Torture Memo Author Advocated Presidential Pardons, Jury Nullification

[BlueJessamine]

Source: The Huffington Post

By Murray Waas

May 6, 2009

A Bush administration attorney who approved harsh interrogation techniques of terror suspects advocated in 2006 that President Bush set aside recommendations by his own Justice Department to bring prosecutions for such practices, that the President should consider pardoning anyone convicted of such offenses, and even that jurors hearing criminal cases about such matters engage in jury nullification.

That advice came from John Yoo, a former attorney with the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel and author of memos that served as a legal rationale for the Bush administration's interrogation techniques. Yoo's recommendations constitute one of the most compelling pieces of a body of evidence that Yoo and other government attorneys improperly skewed legal advice to allow such practices, according to sources familiar with a still-confidential Justice Department report.

A Justice Department internal watchdog agency, the Office of Professional Responsibility, has concluded that Yoo and a second former Justice Department attorney, Jay Bybee, breached their professional legal ethics by skewing their legal advisory opinion to provide a legal rationale for allowing the harsh interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, according to a senior Department attorney who has reviewed a draft of the report. President Obama has said that the use of some of the interrogation techniques constituted torture.

The OPR recommends in the draft report that state bar associations consider taking disciplinary action against Yoo and Bybee, according to the same sources. The state bar associations could reject the OPR's findings or it could reprimand the attorneys, sanction them in some other fashion, or even hold disbarment proceedings. The draft report does not recommend that the Bush administration lawyers face criminal charges.



Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/06/pressure-increases-on-tor_n_197764.html

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Could there be light at the end of the tunnel? Will A.G. Eric Holder prosecute?

excerpt from article:

"sources caution that the draft report by OPR is subject to revision, and also has not formally been approved by Attorney General Eric Holder or other senior Justice Department officials who must still sign off on its findings. The report is expected to be made public by the end of this month."

[tridim]

1. This might be one reason the Dems waited until Bush was out before prosecuting

[Eric J in MN]

2. I hope the Justice Dept makes a serious effort to them disbarred...

...and doesn't just a mail a report to the state bar associations and let it go at that.

[BlueJessamine]

3. That is the least DOJ could do. n/t

[rateyes]

6. And, never let it be said that the government didn't do the LEAST

it could do.

[sofa king]

4. Oh, so they were down to the O.J. standard, eh?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jury_nullification

Predictably, even bringing up the idea runs afoul of legal precedent and the sensibilities of some legal minds, most notably Never-Ever-Gonna-Be-A-Supreme-Court-Justice Robert Bork.

[Solly Mack]

5. more proof that the memos were an attempt at justifying the illegal

and EVERYONE involved KNEW it was ALL illegal (with or without the "magic paper")

[Supersedeas]

11. artful pleading and memo drafting

[MasonJar]

7. Now there is a shocking revelation! John Yoo making such a recommendation!

WOW! Paint me surprised!!!!! HA! Now Obama and Holder, where does that leave you? Still standing strong for moving forward no matter the depth and breadth of the evidence? Probably! Unfortunately! No wonder Obama thinks he will only have one term. He is killing himself.

[No Elephants]

8. Tell UC Berkeley and Chapman how you feel about their making Yoo a law professor.

Stanford Alumni are putting the pressure on to dump Condi. Let's hope UC Berkeley and Chapman alums are doing the same. Let's help all of them, though. We don't want their warped view spread to other generations.

Stop them NOW. Come on. Care about torture at least enough to send two or three emails.

Yoo:

http://www.chapman.edu/law/contact.asp

http://www.law.berkeley.edu/2078.htm



While you are in a contacting mood.

Condi

http://www.stanford.edu/contact/

[Swede Atlanta]

9. I think people have been too rash and have jumped to conclusions.....

and may not recognize what this means.

Firstly, the OPR is only charged with making a determination regarding the ethical and professional aspects of this matter. They are not charged with making recommendations regarding any criminal prosecutions.

Secondly, based on these referrals the three named individuals could suffer any measure of sanctions up to and including disbarment. Disbarment would effectively mean they could not continue in their current professions. As an attorney myself it would be the gravest civil sanction that could be imposed.

Thirdly, since OPR only looks at the ethical/professional responsibility aspects of the case, I have not heard or seen anything official from the Justice Department that said that criminal prosecutions have been ruled out. Those aspects of the case, as to whether federal law was broken, would be determined by the criminal division.

[dixiegrrrrl]

12. ty for that summary.

I hear what you said to mean their "could be "disbarment as well as crinimal sancions, that disbarment does not rule out the criminal charges.

[Supersedeas]

10. when the DoJ goes bad: advice on breaking the law + advice on not enforcing the law

[babydollhead]

13. a poem

You and me
You are me
We are Yoo
You you you
Yoo is me
Yoo is us
This happens in my name
this happens in yours

You and me
and me and you
and you and you
and Yoo