Mr. President: I only partly agree with you...

"Getting Away with Developing Torture Policy... "

The story from here (January 30, 2010): We all know the history of the infamous DOJ/OLC secret memos outlining options for and clearing the deck for torture. There is no need to cover that ground again.

Now, however, it looks like the two most involved in developing that torture policy for Bush and Cheney (Jay Bybee and John Yoo) will not be prosecuted for their deeds. They will keep their law licenses.

The highlights:

The two men who advised former President Bush to water board detainees and deprive them of sleep will be cleared of charges of professional misconduct by a Justice Department ethics report.

The report, which has yet to be released, states that Jay Bybee, now a federal appellate court judge, and John Yoo, now a law professor, showed "poor judgment," but will not face legal action for their advocacy of harsh interrogation tactics (as stated in DOJ rules for conduct by government lawyers).

Previously, the probe concluded that the two men violated professional obligations, meaning Yoo could be barred from practicing law and Bybee could be impeached. Now, not so much. We owe that thanks to former AG Mukasey who had the original findings turned back for rewrites, thus letting these two off the proverbial hook.

That's pretty bad, but the worst part, from my point of view is this from the Obama team:

Citing an argument that hallmarked the Bush years, Obama administration attorneys have asked a San Francisco court to drop all charges against Berkeley law professor John Yoo, who authored legal opinions that permitted the torture of prisoners.

An amicus curiae brief [PDF link here] filed by the Department of Justice with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday essentially argues that because he was giving advice to the president on a national security matter, Yoo should not be held accountable for his actions as it would have a chilling effect on advice provided to future presidents.

This is where I split company with Mr. Obama. Yes, it could have such a chilling effect, but only in cases not like this one, where the advice given and used, had NOT been illegal, unlawful and a war crimes. All the lawyers, of which Bush and Cheney were not, should have known better at the time, and now so should Mr. Obama and his team.

The Obama team position weakens, not strengthens the bonds between advisor and president and this case is a classic example of that.

Law professor at the George Washington University Law School, Jonathan Turley, shortly after the release of the memos back in March 2009, told MSNBC's Keith Olbermann that the memos "provide the very definition of tyranny. These memos include everything that a petty despot would want."

I totally agree. And, even a weasel knows that, Mr. President.