While Judge Jay Bybee has declined to speak before the Senate Judiciary Committee to explain his role in the Bush torture program, he is reportedly reaching out to Nevada delegation members to find an alternative forum “to tell his side of the story.” I discussed the story on this segment of Rachel Maddow’s show.
Reps. Dina Titus (D-NV) and Shelley Berkley (D-NV) have said that Bybee has contacted them through intermediaries. I would be interested in who are the intermediaries (described as former Bush officials). The New York Times has called for the impeachment of Bybee as have many lawyers.
Bybee’s tale is, in my view, one of the corruption of blind ambition. Like many conservative lawyers eager for positions in the Administration, he found himself being asked to endorse the very antithesis of the rule of law in order to be advanced as a lawyer. Bybee reportedly went to Washington to seek a nomination to the 9th Circuit. Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales sent him to the OLC instead where he was asked to write his infamous torture memos. He was then given the judicial post. I do not know the man. However, the appearance could not be worse. It appears as if he facilitated the torture of other human beings — part of the price for a promotion to the court. Regardless of such alleged motivations, his acts speak loudly to his involvement in a war crime — and his unsuitability for the court.
For the full story, click here.
Rut Roh, I almost forgot. The soldier who appeared on Rachel Maddow’s show wasn’t coerced or fraudulently induced to do anything. He was smart enough to know the consequences of his own decision. In truth, if it weren’t for the fact that politicians feel the need to kowtow to the absurd sensibilities of people like you, the hypocritical “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy would never have been adopted. Hopefully, the current president will abolish it once and for all and you and all the other homophobes can crawl into your pathetic holes and draft more secession resolutions.
RutRoh, I’ve always enjoyed watching people as they whistle past the graveyard. If you think anyone is concerned about torture investigations dragging down a few Democrats along the way, well, as my mom used to say, you’ve got another think coming. My interest, and the interest of most who share on this site, is in the rule of law, not the rule of political parties. Therefore, cries of “But Johnny did it too” don’t cut anymore mustard now than they did when I was 10.
AY,
In re the tentative new position.
I’m sending all the good karma your way that I can muster. I hope it works out for you.
Buddha,
Rut Roow. Go man go. See Buddha Run.
Ruh Roh,
Sorry, I mistook you for someone without a partisan agenda but instead you are just another troll. You want to disprove that assertion?
Let’s not hear anymore about the enablers, but the criminals proper . . . or can’t you pontificate about your bosses illegalities except to excuse them like you just did by lying about “most people” and Gitmo? Care to reconcile that to the polls that show the majority of Americans not only want it closed, but Bush Co. investigated and subject to criminal prosecution for violating the Constitution by turning Gitmo into a torture center in the first place? A Washington Post-ABC News poll showed that 53 percent of Americans said the United States should close Gitmo. Another poll quoted on every major network showed over 70% of Americans wanted an investigation and/or prosecution for Bush officials for war crimes.
Care to elaborate on that or are you going to spew more propaganda at an attempt to change the subject by smear and innuendo?
Didn’t think so.
Again, THIS IS NOT ABOUT PARTY, BUT IT IS ABOUT CRIME.
Who gives a damn what party the guilty belong to except apologists and propagandists. And I don’t want to hear “it’d be bad and unpopular to prosecute them”. The Nuremberg trials weren’t popular either, but popular and LEGALLY NECESSARY are not always the same. You want some Dems to go to prison? Fine, so do I and anyone else paying attention to who let Bush piss on the law, but your presentation is little more than biased smear intended to obfuscate that the orders to torture came from the top, not the bottom (soldiers) or the middle (everyone between the Pres and the troops). From the top. And any Dems that helped the criminals? They should be charged as accessories at a bare minimum, but that still doesn’t excuse Dick and Monkey Boy wiping themselves on the Constitution.
Do you want to throw in more weak straw men like the budget (you do realize TARP was Bush’s doing, right?) or gun control (you do know Obama choose NOT to ban assault rifles, right?). The list goes on as you said, just not with the contents you claim. Care to address that?
Didn’t think so.
Time for you to move along, little trollsy. Your true colors are exposed as Neocon Red. So take your fake outrage elsewhere unless you just like posting in a place where you’ll be guaranteed to be made the fool.
And the name is Buddha or BIL, or in the case of Neocon apologists and propagandist, Mr. Your Worst Nightmare.
Bybee needs to be impeached ASAP. As usual the trolls make their appearance when the discussion thread is torture. I agree with AY’s comment that Bybee already made his statement in the memo. The only other time I want to hear from him is under oath in front of a grand jury or a congressional committee. I guess we won’t hear him in front of a grand jury, but it would be nice to televise the secret proceedings.
It appears Maddow cost a Lieutenant from West Point his career by convincing him to out himself on her show as a publicity stunt for MSNBC. That was uncalled for.
Bud,
Nancy Pelosi is symptomatic of the Democratic party nowadays. Look at the wasted money already in the 800 billion dollar stimulus bill, the 3.5 trillion dollar budget with trillion dollar deficts projected by the CBO for the next 10 years, Murtha, Rangel, Dodd, Frank. The list keeps growing.
