linda Gustitus, President
Rev. Richard L. Killmer, Executive Director