{"id":2128,"date":"2009-05-07T15:16:25","date_gmt":"2009-05-07T19:16:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/?p=2128"},"modified":"2009-05-07T15:16:25","modified_gmt":"2009-05-07T19:16:25","slug":"no-criminal-prosecution-for-torture-memo-authors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/05\/07\/no-criminal-prosecution-for-torture-memo-authors\/","title":{"rendered":"No Criminal Prosecution for ‘Torture Memo’ Authors?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It appears that the Bush Administration lawyers who authored the so called ‘torture memos’ are going to escape prosecution, the Justice Dept. will instead refer<\/a> them to State Bar Associations for disciplinary action:<\/p>\n

The Justice Department said it is nearing completion of an internal probe that is expected to recommend professional sanctions but no criminal prosecution for former department lawyers who authorized harsh Central Intelligence Agency interrogations.<\/p>\n

John Yoo and Jay Bybee, Justice Department lawyers in the Bush administration who produced the memos, both responded to a draft version of the department’s report by a Monday deadline.<\/p>\n

In a letter to two Democratic senators who have been following the probe — Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Richard Durbin of Illinois — the Justice Department said its Office of Professional Responsibility is examining the lawyers’ responses and will make any necessary revisions before seeking a final review from Attorney General Eric Holder.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I’m no fan of the of the interrogation tactics used but I’m not going to sit here with benefit of hindsight and second guess the decisions of people who had to make difficult choices in the shadows of the September 11th attacks.<\/p>\n

Wars are ugly business that all to often call for good men to do horrible things… The unpleasant reality is that, if you aren’t willing do those horrible things in war, you will loose to those who are. It’s sad and scary thing that so many of our elected leaders can’t or won’t accept this reality.<\/p>\n

Count me among those who agree with Gregory Kane<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n
Here\u2019s why I don\u2019t care that al-Qaeda operatives Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Abu Zubaydah were waterboarded after Sept. 11, 2001: I remember where I was the day before.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Every American who recalls that day can probably remember where he or she was when those jets hit the World Trade Center. I do too. But I remember where I was on Sept. 10, 2001, at about the same time.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
In the lowest level of the World Trade Center, getting off a commuter train from Jersey City, N.J. I had an appointment in midtown-Manhattan and had to take a subway train from the WTC. Had I done that a day later, I\u2019d have arrived at the WTC at just about the time the first or second jet hit.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
But what if I had arrived maybe 15 minutes earlier and had some time to kill? What if I\u2019d decided I wanted to go to the top of the WTC and take in the view?<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Then I\u2019d have been one of those people who were trapped above the inferno that raged below them, terrified, wondering how or if we could ever escape. I\u2019d have experienced the terror they felt as the WTC Twin Towers collapsed beneath them and sent them to their horrible deaths.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
And you sure as heck wouldn\u2019t be reading this column. Yes, I came that close to perhaps being among the WTC casualties of Sept. 11.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
So when President Obama declassified Justice Department memos that revealed the waterboarding of Mohammed and Zubaydah, perhaps you can forgive me if the knowledge didn\u2019t exactly leave me prostrate with grief. Nor am I feeling the arguments of those who claim how torture violates our principles and destroys our values.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It appears that the Bush Administration lawyers who authored the so called ‘torture memos’ are going to escape prosecution, the Justice Dept. will instead refer them to State Bar Associations for disciplinary action: The Justice Department said it is nearing completion of an internal probe that is expected to recommend professional sanctions but no criminal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7,193],"tags":[51,630,575,462,1373],"class_list":{"0":"post-2128","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-politics","7":"category-war-on-terror","8":"tag-bush-administration","9":"tag-interrogations","10":"tag-justice-department","11":"tag-obama-administration","12":"tag-war-on-terror","13":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfpI7-yk","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2081,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/04\/27\/wsj-misconceptions-about-the-interrogation-memos\/","url_meta":{"origin":2128,"position":0},"title":"WSJ: Misconceptions About the Interrogation Memos","author":"Jeff","date":"April 27, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"William McSwain, a assistant U.S. attorney and executive editor of the 2005 Review of Department of Defense Detention Operations and Detainee Interrogation Techniques, commonly called the Church Report has a must read Op Ed in today's Wall Street Journal: President Barack Obama has reinvigorated the critics of George W. Bush's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2154,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/05\/11\/top-pelosi-aide-briefed-on-enhanced-interrogations-in-2003\/","url_meta":{"origin":2128,"position":1},"title":"Top Pelosi Aide Briefed on Enhanced Interrogations in 2003","author":"Jeff","date":"May 11, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Washington Post on Saturday reported that a top aide to Nancy Pleosi attended a briefing CIA briefing on Enhanced Interrogations, including waterboarding in 2003: A top aide to \u00a0House Speaker Nancy Pelosi attended a CIA briefing in early 2003 in which it was made clear that waterboarding and other\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1999,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/04\/23\/is-april-21-2009-the-day-bipartisanship-died\/","url_meta":{"origin":2128,"position":2},"title":"Is April 21, 2009 The Day Bipartisanship Died?","author":"Jeff","date":"April 23, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"There's no doubt that our political process has become poised by hyper partisan rhetoric but so far we have resisted the temptation of criminalizing policy differences. That all changed on April 21, 2009 when Pres. Barack Obama suggested that Bush Administration lawyers who advised the CIA on the law and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2752,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/09\/18\/seven-former-cia-directors-ask-pres-obama-to-end-criminal-investigation-of-cia-interrogators\/","url_meta":{"origin":2128,"position":3},"title":"Seven Former CIA Directors Ask Pres. Obama to End Criminal Investigation of CIA Interrogators","author":"Jeff","date":"September 18, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Seven former directors of the Central Intelligence Agency sent a letter to Pres. Obama on Friday asking him to reverse Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to re-open a criminal investigation of CIA interrogations that took place following the attacks of September 11: Seven former directors of the Central Intelligence Agency\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1860,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/04\/01\/holder-overrules-doj-ruling-saying-dc-vote-bill-is-unconstitutional\/","url_meta":{"origin":2128,"position":4},"title":"Holder Overrules DOJ Ruling Saying D.C. Vote Bill Is Unconstitutional","author":"Jeff","date":"April 1, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Washington Post reports in today's edition that Attorney General Eric Holder overruled lawyers in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel who ruled that the DC voting rights bill violates the Constitution: Justice Department lawyers concluded in an unpublished opinion earlier this year that the historic D.C. voting rights\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Law"","block_context":{"text":"Law","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/law\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2489,"url":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/07\/08\/pelosi-v-cia\/","url_meta":{"origin":2128,"position":5},"title":"Pelosi v. 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This week, the Speaker's fellow Democrats are set to block public\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2128\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}