The CIA demanded legal cover for their interrogations.
This was no doubt passed along by the White House to the Justice Dept. The Justice Dept. then provided the legal cover, to which Bybee's signature is attached.
CIA now gets to say "we did our due dilligence, it was legal", the WH gets to say "We asked the Justice Dept. and they said it was legal." And now Bybee gets to say "Torture is legal, I make no apologies."
It's clear that Bybee's best defense is to claim that the memos speak to his informed legal opinion. And that is why he broke his silence. He is protecting himself by claiming that even if the claim was idiotic and seemingly farcical, it is what he believed and continues to believe. Otherwise, he is setting himself up for conspiracy charges.
He is an evil liar.
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