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"These are War Crimes": Shocking Details Emerge of U.S. Resident Majid Khan's Torture by CIA
Shocking new details have emerged about how the CIA tortured a former resident of Baltimore, Maryland, who has been in U.S. detention since 2003, first at a CIA black site, then at Guantánamo. Majid Khan is the only known legal resident of the United States to be held at Guantánamo. Over the years, Khan has detailed U.S. torture practices to his attorneys at the Center for Constitutional Rights, but until recently much of the information remained classified. According to the declassified notes, Khan was waterboarded on two separate occasions, he was hung on a wooden beam for days on end, he spent much of 2003 in total darkness, and he experienced repeated beatings and threats to beat him with tools, including a hammer. Khan also faced rectal feeding, which his lawyers described as a form of rape. Part of Khan’s torture was outlined in last year’s Senate torture report, but the declassified information provides new details on the abuse. We are joined by Majid Khan’s lawyer, J. Wells Dixon, a senior staff attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: Shocking new details have emerged about how the CIA tortured a former resident of Baltimore, Maryland, who has been in U.S. detention since 2003, first at a CIA black site, then at Guantánamo. Majid Khan is the only known legal resident of the United States to be held at Guantánamo. Over the years, Khan has detailed U.S. torture practices to his attorneys at the Center for Constitutional Rights, but until recently much of the information remained classified. According to the declassified notes, Khan was waterboarded on two separate occasions, he was hung on a wooden beam for days on end, he spent much of 2003 in total darkness, and he experienced repeated beatings and threats to beat him with tools, including a hammer. Majid Khan also faced rectal feeding, which his lawyers described as a form of rape. Part of Khan’s torture was outlined in last year’s Senate torture report, but the declassified information provides new details on the abuse.
AMY GOODMAN: Majid Khan is a 35-year-old Pakistani citizen who graduated from Owings Mills High School in Baltimore. He was captured in Pakistan in 2003, then reportedly held at an unidentified CIA black site from 2003 to 2006. In the newly released documents about his interrogations at the CIA black site, Khan says agents told him, quote, "Son, we are going to take care of you. ... We are going to send you to a place you cannot imagine." He later confessed to delivering $50,000 to al-Qaeda operatives in Indonesia and to plotting with 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to serve as a sleeper agent for al-Qaeda in the United States.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: In 2012, Khan pleaded guilty to conspiracy, material support, murder and spying charges in exchange for serving as a government witness.
Well, for more, we’re joined by Majid Khan’s lawyer, Wells Dixon. He’s a senior staff attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights.
Welcome to Democracy Now!, Wells Dixon. Could you talk about how you came to represent Majid Khan?
J. WELLS DIXON: Sure. So, in March of 2003, Majid Khan disappeared. His family had no idea where he was, and he wasn’t heard from until he appeared in Guantánamo in September of 2006. But shortly before he arrived in Guantánamo, during the course of a criminal case that was being tried here in New York, his name came up. And the government introduced at that trial a stipulation, a written document that acknowledged that they had him in custody. And the document purported to describe things that he would say about what was going on in the trial. So that was the first time that his family knew that he was in U.S. custody. And after that, we were in contact with his family, and they asked us to file a case to challenge the legality of his detention.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: And it was in 2012 that Khan signed a plea agreement? Could you explain what it means to sign a plea agreement and what the impact of that has been on his case?
J. WELLS DIXON: Sure. So, for many years, we represented—that we were representing Majid, he was challenging the legality of his detention. But in early 2012, he was charged by a military commission with various offenses. And he ultimately signed an agreement in which he agreed to plead guilty and to cooperate with the government. He became a cooperating witness for the government. And he did that for—really, for one central reason, and that is that he was sorry for the things that he had done, and he really wanted to make up for the things that he had done. And this was a way for him to accept responsibility, to really move forward with his life and to hopefully have some chance at a life after Guantánamo. You know, he didn’t want his CIA torture and his time at Guantánamo to be the last chapter written in his life.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: Well, and can you talk about this—the information now that’s been declassified, what Majid Khan alleges was done to him by CIA interrogators? I mean, some of this material is quite stunning.
J. WELLS DIXON: Well, it’s horrifying. As you mentioned earlier, he was waterboarded twice in 2003. He was subjected to sexual abuse. He was subjected to extreme sensory deprivation. And he suffered tremendously as a result of this. I mean, it’s absolutely horrifying what was done to him.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: Well, I want to turn to a comment by former U.S. Justice Department attorney John Yoo, who played a key role in drafting the Bush administration torture memos. In December, he appeared on CNN after the release of the Senate committee report on the CIA’s use of torture. He was asked about the allegations of torture, which include—about Majid Khan, such as forced rectal feeding. This was Yoo’s response.
JOHN YOO: I agree with you. If these things happened as they’re described in the report, as you describe them, those were not authorized by the Justice Department. They were not supposed to be done, and those people who did those are at risk legally because they were acting outside their orders.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: That was John Yoo speaking on CNN. Could you comment on what he said?
J. WELLS DIXON: Yeah, so there you have it. I mean, in the Senate report, there was a disclosure, the fact that Majid had been raped. And you have there the legal architect of the CIA torture program, the lawyer who literally wrote the memos that allowed the torture to occur, saying that’s not something that he authorized and that that’s something that would violate the anti-torture statute.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: And what about the fact that he—you said earlier that he regretted, he wanted to compensate for what he had done. How do we take his claims of admission, given the fact that they claim—for whatever it is that he’s admitted to, they all came after he was subjected to this torture, is that correct?
