Lindsey Graham: Bush Administration Saw Law As 'Nicety We Could Not Afford' (VIDEO)

The Hill flags this interesting line from Senator Lindsey Graham about the way the Bush administration viewed the rule of law. During a hearing on the interrogation of detainees, Graham said that the Bush administration did not commit any crimes, but that they "saw the law as a nicety we could not afford."

Graham also questioned the validity of the hearing itself, speculating that it was a political stunt.

[WATCH]

Comments

[bohite]

Miss Pelosi says that she was not briefed about water boarding. Senator Gramm says that the dates the CIA claims he was briefed are bogus because they do not appear in his now famous daily ledger and Senator Feinstein says that the the briefings are given individually, without benefit of notes, are generally bland and the contents of such briefings are sworn to secrecy. So it seems that Senator Lindsey Graham is spewing a truck load of bull. The administration hauls this people,the intelligence committee, one by one in to a room and feed them partial or less than accurate information that they can not ask questions about, there is no transcript for posterity to refer to at a later date and at the end of the day the only thing accomplished is that now they,the legislators, are effectively accomplices of the administration. Now talk about a crock

[levee]

good speech. moving and articulate.
from a man who served as prosecutor of Bill Clinton (who was impeached for a hummer).
that's innacurate.
he acquired enormous political capital and catapulted into the senate by serving as prosecutor of Bill Clinton (who was impeached for a hummer).

[bronceye]

oh Lynnsy, you rascal, go back in the closet.

[KayWrites]

"...But they chose to ignore some pretty good legal advice. But is that a crime?" -Lindsey Graham

Well, yeah. Duh.

[StevenevetS]

What did we expect from Lindsey Graham?

[Golfer59]

Lindsey Graham sound like a member of the Taliban or Hamas trying ti justify what they do.

[SKOC211]

Despicable. We are a nation of laws, not of men who are elected to lead above them. The law is not just a mere nicety which should be considered, it is the standard by which all decisions should be made and judged, completely regardless of whatever cooked-up "24" like scenario Bush&Co. would have us believe.

Not only should all the criminals of the Bush Administration be prosecuted for what they did, but these so-called honorable Senators, like Mr. Graham, who hold these views should resign out of respect for the Constitution which they claim to uphold.

What has our country come to when our laws and Constitution are viewed as simple novelties? I pray for our future as a nation.

[Okieborn]

I remember Cheney was told the american citizenry didn't agree with water boarding !!
His answer was SO !!
That is the way the repubs feel about the law So !!!

[IntellectuallyHonest]

Another apologist for the Bush Administration getting airtime in the media.

[Cynthia Acheampong]

This is very sad, all i would like to say is this. United States use to stand for something, decent honesty defender of the rule of law and nation of lawmen. For someone who has been following your political system since 1992, i am very sad to watch your cable television. Torture is not something that i would expect from your nation ever ever. There are something to be said about a nation that acknowleges its faults and then learn from it and there are those who do not and therefore are bound to repeat them. I hope and hope that you take the later.

[TimRivers]

This statement absolutely disgusts me and should disgust any law-abiding citizen. "They (the Bush administration) "saw the law as a nicety we could not afford" and then to go on and say that was not a crime in itself.

Let's take the good Senator's logic one step further: I shoplift something because I cannot afford to buy groceries, get caught, arrested and charged with theft. In Sen. Graham's world, I can simply claim "the law was a nicety I could not afford" and therefore, there was no crime and all charges should be dropped! WHAT A CROCK!

This clearly shows the depths of depravity and the lengths to which the previous administration went to and continues to go to. Sorry but I DID NOT ASK THE US GOVERNMENT TO VIOLATE THE LAW ON MY BEHALF AND WOULD NOT HAVE GIVEN CONSENT IF I WERE ASKED TO BEGIN WITH!

[haval2]

So did Cheney...all you GOP pigs saw it the same way and kept your mouths shut. Now you have no voice and surely no following.

[VJ2008]

Well, the law against me assulting Graham is a nicety I cannot afford. I would do the time if I could punch him in the face. With Bush, Cheney, and Rice, I'd do it all again. HOWEVER, that's me, and it's my choice. The choice to TORTURE (even children) was not theirs to make, nor was it their right to torture in our name.

[1differentdrummer]

Intellectual dishonesty is an ugly thing to see.

[Redeemer777]

It bothers me that a congressman would take this position knowing fully well that a key contributor to the existence of Al-qa eda today is the torture of Sayyid Qutb whose teachings also radicalized zawahiri after he was tortured.

Theres no telling how many radicals of similar caliber we have spawned in our "enhanced" program.