(NYT Breaking) Justice Report Opposes Prosecuting Torture-Memo Authors

[sabra]

Source: NY Times

WASHINGTON — An internal Justice Department inquiry into the conduct of Bush administration lawyers who wrote secret memorandums authorizing brutal interrogations has concluded that the authors committed serious lapses of judgment but should not be criminally prosecuted, according to government officials briefed on a draft of the findings.

The report by the Office of Professional Responsibility, an internal ethics unit within the Justice Department, is also likely to ask that state bar associations consider possible disciplinary action, including reprimands or even disbarment, for some of the lawyers involved in writing the legal opinions, the officials said.

The conclusions of the 220-page draft report are not final and have not yet been approved by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. The officials said it is possible the final report might be subject to revision, but they did not expect major alterations in its main findings or recommendations.

The draft report is described as very detailed, tracing e-mail messages between Justice Department lawyers and officials at the White House and the Central Intelligence Agency. Among the questions it is expected to consider is whether the memos reflected the lawyers’ independent judgments of the limits of the federal anti-torture statute or were skewed deliberately to justify what the C.I.A. proposed.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/06/us/politics/06inquire.html?hp

[babylonsister]

1. So, bad enough to get them disbarred, but not prosecuted? nt

[LynneSin]

4. Who wrote the memos

and aren't there still Bush people working in the Justice department?

[babylonsister]

5. Bush admin lawyers wrote the memos. I don't know who compiled

this report. The DOJ (under Holder). :shrug:

Edit to add: The Office of Professional Responsibility wrote the report?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5599778&mesg_id=5599778

[LynneSin]

6. So it's alot of bullshit then

and DU will jump on it like Obama is totally against the prosecution.

And the NYTimes reports it as news

ugh!

[babylonsister]

7. OPR wrote the report per the edited link I provided above. I think. nt

[OnyxCollie]

12. The Office of Professional Responsibility.

Wanna bet it's packed with bushbots like Scott Bloch from the Office of Special Counsel?
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/05/06/spotlight-on-the-oscs-scott-bloch-no-stranger-to-controversy/

Or Porter Goss at the Office of Congressional Ethics?
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/democrats-pushing-back-against--ex-rep.-porter-gosss-accusations-2009-04-29.html

With Bushco, it's alway CYA.

[mopinko]

17. is that your dog?

beautiful. never saw one like it.

[OnyxCollie]

19. Thank you!

That's my boy, Dante. He's a Belgian sheepdog. Last weekend, he was among six dogs and five bitches (out of a total of 63) to make the final cut at the United Belgian Shepherd Dog Association Nationals in Wisconsin. He earned a "Select" title. I normally handle him, but I've got finals and papers due this week, so my girlfriend took him.

On edit: You probably have seen one before, but under less pleasant circumstances. The photo of a black dog a few inches away from the face of a crouching Iraqi POW is a Belgian sheepdog.

[mopinko]

25. i know a few belgians but have never seen a black one.

great dogs. great athletes.
very wolfie.
congrats on his showing.

i would make a smart remark about pure bred dogs if i wasn't a mod.

[OnyxCollie]

50. Tervurens, Malinois, Lakenois, Groenendaels.

They're all the same dogs with different coats.

I appreciate your restraint. I still love my dogs, no matter what anybody thinks about purebreds.

[mopinko]

56. love mine, too.

2 rat terriers and a boxer. ;-)

[LynneSin]

2. I like how there is no name to who wrote this and it has not been approved by Holder

therefore this MUST be the voice of Barack Obama speaking this

:eyes:

[jtrockville]

3. I hope the lawyers police themselves better than the Justice Dept. does.

Certainly the lawyers should be disbarred. The doctors involved should also be banned (from practicing medicine).

But it can't stop there.

[Baby Snooks]

18. They don't...

And you can be assured the State Bar of Texas isn't going to even consider a complaint against Al Gonzales since his former law firm controls the State Bar of Texas and they aren't about to go there with him given the fact he could probably write several books about them.

