If you read my op-ed in the New York Times¹ this morning and were surprised, you’re not alone. Even some of my staff here at the ACLU were confounded — until I had a chance to explain.

In my op-ed about the Senate’s report on post-9/11 torture, I call for the formal pardon of the architects of the CIA’s torture regime. While the ACLU has demanded the prosecution of these criminals for 13 years, the Obama Administration has shown very little political will to appoint a special prosecutor — I wanted to provoke the administration, and shame them into taking action.

If your only option is pardoning the torturers, you know something is terribly wrong. As we all know, impunity for torture is indefensible. We still need the Attorney General to appoint a special prosecutor — it’s more important than ever that there is accountability for torture.

For over a decade, the American people have demanded to know about post-9/11 torture conducted in our names. Today, we finally have some answers.

The Senate just released its summary report detailing widespread and illegal CIA torture during the Bush years. Over a hundred people were abused and tortured by the CIA and its contractors, often in secret prisons, set up in countries such as Poland, Romania, and Thailand.

Now that we have additional evidence of the wrongs committed in our name, we must demand accountability. We’re calling on Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to conduct an independent investigation of the torture program.

Will you call upon Attorney General Holder to appoint a special prosecutor? We must ensure there is a full criminal investigation of such horrific wrongs.

We have long known that the Bush administration’s torture program was authorized at the highest levels, including the White House, the Department of Justice, the CIA, and the Department of Defense.

We now also know that the CIA misled the public, Congress, and other oversight agencies about the scope and extent of its torture and the significance of the information obtained through torture.

In our system, no one should be above the law or beyond its reach, no matter how senior the official. Although some lower-level military personnel were prosecuted for their roles in the torture program, none of the officials who authorized the use of torture or oversaw its implementation have ever been charged with a crime.

We can’t undo the damage that was done, but we can declare today that it won’t stand unexamined. Urge Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor.

Now that more secrets have finally seen the light of day, it’s time to pursue justice and accountability. As the United States has repeatedly told other nations that commit human rights violations, a nation cannot move forward without accounting for the abuses of the past. Accountability is necessary for our country to regain its damaged moral authority, and to prevent the same wrongs from being committed again.

The Senate torture report makes clear that the torture program violated the Constitution and our criminal laws. This is our opportunity to urge a full criminal investigation of all those responsible for the torture program.

Accountability for torture today is critical for stopping it tomorrow: Sign the petition.

Thank you for taking action,

Anthony for the ACLU Action team

1. NY Times, Dec 9 2014: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/09/opinion/pardon-bush-and-those-who-tortured.html