“We need to come to a shared understanding of the failures of the recent past,” said Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, in a speech at Georgetown University. He stated, “Rather than vengeance, we need a fair-minded pursuit of what actually happened […] And we do that to make sure it never happens again.” 

 

It would seem that the initial goal of the commission would be to simply gather all the information that is now available in order to better understand what exactly happened during the eight years of the Bush administration. As Bob Fertik from Democrats.com points out, it is unclear whether the commission would have any power to prosecute, or even to recommend prosecution. 

 

When asked his opinion about Leahy’s proposal during his first prime time press conference, President Barack Obama was vague, but he did say, “My administration is going to operate in a way that leaves no doubt that we do not torture, that we abide by the Geneva Conventions and that we observe our traditions of rule of law and due process as we are vigorously going after terrorists that can do us harm. My view is also that nobody is above the law, and if there are clear instances of wrongdoing than people should be prosecuted just like any ordinary citizen. But generally speaking I am more interested in looking forward than I am in looking backwards.”

 

U.S. Senator Seeks Bush-era "truth commission" (by Randall Mikkelsen, Reuters)

Obama Waffles (Again) On Prosecution of Bush officials (by Daphne Eviatar, Washington Independent)

Republicans Reject Truth Commission So Let's Prosecute (by Bob Fertik, Democrats.com)

Obama Indicates He Doesn't Back Lawmakers' Calls to Probe Bush Abuses (by Jason Leopold, Public Record)