Ramsey Clark

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William Ramsey Clark
Ramsey Clark
In office
March 10, 1967 – January 20, 1969
President Lyndon B. Johnson
Preceded by Nicholas Katzenbach
Succeeded by John N. Mitchell
Born December 18, 1927 (1927-12-18) (age 80)
Dallas, Texas
Political party Democratic

William Ramsey Clark (born December 18, 1927) is a lawyer and former United States Attorney General. He worked for the U.S. Department of Justice, which included service as the 66th United States Attorney General under President Lyndon B. Johnson. He is a left-wing activist and has been known for his continuing advocacy for civil and human rights political causes. He is also known for his role as defense attorney in the trials of Saddam Hussein. He was a recipient of the Gandhi Peace Award.

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[edit] Early life and career

Clark was born in Dallas, Texas, to Mary Jane Ramsey and Tom C. Clark,[1] who was also a United States Attorney General and a justice of the Supreme Court. Clark served in the United States Marine Corps in 1945 and 1946, then earned a B.A. degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1949, an M.A. and a J.D. from the University of Chicago in 1950.

He was admitted to the Texas bar in 1950, and to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States in 1956. From 1951 to 1961, Clark was an associate and partner in the law firm of Clark, Reed and Clark.

[edit] Kennedy and Johnson Administrations

Clark served in the Department of Justice as the Assistant Attorney General of the Lands Division from 1961 to 1965, and as Deputy Attorney General from 1965 to 1967.

In 1967, President Johnson nominated him to be Attorney General of the United States, he was confirmed by congress and took the oath of office March 2. There is speculation that Johnson made the appointment on the expectation that Clark's father, Associate Justice Tom C. Clark, would resign from the Supreme Court to avoid a conflict of interest. Johnson wanted a vacancy to be created on the Court so he could appoint Thurgood Marshall, the first African American justice. The elder Clark resigned from the Supreme Court on June 12, 1967, creating the vacancy Johnson desired.

Clark served as Attorney General until Johnson's term as President ended on January 20, 1969.

Clark played an important role in the history of the American Civil Rights movement. During his years at the Justice Department, he

As Attorney General during part of the Vietnam War, Clark oversaw the prosecution of the Boston Five for “conspiracy to aid and abet draft resistance.” Four of the five were convicted, including pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock and Yale chaplain William Sloane Coffin Jr.

In addition to his government work, during this period Clark was also director of the American Judicature Society (in 1963) and national president of the Federal Bar Association in 1964–65.

[edit] International activism

Following his term as Attorney General he worked as a law professor and was active in the anti–Vietnam War movement. He visited North Vietnam in 1972 as a protest to the bombing of Hanoi. He was also associated with the New York law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison before resigning to run for political office.

In 1974 he was the Democratic Party's candidate for the United States Senate from New York, losing to Jacob Javits. In 1976, Clark again sought the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, but was a distant third in the primary behind Daniel Patrick Moynihan, (the winner), and Congresswoman Bella Abzug.

Attorney General Clark & President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Attorney General Clark & President Lyndon B. Johnson.

More recently, Clark has become controversial for his political views and publications. While denouncing the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington D.C. in 2001, he has also strongly opposed any retaliation against Afghanistan as well as against Al-Qaeda. He has been a strong opponent of the war on Terrorism in Afghanistan and the rest of the world from the very beginning.

In 1991, Clark accused the administration of President George H. W. Bush and "others to be named" of "crimes against peace, war crimes" and "crimes against humanity" for its conduct of the Gulf War against Iraq and the ensuing sanctions;[2] in 1996, he added the charges of genocide and the "use of a weapon of mass destruction".[3] Similarly, after the 1999 NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Ramsey charged and "tried" NATO on 19 counts and issued calles for its dissolution.[4]

Clark is affiliated with VoteToImpeach, an organization advocating the impeachment of George W. Bush. He has been an opponent of both 1991 and 2003 Persian Gulf War conflicts. "Impeachment is the most important issue facing Constitutional government in the United States. Impeachment will determine whether the American people will hold the Bush administration accountable for its High Crimes and Misdemeanors".[5] Clark is the founder of the International Action Center. It holds significant overlapping membership with the Workers' World Party.[6] Clark and the IAC helped found the protest organization A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism).[7]

Ramsey Clark has been criticized for some of the people he agreed to defend; this criticism has been exacerbated by some statements Clark has made in defense of his clients.[8]

In 2004 Clark joined a panel of about 20 prominent Arab and non-Arab lawyers who volunteered to defend Saddam Hussein in his trial before the Iraqi Special Tribunal.[9] Clark appeared before the Iraqi Special Tribunal in late November 2005 arguing "that it failed to respect basic human rights and was illegal because it was formed as a consequence of the United States' illegal war of aggression against the people of Iraq."[citation needed] Clark said that unless the trial was seen as "absolutely fair", it would "divide rather than reconcile Iraq".[10] Christopher Hitchens claimed that Clark was admitting Hussein's guilt when Clark reportedly stated in a 2005 BBC interview: "He [Saddam] had this huge war going on, and you have to act firmly when you have an assassination attempt".[11]

