Q: What will stop the next Republican President from torturing whomever he wants?
A: Nothing.
Maureen E. Mahoney, an attorney for Bybee, called the Justice Department action a “vindication.”
“No public servant should have to endure the type of relentless, misinformed attacks that have been directed at Judge Bybee,” Mahoney said. “We can only hope that the department’s decision will establish once and for all that dedicated public officials may have honest disagreements on difficult matters of legal judgment without violating ethical standards.”
The bit about maybe prosecuting torturers who stepped over Yoo and Bybee’s “limits” strikes me as especially precious. Message to President Pawlenty: make sure you order the DOJ to pre-authorize any torture that you might want to use later. Then you’re covered.
***Update. Also.***
In its final report, the OPR said it had tried unsuccessfully to access Yoo’s e-mail messages during his time at the Justice Department, and was told that “most of Yoo’s e-mail records had been deleted and were not recoverable.”
The e-mail messages of a colleague in the office “had also been deleted and were reportedly not recoverable” for the period between July 2002 and Aug. 5, 2002, when the most important memo was completed.
Ain’t nothing in DC that will have a shorter half-life than a potentially incriminating email. Expect a cottage industry in deniable computer “failures” to crop up overnight, assuming that it hasn’t done already.
SGEW
I give up.
Blue Neponset
This is why I laugh at those who claim the law means anything. Give me a downtown office, a handful of lawyers, a bigger handful of paralegals and a cappuccino machine and I will find a way to authorize anything you want.
SiubhanDuinne
This is one of the most disheartening things I have seen in a long time.
Scruffy McSnufflepuss
This is too depressing to be snarky about.
Cat Lady
We Are All Winston Smith Now.
Brick Oven Bill
While we wring our hands over water-boarding three killers years ago, women are still allowed to operate public transportation systems.
The over-under body count for 2010 is 43.
demo woman
There is not justice in the justice department. Judge Bybee needs to be water boarded, after all it’s a cleansing experience.
robertdsc
Sigh.
Josh Huaco
To steal a line from George Carlin, We are all fucking diseased.
Johnny B
Given that the current GOP cheers military commissions and torture, there is no doubt that a Republican President, as a first order of business, will sign an executive order requiring military commissions and “enhanced interrogation techniques” for anyone deemed a national security threat.
Who will constitute a “naitonal security threat.” Based on what I hear on FOX News, that would be alleged terrorists, Al Queda members, members of the Taliban, elected Democrats, supporters of elected Demcrats, ACORN volunteers, MOVE ON members, ACLU members, poor people, blacks, women, gays, ect.
I think it was Laurence Tribe who wrote that the Soviet Union had a constitution that, by its words, recognized individual liberties. The one thing it’s constitution did not have was an independent judiciary. The far right’s insistence on a unitary executive, military commissions, and torture are an attempt to finally put the independent judicary to bed so they can impose whatever fucked up right wing fantasy they please.
We will rue the day that we didn’t prosecute Americans for war crimes.
Tomjones
On the other hand, the findings of the OPR attorneys, that Bybee and Yoo did violate ethical standards, is out there for everyone to see.
The message might as well be: there won’t always be some compromised OPR flunky to over-rule the findings of the experts.
And there is enough in these findings to impeach Bybee and disbar Yoo, at the very least.
aimai
Can we please get the DOJ to issue memos covering Obama for all the things the GOP is going to impeach him over? That would be
driving in motorcades while being black
eating in the white house while being black
fathering two black children
being black while the IRS and congress still collect taxes
using a teleprompter when giving black speeches
etc…etc…etc…
I’d really like to see those memos issued publicly so our new republican purity of advice trolls can inspect them.
aimai
Tim O
This was the best comment posted by sasquatchbigfoot.
