John Cornyn, massive asshole

[marmar]

from ThinkProgress:



Cornyn’s Absurd Hypothetical For Holder: What If Waterboarding Were Your Only Interrogation Option?»

During his confirmation hearing today, Attorey General nominee Eric Holder unequivocally rejected torture. “No one is above the law,” Holder said repeatedly during the hearing.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) could not fathom that an Attorney General would reject a practice that both is unlawful and endangers Americans. He tried to get Holder to back off his anti-torture stance by presenting an absurd “ticking time bomb” hypothetical in which thousands of American lives are at stake. “You would still refuse to condone aggressive interrogation techniques?” Cornyn asked. When Holder replied that waterboarding is not the only interrogation method, Cornyn insisted, “Assume that it was”:

HOLDER: I think your hypothetical assumes a premise that I’m not willing to concede.

CORNYN: I know you don’t like my hypothetical.

HOLDER: No, the hypothetical’s fine; the premise that underlies it I’m not willing to accept, and that is that waterboarding is the only way that I could get that information from those people.

CORNYN: Assume that it was.

HOLDER: (Laughs) Given the knowledge that I have about other techniques and what I’ve heard from retired admirals and generals and FBI agents, there are other ways in a timely fashion that you can get information out of people that is accurate and will produce useable intelligence. And so it’s hard for me to accept or to answer your hypothetical without accepting your premise. And in fact, I don’t think I can do that.

Watch it: http://thinkprogress.org/2009/01/15/cornyn-holder-waterboard/


A few minutes later, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) identified where Cornyn most likely thought up his torture-is-the-only-option scenario: “I understand Senator Cornyn’s questions. They are questions that anyone who watches Jack Bauer on ‘24′ would ask.”

Intelligence officials have repeatedly rejected the idea of a ticking time bomb scenario. Jack Cloonan, who spent 25 years as an FBI special agent and interrogated members of al Qaeda, said that he has “been hard pressed to find a situation where anybody” can say “that they’ve ever encountered the ticking bomb scenario” when interrogating terrorists. He said it is a “red herring” and “in the real world it doesn’t happen.” ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://thinkprogress.org/2009/01/15/cornyn-holder-waterboard/

[Lint Head]

1. It's hard to believe this fuckwad makes decisions for our country.

:dem:

[peekaloo]

2. never forget Cornholio stated that he learned about the Geneva

Convention from watching 'Hogan's Heroes'....this was during Alberto Gonzales' confirmation hearing.

Sounds like he watches way too much tee vee.

[OBrien]

3. I hate that fuck...why me?

thank god even TX is waking up, though. At least in Houston.

[OBrien]

4. btw I'm the 5931 member of DU! nt

[valerief]

5. He's such a massive asshole they hold spelunking tours in his. nt