J. WELLS DIXON: Yes, he agreed to plead guilty and to cooperate after being tortured. And what’s important to understand about that is that he agreed to plead guilty despite what had happened to him, not because of what had happened to him. You know, as you might imagine, the decision to trust the government, to take a leap of faith, to use the words that he used at his guilty plea, was very difficult, given the fact the he had been waterboarded and raped and subjected to all of these other horrors. But he really, truly believes that that was—that that’s something that’s necessary for him to do to put his prior life behind him and to move on with his life.
AMY GOODMAN: Wells Dixon, can you talk about how you, as an attorney representing him, knowing what has happened to him over the years, how you work these deals with the government about what you can and cannot reveal or say?
J. WELLS DIXON: Right, well, the Center for Constitutional Rights has long been on record opposing Guantánamo, opposing the CIA torture program and raising serious objections to the military commissions system. Having said that, our first interest always is the best interest of our clients. And so I, as counsel for Majid Khan, have to do what’s in his best legal interest, and ultimately what he directs me to do. And he made a decision that he wanted to plead guilty and cooperate, that he really wanted to try to atone for what he had done. And this is the way that he can do that. He is committed to fulfilling—to his obligation to cooperate in the commissions system. But, you know, if the government were to decide, for example, that it wanted to transfer his cooperation here to a criminal court in the United States, he would certainly be receptive to that. And, you know, I, as his counsel, think that there are policy reasons why that might be a good thing to do, notwithstanding the flaws, you know, even in our criminal justice system. But it’s up to the government. It’s really up to the government whether that happens.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to read from a Reuters report about the newly released details of Majid Khan’s treatment in a CIA black site: quote, "In a July 2003 session, Khan said, CIA guards hooded and hung him from a metal pole for several days and repeatedly poured ice water on his mouth, nose and genitals. At one point, he said, they forced him to sit naked on a wooden box during a 15-minute videotaped interrogation. After that, Khan said, he was shackled to a wall, which prevented him from sleeping.
"When a doctor arrived to check his condition, [Majid] Khan begged for help, he said. Instead, Khan said, the doctor instructed the guards to again hang him from the metal bar. After hanging from the pole for 24 hours, Khan was forced to write a 'confession' while being videotaped naked."
That’s an excerpt from a report by Reuters. Can you comment on this, overall, Wells, but also talk about the role of doctors, the role of psychologists, or what you heard about what happened in this CIA black site?
J. WELLS DIXON: Well, one of the things that we got declassified was Majid’s commentary on what had happened to him, how it felt and what he was experiencing as these things occurred. And one of the things that he has said is that doctors were among the worst torturers that he had. And I think, you know, you’ve given that one example as a perfect illustration, where you have a medical professional who is not only monitoring him, but monitoring him for the purpose of deciding when he can go back and be tortured even more. It’s horrifying. It’s a betrayal of the medical profession. And it’s unlawful. I mean, I think that’s the bottom line here, is that what happened to Majid Khan was unlawful. If you accept the notion that the United States is at war, which is of course debatable, if you accept that notion, these are very clear war crimes. Torture, rape, these are war crimes, and they need to be prosecuted. There needs to be a new DOJ investigation into this.
AMY GOODMAN: How did he know the person was a doctor?
J. WELLS DIXON: I don’t know the answer to that question.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: And he’s the only—Majid Khan is the only high-value detainee who has legal representation, is that right, in Guantánamo?
J. WELLS DIXON: No, actually, there are several who have legal representation. There are some, like Abu Zubaydah, for example, who has counsel. And then there are a number of men who have been charged by military commission—the alleged 9/11 plotters; the alleged Cole bomber, Nashiri. So there are several counsel who are representing these men.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: And what is it that you are calling for? What should be done now in his case?
J. WELLS DIXON: Well, we’re calling for greater transparency and accountability for what happened in the torture program. You know, every time there is a public disclosure about what has happened, we see more and more evidence of the savagery that occurred and sort of the treachery that’s occurred at the CIA. And it just gets worse. You know, once we get to—we think we’ve gotten to the bottom of it, there is a new and horrifying revelation. So there needs to be more accountability. We need to see the entire Senate report. And there need to be Justice Department prosecutions, as I said. That’s the only way to get to the bottom of what really happened.
AMY GOODMAN: Speaking about the release of the Senate intelligence report, I wanted to ask you about an interesting interaction I had with the former CIA director, Porter Goss. It was in March. I was participating at Hofstra University in Long Island in a review of the George W. Bush presidency. It was called "The Bush Doctrine and Combating Terrorism." This is a clip of my exchange with the former CIA director, Porter Goss, about the bipartisan Senate committee report on the CIA’s use of torture.
PORTER GOSS: In the interests of fairness, would respond a little bit on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence study on rendition, detention and interrogation—was a partisan political study. It was not two-sided. And there are further facts that need to come out from those who are able to, I think, correct some of the misstatements in the Senate study. That has not happened yet. I hope it will happen, because I do believe the American public needs to know the truth of all of this. The Senate study is not the full truth.
AMY GOODMAN: Was there any truth in it?
MODERATOR: Could you say again?
PORTER GOSS: What?
AMY GOODMAN: Was there any truth in it?
PORTER GOSS: Of course there was some truth in it. It was a cherry-picked, selective presentation of information to support a narrative that was made before this report actually even was started. The announced purpose of the report, of the study, if I’m correcting Chairman Feinstein—if I’m quoting Chairman Feinstein properly, was to make sure this never happens again. I’m not sure what the "this" was, or neither are a lot of people. But apparently, as you go through the report, as you go through this study, there are a series of observations that involved information that the decision makers could have provided to the people doing the report and would have given a fairer and more complete understanding of what happened and why. If you want to know why something happened, it’s a good idea to go back to the people who made the decision and ask them. They calculatedly and determinedly avoided going back to anybody that they thought might spoil their narrative. So, consequently, yes, there is some information that is cherry-picked, some out of context and some actually factually correct, as far as I know. I have not read a word of the report. I have not read a word of any of this stuff, because, to me, it is purely partisan political. And a politicization of intelligence in this country is going to hurt only one person, and that’s every citizen in the United States.
