An internal Justice Department report on the conduct of senior lawyers who approved waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics is causing anxiety among former Bush administration officials. H. Marshall Jarrett, chief of the department's ethics watchdog unit, the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), confirmed last year he was investigating whether the legal advice in crucial interrogation memos "was consistent with the professional standards that apply to Department of Justice attorneys." According to two knowledgeable sources who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive matters, a draft of the report was submitted in the final weeks of the Bush administration. It sharply criticized the legal work of two former top officials—Jay Bybee and John Yoo—as well as that of Steven Bradbury, who was chief of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) at the time the report was submitted, the sources said. (Bybee, Yoo and Bradbury did not respond to multiple requests for comment.)
If (Obama Administration Attorney General Eric) Holder accepts the OPR findings, the report could be forwarded to state bar associations for possible disciplinary action. But some former Bush officials are furious about the OPR's initial findings and question the premise of the probe. "OPR is not competent to judge [the opinions by Justice attorneys]. They're not constitutional scholars," said the former Bush lawyer. Mukasey, in speeches before he left, decried the second-guessing of Justice lawyers who, acting under "almost unimaginable pressure" after 9/11, offered "their best judgment of what the law required."
Many of us on the progressive side of the aisle have been quite concerned with the fact that Barack Obama has shown little interest in pursuing criminal charges against the Bush administration, but it appears that there are a variety of ways that this can still be done without directly involving our new President.
I believe that there are many members of Congress and the Justice Department who very much want to see an investigation pursued and the people they believe hurt their country pay for their crimes. Essentially all that the President has to do is stay out of the way.
It may appear unseemly for the current President to pursue a vendetta against his predecessor, but it would also anger a large section of the country if this administration were to walk away from their many crimes scot-free. I am sure that Obama remembers what happened to President Ford.
I am confident that this President realizes how important it is for there to be closure when it comes to what our country was subjected to under the Bush administration, and will not stand in the way of justice. Someday we will have the opportunity to learn the truth behind all of the lies covering the last eight years.
One thing I love about President Obama is he understands that the branches of government have no power over each other and are equal. He knows he can't force the Justice Department to bring charges or even do investigations, but he does know that they have their own authority to do it if Eric Holder and others do find crimes committed.
ReplyDeleteAlmost two thirds of Americans polled want REAL investigations into the crimes committed by the Bush Regime and the Obama Administration's Justice Department should take this into consideration! We The People want action and want to prove to the world that we are not a lawless nation, which is scary to those countries who don't have the power we do.
And if I hear one more neocon tell me that the American people are not into impeachment or prosecuting ANYONE, I'm going to scream, because if we all remember correctly, the Illinois government made up of republicans and Democrats had no problem impeaching their Governor and throwing him out onto the sidewalk.
The American people are itching for justice and are ready!
I think Obama is going to let Justice and Holder handle it. I also think this is why there was so much oppsition to Holder's appointment as Attorney General. From reasearch I've done into his background, he appears to be a straight shooter, something the former "moral majority" detests. I also want to know the full truth behind the BushCo disaster which has so hurt America's reputation at home and abroad. It will send a clear message to any future POTUS who assumes he/she is immune from the rule of law.
ReplyDelete"Mukasey, in speeches before he left, decried the second-guessing of Justice lawyers who, acting under "almost unimaginable pressure" after 9/11, offered 'their best judgment of what the law required.'"
ReplyDeleteSounds like what the defense at Nuremburg tried, or what Stalin had his judges and lawyers do.
"Legal" opinions to fit political decisions.
ps and like John Woo was a "constitutional scholar?" How about a legal hack for Cheney?
I agree with the others. I really don't think it is that Pres. Obama is against pursuing charges or even that he has little interest, it is just that it is not his place. Remember we have different branches of government for a reason. He stated in one of the first interviews I heard him do on this that it would fall under the perview of the Justice Department, not under him, and that if Eric Holder wanted to go after the Bushies he would support it and that NO ONE was above the law...
ReplyDeleteThat right there says to me that he is not going to stop it if that's is what people and congress wants.
But, I could be wrong...been wrong before...lol