Demand Progress

Tell your senator: Vote NO on the “torture memos” author

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    Tell your senator: Vote NO on the “torture memos” author

    Petition to the Senate:
    Steven Bradbury authored and approved dubious legal frameworks that allowed the Bush administration to use torture abroad. Bradbury’s history of promoting torture should disqualify him from ever serving in public office again. We urge you to vote NO on Steven Bradbury’s nomination to become general counsel of the Department of Transportation.

    The full Senate is voting on whether to confirm Trump's nomination of a key architect of the Bush administration's illegal torture programs to return as a top lawyer in the government.

    Steven Bradbury gave the legal thumbs-up to abuses from waterboarding, physically striking prisoners, stripping them naked, and depriving them of sleep for more than 7 days.

    Is that the type of person who should be allowed back into a position of power in the U.S. government? Absolutely not.

    This vote will be close and we've got a chance to win. Last week, Republican Sen. John McCain announced he would oppose any Trump nominee who backs the use of torture. It will just take a united Democratic Party and 1 or 2 more Republicans to reject this pro-torture nominee.

    Sign the petition: Tell your senator to vote NO on “torture memos” author Steven Bradbury’s nomination.

    During his time inside the Bush administration, Steven Bradbury wrote or signed off on four memos that okayed torture. He even concluded that the Geneva Convention – accepted by governments worldwide – did not apply.

    His legal analysis was so bad that even Bush’s Justice Department ultimately withdrew Bradbury’s memos amid "serious concerns about some of his analysis."

    Trump probably wants his top lawyers to believe that the executive branch has almost limitless powers, but that’s deeply dangerous. And he might think the public won’t notice if he sneaks Bradbury into an agency mostly unrelated to his prior work.

    We can’t let that happen.

    The Senate already blocked Bradbury back in 2008 from leading the Office of Legal Counsel because of similar concerns with his role in torture, surveillance, and whether he could be independent of the White House.

    The Senate needs to block him again and make sure torture promoter Steven Bradbury is never allowed in government.

    Sign the petition: Tell your senator to vote NO on “torture memos” author Steven Bradbury’s nomination.