"No Promises to Bush Lawyers Who Signed Off on Interrogation Tactics" (ProPublica News)

[KoKo]

Obama Promises to Defend Interrogators, But No Promise on the Bush Lawyers Who Signed Off
by Chisun Lee, ProPublica - April 16, 2009 4:54 pm EDT


Early press reports <2> are focusing on the administration’s promise not to prosecute any CIA employee who reasonably relied on the memos to carry out interrogations. The government has also said it will defend <3> employees in U.S. or foreign courts and before Congress.

But the administration was silent on its allegiance – or lack thereof – to the former administration lawyers, from the Office of Legal Counsel, who authored or signed off on the memos. It’s the lawyers who may face prosecution before a Spanish court <4> and who’ve long been the subject of calls from U.S. civil liberties advocates for further investigation.

In two parting memos, outgoing Bush OLC supervisor Steven Bradbury repudiated <5> a slew of counterterrorism-related legal opinions while defending the professional conduct of their authors.

We asked about the administration’s stance on the conduct of those who wrote today’s released memos. Justice Department spokesperson Tracy Schmaler said that, because an internal Office of Professional Responsibility investigation is ongoing, "We can’t comment."

Today’s memos help flesh out the remarkable legal story behind the previous administration’s so-called war on terror – a story you can follow by exploring our chart of more than 50 related memos <6>, listed by date, author and topic. Our continuing coverage of the battle to win release <7> of some 30 still-secret memos can be found here <8>.

more at.......
http://www.propublica.org/article/obama-promises-to-defend-interrogators-but-no-promise-on-bush-0416

[Demeter]

1. Yeah, Sure

Whatever lie helps you sleep at night....