AMY GOODMAN: I just wanted to quote Senator McCain, who—
PORTER GOSS: I love Senator McCain, and I would certainly agree with you that Senator McCain is the icon of prisoner of war conduct. He has suffered greatly for our country and made great sacrifices and deserves to be listened to. But he does not have all of the information either.
AMY GOODMAN: He said, "It is a thorough and thoughtful study of practices that I believe not only failed their purpose—to secure actionable intelligence to prevent further attacks on the U.S. and our allies—but actually damaged our security interests, as well as our reputation as a force for good in the world."
PORTER GOSS: He is welcome to his opinion. I doubt he’s read the report. And in any event, he has certainly not asked the people who were involved in this activity what they think, because they have all indicated that he has not asked them. So, even he is dealing with less than a full deck.
AMY GOODMAN: That was Porter Goss, the former director of the CIA. Wells Dixon, you’re a senior staff attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights. His response?
J. WELLS DIXON: Well, I also have a lot of questions I’d like to ask people who were involved in the torture program. One of those questions is: Why was Majid Khan raped? Now, in response to the Senate report, the CIA offers no justification. And we heard earlier that the legal architect of the torture program said that wasn’t authorized. So, why did it happen? I do want to know the answer to that.
But, look, the notion that the report was incomplete or that it’s a partisan hack job, that it wasn’t well done, those are—those are talking points. And the only people who are making those talking points are people who are actually implicated by the report.
One of the really important aspects of the information that we got declassified concerning Majid Khan is that it corroborates a lot of what’s in the report. Not only does it discuss his torture that exceeded what’s disclosed in that report, but it also corroborates a lot of things in there—the sexual assault, for example, detainees being subjected to torture methods that are indistinguishable from waterboarding. So, you know, I am all in favor of the public release of the entire report, as well as the CIA’s own Panetta review. I think that’s a starting point for accountability.
AMY GOODMAN: Leon Panetta.
J. WELLS DIXON: Correct, right.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to thank you very much for being with us, Wells Dixon, senior staff attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights, where he represents Guantánamo prisoner Majid Khan. He specializes in challenging unlawful detentions.
This is Democracy Now! When we come back, part two of our conversation with Evan Young, the 18-year-old high school senior who was valedictorian of his class but couldn’t give the graduation address because his principal did not want him to say that he was gay. Stay with us.
Evan Young: Meet the High School Valedictorian Barred from Giving Coming-Out Graduation Speech
Part two of our interview with Evan Young, 2015 valedictorian of Twin Peaks Charter Academy High School in Longmont, Colorado. Young’s principal prevented him from delivering his graduation speech in which he planned to out himself as gay. This past weekend, Evan was able to give his speech at an Out Boulder fundraiser in a backyard before an audience of hundreds, a number of them politicians congratulating him for his bravery, including Colorado Congressman Jared Polis. Polis is the first openly gay member of Congress to become a parent.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: We return now to the case of Evan Young, the Colorado charter high school valedictorian who was barred from speaking at graduation because he was planning to come out as gay. On May 16th, he was scheduled to deliver the 2015 class valedictorian address at Twin Peaks Charter Academy High School in Longmont, Colorado. But just before the ceremony, his principal prevented him from giving his graduation speech after learning that Evan would be outing himself as gay.
AMY GOODMAN: This past weekend, Evan was able to give his speech at an Out Boulder fundraiser in a backyard before an audience of hundreds.
EVAN YOUNG: Where would we be without the Internet, probably the greatest invention since the wheel? In fact, I dare say the Internet is better than the wheel because as I’m sure you visitors from out of state can testify, wheels are pretty useless unless you have Google Maps to tell you where to go. Whether you’re scrolling through Facebook instead of working, or frantically reading through Sparknotes in the five minutes before English class because you forgot to do the reading last night (come on, you know you’ve all been there), you just can’t thank the Internet enough. I mean, really.
And finally, I’d like to thank the Coca-Cola Company and all its subsidiaries, which have not only stood as unshakable icons of American consumerism, but have also provided mankind with a delicious source of caffeine for so many years. And I’d like to say this speech is sponsored by them, but it’s not. They didn’t give me any money. Unlike Hillary Clinton, I don’t make millions of dollars a year for flapping my lips.
And now we arrive at the heart of the speech, the inspirational and meaningful part. For those of you who have already been sufficiently inspired, or who have already determined the meaning of their existence, feel free to play on your phone. Just remember to laugh every once in a while so I feel like I’m being funny. But for the rest of us, we’re going in. [...]
There is something I would like to reveal to you. You may have already suspected this, but I hope this does not change your opinion of me: I am gay. I’ve been attracted to men for as long as I can remember, but I’ve never had a girlfriend because I prefer members of my own sex.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s an excerpt of Evan Young’s speech. We played the full speech on Monday’s show, which you can watch at democracynow.org. But now we turn to part two of our exclusive interview with Evan Young. It begins with Congressmember Jared Polis, who also spoke at the Out Boulder event where Evan finally gave his speech.
REP. JARED POLIS: You know, Evan, I did find your speech a little controversial. As somebody who has labored against soft drinks out of schools, your shameless promotion of Coca-Cola is somewhat controversial.
You know, we like to think—we’re very proud as Boulder County residents. My goodness, we, with Clela Rorex here, had the first same-sex marriages in 1975. We’ve even had people come out in their graduation speeches before here in Boulder County, at Fairview High a couple years ago. But it really is a reality check for many of us to think, in this day and age, here in Boulder County, in a public school, that this kind of discrimination, singling out Evan purely on the basis of his sexual orientation, is able to occur. And I truly hope that the St. Vrain School Board holds Twin Peaks fully accountable, under the charter and under the state law, for these actions.