[Soylent Brice]

8. ...

:argh:

[Bigmack]

9. And there are STILL low ranking folks

IN PRISON because of THEIR behavior......and the high-ups who ordered - authorized - it, skate???????? Ms Bigmack

[Bozita]

10. BushBots Furiously Working to Contain Torture Ethics Report - Breaking on WaPo

http://allspinzone.com/wp/2009/05/05/bushbots-furiously-working-to-contain-torture-ethics-report/

BushBots Furiously Working to Contain Torture Ethics Report
Former Bush administration officials are working their Department of Justice internal networks in order to soften an upcoming report on culpability for legal opinions that led to a culture of torture.

Commentary By: Richard Blair
According to a breaking Washington Post story:

"Former Bush administration officials are launching a behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign to urge Justice Department leaders to soften an ethics report criticizing lawyers who blessed harsh detainee interrogation tactics, according to two sources familiar with the efforts…

…A draft report of more than 200 pages, prepared in January before Bush’s departure, recommends disciplinary action by state bar associations against two former department attorneys in the Office of Legal Counsel who might have committed misconduct in preparing and signing the so-called torture memos…"

Guess who? Mr. Yoo and Mr. Bybee.

Here’s the kicker: the “ethics investigation” was started toward the end of the Bush administration, by the Bush DOJ. So, why, you might ask? This seems pretty easy - to give cover to higher ups in the Bush torture regime by throwing Yoo and Bybee under the bus. But apparently, the draft report also implicates others in the chain of command above Yoo and Bybee. So now, ex-BushBots are lobbying hard to water down, delay, and obfuscate the findings.

And the money quote?

more...

[CubicleGuy]

11. What a great excuse!

Should I ever get caught trying to rob a convenience store, I'll be sure to try and convince the judge and jury that, yes, it was a serious lapse of judgment, but that I shouldn't be prosecuted for it, because it was for a noble purpose: my family was hungry and needed to be fed.

And if they don't go for that, there's always Steve Martin's "Excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!".

That ought to do it.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[alfredo]

14. That means the Spanish courts will press charges.

[mbperrin]

15. I hope they do and quickly!

SOMEBODY has to.

Don't they?

[alfredo]

16. Does Spain have the death penalty?

[GOPNotForMe]

20. No, death penalty not allowed for EU members.

[alfredo]

22. I guess they'd get more humane treatment there than they would in Texas.

[Solly Mack]

21. K&R

[L. Coyote]

23. Bush lawyers writing about Bush lawyers, right??

It is not like the OPR had a turnover in January. This has been in the works for quite some time.

[grahamhgreen]

24. CHANGE = Torture was OK & Banks get welfare and healthcare????

[Dinger]

26. Yup (nt)

[RamboLiberal]

27. DOJ Report: No Interrogation Memo Prosecutions

Source: ABC News

The Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility is recommending that two Bush administration lawyers who wrote memos authorizing harsh interrogation methods against detainees be disciplined by state bar associations.

However the internal Justice Department draft report recommends no criminal prosecutions.

The lawyers, John Yoo, now a law professor in California, and Jay Bybee, currently a sitting federal appeals judge in Nevada, have appealed this draft report. Their responses reached the Justice Department last night.

This is the only outstanding Justice Department investigation into the Bush-era interrogation memos.

Attorney General Eric Holder has no plans to open another investigation.

Read more: http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2009/05/doj-report-no-i.html

[mike_c]

28. the white wash is on....

:puke:

Not at all surprising, though.

[LynneSin]

60. By WHOM???

This didn't come from Holder or Obama. And it's well know that there are Bush goons still at the DOJ.

