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Kucinich Calls For Congressional Investigation
Into Cheney “Assassination Unit”
Congressman says Hersh claims should be subject of formal
probe
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 Democratic
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) has called for a formal Congressional
probe into allegations by investigative reporter Seymour Hersh
that former Vice-President Dick Cheney had his own SS-style
political assassination unit.
Kucinich made the call Friday in a letter to Chairman
Edolphus Towns of the House Oversight and Government Reform
Committee which has been published on the Congressman's
website.
Kucinich explains in the letter that, “Mr.
Hersh made the allegation before an audience at the University
of Minnesota on Tuesday, March 10, 2009. He stated, ‘Under
President Bush’s authority, they’ve been going into
countries, not talking to the ambassador or the CIA station
chief, and finding people on a list and executing them and leaving…
It is a special wing of our special operations community that
is set up independently. They do not report to anybody, except
in the Bush-Cheney days, they reported directly to the Cheney
office. . .Congress has no oversight of it.’”
“If true, these operations violate longstanding
U.S. policy regarding covert actions and illegally bypass Congressional
oversight," Kucinich adds. "Hersh is within a year
or more of releasing a book that is said to include evidence
of this allegation. However, we cannot wait a year or more to
establish the truth.”
The claims were made by the Award-winning New
Yorker writer last Tuesday when he told
a University of Minnesota audience “After
9/11, I haven’t written about this yet, but the Central
Intelligence Agency was very deeply involved in domestic activities
against people they thought to be enemies of the state. Without
any legal authority for it. They haven’t been called on
it yet.”
Hersh then went on to describe how the Joint Special Operations
Command was an executive assassination unit that carried out
political`assassinations abroad. . “It is a special wing
of our special operations community that is set up independently,”
he explained. “They do not report to anybody, except in
the Bush-Cheney days, they reported directly to the Cheney office.
… Congress has no oversight of it.”
In our
exclusive story last weekend we detailed how the
assassination unit was not a creation of the Bush administration
or Dick Cheney. The Joint Special Operations Command, has in
fact been active for decades, has been deployed domestically
in the U.S., has killed U.S. citizens, and continues as an integral
part of Barack Obama’s expanded wars in Afghanistan and
Pakistan.
(Article continues below)
Kucinich has previously targeted the former Vice
President, when in April 2007, he filed an impeachment resolution
against Cheney charging manipulation of evidence regarding Iraq's
weapons capabilities prior to the invasion of 2003.
The measure was blocked by the Democratic leadership,
as were articles of impeachment against President George W.
Bush in June 2008.
The full text of Kucinich's letter follows:
March 13, 2009
The Honorable Edolphus Towns
Chairman
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
U.S. House of Representatives
2157 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman Towns:
As you may already be aware, recent media reports indicate
that investigative reporter, Seymour Hersh, while answering
questions before a public audience at the University of Minnesota
divulged information about what he calls an “executive
assassination ring” operating under the George W. Bush
Administration.
If substantiated, the allegation would have far reaching implications
for the United States. Such an assertion from someone of Hersh’s
credibility that has a long and proven track record of dependability
on these issues merits attention. Mr. Hersh is within a year
or more of releasing a book that is said to include evidence
of this allegation. However, we cannot wait a year or more to
establish the truth. As such, I request that the Full Committee
immediately begin an investigation to determine the facts in
this matter.
Mr. Hersh made the allegation before an audience at the University
of Minnesota on Tuesday, March 10, 2009. He stated, “Under
President Bush’s authority, they’ve been going into
countries, not talking to the ambassador or the CIA station
chief, and finding people on a list and executing them and leaving.”
Mr. Hersh continued, “It is a special wing of our special
operations community that is set up independently," he
explained. "They do not report to anybody, except in the
Bush-Cheney days, they reported directly to the Cheney office.
. .Congress has no oversight of it.”
If true, these operations violate longstanding U.S. policy
regarding covert actions and illegally bypass Congressional
oversight. Current statute governing covert action (50 U.S.C.
413b) requires a presidential finding and notification to the
appropriate congressional committees. Additionally, Executive
Order 12333 clearly states that “[n]o person employed
by or acting on behalf of the United States Government shall
engage in or conspire to engage in assassination.”
I urge the Committee to explore Mr. Hersh’s allegation.
Please do not hesitate to call on me or my staff if we can be
of assistance.
Sincerely,
Dennis J. Kucinich
Member of Congress
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