PS. I saw a clip tonight of Barack Obama saying 18 billion of earmarks in the 800 billion stimulus bill “was not a lot of money” then they switched to him saying today how a cut of 17 billion from a 3.5 trillion dollar budget “was a lot of money to cut”.
I saw this on ABC, not Fox, not on right wing radio; it was on ABC. They also went around to citizens and showed their outrage. I tell you, things are turning fast against the Democrat party. Wait until you release the so called “torture photos”. Military vets and families are going to go ballistic against the people putting the mout. Now closing Guantamano? Nobody but the far far left wants it closed. Gun control? Nobody wants it. The list goes on.
I just saw your appearance on the Rachel Maddow show, Prof. Turley. As usual, an excellent segment.
Rut Roh,
Anyone who has observed Pelosi for more than 10-20 minutes can tell she’s a liar. And if she knew the details of what they were planning (and I think she did), she should have a cell right next to Dick. I have quite a few friends in her district (one of them is even a pollster) and if they are emblematic of how the majority of how her constituency feels about her, she’ll be lucky to be a San Franciso dog catcher after this term.
This issues of torture and violating the Constitution are not partisan. It’s a criminal matter. Many R’s need to go to prison as primary bad actors (from Dick to Feith), but so do some of the D’s that enabled them. Nancy “Impeachment is off the table” Pelosi and Harry “I can’t do my sworn duty to protect the Constitution because some of my friends will go to prison” Reid are included in that list of enablers.
Left off the Washington Post Link:
Posted at 7:29 PM ET, 05/ 7/2009
CIA Says Pelosi Was Briefed on Use of ‘Enhanced Interrogations’
By Paul Kane
Intelligence officials released documents this evening saying that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was briefed in September 2002 about the use of harsh interrogation tactics against al-Qaeda prisoners, contradicting her repeated statements over the past 18 months that she was never told that these techniques were actually being used.
In a 10-page memo outlining an almost seven-year history of classified briefings, intelligence officials said that Pelosi and then-Rep. Porter Goss (R-Fla.) were the first two members of Congress ever briefed on the interrogation tactics. Then the ranking member and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, respectively, Pelosi and Goss were briefed Sept. 4, 2002, one week before the first anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The memo, issued by the Director of National Intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency to Capitol Hill, notes the Pelosi-Goss briefing covered “EITs including the use of EITs on Abu Zubaydah.” EIT is an acronym for enhanced interrogation technique. Zubaydah was one of the earliest valuable al-Qaeda members captured and the first to have the controversial tactic known as water boarding used against him.
The issue of what Pelosi knew and when she knew it has become a matter of heated debate on Capitol Hill with some accusing her of knowing for many years precisely the techniques CIA agents were using in interrogations, and only protesting the tactics when they became public and liberal antiwar activists protested.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/
Report: Pelosi Briefed in 2002 About Enhanced Interrogation Methods
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was briefed in September 2002 on the use of enhanced interrogation techniques, according to a report prepared by the Director of National Intelligence’s office and obtained by FOX News.
The report seems to contradict a statement by Pelosi last month that she was never told that waterboarding or other enhanced interrogation techniques were being used on terrorism suspects.
The report was submitted to the Senate Intelligence Committee and federal officials Wednesday.
My opinion: the damaging word in this report is “use” meaning she was briefed on the use of waterboarding. We can play word games all day long but this to many will make Pelosi look to be a liar. But, can Pelosi go down any more in the polls than she already is?
Messpo727272 and Patty C,
See Rubic 2 or is that Rule 2.
Query,
Since Oreogon is in the Ninth Circuit do you think that Bybee will hear the case if it is appealed with a Federal Question?
Is Shocking your children with a Dog Collar torture as defined by Bybee?
You know it could as it entered the stream of commerece.
Do you think that this man has an expectation of Privacy to Shock his children for fun?
Isn’t weed legal in Oregon as well?
BIL,
The monkeys just arrived and they are nasty mean sucker. One spit at me and the other tried to claw me. Geeze
BIL,
Say a gipper for me, I have an interview with a Bankruptcy firm tomorrow. Say yeah.
Let him talk, by all means.
I’d love to hear what he has to say… {:o
Judge Bybee has already “told his side of the story”-in a memorandum.
“I have often discussed the first rule of the blog: civility. The second rule is you cannot post if you have allegedly committed war crimes. Thankfully, that second one rarely comes up.”
*********
Rules. Rules. Everywhere rules.
Blocking out the scenery. Breaking my mind.
Do this. Don’t do that. Can you see the rules.
Come on JT just one exception. I would respectfully question our errant jurist with my usual civility. 🙂
Why does the Judge have to spend time searching for a forum? As has been mentioned, a Congressional or Senate hearing room under oath is an excellent forum to tell his side of the story. So would the witness stand in a court proceeding charging him with war crimes—again, under oath. He’s more likely trying to get booked on Faux Noise instead of the more appropriate booking room at a police station.