[babylonsister]

29. Hmmm, this report by the NYT claims Holder hasn't approved anything yet...

The conclusions of the 220-page draft report are not final and have not yet been approved by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. The officials said it is possible the final report might be subject to revision, but they did not expect major alterations in its main findings or recommendations.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3862757

[ProSense]

31. Yeah, note the quote

here

[Xipe Totec]

30. Unacceptable n/t

[jody]

32. That's the CHANGE Bush and Cheney HOPED for! n/t

[LynneSin]

53. It's the change they hoped for because THEIR people wrote the memos

Note that it was an unnamed source and Bush still has his goons in justice. Holder hasn't signed on to anything and neither has Obama.

[jody]

57. Interesting you refer to Obama since some have said he has no responsibility or authority over

Holder in this matter and it's Holder's decision and his alone.

I wonder if voters will hold Obama blameless if the executive branch does not investigate the torture claim?

[LynneSin]

58. The concept though is some here at DU hold him accountable but...

you are right. This isn't Obama's battle. And Holder has not said anything in reference to all of this.

It's an inside job of some Bush leftovers.

[liberalmuse]

33. I guess the United States still tortures, then.

That's kind of scary, especially since we have one political party that is just itching to use it during their watch again, god forbid.

[ProSense]

34. Dodd: Torture investigations may need to go as high as Cheney’s office.

Dodd: Torture investigations may need to go as high as Cheney’s office. (Link to an op-ed by Sen. Whitehouse in post)

Fresh Questions About the CIA’s Interrogation Tapes

[EFerrari]

35. Contact: [e-mail]

Torture is a crime in this country.

Ignoring torture is also a crime.

[dixiegrrrrl]

36. Look who is writing that...George Stephanopoulos

I am not ready to get indignant quite yet.

[grahamhgreen]

37. Anything from Stephanopolis is suspect...

[IndianaGreen]

38. I didn't know Gonzales was still working for Obama!

Decisions like this make Obama a party to obstruction of justice.

[EFerrari]

39. AP: Early report doesn't recommend charges for torture memos

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A preliminary internal report on the Justice Department investigation into the Bush Justice Department authors of the "torture memos" does not call for them to be criminally prosecuted for the writing and distribution of the controversial legal policies but raises the possibility of sanctions by state bar associations, according to two government sources familiar with the report.

John Yoo is among the former Bush administration lawyers under scrutiny.

The draft, which now goes to Attorney General Eric Holder for approval or revisions, is expected to be finalized in the coming days and is likely to be made public in the near future, Justice Department sources said Tuesday.

Other sources say the investigators for the Justice Department's ethics unit, the Office of Professional Responsibility, have focused heavily on internal communications involving former Office of Legal Counsel lawyers John Yoo, Jay Bybee and Steven Bradbury.

The three men were top officials in the Office of Legal Counsel who provided legal guidance, including allowable interrogation procedures to the executive branch agencies.


http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/05/05/torture.memos/index.html?section=cnn_latest

[Windy]

41. That means potential disbarment.

Frankly, what the lawyers did was not illegal. They were told to craft a defense for the orders of the Bush administration. Those who gave the orders are the ones who broke the law.

[EFerrari]

43. As members of the administration, yes, they broke the law, too. n/t

[EFerrari]

40. NYT: Charges Seen as Unlikely for Lawyers Over Interrogations

Charges Seen as Unlikely for Lawyers Over Interrogations
By DAVID JOHNSTON and SCOTT SHANE
Published: May 5, 2009

WASHINGTON — An internal Justice Department inquiry into the conduct of Bush administration lawyers who wrote secret memorandums authorizing brutal interrogations has concluded that the authors committed serious lapses of judgment but should not be criminally prosecuted, according to government officials briefed on a draft of the findings.

The report by the Office of Professional Responsibility, an internal ethics unit within the Justice Department, is also likely to ask that state bar associations consider possible disciplinary action, including reprimands or even disbarment, for some of the lawyers involved in writing the legal opinions, the officials said.

The conclusions of the 220-page draft report are not final and have not yet been approved by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. The officials said it is possible the final report might be subject to revision, but they did not expect major alterations in its main findings or recommendations.

