There is growing speculation that the Office of Professional Responsibility will recommend the disbarment of Professor John Yoo who currently teaches at Berkeley law school. The release of new memoranda from the Justice Department has increased calls for disciplinary action. The memoranda concludes that the President can (1) use military forces domestically to deal with any individuals President Bush considers a terrorist threat, (2) suspend free press and free speech rights, (3) arrest citizens without legal process or access to the courts, and (4) a variety of other tyrannical measures. I discussed the memoranda on this segment of Countdown.
A call for disbarment by OPR would be an extraordinary act. Yoo is facing growing opposition at his law school and there is even a website committed to his removal.
What is most disturbing is the contemporary effort to avoid a criminal investigation of war crimes in favor of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. There is, of course, nothing to “reconcile.” We are not some new nation emerging from civil war or dictatorship. We are a nation of laws. Bush officials have already confirmed the acts of torture and we are obligated by treaty to prosecute such war crimes. Whether Yoo is disbar pales in comparison to the need to comply with our moral and legal obligation to prosecute any acts of torture. Otherwise, President Obama’s repeated statements of “no one being about the law” will appear a pretty cynical spin designed to give the appearance of actions while evading our collective international obligations.
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Thanks Jill. Do you remember that scene in To Kill a Mockingbird where Scout attends a tea and she notices the hypocrisy of the town where they gather to hear the good reverend lament the plight of the distant foreign people but are simultaneously oblivious to the plight of Tom Robinson and others like him in their own town.
I love the way, in American lit, the child is often the “father of the man” (is that Blake?) and sees things the “grownups” miss, the way Huck Finn did.
Our MSM’s position on war crimes is the inverse of Reagan’s view of unions: He loved them, when they were in Poland. Likewise, our political class detests War Crimes, when they’re in Africa.
I did see this interesting comparison about our war criminals verses other people’s:
“New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof – like many of his American colleagues – is applauding the International Criminal Court’s arrest order against Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for his role in the Darfur conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.
In his Thursday column, Kristof describes the plight of an eight-year-old boy named Bakit who blew off his hands picking up a grenade that Kristof suspects was left behind by Bashir’s forces operating on the Chad side of the border with Sudan.
“Bakit became, inadvertently, one more casualty of the havoc and brutality that President Bashir has unleashed in Sudan and surrounding countries,” Kristof wrote. “So let’s applaud the I.C.C.’s arrest warrant, on behalf of children like Bakit who can’t.”
By all accounts, Kristof is a well-meaning journalist who travels to dangerous parts of the world, like Darfur, to report on human rights crimes. However, he also could be a case study of what’s wrong with American journalism.
While Kristof writes movingly about atrocities that can be blamed on Third World despots like Bashir, he won’t hold U.S. officials to the same standards.
Most notably, Kristof doesn’t call for prosecuting former President George W. Bush for war crimes, despite hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who have died as a result of Bush’s illegal invasion of their country. Many Iraqi children also don’t have hands – or legs or homes or parents.
But no one in a position of power in American journalism is demanding that former President Bush join President Bashir in the dock at The Hague.”
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/03/05-12
Hey David,
Nice to read your posts again. My friend’s parents are very rich. She says they are literally terrified of Obama, the whole socialism, we should move from the country bit. They are praying about it. She did slip me an example e-mail from them and it was de-mented! They hate people who are poor in this country but like to go “help” the poor in Peru with “Father” because they get a lot of praise for that.
Like Gyges, I was a little confused by your earlier post. Got what you mean now! By all means help that distressed prince, your reward will be uncountable!
Gyges:
I disagree. There’s no doubt some of the comments might be in jest, but the one I quoted links to a blog (linked at my signature) that is obviously real.
Then again, it’s become difficult to parody Malkin-types these days. Who would have imagined Glenn Reynolds’ wife recommending taking the election out on her waiters?
If you don’t believe me about the blog above, here’s a quote:
“Robert Gibbs, the O’s mealy mouthed mouth piece attempted a strike back at Rush Limbaugh and his CPAC message. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, who last month blasted CNBC host Rick Santelli from the podium in the briefing room, challenged reporters on Monday to ask Republicans if they agree with Limbaugh’s desire.
‘Do they want to see the president’s economic agenda fail?’…
The answer is YES Mr. Gibbs. We do indeed want O’s economic polices to fail, but for a GOOD reason. We love America. We do not want to become socialists. We disagree with redistributing the wealth. We believe O’s economic policies will destroy the United States of America. How can we not help but hope he fails at destroying us? It would be unpatriotic to hope anything less.”
That might be a good source of material for a parody site like “Jesus’ General” but it’s real. (Check out the “Proud to be an unpatriot in Obama’s America button!)
And wrt that Nigerian Prince scheme, my view is similar to Michael Scott’s: “When the son of the deposed king of Nigeria emails you directly, asking for help, you help! His father ran the freaking country! Ok?”
Any day now that check should hit my account!
I should clarify that I’m talking about the claims of “going Galt”
David,
If you believe that the postings on that page are anything other than obvious fictions, I’ve got this letter from a Nigerian prince you might be interested in reading.
Buddha:
And those Rand lovers here might want to take a look at Glenn Reynolds/Instapundit’s wife’s idea for “going Galt.” Mrs. Reynolds (Dr. Helen) asks “Should you tip less in an Obama Administration?” (ink at signature)
She goes on to suggest leaving notes that say:
“I’ve been thinking. If Obama is elected, maybe in lieu of a tip I should leave a note like the following:
HOPE AND CHANGE FOR AMERICA: Spreading the Wealth Around.
In lieu of a tip, $_____ has been donated to the Re-Elect Obama for President Campaign. Thank you for supporting the man and the movement that are bringing America together!”
