Thank you for your letters to Secretary Panetta dated July 5, 2011 and October 3, 2011, concerning military commission proceedings and related issues of access by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The Department of Defense is committed to making military commission proceedings transparent and accessible to the public, consistent with protecting national security, the safety of individuals, and the rights of the accused. … Recently, we have been working to improve public access to military commission proceedings and materials.

The undersigned organizations representing a diverse universe of constituents who care about civil rights and civil liberties write in support of S. 417, the State Secrets Protection Act. This bill strikes an appropriate balance between allowing plaintiffs to seek justice through our judicial system and protecting information that would endanger national security if released to the litigants or the public. We urge the bill’s immediate passage.

We are writing to follow up on the letter we sent in July concerning the logistical difficulties that in the past have prevented us from adequately performing our role as nongovernmental organizations authorized to observe military commissions at Guantanamo Bay. To date, we have not received a response to our letter. … While we are encouraged that the commission may be expanding access to the commissions for some individuals and media, this new venue would not address any of the NGO observers' concerns about the commissions' lack of transparency, as set forth in our earlier letter.

As nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) authorized to observe military commissions at Guantanamo Bay, we are writing regarding logistical difficulties that prevent us from adequately performing that role. Now that the U.S. government has decided to try those accused in the September 11, 2001 attacks and the bombing of the USS Cole before military commissions, we believe that it is especially important that NGOs not only observe commission hearings, but are better able to obtain relevant documents and share our observations with the general public.

The undersigned nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) authorized to observe the military commission proceedings at Guantánamo Bay write to express our objection to new restrictions that the Department of Defense put in place this week on our ability to attend press briefings. … The information and insights we obtain from these briefings help shape our understanding of what we observe during the proceedings, and provide additional information not necessarily available from the viewing area at the back of the courtroom.

We appreciate that nongovernmental organization (NGO) observers and the press had opportunities to meet while at Guantanamo Bay for the arraignment of the 9/11 accused; however, it is unfortunate that the Office of Military Commissions denied NGO observers access to the press conference on Sunday, May 6, 2012. This raises concerns about the government’s commitment to transparency.

NACDL Director of White Collar Crime Policy Shana-Tara Regon's letter to the House Judiciary Committee regarding proposed changes to the laws governing public corruption charges, as outlined in the Clean Up Government Act of 2011 (H.R.2572).

Board member Tim O'Toole's written statement to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security regarding proposed changes to the laws governing public corruption charges, as outlined in the Clean Up Government Act of 2011 (H.R.2572).

Letter with the Heritage Foundation to the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding prosecutions of public corruption and the changes proposed in the Public Corruption Prosecution Improvements Act (S. 49, 2009).

Brief of Cross-Ideological Groups Dedicated to Ensuring Official Accountability, Restoring the Public’s Trust in Law Enforcement, and Promoting the Rule of Law as Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioner (on petition for a writ of certiorari)

Brief of Cross-Ideological Groups Dedicated to Ensuring Official Accountability, Restoring the Public’s Trust in Law Enforcement, and Promoting the Rule of Law as Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioner (on petition for a writ of certiorari)

Brief of Cross-Ideological Group Dedicated to Ensuring Official Accountability, Restoring the Public’s Trust in Law Enforcement, and Promoting the Rule of Law as Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioner (on petition for a writ of certiorari), including Cato, NACDL, and numerous others listed in the appendix.