He wrote:
“Over Christmas, Greta’s mother, renowned ABC Pentagon Correspondent and Nasty Aggressive Beyotchy Newswoman, Martha Raddatz — did I mentioned she is famous? — and I came to an understanding that, because of existing Middle East tensions, it would be best for all — except yours truly — if I were to masticate feces and expire. As an alternative, we agreed that none of us — meaning me, myself, and I…along with that 88 year-old ball and chain — would attend the California wedding. Then, in mid-January, we were thrilled to learn that Pary is pregnant, due Sept. 21. I guess it’s no secret what Quinn got for Christmas. We, that is, me, myself and I, decided to move up the date as quickly as possible. You can imagine how embarrassing it would be to me, Sally Quinn, wife of former Washington Post Executive Editor Ben Bradlee, to have a daughter-in-law who is visibly pregnant at our wedding.
Unfortunately, our church does not do weddings during Lent or Easter. They’re also cloased for the 4th of July, and take off for the French Riviera the entire month of August. The only date we could arrive on when both church and minister, wedding planner and elaborate reception venue, Michelin award-winning chef and Grammy-winning band, were available was April 10, and the next wasn’t until after Memorial Day, when Pary’s baby bump would start to show.
Frantically, I checked my calendar, my husband’s (which hadn’t been updated since before I had entrusted him with the Save the Date card), Greta’s aunt’s, the Washington press corps,and her cousins’ — everyone had the date free. Each gave the go-ahead. Some told me to go away. We were also lucky enough to find that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band able to make the date change, as well as Annie Liebovitz the photographer, the Queen and her attendants. Pary had found the perfect dress at Kleionfeld Bridal, which we bought. It all seemed serendipitous, so Dan-O booked everyone and ordered the invitations.
Anyone who has ever hosted a wedding or seen Martin Short portray a wedding planner in a Steve Martin movie knows the maddening details involved. Locking things down seemed such a relief. Then came the revelation: Quinn was NOT the father.”
Too Good!
matt
Clarification help! As far as I can tell, some lawyers gave the White House poor legal advice, which the White House chose to follow, and in doing so, broke several laws. Is this saying that as long as you get a lawyer to tell you something is ok, you’re free and clear of any consequences (or just the lawyers are), or is that already how it works, or do I have everything confused?
Bullsmith
Nice to know IOKIYAR remains firmly in place despite nominal Democratic control. It would be terrible to go back to that “rule of law, all men created equal” nonsense.
Brick Oven Bill
The Facility is really big on safety, and believe it or not, I received a safety spirit award for this submittal in a recent contest:
Five fingers;
I prefer them all to be;
On my hand.
But management allows (is compelled to allow?) women to operate forklifts. This, of course, provides great entertainment. But it is also dangerous. There was recently a shattered limb.
These practices are worse than water-boarding, and the person with the shattered limb did nothing wrong.
russell
Does this decision mean we can’t kick Bybee or Yoo in the nuts if we see them on the street?
I, for one, would really like to know.
Just Some Fuckhead
*shaking fist in rage*
TIGER! ! ! ! ! !
matt
I really, really don’t know anything about the law. Is what happened here basically that a lawyer came up with a lawyerly argument of why is was legal for his client to rob a bank, then his client robbed a bank, then there was an investigation that concluded the lawyer was within their rights to offer such advice? Is that more or less what happened here, or not even close? And if it’s close, does the lawyer being let off the hook mean that his client who robbed the bank is off the hook as well, or is that a separate issue?
Blue Neponset
@matt:
Pretty much. I am sure technically this isn’t the case, but practically it is a get out of jail free card. Especially if it relates to TERROR (boo!)
Joey Maloney
@Tomjones: Wow, that’s a hell of a lot of polish on that turd.
Lolis
I agree. But if we would have had trials, does anyone here think any of these suckers would be convicted? Then torture would be known to have the seal of approval by American juries. IMHO, that makes it even worse. Most polls show at least half of Americans think it is okay to torture “terrorists” in many situations. That is the reality we are dealing with.
Republicans have already embraced tortured openly and none of their buddies are being prosecuted, I can’t even imagine how flat out crazy they would be if there was a real possibility that their past behavior would be tried. Bush changed America in this way and there is no getting it back because our electorate just doesn’t care about the values core to what this country once stood for.
