Justice Official Clears Bush Lawyers in Torture Memo Probe
by Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman
For weeks, the right has heckled Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. for his plans to try the alleged 9/11 conspirators in New York City and his handling of the Christmas bombing plot suspect. Now the left is going to be upset: an upcoming Justice Department report from its ethics-watchdog unit, the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), clears the Bush administration lawyers who authored the “torture” memos of professional-misconduct allegations.
While the probe is sharply critical of the legal reasoning used to justify waterboarding and other “enhanced” interrogation techniques, NEWSWEEK has learned that a senior Justice official who did the final review of the report softened an earlier OPR finding. Previously, the report concluded that two key authors-Jay Bybee, now a federal appellate court judge, and John Yoo, now a law professor-violated their professional obligations as lawyers when they crafted a crucial 2002 memo approving the use of harsh tactics, say two Justice sources who asked for anonymity discussing an internal matter. But the reviewer, career veteran David Margolis, downgraded that assessment to say they showed “poor judgment,” say the sources. (Under department rules, poor judgment does not constitute professional misconduct.) The shift is significant: the original finding would have triggered a referral to state bar associations for potential disciplinary action-which, in Bybee’s case, could have led to an impeachment inquiry.
The report, which is still going through declassification, will provide many new details about how waterboarding was adopted and the role that top White House officials played in the process, say two sources who have read the report but asked for anonymity to describe a sensitive document. Two of the most controversial sections of the 2002 memo-including one contending that the president, as commander in chief, can override a federal law banning torture-were not in the original draft of the memo, say the sources. But when Michael Chertoff, then-chief of Justice’s criminal division, refused the CIA’s request for a blanket pledge not to prosecute its officers for torture, Yoo met at the White House with David Addington, Dick Cheney’s chief counsel, and then-White House counsel Alberto Gonzales. After that, Yoo inserted a section about the commander in chief’s wartime powers and another saying that agency officers accused of torturing Qaeda suspects could claim they were acting in “self-defense” to prevent future terror attacks, the sources say. Both legal claims have long since been rejected by Justice officials as overly broad and unsupported by legal precedent.
A Justice official declined to explain why David Margolis softened the original finding, but noted that he is a highly respected career lawyer who acted without input from Holder. Yoo and Bybee (through his lawyer) declined requests for comment.
© 2010 Newsweek
I found this comment on Common Dreams and I wanted to post it here because I felt it made some really good points.
Thoughts_Into_Action January 30th, 2010 3:56 pm
This strategically leaked info, to Newsweek, is what’s known as an “inoculation” in the propaganda business. Bad news is dribbled out in bits. It’s like that old tale about boiling a frog alive. Just gradually heat the water and the frog won’t move.
Soon, many Dem loyalist voters will forget that the Obama administration embraced and extended the policies of the Bush administration. They’ll be crying about Sara Palin threats again. The real truth is you have no change when you vote for the two-party corporate duopoly. You must vote third party to end this nightmare. Please keep this in mind.
-TIA
Like many people I hoped that under Obama that we would STOP using torture and that we as a nation would START seeking criminal charges against those in our government who approved the use of torture and knew we were using torture. I didn’t vote of Obama because he didn’t earn my vote, but I hoped that we as a nation would change the direction that this country was going. Like many Progressives I am disappointed because we see the same ole same ole.
I am not only disappointed but angry. I am angry because NOTHING IS GOING TO CHANGE!!!!! Torture is still being used and Congress and those in the Justice department are going to continue to look the other way and keep quiet. I am angry because America the nation that I love with all my heart is allowing itself to do evil things all in the name of war against terror. I am angry because by our actions we have become the country that is the most feared and hated in the world.
When we have our own government make excuses for LAWS being broken by those who hold political power in this country; we have LOST!!!! We have lost our morals and we have lost the Rule of LAW in this country. We have two corrupted parties who have betrayed the America people. We have two parties that have sold America down the river for the thirty pieces of silver. We have two parties who do not deserve to hold political power in this country because they have become evil and corrupted.
Yes, we need to vote third party. I would hope that all Progressives would join and vote for the Green Party. Yet, how many will just close their eyes and hold their noses and vote Democrat again, knowing that they did nothing but continue the policies of George W. Bush? How many will close their eyes and hold their nose and vote for the Democrat again knowing that they did nothing while the Constitution was being shredded into a thousand little pieces? How many will believe the lies told this time and still vote for the Democratic party?
I believe in the Green Party. I believe that we could be the agent for real change that this country needs. It won’t be easy, but I believe that if Progressives start to be active in the political process and worked hard that we could start voting Green Party candidates to political office. We start out in the local races. Then we can move to the state. After we have seats in both the local and state level we move on to the Federal. With every seat we gain at the local and state level the little more power we have.
Now is the time to stand up and FIGHT!!!!! It is not time to continue to make excuses of why we can’t do what has to be done. Now is the time to start making our voices heard through the Green Party.