Conservatives Unite In Coalition to Defend Civil Liberties, Roll Back Excessive Presidential Power

NEWS ADVISORY
March 16, 2007
Contact: Alison McQuade (413) 531 – 8894

Conservatives Unite In Coalition to Defend Civil Liberties, Roll Back Excessive Presidential Power

Leaders in the Conservative Movement to Announce Campaign to Restore Governmental Checks and Balances, Individual Freedoms

WASHINGTON – An alliance of prominent national conservatives will hold a news conference on Tuesday, March 20, to announce the formation of the American Freedom Agenda (AFA), a coalition established to restore checks and balances and civil liberties protections under assault by the Executive Branch. The restoration would bind the current and all future occupants of the White House, irrespective of party affiliation. The group will present a legislative package to restore congressional oversight and habeas corpus, end torture and extraordinary rendition, narrow the President's authority to designate "enemy combatants," prevent unconstitutional wiretaps and mail openings, protect journalists from prosecution under the Espionage Act, and more.
 
They will present a "Freedom Pledge" to all Presidential candidates of both parties to sign, and call for a bipartisan grassroots campaign to protect the vision of the Founding Fathers -- that no single branch of government should have excessive power.

Participants at Tuesday’s news conference will include:        
•    Bruce Fein, a constitutional scholar, conservative writer and columnist, and former Associate Deputy Attorney General under President Reagan;
•    David Keene, Chairman of the American Conservative Union, the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots conservative lobbying organization;
•    Richard Viguerie, a conservative writer who is considered one of the main architects of the conservative grassroots movement over the past quarter century;
•    Bob Barr, a former Member of Congress who served as an impeachment manager of President Clinton and holds the 21st Century Liberties Chair for Freedom and Privacy at the American Conservative Union.

When:     Tuesday, March 20, 2007, 1 p.m.
Where:    The National Press Club
        Zenger Room
        529 14th Street, NW
        13th Floor
        Washington, D.C. 20045
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