Omnes Omnibus
@russell: As a lawyer, it is my opinion that said nut-kicking would be justified. If this turns out to be incorrect, you are protected from the consequnces by your reliance on my advice. I am protected from consequences by the fact that lawyers may
Everyone wins. Moreover, Bybee and/or Yoo get kicked in the nuts.
Tomjones
@matt: Well, that’s basically right. In cases where the law is not fully-settled or has some gray, and a credible argument can be made, one can pretty much go nuts.
Johnny B
@matt:
For a non-lawyer you apparently understand. The Justice Department effectively slapped Yoo and Bybee’s hands. “Bad lawyer.”
However, I do believe that Yoo still has a complaint filed against him before the California Bar Association. Since Yoo is licensed to practice in that state, he may find himself facing ethical violations. Someone can correct me if they know otherwise.
Tomjones
@Joey Maloney: Well, if you’re only choices are between a dull turd and a shiny turd, you go with the shiny turd every time.
Blue Neponset
@Tomjones: IANAL, but I would say the law was settled about waterboarding being torture quite a long time ago. Yoo & Bybee ignored what they wanted in order to arrive at a desired conclusion.
Omnes Omnibus
@Tomjones: The real difficulty with the application of that concept to torture, and the justification thereof, is that there is no legal gray area with respect to torture. It is, and was, illegal. Arguments to the contrary are sophistry at best and knowing violations of law and legal ethics at worst.
benjoya
americans are not capable of torture no matter how many innocent persons’ testicles are sliced open. it’s like the divine right of kings or something.
another thing, the 3 cases the bush administration referred to military commissions resulted in light sentences (as opposed to those pursued in civilian courts). isn’t his proof of an elitist military justice system so hysterically attached to ‘american’ ‘legal’ ‘traditions’ that they can be persuaded to go easy on those the government has ruled too dangerous for civilian courts.
what i’m saying is, with these corrosive and dangerous ‘traditions’ seemingly rampant in our military, wouldn’t the cause of justice be better served by recruiting non-americans to be judges and lawyers for these tribunals? chinese, maybe?
SGEW
Prof. Jack Balkin has the must-read on this, naturally:
Justice Department Will Not Punish Yoo and Bybee Because Most Lawyers Are Scum Anyway
(emphasis added)
To tell the truth, from a very personal perspective, part of the reason I’ve been driven from law is the double-think required in American professional “ethics.”
David
Remember the mysterious fire in President Cheney’s office?
Tomjones
@Omnes Omnibus: I agree, but I’m a DFH. Imagine though that you’re a Republican or moderate Dem attorney tasked with finding the line separating legal coercive techniques (for surely you would concede some coercion is allowed) from torture.
Unfortunately, there’s room for creativity there.
Omnes Omnibus
@Tomjones: Fair enough. WRT waterboarding and many of the other techniques covered in the torture memos, Yoo knew, or should have known, that they were flat out illegal. WWII war crimes trials covered it. Some things can actually be reduced to black letter law.
Xenos
@SGEW: When I was a freshly minted lawyer I went to a luncheon with some seasoned litigators. I mentioned in passing how I had been shocked at the intellectual dishonesty of some pleadings I had received from a title insurance company. This was considered so funny that three of my company fell off their chairs.
Joey Maloney
@Tomjones: A turd is a turd is a turd. You can polish them until they look like works of art but people will still wonder where that horrible smell is coming from.
OK, your turn to torture the metaphor. (See what I did there?)
someguy
I’m totally down with criminally prosecuting Yoo and Bybee, but only if we can also get to criminally prosecute private sector lawyers who give bad advice. I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t. While there are plenty of good lawyers out there, the bad ones are a real problem.
MikeJ
I don’t think Yoo ever argued that waterboarding wasn’t torture. He argued that the president got to decide what was and wasn’t torture. That he could write a memo about the limits of executive power without citing Youngstown makes him either so lazy he wouldn’t be able to pass first year law school exams or a member of a criminal conspiracy. DOJ says he’s just stupid.
ajr22
Cut Yoo a break i’m sure everyone here would write the same memo if you got an email from dick cheney saying “If we don’t have this memo by 5 p.m your family will be at a black site in Jordan before you can say lift American spirits.”
