Lindsey Graham Debates Himself on Detainee Torture (VIDEO)
The issue of detainee abuse and torture has tied more than one public official into rhetorical knots. Rep. Nancy Pelosi's continuing verbal gyrations regarding her knowledge of enhanced interrogation techniques is one example; press secretary Robert Gibbs explaining President Obama's decision to reverse policy and block the release of detainee photos is another.
But perhaps no one personifies the dilemma facing elected officials better than Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
Even TPM's Josh Marshall has written glowingly of Graham in the past (and I quote):
Graham has become some mix of the star and the conscience of these proceedings because of his specialized knowledge as an Air Force JAG and his ability to see that this goes beyond partisan politics, threatening as it does not only America's honor but also her power.
I had a similar impression of Senator Graham's role during the Armed Services Committee hearings on interrogation this past summer. In those lame-duck days, the aim of Republicans up for election was to put as much distance as possible between themselves and George W. Bush. This group included not only Sen. Graham but his close friend, torture victim, and presidential candidate John McCain. Graham at that time was a passionate critic of the Bush Administration attorneys who provided the legal cover for American abuse of detainees.
Lately, however, Graham seems to have had second thoughts on the matter. At a recent Judiciary subcommittee hearing investigating detainee abuse, Graham spent his time mounting a feisty defense of torture memo authors Jay Bybee, John Yoo and Steven Bradbury.
Graham's performance sent ANP producer Mike Fritz back to our archives to confirm that this was indeed the same Lindsey Graham we remembered from the summer, and sure enough, it was. As this video reveals, same guy - different message.
Watch:
According to Prof. Rick Wilson, director of the International Human Rights Law Clinic at American University's Washington College of Law, there is a definite contradiction emerging in Graham's thinking:
The Army Field Manual now clearly reflects U.S. compliance with the Geneva Conventions. The President's Executive Orders in January make clear that to go outside the Field Manual is to go outside of Common Article 3 of Geneva, which the Supreme Court has found to be binding on the nation.
As pressure builds for prosecutions, truth commissions, and an impeachment (Bybee), Sen. Graham appears to be abandoning the rhetoric of non-partisanship and high principals in favor of verbal attacks on those who question the arguments put forward by "enhanced interrogation" apologists.
All eyes are now on Attorney General Eric Holder as he prepares to release the results of an internal DOJ investigation on the Bush lawyers. Nearly five years in the works, the report by the Office of Professional Responsibility has been reported to contain a scathing rebuke of memo authors Bybee, Yoo, and Bradbury.
Release of the OPR report will no doubt inspire new hearings and new opportunities for Sen. Graham and others to debate among themselves - and within themselves - regarding interrogation, torture, and the integrity of the U.S. Constitution. No word yet on when the report will appear.
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Republicans are chronic liars who have not yet figured out that we have their lies stored on video on the internet.
What the heck are these peopel drinking, it is like the Dem's have placed mushrooms in the water cooler. At least we now know how McCain got his rear end kicked....
What a phony - torture will do nothing more than guarantee that we get hit again and that our soldiers will be tortured upon capture - and we can really say nothing about it.
Ladies and Gentelmen, this months winner for outstanding effort in hypocrisy, Lindsey Graham.
No need for a rebuttal. He just made it for me.
LOL
The way the Bush Administration used the appropriations committees to bypass oversight by the intelligence committees in Congress (and get away with torture):
http://emp
Doesn't he have a memory back to last year!!! Someone should take notes for him. How can he be so blatant and get away with it. It there really were a liberal media, this would be on the mainstream news.
Is he wearing exactly the same clothes as almost a year ago? He does have conviction
lol the truth is such an inconvenience.
See...what I mean is...uh what had happened was...
WTF??? Why is this not running on every news channel in America (FAUX News excluded of course)?
I can see MSNBC picking it up. That's about as far as it will go unfortunately.
I agree. It should be on every channel. All day long.
PERFECT!
WARNING - Only Watch This Tape If You Are Wearing A Neck Brace Or You Will Get A SEVERE Case of WIPLASH
The republicans lie so much and so often, it's difficult for them to remember which version of a story they last used.
If their posturing was about PRINCIPLE instead of POLITICS, they would find that their stories won't differ from day to day or even hour to hour.
Was he under oath when he was espousing such BS?
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