Despite their repeated expressions of opposition to waterboarding as torture, Senators McCain and Graham has decided that torture should not stand in way of confirmation of Michael Mukasey. Their failure to stand on principle is only the latest disappointment for civil libertarians. These were the authors of the so-called torture bill that seemed to allow the government to beat and injure detainees in interrogation. The bill is so hopelessly vague that the Administration has quietly claimed that it could allow for waterboarding, which has been held to be not just torture but a war crime.

Remarkably, Schumer remains silent in the face of democratic opposition. Three of ten democrats are on record in the committee in opposition. For the full story, click here