Interference With Spanish Justice System
Three months into Barack Obama's Presidential term, the Administration tapped Senator Mel Martínez to deliver a private message to Spanish Government officials in order to thwart a probe into former Bush Administration officials for rendition and torture of Guantanamo detainees which the U.S was failing to investigate.
According to Carol Rosenberg, "The cause for alarm at the U.S. Embassy was what a U.S. diplomat called a "well documented 12-inch-tall dossier compiled by a Spanish human rights group. In the name of five Guantánamo captives with ties to Spain, it accused the Bush legal insiders of laying the foundation for abuse of detainees in the months following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The six accused are: former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales; David Addington, former chief of staff and legal adviser to the Vice President; William Haynes, former DOD General Counsel; Douglas Feith, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy; Jay Bybee, former head of the DOJ Office of Legal Counsel; and John Yoo, a former member of Bybee’s staff.
On April 15, 2009, Martínez met with Acting Foreign Minister Angel Lossada on a visit to the Spanish foreign ministry, where he warned that an investigation would have consequences, and "that prosecutions would not be understood or accepted in the U.S. and would have an enormous impact on the bilateral relationship." Lossada told Martínez that he understood the complications but "the independence of the judiciary and the process must be respected", and "that the executive branch of government could not close any judicial investigation and urged that this case not affect the overall relationship, adding that our interests were much broader, and that the universal jurisdiction case should not be viewed as a reflection of the Spanish Government's position."
Following the outreach, the Spanish Attorney General Conde Pumpido’s press chief told the media that the Prosecutor’s office will deliver the AG’s recommendation to the National Court, where it will be up to investigating judge Baltasar Garzon to decide whether to pursue the case or not. Baltasar Garzon has been an outspoken critic of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and has publicly stated that former President George W. Bush should be tried for war crimes.
Read more about this topic: Mel Martinez
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