Edwards Statement on the Immunity Agreements Granted by the Bush Administration to Blackwater

Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Today, Senator John Edwards released the following statement on the immunity agreements granted by the Bush Administration to Blackwater employees:

"Yesterday's news that the Bush Administration granted unorthodox immunity agreements to Blackwater employees is extremely disturbing -- and another symptom of the corrupt nexus between private security firms and the Beltway politicians who shelter and feed them.

"These immunity agreements could prevent investigators from learning the truth about these mercenaries' involvement in the recent deaths of 17 civilians in Iraq. They will also undermine America's moral reputation just at a time just when we most need to succeed in winning the hearts and minds of Iraqis.

"I urge Congress to investigate who in the Bush State Department was responsible for this decision and to explore whether anyone from the White House requested these agreements. I also ask the Department of Justice to redouble its efforts to investigate and prosecute all liable parties for the attacks in Iraq."