The unfailingly polite Wolf Blitzer asked if he was afraid that Justice Department lawyers who wrote the torture memos would be subject to discipline. Gonzalez responded that he was "afraid that lawyers who gave the best legal advice that they could during a dangerous time for our country" would be punished for it.
The issue rather will be whether they did a competent and diligent job. Did they, for example, give independent advice. That will be measured by whether in advising the United States they gave sufficient attention to contrary authority as to enable their client to make an informed decision on the matter of interrogation techniques. That will include whether they exhibited a "decent respect for the opinions of mankind", as expressed in treaties to which we adhere.
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