Blue Neponset
@MikeJ:
To me that is a difference without distinction. There is an objective definition of torture. That doesn’t change depending on who is president.
Omnes Omnibus
@MikeJ: My point was that the legality or illegality of torture is not a decision that is open to question. It is, or was, a decided question and the president does not get to revisit it every few days as convenience dictates. Yoo bent the law out of recognition in order to further a political goal.
I believe that lawyers should be able to make arguments on behalf of their clients an should look for ways in which their clients can legally accomplish their goals. There comes a point, however, where a competent and ethical lawyer must tell a client that something cannot be done.
Further, there is a difference between advising a client how he could get away with robbing a bank beforehand and defending a bank robber follow the crime.
chicago dyke
well, plenty of dem senators and critters got to see the ugly truth about what was going on at AbuG (child rape, torture of women, etc) and did jack squat about it at the time, so this ruling doesn’t surprise me at all. a serious investigation and prosecutions would lead to many embarrassing moments for high ranking dems, as republican defendants shouted from the courtrooms and hearing rooms, “yes, but you were standing right there with me, approving this, sen. democrat” and in that case they wouldn’t be lying.
this outcome was predetermined long ago.
russell
To me, that seems worse. Doesn’t it seem worse to you?
Rather than offer a legal opinion as to whether some specific practice is, or is not, torture, he gives the President the privilege of making that determination based purely on the authority of his office.
That takes it from bad judgement on Yoo’s part to something like an assertion of Presidential sovereignty.
“It’s not illegal when the President does it”. Isn’t it time for that doctrine to have a stake driven through it’s ugly heart?
Irony Abounds
The OPR determines that Yoo and Bybee did in fact commit what amounted to unprofessional behavior, and one guy, Margolis, simply said nope, I disagree, so case closed. Even though Cheney and the other torturephiles are clearly war criminals, I agree with not bringing them to trial as such at this time; the whole event would consume the Obama Presidency and almost guarantee a bloody civil war, figuratively speaking, for the country. But rebuking Yoo and Bybee should happen, and Margolis is really a dick for what he did.
Dave Trowbridge
What will stop the next Democratic President from torturing whomever he wants?
Face it, to get to the top in politics, you have to be functionally sociopathic–that’s the point Lord Acton was making. A Democratic president might be more covert about it, more careful to seek plausible deniability rather than the implausible, not to say fantastic deniability furnished by the execrable Yoo, but it will happen.
Hell, it probably is happening.
PeakVT
and was told that “most of Yoo’s e-mail records had been deleted and were not recoverable.”
Ho-hum, just another successful cover-up.
gbear
Please don’t use the phrase ‘President Pawlenty’ again..even as a joke. His rhetoric may be less crazy than Michele Bachmann’s, but his policy ideas aren’t. The man honestly doesn’t give a shit if poor people die. He couldn’t keep a smile off his face as he took away every social safety net they have.
AhabTRuler
No, no, it was really all just an accident.
MikeJ
I never said I agreed with his conclusion. I’m not evil, so obviously I don’t. I merely pointed out what he argued because people were misstating his argument.
What he wrote is evil enough. I don’t believe he simply gave bad legal advice, I think he was an active member of a criminal conspiracy.
If he’s really as bad a lawyer as he claims he is, he really shouldn’t be dean at Boalt Hall.
ppcli
All this negativity. I’m amazed that in 50 posts nobody has observed that the really *important* stuff has improved by a quantum level. Thanks to relentless investigations, the danger of extramarital Oval Office blowjobs has been eliminated, probably forever.
vwcat
Many are reacting emotionally to the news. I am one who deeply hates torture and felt shame for this country.
But, I never expected them to be prosecuted.
while we may want the Bushies punished for crimes the fact is that there are two things keeping it from happening.
1. There simply may not be enough to convict. yes, there is evidence but, we don’t the extent and there has to be certain things met before you can prosecute and convict.
