Senator Edward Kennedy United States Senate 317 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510-0001 Senator John Kerry United States Senate 304 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510-0001 I urge you to oppose moving forward on the confirmation of Timothy Flanigan as Deputy Attorney General until Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appoints an outside independent counsel to investigate and prosecute criminal violations of federal law against the torture and abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, and elsewhere. Mr Flanigan had a central role in advising on the development of interrogation policies that approved the use of torture and abuse. If the Senate confirms Flanigan, he will be the direct supervisor of all US attorneys. With his former supervisor Alberto Gonzales now the Attorney General, the United States' top two law enforcement officials will have both played significant roles in the torture and abuse scandal. Given the evidence that the deliberate and widespread use of torture and the abuse of prisoners were the predictable result of policy changes at the highest levels of government, the Senate should not leave the investigation of this scandal in the hands of officials who helped create the problem. To guarantee a full and fair review of the government's high-level decisions on torture and abuse, Congress must demand the appointment of an independent outside counsel for torture prosecutions before elevating another top torture official to the second highest law enforcement job in the nation. If Flanigan is confirmed without any guarantee of an independent outside counsel being appointed, the world will never have a full and fair review of how the White House and other top civilian government officials abandoned the rule of law by authorising abusive interrogation techniques. The only way to stop torture once and for all is to ensure that no one is above the law. I urge you to oppose moving forward with the Flanigan nomination unless Attorney General Gonzales appoints an outside independent counsel to investigate and prosecute torture and abuse by the government. Sincerely, Matthew Belmonte