Later, she adds:
“As a commenter said, this post really seems to have hit a nerve. I am guessing that a number of lefty types are upset that their livelihood may be threatened. In Rules for Radicals Saul Alinsky asks, “Does this particular end justify this particular means?” Perhaps for those of us who are right-leaning, the answer is “yes,” perhaps it is “no,” but it certainly worth exploring.”
[JT, can you send this to KO as a WPITW suggestion?]
My favorite idea for “going Galt,” however, comes from a commenter at Michelle Malkin’s blog who says, “We also have “gone Galt”. Hubby decided to retire and start Medicare instead of our original plan of waiting two years.”
http://tbogg.firedoglake.com/2009/03/02/youre-in-the-high-rent-district/
Your post sounded as though you were awaiting an answer on the Article 78 ie you had appealed a decision.
I never said anything about you ‘asking nicely’ – only if you ever inquired of anyone in the AG’s office, which up until the present sounded as if you had not.
Yoo!
Here’s a lawyer who gets it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/05/nyregion/05da.html
From the article:
“Prosecutors are supposed to seek justice, not victory,” he said.
Justice, not servile genuflection to a tyrant in the name of furthering your career. I watched JT’s KO appearance just this morning (and I had no idea about his LS professor comment when I made my previous post which made it all that funnier to me).
His disappointment in you was palpable. I noticed he said he knows you, but I also noticed he left off the appellation “friend”. I can understand why.
For those older folks who frequent this blawg, I was thinking of a 1950s Ames Brothers song you might recall entitled ‘You, You, You’, and I thought of a slogan applicable to sum up my thoughts of Mr. Yoo.
You, YOO, You, pro-se-cute, You YOO You!
You (and Yoo) are welcome for today’s musical earworm, but unfortunately, it does not quite induce the same long-lasting distressingly painful quality as a Barry Manilow composition invokes.
Doglover,
Good catch. That is applicable to today as well. We need to keep vigilant as there is as yet, no end in sight to the imperial presidency. When GWB pulled all this crap, for a long while much of our population thought it was O.K. because, “he’s a great guy just trying to protect us”. But there’s really no such thing as a “benevolent” dictator. I hope when we get attacked again (and we will) that all of us, left and right, remember these memos and don’t ceed our Constitution to any president for any reason, great guy or not.
Buddha,
Off topic but irresistible. If only those predators that have nearly destroyed our economy would do a John Galt, not only wouldn’t they be missed, but most likely people with more brains, skill and business acumen would replace them. Rand postulates Capitalist/Entrepreneurs as Supermen, but all I’ve seen is that for the most part of three decades, they were the “Cream of the Crap.”
CCD:
“I was unaware until your replies that any activity was advancing at the state level.”
Actually CCD, it’s my own analysis culled from hours and hours of free-time research post December 9, 2000 as to how one would go about getting Lord Scalia sanctioned or removed from the bench.
That said, the same reasoning became applicable to G.W. Bush and administration, for obvious reasons, post 9/11 and throughout his two terms of using the constitution as a urinal puck.
And quite frankly, I’d rather not get into the ‘why not you’ discussion at the moment.
SIYOM,
Bob
Off Topic – Ayn Rand
I thought the Rand readers here would get a kick out of this.
http://washingtonindependent.com/32415/congressman-were-living-in-atlas-shrugged
Don’t forget Yoo’s little gem in the NYT.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/17/opinion/17yoo.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
*Prosecutorial discretion
Patty:
“I would also ask Thingum Bob Esq, again, if he’s ever phoned the NY AG’s office to inquire about the possibility of bringing state actions before a grand jury in the State of New York or any other state for that matter.”
Patty,
An Article 78 proceeding would be a statutory write of mandamus to compel prosecution; i.e. it’s not a matter of asking nicely, but of framing the issue in a manner that proprietorial discretion would be impossible.
To wit:
Can the NYS A.G. exercise more power than the document to which it owes its existence — i.e the NYS Constitution.
Don’t worry. He’ll be convicted eventually. The sooner the better. Usurping the Constitution purposefully to provide cover for other criminals acting against he nation’s best interest during war time is treason at worst, but deliberate violation is what he did. Have you read his dreck? Those opinions weren’t merely faulty. You can’t have taken high school civics let alone graduated law school and been paying ANY attention to think his rationale is anything but self-serving and illegal in intent and application. They were anti-Constitutional opinions used to provide material aid (justification) and comfort to the enemy during war (those enemies being the PNAC arm of the Republican Party). The greatest damage done to our country was not 9/11. It was the Bush Co. aftermath perpetrated by people sworn to uphold the Constitution, not piss on it, and all so they could maximize their profits. Well screw that. That’s fascism. Yes, Virginia, we really do have enemies of the state within the state. And they are home grown criminals. The country our Founding Fathers built will not survive unless they are punished and extracted from process. That includes Yoo. Since he’s such a small fish though, I’d be open to immunity for him if he’d just admit Cheney told him to do it. Because I want Cheney’s head on a stick even more so after reading those memos. He needs to die for what he’s done. He needs to die on TV as a lesson to all that you don’t mess with the Constitution for profit. Yoo will have his time before the bar either way before this is over and disbarment should be the least of his personal concerns. There are chubby chasers in prison too.
PA already refused to disbar. Basically. he has to be convicted of a felony to get this done. Just because he offered a faulty opinion won’t do it. Ask your local supreme court disciplinary council.
Listening to Patrick Leahy I think he has the order of march backward. There should be prosecutions based on only the public information available as of now (if that’s what it takes to move quickly) for the top people responsible for war crimes. Then the Truth Commission. In exchange for the whole story of what was done and who ordered it, years may be taken off their sentences. I think that might get the information needed to know what happened by offering a real incentive to speak up.