2. The repubs were able to go after and impeach Clinton because there was help from democrats. Just like republicans were willing to stand up for what was right and the good of the country with Watergate and Nixon.
But, in this climate, do you honestly think there can be a trial held that won’t tear up the country for decades.
And how many in congress are guilty of allowing this to happen and are scared to have their own dirty hands exposed.
Unfortunately the country won’t heal but, split apart and it could rock the foundations.
I am not excusing it but, thinking of what is probably a huge reason they decided to not prosecute.
AhabTRuler
Coincidentally, it’s also a good reason for families to cover up abuse and molestation; it is always more important for people to go along and get along that actually confront the ugly truth.
Hey, I think the American Historical Narrative(TM) was arrived at the same way! And don’t confront the dear souls with Reagan’s crimes either, they might have difficulty sleeping a night.
Steeplejack
__
Surely it is illegal to destroy government records, even electronic ones?
Just last night I was wondering what, if anything, had ever been done about the fact that the Bush White House “lost” several years’ worth of e-mails. This new revelation is just salt in the wound.
. . . Just did a quick Google search and found to my surprise that there was a settlement in December in which the Obama administration agreed to restore “a total of 94 days of missing emails from 2003 to 2005.”
WTF?! This raises more questions than it answers. If the e-mails were lost, how the hell is the Obama administration now able to come up with them? And why only 94 days’ worth?
And, oh, by the way, the recovered e-mails won’t see the light of day for five or ten years.
burnspbesq
@Johnny B:
Don’t hold your breath waiting for the State Bar of California to take disciplinary action against Yoo.
Consider the case of Watergate figure Donald Segretti. Because he was convicted of a felony, his disbarment was automatic. However, he applied for reinstatement as soon as he was permitted to do so, was immediately reinstated, and has quietly practiced estate planning and administration in Newport Beach for the last 30 years.
Also consider that the State Bar has to go to the legislature every year to get approval for it’s operating budget and proposed fee structure for the following year.
Shorter me: ain’t happening.
However, if I were to send in my invoice for this year’s dues without a check, but with a politely worded letter saying that I would be happy to send in my check after they have taken action against Yoo, I imagine that I would be suspended within a couple of weeks.
Arrrggghhh.
AhabTRuler
@Steeplejack: If it’s the same thing I remember from December, the emails were stored under the wrong heading.
ETA: Or, I should say, “stored under the wrong heading”.
Steeplejack
@AhabTRuler:
That beggars belief.
(Sorry. The sputtering Victorian outrage just came out spontaneously.)
Mark S.
I read John Yoo’s book a couple of years ago and it can be distilled as thus:
1. Even the Founders had just fought a war to rid themselves of King George, they were itching to give the President powers George would only dream of having.
2. The President alone has the power to decide when to go to war; Congress’ power to declare war is basically the same as my power to declare that it is raining outside.
3. Once the President decides we are at war, there is no limit to his power.
I can understand a president wanting an asshole like this on his team, but I cannot fathom why Berkeley would.
Mnemosyne
@Irony Abounds:
This is what Matt Yglesias means when he talks about how Washington DC is wired for Republican control. As a career employee, Margolis knows which side of his bread is buttered, and it’s not the one that would lead to the prosecution of Republicans.
And, as chicago dyke said, the Republicans may be chin-deep in all of this shit, but the Democrats are at least waist-deep, especially long-term people like Dianne Feinstein and Jane Harman. You really think the Senate is going to investigate what Feinstein knew about the torture regime?
cat48
@matt:
According to Elliot Spitzer, that’s all you have to do.
batgirl
@russell: Just find a lawyer to write a legal justification first and you should be in the clear.
When you go to court for assault charges, tell them you had every reason to believe what you were doing was legal because you asked your lawyer first and see how that works for you.
IOKIYAR
Task Force Ripper
In case it hasn’t been mentioned:
Greece hires former GS Banker as debt chief
h/t Corrente
jl
Look at the bright side.
When the shrill left takes over, and a lefty blog is president, we can round up all these guys and break their fingers, to get ‘information’ and it can all be legalized as easy as pie.