I have a certificate, as well, which I’d like to read for Evan. It says, "Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition presented to Evan Young in recognition of outstanding and invaluable service to the community," and truly in elevating this issue and letting all of us, as concerned citizens, know that these issues of discrimination still exist in this day and age, that purely on the basis of sexual orientation, somebody can be denied their academic honors—that in his case he didn’t work too hard to achieve, but nevertheless he earned. And, of course, the speech that he was selected to give shows that Out Boulder, One Colorado, HRC, all of the advocacy groups, locally, at the state level and nationally, need to redouble our efforts. And while Boulder was the first for gay marriage, we also need to redouble our efforts to make sure that we are the last time that somebody like Evan will have to go through what he had to go through and graduated high school.
AMY GOODMAN: That was Jared Polis, who is the openly gay congressmember from the area representing Boulder and Longmont. Evan Young joins us from Denver, Colorado, from the studios of Denver Open Media. Evan, how did it feel to both give your speech and then be given this citation, congressional recognition for what you’ve contributed to the community?
EVAN YOUNG: Yeah, it was crazy. When I was initially denied the right to give my speech, I was a little mad, but I had no idea it would go this far and that I would receive so much support from so many people. It was just awesome.
AMY GOODMAN: Talk about how this took place on May 16th, your preparation for the speech. You actually went to—was your high school graduation at your school?
EVAN YOUNG: Yes, I went to the graduation, yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: And it took place actually at your school? And you were—
EVAN YOUNG: Oh, yeah, it took place at the school.
AMY GOODMAN: And you were actually holding your speech, ready to give it, when the principal came over to you and said you wouldn’t be giving the speech?
EVAN YOUNG: Yes. It was a couple minutes before I was about to go out into the auditorium, and I had my speech in hand. And then he said I couldn’t give it. So I kind of wadded it up in a ball and threw it in my backpack.
AMY GOODMAN: Were the other students surprised?
EVAN YOUNG: Actually, a lot of my friends were really mad that I wasn’t allowed to give the speech, even before they knew the reason why I wasn’t allowed to give it. They had really wanted to hear it, I guess.
AMY GOODMAN: So there was no speech given by a student?
EVAN YOUNG: So there were supposed to be five speeches that night. So, first, it was a guest speaker, who was one of my friends’ dads. Then it was a speech by a teacher. And then it was the third place person, a historian or something. Then, it’s the salutatorian, the second place person, gave a speech. And then, finally, it was supposed to be the valedictorian, which was me, but I wasn’t able to give that. So there were four speeches that night, but there were supposed to be five. And I was the last one, but wasn’t able to give it.
AMY GOODMAN: So, Evan, did they acknowledge you as valedictorian of the class of 2015 at Twin Peaks Charter Academy High School?
EVAN YOUNG: They didn’t, although the board actually gave me a $500 scholarship for academic achievement, which I was very happy about that. But, no, they never mentioned that I was the valedictorian.
AMY GOODMAN: I’m looking at a number of articles that were written about what happened. This statement, attributed to the school attorney, Barry Arrington, said a graduation ceremony is, quote, "a time for family and those closest to the students to celebrate success and express mutual wishes of gratitude and respect. It is not a time for a student to use his commencement speech to push his personal agenda on a captive audience, and school officials are well within their rights to prevent that from happening." Evan, your response?
EVAN YOUNG: Well, I think they missed the whole point of the speech. I wasn’t trying to get people in the audience to accept gay marriage. I was trying to get them to accept me even though they disagree with me. And that was the whole lesson of my speech: You have to be respectful to people even if you disagree with them. And I thought me discussing being gay would be a very good way to get that message across.
AMY GOODMAN: So, you were actually outing yourself in this graduation speech. You hadn’t told your parents. You hadn’t told the community. I’m looking at another article on the response, and it quotes your dad, Don Young, who was previously on the charter school’s board of directors, saying, referring to the president, who is Mr. Buchmann, "Mr. Buchmann called me and said, ’I’ve got Evan’s speech here. There’s two things in it that I don’t think are appropriate. One was he had mentioned another student’s name. And then there was his coming out that he was gay." So, that’s the first time your father heard this, correct?
EVAN YOUNG: Yes, that is correct.
AMY GOODMAN: Are you hurt that it came from the school principal?
EVAN YOUNG: If there’s anything that upset me the most about this whole situation, it was probably that. And I guess what it showed is that the principal had very little respect or understanding for someone who is in my position. And as I said before, that sort of upset me the most.
AMY GOODMAN: So, the principal is now trying to say that you simply wouldn’t accept edits. What did he want you to edit out of the speech? There were some edits you accepted?
EVAN YOUNG: Oh, yeah, I actually made all of the edits he asked me to except the one. So he asked me to do various things, like at one point he asked me to remove a student’s name. And in retrospect, that was actually a very good idea. I didn’t want to hurt that student’s reputation or anything, so I’m very glad he pointed that out. And then there was another part where I complained about English class, and he said that might hurt the teacher’s feelings, which he was right. I’m glad he pointed that out. My English teach is actually my favorite—one of my favorite teachers. I just don’t like reading books that much. And so I was really glad that he pointed that out, too. So I changed it to a part where I just complain about homework in general. And there were a few parts where he asked me to tone down some of the jokes, and I was happy to do that. So, for the most part, the edits he asked me to make were very good, and I was happy to make them. It was just the one edit—
AMY GOODMAN: What was the joke he wanted you to edit out?