The draft report is described as very detailed, tracing e-mail messages between Justice Department lawyers and officials at the White House and the Central Intelligence Agency. Among the questions it is expected to consider is whether the memos reflected the lawyers’ independent judgments of the limits of the federal anti-torture statute or were skewed deliberately to justify what the C.I.A. proposed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/06/us/politics/06inquire.html?em

[ProSense]

42. The report was drafted by the Bush Justice Department

From the NYT article:

The draft report on the interrogation opinions was completed in December and has provoked controversy within counterterrorism circles, which has intensified since last month when the Obama administration disclosed four previously secret opinions written from 2002 and 2005, which for the first time detailed the approved procedures.

Completely bogus.

[EFerrari]

44. I've been keeping Scott Shane on my Judith Miller Buddies' List

for months now.

But, I thought I'd post it so we can compare the three different reports.

[underpants]

45. Thanks

:applause:

[underpants]

46. Source: Charges Unlikely for Lawyers Over Interrogation Memos (Fox News)

Source: Fox News

A person familiar with the inquiry, who spoke on condition of anonymity, says investigators recommended referring two of the three lawyers to state bar associations for possible disciplinary action.

WASHINGTON -- Justice Department officials have stopped short of recommending criminal charges against Bush administration lawyers who wrote secret memos approving harsh interrogation techniques of terror suspects.

The Justice Department notified two senators by letter that a key deadline in the inquiry expired Monday, signaling that most of the work on the matter was completed. The letter does not mention the possibility of criminal charges, nor does it name the lawyers under scrutiny.

The results of the investigation were delayed late last year, when then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey and his deputy asked investigators to allow the lawyers a chance to respond to their findings, as is typically done for those who still work for the Justice Department.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05/05/justice-nears-end-interrogation-memo-probe/

---

The rest of the article (by Fox News) basically starts the clock ticking-they appear to be throwing time into the equation as well as the "we don't know WHAT crimes were even committed" talking point that all of DC is trying to sell.

[Xipe Totec]

47. Nice try...

Won't wash.

[ProSense]

48. So the MSM is working overtime hyping this BS report, which was

drafted by the Bush administration

[underpants]

49. Excellent. thanks

I kicked the other thread

[LynneSin]

61. NICE FIND!!!

Wow December

[ProgressIn2008]

51. If this is just a BS Bush admin report, then Holder will not approve it. Right? Right??

Easy peasy, eh?

And if not... well, I guess the mainstream media isn't just hyping a Bushco report after all. Maybe the NYT is hyping or distorting when they say officials don't expect major alterations. The NYT would surely print lies, and has, after all. Maybe the government officials are distorting or lying. Could be. Time will tell.

[Number23]

52. So they're leaving it to the ABA to punish the writers of the torture policy?

And this is now a "serious lapse in judgment" instead of a crime??

[Political Heretic]

54. Fuck the justice department, fuck holder, fuck anyone who excuses torture.

So the united states engaged in sustained, full torture policies and ZERO people are accountable.

That's just fucking great.

On EDIT - I know some people are saying that Holder hasn't signed off yet. You know I'm so emotionally exhausted from all the excuses given for why this administration doesn't do what its supposed to do. That just smells like another excuse to me, but I hope I'll need to eat my words!!

[LynneSin]

59. Why would we fuck someone who had NOTHING to do with this article?

Holder has not spoken a word. In fact NO NAMES were given as to who wrote these memos. And btw, there are still Bush goons working in the DOJ.

It's like me telling you to go "FUCK" yourself because my dishwasher isn't working right.

[Political Heretic]

62. What is the title of his position again?

hmmm....

[Doctor_J]

55. Amazing how anesthesized the US populace is

The Founders would have had a pitchfork, torch, and rope party for the torturers long ago.

We now have to depend on Spain to prosecute, convict, and execute our own criminals.