SGEW
@jl: That is, in fact, quite literally the opposite of the “bright” side.
Tonal Crow
Disappearing emails? That smells a lot like potential obstruction of justice. Time for a special prosecutor.
sparky
@SGEW: yeah, me too.
as for the general direction of this empire, well, to the extent i wondered what it would be like to be a citizen of an evil empire, i guess i am finding out. and before everybody flames me, an evil empire with a better-spoken front man is still an evil empire.
jl
@SGEW: Sorry, I forgot the snark tag
Mike
Email for the Obama DoJ:
[email protected]
You can ask why there is no difference between the Bush and the Obama DoJ.
Or there is the House Judiciary Committee which will be holding hearings:
judiciary.house.gov/about/contact.html
Or there is the Senate Judiciary Committee which will also be holding hearings:
judiciary.senate.gov/press/press.cfm
Or there is the Dean of Berkeley Law:
[email protected]
And there is asshat Yoo:
[email protected]
And there is Jay Bybee:
[email protected]
Americans should not take this shit lying down.
Mouse Tolliver
Whatever happened to Ignorantia legis neminem excusat? I guess that principle got shredded with the Constitution.
mars
Besides all the other reasons this is disgusting, you can bet your life Bybee & Yoo will resurface in a future Republican Admin as “respected & experienced elders” just as the entire Iran/Contra crew resurfaced in GWB’s admin.
Brick Oven Bill
I agree sparky, Obama sucks.
Gregory
NPR was spinning this abomination of a whitewash as an exoneration of Yoo and Bybee last night as well.
“See, you DFHs? The stuff we refused to call torture was OK!”, they said.
sparky
@Brick Oven Bill: whoever you are, you are doing a piss-poor imitation of BOB. troll up or troll out, whoever you are.
Redshift
@Joey Maloney: Mythbusters demonstrated that it is, indeed possible to polish a turd (video).
Redshift
@AhabTRuler: No, it’s not. The reason there are only 94 days is that there was a FOIA request, and the judge limited the plaintiffs to selecting specific days where they thought there was likely to be incriminating evidence. The Bush administration basically had said “whoops, these are all lost and unrecoverable,” which everyone involved in computer forensics immediately knew was BS. While the Obama administration may not have been as proactive as all of us would like on this, they weren’t going to continue the obvious BS either, so they brought in actual forensics professionals and, surprise, lots of the emails could be recovered.
(The “under the wrong heading” bit comes from some stuff in the Libby trial, where they were obligated by the court to search emails for certain terms, and “missed” some initially because their searches were too specific.)
licensed to kill time
Imma gonna whine here – where’s Meester Cole? Is he all hungover from splitting that bottle with his surrogate wife last night? Did he break down and actually take some of his Percs and is now passed out in the recliner? Is Tunch snacking on his ear at this very moment and when he wakes up he’ll be all Van Gogh and all?
Torture thread depressing, me no likey. Cole, you fix.
AhabTRuler
@Redshift: OK, different thing then.
Thadeus Horne
@sparky: Bill is off his meds again. His mom is really gonna be pissed.
Chat Noir
Good post over at Benen’s place. Even Hank Paulson says that Congressional Republicans are beyond stupid. But I guess that’s a feature, not a bug.
mistersnrub
Time for the ICC to step in.
TenguPhule
I look forward to the emails proving that Obama calling a CIA hit on Yoo and Bybee by repeatedly running them over with an SUV is completely legal and in the best traditions of the Oval Office.
We have no laws in America anymore. Just guidelines.
Ash Can
Senator Patrick Leahy has announced that the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing next Friday to examine this decision by the OPR (h/t GOS). Not exactly a frogmarch, but it’s something, and at the very least it means that for now, this OPR decision isn’t the final word.
Chuck Butcher
Just. Pathetic.
Guess who OWNS this one.
Call your Congressman campaign? Oh sure.
Paris
Spain, a cosigner of the Convention Against Torture, may have something to add.
