100 Days: Obama's Office of Legal Counsel Staffed With Prominent Opponents Of Torture

It's encouraging, then, to know who'll be sitting in John Yoo's office for the foreseeable future.

A Georgetown source forwards over an email from that school's administration, reporting that Professor Marty Lederman's class will be canceled -- because he's joining the Obama administration.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[Bigidea]

Its torture only if Saddam Hussain does it. when we do it, it is approved by the constitution and necessary. Know the difference?

[Bitsko]

No difference between the two major parties my arse!

[helonias]

I wonder what is happening at the Pat Robertson School of Law

[ThinkCreeps]

I imagine there's a big crowd of ignorant bigots sitting round in abstinent huddles crying into their non-alcoholic beverages. Hopefully, the smart ones will soon decide to go to the library, where they might learn something useful, or even something true, and then perhaps drop out and re-apply to a
proper school.

[MajorKong]

I look forward to a Justice Department staffed with competent professionals who didn't have Regent University as their 1st, 2nd or 356th choice of law schools.

[hollybork]

Thank God we now have a President who has not only read and digested the Constitution, but is going to defend and protect it. I am so relieved to hear this news. I would like to see an investigation get to the bottom of who brought this up and how it got to be the policy of the United States to re define what was and was not torture. Then find out who manipulated the law to give the green light to Pres. Bush. I don't know if Bush has immunity from prosecution for this because he is not a lawyer and therefore depended upon the legal opinions of his minions. But the lawyers who said it was okay have a higher level of knowledge and should be held to a higher standard. At the very least, they should lose their legal licenses.

Those military or CIA individuals who directly engaged in waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation" of individuals, leading to 9 deaths, should be investigated for felony murder and other lesser included crimes.

[AndThenOneDay]

Now if only we could get the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to read the constitution so he knew the oath of office...

[chnge2012]

If you new the constitution you would know Gitmo inmates do not fall under it maybe you, Jamie Lee Curtis, and others can take some of the inmates into your homes when they are released.

[Cambridge9]

As part of a bipartisan Justice Department I would like to see the name of David Inglesias added to the roster. I watched the hearing on the firings and got the impression that before he was fired by Gonzo his work ethics was exemplary.

[johnnyjust]

FDR: A chicken in every pot.
Obama: A lawyer for every terrorist.

[sonoffestus]

Are you suggesting that people should not have legal representation?

I think Bush is a terrorist. Can we hang him now?

[MajorKong]

"It's not about who THEY are, it's about who WE are." - Senator John McCain

[pjburke]

FDR: A chicken in every pot.

johnnyjust: guilt AND punishment before evidence is even offered.

Just? Just what?

[rmetz74]

Are you aware that Obama STOPPED the trials at Gitmo?

[RedDogBear]

This is a bit off topic but I think a lot of people on the left should reflect on how moronic it was to make a big deal about Rick Warren leading the 30 second prayer. What counts are decisions like this, appointing people who will make a difference. I'm not saying the left should meekly go along with everything Obama does, far from it, but that the things to worry about are not the symbolic ones but the substantive ones and so far he is doing better than I expected. Even the appointment of Hillary Clinton as SOS which I at first thought was a disaster, I'm beginning to hope that she can do a "Nixon goes to China" type move with Israel. I.e., only someone who was seen as hawkishly pro-Israel could manage to put the kind of pressure needed on Israel to get them to reverse the war mongering stance developed during 8 years of Bush mismanagement.

[loper2008]

I agree these are the decisions and actions that matter most to me.

[TheBaffler]

That's a lot of wishful thinking. The Warren fiasco was a big deal worthy of the amount of condemnation it received, and HRC will be an utter mothafocking disaster as SoS, as this this venal, self-serviing coont has been in every other role.

[pjburke]

try to imagine the most loathesome, insulting personage... the one who would offend you the most personally. Then swap that person into Rick Warrens slot, and see how you might feel.

That's how I hear their complaints, anger, and hurt... its taken, from all I've heard, as a personal betrayal.

[jimrs6]

Obama is giving up NONE of these powers that were labeled as illegal as part of the political campaign. Interrogation, wire-tapping, etc. What does that tell you?

[sasidechick]

It tells me the man has been in office 18 hours and hasn't gotten around to it yet. :)

[ThinkCreeps]

I imagine his administration will submit wiretapping requests to FISA. If so, then those acts would certainly not be illegal. You are surely not comparing the level of violation involved in the possible bypass of a court hearing with making torture part of your judicial process? They are different ends of the slippery slope.

[rmetz74]

It tells me he's been in office for two days.

[OtayPanky]

I'm happier already.

[Yovovi]

HuffPost: Let's feature the New York Times article on Marty Lederman's new boss, Dawn Johnsen, who was appointed by Obama to head the Office of Legal Counsel. She was my con law professor at Indiana University School of Law and she is brilliant -- and I rarely use that word. She always challenged her students to do their best, and was always fair. She never pushed her views on her students. She has respect for laws and the separation of powers. Most importantly, she honors the constitution. She has been the leading opposition voice on the outrageous growth of the exectuive branch under Bush/Cheney. Magnificent choice, President Obama!!!

[loper2008]

cool. thanks for posting.

