Bybee may have to face the music after all

[MikeWaters]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090421/...rogation_memos

It might be argued that the officials were simply doing their jobs, providing legal advice for the Bush administration. However, John Strait, a law professor at Seattle University said, "I think there are a slew of potential charges."

Those could include conspiracy to commit felonies, including torture, he suggested.

Bybee also could face impeachment in Congress if lawmakers were so inclined.

Bybee should be required to explain himself under oath, without a deal, to an investigative committee.

If he is guilty of breaking the law, he should be punished.

Don't they teach ethics at BYU Law?

[il Padrino Ute]

On another board, someone pointed out that Bybee was doing what a lawyer is supposed to do - tell his client what he can do without breaking the law. If this is the case, then there really is nothing that can be done in regard to prosecuting Bybee.

I tend to believe there is an ulterior motive behind going after Bybee - he's a conservative on the ridiculously liberal 9th Circuit Court and the crybaby liberals don't like it. They don't want balance there.

[MikeWaters]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

On another board, someone pointed out that Bybee was doing what a lawyer is supposed to do - tell his client what he can do without breaking the law. If this is the case, then there really is nothing that can be done in regard to prosecuting Bybee.

I tend to believe there is an ulterior motive behind going after Bybee - he's a conservative on the ridiculously liberal 9th Circuit Court and the crybaby liberals don't like it. They don't want balance there.

He's not a conservative. He's a fascist. A conservative wouldn't have written that memo.

The memo was not "this is as much as we can justify getting away with." It spelled out the Justice Dept.'s opinion on what is and what is not torture. If I'm not mistaken. I haven't read it myself.

WHEN YOU WORK FOR THE JUSTICE DEPT. YOU ARE WORKING FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE--YOU ARE WORKING FOR ME!

Bybee, you betrayed the American people, and for that you must pay.

May you be impeached, disbarred, imprisoned, and removed of your right to vote.

[il Padrino Ute]

Doesn't it make you happy that you and he share an alma mater?

[MikeWaters]

No doubt, Bybee was instructed to come up with a document that would justify various means of torture, and give it the imprimatur of morality and legality, as I have already said.

And Bybee complied.

But that was his moment of courage. He could have said no. He should have said no. He should have said "I will have no part of this, I'm not writing this."

But at the end of the day, he did as he was asked, and he signed his name. HE SIGNED HIS NAME. He said, THIS IS MY WORK, AND I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR IT.

All I am asking is that he be held responsible for what he claimed responsibility for.

The loyal boy he is, I doubt he will turn state's witness and implicate his co-conspirators. No, I think he would be willing to serve a couple years in jail, all the while patting himself on the back as one of the true "warriors" against terrorism. One of the men "fearless," "who knows what must be done."

This is a man that will be described as decent. Gentle. A man that looks you in the eye with a firm handshake. A man that cries at the pulpit.

But sadly, a man that has lost his way. The tragedy of Jay Bybee. I hope a book is written someday, where we find out the truth behind his rise and (hopefully) fall.

[MikeWaters]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

Doesn't it make you happy that you and he share an alma mater?

Let's not kid ourselves here. While they teach what they call "religion" at BYU, it certainly is not ethics.

At BYU, they do teach you to do what you are told. Who better to write the torture memo, then a diligent man who always does what he is told?

[Tex]

It's kinda amusing to watch Waters continually blame Mormonism for Bybee's willingness to write that memo.

This latest announcement is just further evidence of the Left's desire to criminalize politics. Whether one agrees with Bybee's authored opinions, the charge he did something illegal by writing them is patently ridiculous. The only people who can't see that are those blinded by their anti-torture Bloodlust.

[MikeWaters]

Originally Posted by Tex

It's kinda amusing to watch Waters continually blame Mormonism for Bybee's willingness to write that memo.

This latest announcement is just further evidence of the Left's desire to criminalize politics. Whether one agrees with Bybee's authored opinions, the charge he did something illegal by writing them is patently ridiculous. The only people who can't see that are those blinded by their anti-torture Bloodlust.

I'm disappointed that the light that should have been in Bybee did not shine. I expect better of him.

[MikeWaters]

Times editorial calls for the impeachment of Bybee.

In one of the more nauseating passages, Jay Bybee, then an assistant attorney general and now a federal judge, wrote admiringly about a contraption for waterboarding that would lurch a prisoner upright if he stopped breathing while water was poured over his face. He praised the Central Intelligence Agency for having doctors ready to perform an emergency tracheotomy if necessary.

That investigation should start with the lawyers who wrote these sickening memos, including John Yoo, who now teaches law in California; Steven Bradbury, who was job-hunting when we last heard; and Mr. Bybee, who holds the lifetime seat on the federal appeals court that Mr. Bush rewarded him with.

These memos make it clear that Mr. Bybee is unfit for a job that requires legal judgment and a respect for the Constitution. Congress should impeach him. And if the administration will not conduct a thorough investigation of these issues, then Congress has a constitutional duty to hold the executive branch accountable. If that means putting Donald Rumsfeld and Alberto Gonzales on the stand, even Dick Cheney, we are sure Americans can handle it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/opinion/19sun1.html

[Cali Coug]

Originally Posted by Tex

It's kinda amusing to watch Waters continually blame Mormonism for Bybee's willingness to write that memo.

This latest announcement is just further evidence of the Left's desire to criminalize politics. Whether one agrees with Bybee's authored opinions, the charge he did something illegal by writing them is patently ridiculous. The only people who can't see that are those blinded by their anti-torture Bloodlust.

Whether or not he broke the law is entirely separate from whether or not he should face consequences for his actions. He was a coward and failed to do his job as he swore to do when he became a lawyer. He should be disbarred. He should be impeached.