Attorney general: No waterboarding investigation

[BadGimp]

Source: CNN.com

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Attorney General Michael Mukasey told lawmakers Thursday he will not open a criminal investigation into the CIA's acknowledged use of "waterboarding" on terror suspects.


House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers asked Mukasey bluntly whether he was starting a criminal investigation since CIA chief Michael Hayden has confirmed the use of waterboarding.

"No, I am not, for this reason: Whatever was done as part of a CIA program at the time that it was done was the subject of a Department of Justice opinion through the Office of Legal Counsel and was found to be permissible under the law as it existed then," he said.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/07/mukasey.waterboarding/index.html

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go fogure...

[ursi]

1. more outrageous crap from the Bush administration and the Congress that approved this AG!

[Blue_In_AK]

2. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. n/t

[thecrow]

3. Good grief

WTF?
They're good, aren't they?
Just when it gets hot, Gonzo leaves, and the new guy says this.
WTF just WTF

[tridim]

4. There is no law in America if you're rich or powerful.

[liberal N proud]

5. The what, and what, and when?????

No, I am not, for this reason: Whatever was done as part of a CIA program at the time that it was done was the subject of a Department of Justice opinion through the Office of Legal Counsel and was found to be permissible under the law as it existed then," he said.

Damn criminals protecting the rest of the criminals.

[truthisfreedom]

6. Opens the door for congressional action.

[krispos42]

7. Thank you , Senators Feinstein and Schumer

for being spineless compromisers. Look, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the mere fact that Bush wants something is good enough reason to be against it! A knee-jerk rejection of all things Bush in the past seven years would have give far better, more honest, fairer, and more Constitutional government than what did actually happen.

Hope you're enjoying your 30 pieces of silver.

[atreides1]

12. They just him voted out of committee

But they weren't the only ones who voted for him in the Senate:

Besides Schumer and Feinstein, Democrats voting to confirm Mukasey were: Sens. Evan Bayh of Indiana, Tom Carper of Delaware, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Ben Nelson of Nebraska.

Lieberman's vote isn't much of a surprise:

Of the Senate's two independents, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut voted for confirmation and Bernie Sanders of Vermont voted against.


And these four didn't even show up for the vote:

Not voting were Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden of Delaware, Hillary Clinton of New York, Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Barack Obama of Illinois. All four had said they opposed Mukasey's nomination.

[DrDan]

28. Schumer was his main D patron

[krispos42]

32. They both had a chance to kill it in committee

By saying "He's so bad, he doesn't deserve a full Senate vote".

They didn't. Their excuse was "well, if he's not approved by the Senate, Bush will just recess-appoint some neocon fanatic during the holiday break". But Reid kept the Senate in session during the holiday break enough to prevent this, so their excuse falls very flat.

Quitters never win. And that's what they did, they quit trying to stop Bush.

[kestrel91316]

8. Did anyone actually think he would??

We have currently got the most corrupt government I have ever seen.

[KansDem]

9. Well, now THERE'S a revelation.

Didn't we all know Mukasey was going to run interference for this criminal mob?

Mukasey = Bush Family consigliere.

[tekisui]

10. I talked to Conyers, Waxman and Leahy's offices today.

They sounded as pissed as I was. None of that rude brush aside crap I usually get. Leahy's office, at the Judiciary Committee, told me that the DoJ had the case now. I asked when they would pick it up, because I garunteed Mr."waterboarding might not be torture" Mukasy would find nothing.

Theya cted as if they would, when it became clear that the DoJ wouldn't.

Conyers office asked ME if I thought it warrented Impeachment. I said absolutely!

[Fredda Weinberg]

11. Hearings ... gotta love hearings. n/t

[Ian David]

19. I think Conyers' office had to hire temps to field all the extra phonecalls. n/t

[tekisui]

20. I told them I wasn't going to stop calling until they took action

against the War Crimes. They agreed that War Crimes have been committed and admitted to.

[formercia]

13. The gravedigger strikes again. n/t

[BattyDem]

14. In other words ...

it's fine to break the law as long as someone advises you that it's perfectly legal to do so ... even if that advice is contrary to existing law. :eyes: :grr:

[DCKit]

15. Since when does a convenient and suspect "interpretation" of a law provide legal cover?

1) We signed the Geneva Convention and various international treaties.
2) Torture is illegal under the Geneva Convention, international law and U.S. law.
3) Waterboarding is universally recognized as a form of torture.

They can't spin their way out of this and, for once, I'm hopeful that Congress isn't going to let them.

[cornermouse]

16. If they look, they'll find something

so it's better if they just don't look. See?

[ORDagnabbit]

17. why should you and I obey any laws at all then... n/t

[Ian David]

18. Can we strip Feinstein and Schumer of their super-delegate status? n/t

[Ian David]

21. I can't get an answer at Schumer's office. I wonder why.

The asshole is probably hiding under his desk.

[Deny and Shred]

22. I know two men serving in Iraq, and I hope they're never captured

[lovuian]

23. Mukasey is a war criminal for protecting them

and Congress approved Mukasey and they are war criminals all who voted for his approval

but he will be out soon we hope

[mahatmakanejeeves]

24. We can't run around willy nilly prosecuting people for things they did in the past.

We'd never get anywhere if we spent all our time doing that.

Besides, according to the terms of the unitary executive theory, the prezzidunce is the chief legal authority of the land. If it's OK with him, that should be good enuff for anybody.

[lonestarnot]

25. So ugh, murder statute of limitations that doesn't expire is bullshit to you?

:shrug:

[tired]

26. As long as we (dems) investigate and prosecute

thats all i care about now. If the Dems drop the ball when its passed, then they are just as guilty.

[ReformedChris]

27. I hope that HRC or Obama will turn Justice around and expose the Bu$h admin for what it is nt

[Michigan-Arizona]

30. I hope you're right but I'm thinking not. n/t

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

29. found to be permissible

[alfredo]

31. Here's the first draft of a letter to the editor.

Today at a Senate hearing, Attorney General Mukasey said his office will not be investigating the use of water torture on prisoners. He also said that he will not be investigating the illegal wiretapping of innocent American citizens. His justification was "I think what I said was that we could not investigate or prosecute somebody for acting in reliance on a Justice Department opinion." This sounds very much like the Nuremberg defense of “I was just following orders.”

When I was in the Military I knew I could refuse an illegal order. If I was ordered to torture a prisoner, I could legally refuse because I was bound by the 1948 Geneva Convention against torture and UCMJ Article 93. I knew I wouldn’t have a legal leg to stand on if I was hauled before a war crimes tribunal. I couldn’t justify torture by saying I was only forwarding orders.

Bush wants the Telecoms to be granted immunity from the law because they went along with his illegal wiretapping. They may have had doubts about the legality of his program, but when they saw what happened to one Telecom company that refused, they buckled under. Cowardice is no defense. Just because Alberto Gonzales, George Bush, or Mukasey say it is legal, doesn’t make it legal, and just following orders, even under duress, doesn’t make you immune from the laws of the land.





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