Bybee may have to face the music after all

[Cali Coug]

Originally Posted by Tex

That the benefits should be carefully weighed against the drawbacks in determining policy. That attitude is reflected in this quote:

I am referring to Dick Cheney, not the admiral.

[Cali Coug]

Originally Posted by 8ballrollin

It's too bad the Bush administration and the CIA acted without oversight. I think Nancy and Bob Graham would have put a stop to waterboarding. Oh...that's right, I forgot Congress does have oversight over intelligence and receives briefing on the legality of their programs methods; it's their job.



http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/us...nted=3&_r=1&hp

While I find it disturbing that anyone could ever approve these tactics, Pelosi certainly included, I am less troubled by political approval of the tactics than I am by the legal opinions which enabled the political approval, except to the extent the politicians drove the lawyers to reach a certain conclusion and then used that legal conclusion as a tool to persuade other politicians to approve the conduct as well.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by Cali Coug

Are you suggesting the only standard for disbarment or impeachment is criminal conduct?

I suppose a violation of known ethics of your local bar association also rise to the leve of potential disbarment or impeachment, but such would have to be with notice and warning, so for all practical purposes, the only sitting judges I know of that have been impeached have been first convicted of crimes.

As a policy rule, you couldn't allow vague generalities to suffice to remove potentially unpopular judges. I'm uncomfortable with that standard.

[MikeWaters]

Had the memo been known more broadly, it casts much doubt on whether Bybee would have been confirmed to the Court in the first place.

[Tex]

Originally Posted by Cali Coug

I am referring to Dick Cheney, not the admiral.

I haven't specifically read Cheney's quotes, I'm just going off what was reported. I assume he feels the same way.

Originally Posted by Cali Coug

While I find it disturbing that anyone could ever approve these tactics, Pelosi certainly included, I am less troubled by political approval of the tactics than I am by the legal opinions which enabled the political approval, except to the extent the politicians drove the lawyers to reach a certain conclusion and then used that legal conclusion as a tool to persuade other politicians to approve the conduct as well.

Are you troubled at all by the advocacy to use impeachment and/or disbarment as a political weapon, to threaten lawyers of a previous administration simply because the governing ideology and resulting policies have changed?

[MikeWaters]

taking a monster off one of the most important courts in the land, who has done things that would have prevented his confirmation in the first place, is hardly political.

[Cali Coug]

Originally Posted by Tex

I haven't specifically read Cheney's quotes, I'm just going off what was reported. I assume he feels the same way.



Are you troubled at all by the advocacy to use impeachment and/or disbarment as a political weapon, to threaten lawyers of a previous administration simply because the governing ideology and resulting policies have changed?

That isn't the point of the threat of impeachment and/or disbarment. The fact that you believe this to be the result of a change of "governing ideology and resulting policies" is depressing.

[Tex]

Originally Posted by Cali Coug

That isn't the point of the threat of impeachment and/or disbarment. The fact that you believe this to be the result of a change of "governing ideology and resulting policies" is depressing.

It isn't supposed to be the point, I agree. But if Bybee is impeached, disbarred, or jailed based on the information that is currently public, that's exactly what it will be. Does that trouble you?

[Cali Coug]

Originally Posted by Tex

It isn't supposed to be the point, I agree. But if Bybee is impeached, disbarred, or jailed based on the information that is currently public, that's exactly what it will be. Does that trouble you?

No, that isn't what it will be, so no, it doesn't trouble me.

[Cali Coug]

By the way, here are the rest of the admiral's comments:

“The information gained from these techniques was valuable in some instances, but there is no way of knowing whether the same information could have been obtained through other means,” Admiral Blair said in a written statement issued last night. “The bottom line is these techniques have hurt our image around the world, the damage they have done to our interests far outweighed whatever benefit they gave us and they are not essential to our national security."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/us...er=rss&emc=rss