EVAN YOUNG: There were several of them, actually. I’m trying to think of one off the top of my head. Like, there’s one where—so I tell everyone to, like, hug people that they disagree with at the very end of the speech, and I ask Mel Gibson to hug a Jewish person. And he said I shouldn’t have that in the speech. So I actually removed that part for the speech I was going to give to the school, but then, once it was clear I wasn’t going to give it to the school, I put that joke back in, because it was one of my favorite ones. I thought it was kind of funny.
AMY GOODMAN: What did he say about your coming out in the speech?
EVAN YOUNG: He didn’t seem supportive of me doing something like that at all, like he was pretty condescending, and he was almost sort of rude about it. And I don’t want to sound like I’m whining or anything, but he didn’t—he seemed really disgusted that I would include something like that in my speech.
AMY GOODMAN: Did he tell you to remove it?
EVAN YOUNG: Yes, he did, in pretty explicit terms.
AMY GOODMAN: What do you mean?
EVAN YOUNG: Explicit as in not bad words. I was very like straightforward—
AMY GOODMAN: What did he say to you?
EVAN YOUNG: I was very straightforward about how the part—he didn’t think the part was appropriate and how it had to be removed, and it was offensive to people, to be very blunt.
AMY GOODMAN: Were you sitting with him, or did he call you on the phone?
EVAN YOUNG: I was sitting in his office with him, on the Tuesday before the graduation.
AMY GOODMAN: So, presumably, since he’s reading your speech in advance, you were coming out to him, as well.
EVAN YOUNG: Yeah, I was very nervous to give my speech to him, because I didn’t know how he’d react. And my parents actually got kind of mad at me, because I was being so secretive about my speech. And now they know the reason why, because I didn’t know how people, especially him, would react to such a revelation.
AMY GOODMAN: And so, what—how did you feel when Principal Buchmann told you to take that out of your speech, that it wasn’t appropriate?
EVAN YOUNG: Initially, I kind of actually agreed with him. I’m like, "Yeah, maybe I should remove this. Maybe it isn’t the right time." But then, over the next few days, I began to realize, "Hey, this could—this is a really powerful part of my speech, and it’s essential to the speech, and I can’t just remove it." So, it was about—it was the day before the graduation that I wrote him a letter where I said, "I’m not going to remove this part from the speech. Here are the reasons why. If you’d like to discuss it, please email me." And he didn’t email me in the next day or so, so I assumed he was OK with it. But I guess not.
AMY GOODMAN: So, when you gave this speech at Out Boulder to hundreds of people, including a number of politicians, your parents were there. They also spoke. How did your parents react to your speech? Is that the first time they heard it, last night?
EVAN YOUNG: They had actually read it several times before. And they actually really liked the part—the speech. But as my mom said, she was really glad to have heard me speaking it to a crowd, because they never actually heard me deliver the speech before.
AMY GOODMAN: So you go to a charter school, the Twin Peaks Charter Academy High School in Longmont. One of the articles about what happened pointed out that in the Boulder Valley School District, 2013 Fairview High School graduate—this is a public high school, Fairview High—Fairview High School graduate Ted Chalfen gave a commencement address. He had auditioned for the right to do so, as he was not valedictorian. In your school, the valedictorian gives it, but in his school, in the high school, they vote on the speaker. He talked about his status as a gay student. It was already known by a number of his peers that he was gay. And the Fairview principal, Don Stensrud, supported him as a featured speaker. So he was asked what he thought of what happened to you, Evan, and he said, "As sad as it is, it doesn’t shock me that this happened." Do you know Ted Chalfen?
EVAN YOUNG: I do not, sadly.
AMY GOODMAN: Did you know that a gay student had given the address last year [sic]?
EVAN YOUNG: I had actually looked it up on the Internet before I gave my speech, and I actually didn’t see that anywhere. Yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: So, what are your plans now, as we wrap up?
EVAN YOUNG: Well, I guess I don’t—I’m not going to take any action against the school. My school is a great school, and I think it’s very unfortunate that many people are judging my school on account of this one incident. I think I’m just going to let my 15 minutes of fame fade, and hopefully my school will take action to prevent something like this from happening again. And that’s the only reason I brought this to the press, because I want to make my school better.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s Twin Peaks Charter Academy High School valedictorian Evan Young speaking to Democracy Now! the day after he gave his valedictory address—not, however, to the audience he planned—his classmates and the families of his classmates at graduation—but two weeks later at an Out Boulder event. In a moment, we’ll go to Washington, D.C., to be joined by Congressmember Jared Polis, who represents the area of Colorado where Evan Young lives. He is calling for an investigation of the school. We’ll be back in a moment.
Colorado Congressman Calls for Probe into School Cancellation of Evan Young's Graduation Speech
Twin Peaks Charter Academy has announced the the school will launch an investigation into Principal BJ Buchmann’s decision to cancel Evan Young’s coming-out graduation speech. The school has defended decision by saying "the Valedictorian failed to follow the guidelines established by the school. The initial draft of the student’s speech submitted for review was condescending toward the school and the student’s peers and included, among other things, ridiculing comments about faculty and students. The draft speech also included references to personal matters of a sexual nature." We go to Washington, D.C., to speak with Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colorado) who called for the school probe. He is the first openly gay member of Congress to become a parent.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: Joining us now from Capitol Hill is Congressman Jared Polis from Colorado. He’s the first openly gay member of Congress to become a parent. He wrote a letter earlier this week to Twin Peaks Charter Academy that prompted the school to launch an investigation into Principal BJ Buchmann’s decision to cancel Evan Young’s graduation speech. In a press release, the Twin Peaks Charter Academy initially explained its decision by saying, quote, "the Valedictorian failed to follow the guidelines established by the school. The initial draft of the student’s speech submitted for review was condescending toward the school and the student’s peers and included, among other things, ridiculing comments about faculty and students. The draft speech also included references to personal matters of a sexual nature."
