During last year’s election campaign, Common Cause issued a call to Recapture the Flag, calling on citizens and candidates for federal office to aid our democracy in distress by pledging, among other things, to demand a President and a Congress who would hold to account – without exception – anyone who breaks the law or violates the public trust. This is the greatest challenge to government accountability of our time and we cannot shrink from it because inquiry may be uncomfortable, difficult or potentially embarrassing to some in power. We must have the courage to fully investigate allegations that our government abused its power and violated the law and the Constitution by:
In order to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States,” as all federal office holders swear to do, these questions must be answered. A decent respect for the opinions of mankind requires no less. Some in low level positions have already been held accountable. It is unconscionable in our American system of justice to prosecute low-level soldiers and functionaries while ignoring the conduct of their superiors. If crimes and abuses did occur, and we do not know, much less understand, their extent then the likelihood that such misconduct will be repeated, but next time on an even larger scale, is virtually guaranteed. Click here to sign the petition calling for a Constitutional Truth Commission. To move resolutely forward, we must know the truth regarding past conduct. To do so is not looking back, but rather looking to the future. Continued secrecy and indifference to prior conduct will do lasting damage to the fabric of our democracy, weakening faith in our ability to live up to the promise of governance by laws, not men, enshrined in our founding documents. Arguments that some of the questioned past conduct is simply policy that people can disagree about countered by accusations of criminal conduct can only be resolved by a thorough examination.
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