“As President Reagan explained when the United States signed on to the Convention Against Torture in 1988: “The core provisions of the Convention establish a regime for international cooperation in the criminal prosecution of torturers relying on so-called ‘universal jurisdiction.’ Each State Party is required either to prosecute torturers who are found in its territory or to extradite them to other countries for prosecution.”
…
“Meanwhile, across the ocean, a Spanish judge opened a formal criminal investigation of Bybee and Yoo in January for their role in authorizing torture tactics at the detention center at Guantánamo Bay.”
thenation.com/doc/20100301/cole
Mnemosyne
@mars:
And just as the Nixon crew resurfaced in the Reagan administration to oversee the Iran/Contra crimes.
Ford’s decision to pardon Nixon looks worse and worse all the time. Short-term thinking at its most destructive.
Mike G
Senator Patrick Leahy has announced that the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing next Friday to examine this decision by the OPR (h/t GOS).
Yoo: Oh noes, not a Strongly Worded Letter from a committee! Anything but that!
burnspbesq
In which Brian Tamanaha exposes the logical flaw in Margolis’ analysis.
balkin.blogspot.com/2010/02/why-yoos-sincere-extremist-excuse.html
Margolis is, by all accounts, a serious and dedicated public servant, a DOJ lifer with a solid record of achievement. But he sure as shit blew this call.
Mark S.
@burnspbesq:
This is the key. Even if Yoo honestly believes that the President should have dictatorial powers during wartime, he knew that this was not how the law has ever been interpreted in this country.
Yutsano
@burnspbesq: Worst part of all of this is the huge hit the UC-Berkeley law school’s reputation has taken by hiring Yoo. Seriously, did they just want the controversy? If I were a California taxpayer I would be livid that my taxes were paying his salary in any form.
Steeplejack
@Redshift:
Thanks for clearing this up. I still think it stinks. There is a Presidential Records Act (or some such) that specifies that practically everything down to the least Post-It note the president touches is supposed to be archived for posterity, and for the Bush White House to pull that “Oops! My bad! We lost several years’ worth of e-mail” shit was ludicrous on its face. It was no less than saying: “Fuck you. Come and get ’em if you think you can.” And apparently so far we’ve come up with a whopping 94 days’ worth. Good times.
And the whole thing about having to predict which 94 days have the goods is also ridiculous. Not to mention the fact that apparently a lot of White House/Republican biz was done off the White House servers on GOP servers and e-mail accounts.
Mnemosyne
@burnspbesq:
It’s the problem with expecting professionals to police themselves rather than having outsiders do the oversight. The same thing happens with doctors — the majority of malpractice cases trace back to the same small group of bad doctors, but they will never, ever lose their licenses because they’re protected by their colleagues.
russell
My defense will be that I had reason to believe, based on credible evidence which I cannot disclose lest I compromise methods and sources, that there was a suitcase nuke stashed in a locker in Penn Station, and that Bybee and Yoo were the only guys that knew which locker.
Really, it could be true. Prove that it couldn’t be.
So I had to kick them in the nuts, there was no waterboard handy and it was the only way to make them talk.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
4jkb4ia
Even if you don’t have 67 votes to convict, which is not likely, this is a situation where you hope the House can impeach Bybee. a) One house of Congress at least can make an unquestionable statement and b) George Bush was a partisan politician. Impeaching him by a Democratic House could be read as a partisan statement. Inasmuch as Bybee acted in a partisan manner that is part of a pattern of making DOJ too partisan and it is appropriate for a pushback from the opposite party.
4jkb4ia
I didn’t read the report. Current status on FISA dump is beginning of Office of Information Policy. Why they, NSD, and OLC released things separately I am not sure because OIP is the office in charge of FOIA requests.
4jkb4ia
@SGEW:
Thank you, that was very good.
4jkb4ia
@Mnemosyne:
OTOH Feinstein was trying to have the Intelligence Committee investigate torture, and all the Republicans refused to have anything to do with the report, so there may have been something there.
4jkb4ia
And Leahy’s hearing is on a Friday so I cannot watch that AND women’s figure skating AND buy food for Shabbos. This is not right. I should have been consulted :)