Ramsey Clark visited Nandigram in India in November 2007 and expressed his solidarity to the poor peasants of the area who were tortured by the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Ramsey Clark visited Nandigram in India in November 2007 and expressed his solidarity to the poor peasants of the area who were tortured by the Communist Party of India (Marxist)

Clark was not alone in criticizing the Iraqi Special Tribunal's trial of Saddam Hussein, which drew intense criticism from international human rights organizations. Human Rights Watch called Saddam's trial a "missed opportunity" and a "deeply flawed trial",[12].[13] Among the irregularities cited by HRW, were that proceedings were marked by frequent outbursts by both judges and defendants, that three defense lawyers were murdered, that the original chief judge was replaced, that important documents were not given to defense lawyers in advance, that paperwork was lost, and that the judges made asides that pre-judged Saddam Hussein.[14] One of those outburst occurred when Clark was ejected from the trial after passing the judge a memorandum stating that the trial was making "a mockery of justice". The Chief Judge Raouf Abdul Rahman shouted at Clark, "No, you are the mockery... get him out, out".[15]

On 18 March 2006, Clark attended the funeral of Slobodan Milošević. He declared: "History will prove Milošević was right. Charges are just that, charges. The trial did not have facts." He compared the trials of Slobodan Milošević and Saddam Hussein, stating: "both trials are marred with injustice, both are flawed." He also described Slobodan Milošević and Saddam Hussein as "[b]oth commanders" who "were courageous enough to fight more powerful countries."[16]

On September 1, 2007, in New York, Clark, 79, called for detained Filipino Jose Maria Sison’s release and pledged assistance by joining the latter’s legal defense team headed by Jan Fermon. Clark doubted Dutch authorities’ validity and competency, since the murder charges originated in the Philippines and had already been dismissed by the country's Supreme Court.[17]

Echoing and supporting Al-Qaeda and Taliban propaganda claims, Clark has also described the war on terrorism as a war against Islam.[3]

In November 2007, Clark visited Nandigram in India[18][19] where conflict between state government forces and villagers resulted in the death of at least 14 villagers.[20][21]

Former Attorney General and peace and social justice activist for his commitment to civil rights, his opposition to war and military spending and his dedication to providing legal representation to the peace movement, particularly, his efforts to free Leonard Peltier. He was awarded the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience on October 15, 1992. [22]

[edit] Notable clients

As a lawyer, he has also provided legal counsel and advice to several notable figures, including:

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Ancestry of Ramsey Clark
  2. ^ War Crimes: A Report on United States War Crimes Against Iraq to the Commission of Inquiry for the International War Crimes Tribunal, by Ramsey Clark and others
  3. ^ The Wisdom Fund, "Former US Attorney General Charges US, British and UN Leaders", November 20, 1996
  4. ^ CJPY, "NATO found guilty", June 10, 2000
  5. ^ "High Crimes", ImpeachBush.org
  6. ^ Kevin Coogan, "The International Action Center: 'Peace Activists' with a Secret Agenda," Hit List, November/December 2001.
  7. ^ Coogan, "The International Action Center," Hit List, Nov/Dec 2001.
  8. ^ John B. Judis, "The Strange Case of Ramsey Clark," The New Republic, April 22, 1991, pp. 23-29.
  9. ^ "US rebel joins Saddam legal team", news.bbc.co.uk, Dec. 29, 2004
  10. ^ "Chaos mars Saddam court hearing", news.bbc.co.uk, Dec. 5, 2005
  11. ^ "Sticking up for Saddam", Slate.com
  12. ^ "Iraq's Shallow Justice" Human Rights Watch, Dec. 29, 2006
  13. ^ "Hanging After Flawed Trial Undermines Rule of Law" Human Rights Watch, Dec. 30, 2006
  14. ^ "Saddam trial 'flawed and unsound'" news.bbc.co.uk, Nov. 20, 2006
  15. ^ [1], San Diego Union Tribune, Nov. 5, 2006
  16. ^ [2] Daily Times of Pakistan, Mar. 19, 2006
  17. ^ Inquirer.net, Ex-US attorney general calls for Joma release
  18. ^ Ramsey Clark visits Nandigram
  19. ^ Nandigram says 'No!' to Dow's chemical hub
  20. ^ NHRC sends notice to Chief Secretary, West Bengal, on Nandigram incidents: investigation team of the Commission to visit the area.
  21. ^ CPM cadres kill 3 in Nandigram.
  22. ^ The Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Recipients List

[edit] External links

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Preceded by
Nicholas Katzenbach		 United States Attorney General
1967–1969		 Succeeded by
John N. Mitchell
Preceded by
Paul O'Dwyer		 Democratic Nominee for U.S. Senate from New York (Class 3)
1974		 Succeeded by
Elizabeth Holtzman
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