AMY GOODMAN: Congressmember Jared Polis, welcome to Democracy Now!, joining us from the Cannon Rotunda. First, can you tell us what you thought when you heard Evan give his speech at Out Boulder, the first time he gave that speech, instead of two weeks before when he planned to, May 16th, at his graduation as the valedictorian? And then talk about what you’re demanding right now.
REP. JARED POLIS: Well, what a shame that what should have been a celebratory occasion for Evan and his family, having achieved a great GPA and being named valedictorian of the school, instead was forever marred. And, of course, the concerns are beyond just the experience of Evan and his family, but the signal this sends to gay and lesbian kids across our county, across our state and across the country in terms of what coming out means and the support level that they can expect. So, an unfortunate turn of events. There have been other students that have been treated much more fairly. A student in Carbondale, Colorado, happened to mention that she was gay during her graduation speech and met great support from the community. And I think it was inappropriate that it seems like Evan was really singled out and removed from a speaking role on the basis of his sexual orientation, which is really inappropriate.
So, at this point, what we’re looking for is really to find out what happened, and was Evan removed just because of his sexual orientation, and what steps can the school take to ensure that they address the concerns in the public perception, and, in fact, can provide a welcoming and safe environment for LGBT students going forward.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, can you say exactly what you’ve demanded, the course of action that has taken place since you heard what happened to Evan, the letters you’ve written, what they’ve responded, and going beyond the charter school itself?
REP. JARED POLIS: Well, so far, there has really been no acknowledgment that there was any wrongdoing or mistake from the school’s perspective. So I think what should occur is a thorough investigation that has stakeholder buy-in, meaning the district should be involved, St. Vrain School District. They should make sure that it’s a process that equality advocates sign off on and a fair and reasonable process. I don’t think anybody wants to prejudge anybody with regard to this. And we need to find out what exactly occurred and what the proper steps that the school should take to ensure that it sends the message that it has a welcoming environment for all learners.
AMY GOODMAN: And explain how this charter school—I mean, it’s still a public school—fits into the broader public school system, the St. Vrain’s public school system. What’s the responsibility of that board?
REP. JARED POLIS: Like in many states, Colorado has a charter school law. Charter schools are public schools, but they receive waivers from many district policies. For instance, they can set their own personnel policy, their own school hours, their curriculum, to a certain extent. And they request those waivers formally; it’s not an informal thing. They’re formally granted to them in the process of a charter. But under state and federal law, there’s also certain policies and laws that are nonwaivable, meaning charters have every bit of the same responsibility as other public schools to follow them. And that would include nondiscrimination laws in the state of Colorado, as well as laws about making sure they serve the needs of special education students and a number of other laws, as well, that they’re just as subject to as any other school. So, we’ve really called upon the district, St. Vrain district, in their role as an authorizer—they’re effectively the link between this public charter school and the public education system—to ensure that those items that are not waived—in this case, the nondiscrimination law—is applied correctly at the St. Vrain charter school called Twin Peaks Academy.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: And you also point out, Congressman Polis, in your letter that this decision by the school could result in their charter being terminated. It is because of this question of discrimination.
REP. JARED POLIS: Well, that’s something that the school should be concerned about. Obviously, termination would only occur in extreme circumstances. This is a relatively easy situation to address. Thus far, unfortunately, the school has resisted a lot of the constructive community and district efforts to address it. So, hopefully, the school will be willing to address this issue. There’s no reason it should come to anything other than making sure that the school is serving all learners in a safe and accepting learning environment.
AMY GOODMAN: So, just to clarify, at this point, has the charter school said it will conduct an investigation of itself?
REP. JARED POLIS: Well, they’ve said they’re going to look into things internally. But what they haven’t done is involved the district or any external validator. So, the school alone can’t drive the process, the sort of judge and jury. They need to make sure that there’s a multi-stakeholder process that certainly involves the district, so there’s public confidence in the outcome of any investigation.
AMY GOODMAN: Interestingly, the superintendent of St. Vrain’s, of the overall school district, that includes the public and the charter schools, Dr. Don Haddad, was voted the best superintendent in the country last year. Have you gotten a chance to talk with him?
REP. JARED POLIS: The school district and Dr. Haddad have been extremely constructive through this process. I think that, as a value, the board strongly believes in serving all learners and making sure that the nondiscrimination statutes of the state, as well as the district’s equal education policies, which go beyond the state, are applied across St. Vrain schools. So I think they certainly have that commitment. And I know that the community is also strongly supportive of making sure that public schools serve all learners.
AMY GOODMAN: Do you think BJ Buchmann, the principal of the Twin Peaks charter school, should be fired, should be removed from his position?
REP. JARED POLIS: Well, that’s really up to the board of the Twin Peaks Academy. Certainly, there have been very serious issues raised, and, to a certain extent, there’s a bit of a discrepancy in accounts. But certainly, if that principal was lying to his own board, that would certainly be grounds for removal. But it’s really not a matter for anyone other than the board of the Twin Peaks Academy. But certainly, I hope the Twin Peaks Academy takes steps to regain the public trust and confidence that was lost by the way they’ve been handling this process.
