Ms. Pelosi:
I’ll make this brief because I know you are busy.
I wanted to remind you of the oath you first took in 1987 and reaffirm at the start of each new Congress. It reads:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.
Maybe I am missing something but I read nothing about political parties, putting your interests above the nation’s, or putting your party’s interests above the nation.
You now admit to attending the briefing where waterboarding was discussed but was told the CIA was only considering the use of the technique. Even assuming that to be true, you never objected to the “future use.” You said nothing, not a single word. Your most recent explanation for failing to speak up is, “No letter or anything else was going to stop them from doing what they were going to do. My job was to change the majority in Congress and to fight to have a new president.”
No, that is not your job. The oath you took clearly defines your job.
If you believed laws were being broken it was your duty as a sworn representative and a citizen to speak up. The Federal Criminal Code at 18 Section 4 applies to everyone and defines “Misprision of Felony” as “whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the United States, conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military authority under the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.”
If you thought a crime was being committed it was your duty to report it. If, as I suspect, you had no issues with the Enhanced Interrogation Techniques as discussed in the briefings then I applaud you for putting the nation’s safety as a priority. That was your duty and you honored it.
Our servicemen and women have taken the same oath to “protect and defend.” As Memorial Day approaches let us remember the many who have given their lives for this nation regardless of the political party in power. The Marine Corps has three core values: honor, courage, and commitment. A Marine is expected to live all three. Congress should adopt the same core values. At this point I wish you would pick just one.
Sincerely,
Bob Hamer
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