[SENATORCALLENBOWE]

ITS A GOOD THING TO HAVE THE CLASS OF THE NEW GENERATION AT YOUR SIDE :)

[MomfromTexas]

O.K. I want to see a picture of this professor from Georgetown to see if he's the same man from Georgetown I recently saw interviewed. If so, he was saying President Obama had an obligation to investigate the Bush administration. Even if he isn't the same man, this is WONDERFUL news. I feel like I've woken up to a new world today.

[VikingQuest]

Just as a heads up, doing this will start an ongoing cycle forever meaning that everytime the Presidency goes from left to right or vice versa . . . he would be setting us up for an ongoing battle.

Does anyone have a link with some info on legit info on what evidence is out there that would actually get us something that would stand up in court?

I would like to read up some some details of this can or should be started because once it starts you can't pull the plug when you find things you don't like. (please no partisan websites, just facts)

[PoliticalAmazon]

As John Dean explained, as a signer of agreements regarding torture, we are obligated, if it occurs on our watch, to investigate and prosecute it.

If we don't do it, we can expect that the other signers of the agreements will form a commission to do it for us.

Do you really want us in that position?

[Yovovi]

Yes, search on Indiana University School of Law for Dawn Johnsen's law articles about torture. (under faculty bios) She has written many. See my comment above for more on her.

[RedDogBear]

"Just as a heads up, doing this will start an ongoing cycle forever meaning that everytime the Presidency goes from left to right or vice versa . . . he would be setting us up for an ongoing battle." I'm sure that some of the fanatics on the right will spin it that way but the fact is Bush and his white house committed war crimes. They tortured people and they admitted it on national TV. That is a crime just the same as murder. If Obama or any democrat commits similar crimes they should be prosecuted as well.

[pjburke]

Binding U.S. Law Requires Prosecutions for Those Who Authorize Torture
-- Glenn Greenwald, Constitutional Lawyer; Salon.com
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/01/18/prosecutions/index.html

Fein: The Rule of Law
-- Bruce Fein, Deputy Attorney General under Ronald Reagan; Washington Times
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/20/the-rule-of-law/

[pjburke]

Oh..... OK.

Now I get why your party launched that illegal, abuse-of-process impeachment of Clinton... just to "poison the political well" against impeachment for when your little nosepicker came into office.

Well, for good or ill -- I still feel ill -- Dems didn't return the favor, as deserved as it certainly was.

But now you are talking about very serious crimes... including war crimes.

And now you're a cheerleader for "Team Depravity... Sadism Done Right."

"We're tough on crime," they said.

Hypocrites.

[VikingQuest]

I have really found this whole torture thing quite interesting to see the way it has come out for a few reasons:

1. Democrat leaders were brought into the inner circle long before it was an issue and they shared no objections at the time until it was politically conveinent.

2. Just because there weren't pictures like there was this time doesn't mean it never happened before. The CIA was granted permission to use rendition in a presidential directive signed by President Bill Clinton in 1995 and everyone knew that they were doing it but the only difference was the media exposing it.

The ACLU even admits that:

"The current policy traces its roots to the administration of former President Bill Clinton. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, however, what had been a limited program expanded dramatically."

[ddanimal]

Then prosecute the democrats that are involved also.

This isnt about democrats vs republicans. its about torture being illegal and immoral.

This is another reason real democrats dislike Bill Clinton-he was a lot like Bush!

[VikingQuest]

"This is another reason real democrats dislike Bill Clinton"

So how do you feel about the Clinton cabinet being reunited under Obama?

I tend to think Obama was right when he said this in his acceptance speech:

"For 18 long months, you have stood up, one by one, and said, "Enough," to the politics of the past. You understand that, in this election, the greatest risk we can take is to try the same, old politics with the same, old players and expect a different result."

I wish he would have followed this.

[MajorKong]

That just means the Democrats are either hypocrites or political cowards. It doesn't mean torture is right.

[VikingQuest]

Agreed, but the Democrats that knew were the leaders . . . pretty sure the President isn't looking to start a war within his own party.

[Kenji]

What are "Democrat leaders"?

[VikingQuest]

This isn't anything new, the majority and minority leaders were brough in on the methods being used:

"In September 2002, four members of Congress met in secret for a first look at a unique CIA program designed to wring vital information from reticent terrorism suspects in U.S. custody. For more than an hour, the bipartisan group, which included current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was given a virtual tour of the CIA's overseas detention sites and the harsh techniques interrogators had devised to try to make their prisoners talk."

[Grunty1]

Bush lied to Congress plenty of times, on record. It isn't a stretch to think he lied to them even more so OFF the record.

[VikingQuest]

So did Bill Clinton . . . what do you expect from career politicians?

Also, many time Bill Clinton told us all that Iraq had WMDs when he was President.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0f5u_0ytUs

[politicalminded]

Bill Clinton never tortured you liar!

[gjohntheterrible]

A President who believes that morals should never be compromised in order to make a task easy. What a novel concept this is.

[RedDogBear]

I think Obama is going to be a great president but I don't think he will be such a president. In fact I don't think there ever will be nor should there be such a president. The only politicians that can make a claim to NEVER compromise their morals are the mullahs that rule Islamic theocracies. For democracies compromise is always part of the equation. If Obama never compromised his morals he would have been unequivocal about whether or not to prosecute the Bush administration for torture. Or whether the occupation of Gaza is a war crime. I'm not saying I wish he had said those things, if he did he never would have been elected. My point is that even for great presidents compromise and finding the right balance between what is practical and what is moral is essential.

[poco767c]

it will be nice to have a president who isn't constantly looking for ways to circumvent the law