A Victory for Privacy or Extension of Mass Surveillance? Co-Sponsor of USA FREEDOM Act Rejects Bill
Earlier this week, President Obama signed into law a measure ending the mass phone surveillance program exposed by Edward Snowden two years ago. The Senate passed the USA FREEDOM Act on Tuesday with a vote of 67 to 32. The law stops the bulk collection of telephone records. It instead requires the NSA to ask companies for a specific user’s data rather than vacuuming up all the records at once. Congressman Jared Polis initially co-sponsored the legislation but ended up voting against the measure. He joins us from Washington, D.C.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: Congressmember Polis, we wanted to switch gears, while we still have you with us, to address the issue of the USA FREEDOM Act. Earlier this week, President Obama signed into law the measure ending the mass phone surveillance program exposed by Edward Snowden two years ago. The Senate passed the USA FREEDOM Act Tuesday with a vote of 67 to 32. The law stops the bulk collection of telephone records, instead requiring the NSA to ask phone companies for a specific user’s data rather than vacuuming up all the records at once. Congressman Polis, you initially co-sponsored the legislation but ended up voting against the measure in the House. Can you talk about the USA FREEDOM Act and your efforts to rein in spying by the Drug Enforcement Administration, as well?
REP. JARED POLIS: Yeah, so, certainly, it’s a strong step forward for privacy advocates. I would argue it doesn’t go far enough. It leaves much of the PATRIOT Act intact. But certainly, some of the most extreme violations and the mass collection of personal data will no longer be authorized under the PATRIOT Act, so it’s a strong step forward. I would like to see additional reforms within the PATRIOT Act so that we can best reach the balance between privacy and national security.
We also passed an amendment just yesterday which ended the DEA’s authorization, which was never an explicit authorization, but it was authority they took upon themself—Drug Enforcement Agency, that is—to engage in mass surveillance of personal information, as well. So Congress attached to an appropriations bill a specific removal of any authority from the Drug Enforcement Agency to engage in mass surveillance.
AMY GOODMAN: But this USA FREEDOM Act that you co-sponsored and then ended up voting against, what was the original bill, and what did you feel was taken out that was too important to be taken out, which is why you ultimately voted against it?
REP. JARED POLIS: Sure. So, the USA FREEDOM Act is essentially a reform of the PATRIOT Act, which is the post-9/11 authorization that allowed—gave the government more tools to look into the terrorist threat against our country. It’s a broad scope to that legislation. There’s parts of it that are unobjectionable, and there’s others that raise very important privacy concerns. One of the set of privacy concerns raised were around one of the processes around mass surveillance or mass gathering of data. There was a blanket authorization, or at least the executive branch interpreted the authorization of the PATRIOT Act to provide them with the authority for a blanket authorization for metadata, etc., from people. That specific authority has been ended.
Where the bill still goes too far, in my opinion, is it allows for keywords to be used for mass surveillance of information that’s retained at the phone companies. For instance, a city or geographical term, however specific—it might be the entire state of New York or California or Los Angeles, there’s really not any specific legal parameters around this—could still be used in a government request of information that continues to be stockpiled at a private company. We would also want to make sure that security concerns are addressed with regards to how companies maintain their databases of our personal information.
NERMEEN SHAIKH: And do you believe, Congressman Polis, that Edward Snowden should be allowed to come back to the United States without facing charges?
REP. JARED POLIS: Well, he violated our law, so clearly he would face charges. I would—certainly, I’m not the attorney general, but if I were, I think some sort of plea bargain where he would serve some time in prison would be appropriate in punishment for his wrongdoings. But I don’t see any particular reason why he should have to spend the rest of his life in Russia. I think if there’s an accommodation that can be reached where he agrees to serve a term in prison in recognition of his violation of the law, that might be the most appropriate outcome.
AMY GOODMAN: Hillary Clinton, in an interview with The Guardian, said that Edward Snowden should come back to this country, the sort of—I think the words being used by the administration, "man up," and he could launch a vigorous public and legal defense. But we see what happened with Chelsea Manning, at the time Bradley Manning. We did not hear his voice in all the years that he was held, that he was tried, now imprisoned for 35 years. When someone is charged with this level of charge, it is rare that you can actually hear them. Why would Edward Snowden believe he could be heard?
REP. JARED POLIS: Yeah, I don’t blame him—yeah, I don’t blame him for not coming back. I think if I were in that situation, I wouldn’t come back, either, absent some sort of plea bargain or assurance, whether it’s five years in prison, three years in prison, whatever it is. I think he’s worried about coming back and facing the rest of his life in prison, and perhaps even at times solitary confinement. We certainly heard about some of the issues with regard to Chelsea Manning. So, I certainly understand why he’s not coming back and facing an uncertain fate.
AMY GOODMAN: And last question, as you—I know you have to leave—about fracking. Colorado is a big fracking state. Oklahoma just passed a ban on fracking bans. Maryland just passed a ban on fracking. Can you tell us your position in Colorado, what you think should happen around this controversial means of extracting fuel from the earth?
REP. JARED POLIS: Well, I’d love to see a middle ground between those two extremes, and I personally would like to think that’s the Colorado way, where we empower communities to make decisions around zoning and appropriate use of lands that are within their jurisdiction. So, I would continue to oppose a statewide ban in Colorado like New York and Maryland have done. I would also strongly oppose any legislation that tries to preempt local authority. In fact, in our state, I’ve long advocated legislation that gives explicit local authority for the types of zoning decisions that our cities and counties have with regard to every other type of industrial activity, and I think that they should appropriately have that with regard to fracking activity, as well, to help protect their communities.
AMY GOODMAN: Congressman Jared Polis, thanks so much for being with us, Democratic congressman from Colorado, the first openly gay parent member of Congress.
Headlines:
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Ukraine has seen its worst violence since a ceasefire was brokered to end months of fighting in February. Both the Ukrainian government and Russian-backed separatists accused the other of launching attacks near the city of Donetsk. At least 15 people were killed, including civilians. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has warned of a "colossal threat" that hostilities might resume.
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Anna Neistat: "This report presents cases of extrajudicial executions, massive deaths in custody, torture and forced disappearances and massive arbitrary arrests. And most importantly, in this report we name the officials who we believe are individually responsible or bear command responsibility for these violations. These are some of the highest levels of military command in Nigeria. And first and foremost, we are calling for an investigation to establish their responsibility and to bring them to justice."
U.N. to Probe Failure to Respond to Rape Allegations Against Peacekeepers
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Stéphane Dujarric: "The secretary-general is deeply disturbed by the allegations of sexual abuse by soldiers in the CAR, as well as allegations on how this was handled by the various parts of the U.N. system involved. His intention in setting up this review is to ensure that the United Nations does not fail the victims of sexual abuse, especially when committed by those who are meant to protect them."
Hundreds of Thousands Protest Violence Against Women in Argentina
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Boston Police Commissioner William Evans: "This guy required 24/7 surveillance, so we thought the threat was severe enough that we had to approach him. We never expected what happened, but, you know, hopefully it will all come out later so there’s a better understanding of the level of threat. But I can’t go into anything more than, you know, it was a very serious threat, and that’s why we didn’t take it lightly."
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Texas Executes Death Row Prisoner Lester Bower
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Investigators Submit Findings in Tamir Rice Probe
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Internal Affairs Probe Clears Madison Officer Who Killed Unarmed Teen
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Ex-Governor, Senator Lincoln Chafee Enters Democratic Race
Former Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee has entered the race of the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination. Chafee kicked off his campaign at George Mason University in Virginia.
Lincoln Chafee: "I enjoy challenges, and, certainly, we have many facing America. Today, I am formally entering the race for the Democratic nomination for president. If we, as leaders, show good judgment and make good decisions, we can fix much of what is ailing us. We must deliberately and carefully extricate ourselves from expensive wars."
Chafee previously served as a Republican senator before switching to the Democrats in 2013. He was the only Republican senator to vote against the Iraq War.
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COLUMN
"The High School Valedictory Address You Weren't Supposed to Hear" by Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan
Evan Young was the valedictorian of this year’s graduating class at Twin Peaks Charter Academy High School, in Longmont, Colo. On May 16, at his graduation ceremony, Evan planned to give his valedictory address. Earlier in the week, he submitted the text of his speech to the principal, as required. Just before the ceremony, Principal B.J. Buchmann told Evan he was not allowed to give his speech. Evan was shocked. He had been practicing for days. He had planned to come out as gay in the speech for the first time, to his own family, to his classmates and to the whole school community.
But Principal B.J. Buchmann would never give him the chance. He called Evan’s father after reading the draft and told him that Evan was gay. Evan told me on the “Democracy Now!” news hour: “If there’s anything that upset me the most about this whole situation, it was probably that. And I guess what it showed is that the principal had very little respect or understanding for someone who is in my position.” A statement released by the charter school’s board of directors read in part: “The draft speech ... included references to personal matters of a sexual nature. None of these topics are ever appropriate for a speech at a graduation ceremony.”
Evan eventually got to give his speech — two weeks later. A local LGBT advocacy organization, Out Boulder, had gotten involved and tried — and failed — to convince the school to allow Evan to give the speech at another venue. So Out Boulder hosted a garden party in a backyard of a home in Boulder, where 250 people packed in to hear Evan finally give his address. Among those present was Boulder/Longmont’s member of Congress, Rep. Jared Polis, who is himself gay, and was the first out gay parent in the U.S. Congress. Evan Young told me the following morning: “It was amazing. I was very nervous, actually ... but when I gave my speech, it seemed like everyone liked the whole thing, and it was just awesome.” He received a standing ovation. Polis presented Evan with special congressional recognition for outstanding and invaluable service to the community.
What were those words that the principal deemed necessary to censor, and which so inspired the crowd at the Out Boulder event? His speech showed a mature sense of humor, peppered throughout with jokes, but was a deeper, and deeply personal, call for tolerance and understanding.
“On a more serious note, there is something I would like to reveal to you. You may have already suspected this, but I hope this does not change your opinion of me: I am gay,” Evan said in his speech. “I’ve been attracted to men for as long as I can remember, and I’ve never had a girlfriend because I prefer members of my own sex.”
Evan continued: “And that’s my biggest secret of all: I’m gay. I understand this might be offensive to some people, but it’s who I am. And whether you’ve always suspected this, or this is a total shock to you, now you know. When I was writing this speech, I was endlessly debating with myself whether I should reveal this, on account of how divisive an issue this is and how gay people tend to be stereotyped, and I thought that, if I did, I should repeatedly apologize and beg you guys not to think any differently of me. But then I realized: I don’t have to. I shouldn’t have to. If there’s one thing I learned at this school, it’s that we can still be friends even if we profoundly disagree with each other.”
Congressman Jared Polis has written both the school board and the St. Vrain Valley School District (SVVSD), calling for an investigation into Evan’s silencing. Debbie Lammers, secretary of the SVVSD Board of Education, went to hear Evan at the Out Boulder event. She told me: “I am disappointed with what occurred, but I am glad that I had the opportunity to meet his parents and see Evan deliver his speech. It is unfortunate that this charter school has taken this step. It has put the family in a spotlight that they did not seek.”
Twin Peaks Charter Academy is just 75 miles, as the crow flies, from the site of the beating and torture of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man who was kidnapped in Laramie, Wyo., on Oct. 6, 1998. Shepard died of his injuries six days later, in a hospital in Fort Collins, Colo., even closer to Longmont. The murder of Matthew Shepard became a global news story, showing just how cruel and violent homophobia can be. His murder happened when Evan Young was just 2 years old. Evan’s message of tolerance is the only antidote to that kind of hatred. His classmates needed to hear it, his family needed to hear it, and now thanks to the outcry over his silencing, millions more have heard it as well.
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Exclusive: Gay High School Student Delivers Valedictorian Speech He Was Barred from Giving
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