Torture by the CIA is back in the news thanks to the Senate Intelligence Committee Report on the CIA Detention and Interrogation Program. The role of lawyers is a worthwhile topic for a term paper or more.
CIA Director John Brennan declared "abhorrent" certain `unauthorized' acts. But it is the "authorized" ones that are the cause of much concern. The "torture memos" were authored by the Justice Department's Office of Legislative Counsel -particularly by Berkeley law professor John Yoo. They were subjected to withering criticism in many places - particularly at the blog Balkinization. Some, like former Attorney General and federal judge Michael Mukasey continue to defend the measures,
Some in Congress - John Conyers and Jerrold Nadler (a Fordham Law grad) referred Yoo to state attorney discipline authorities. An internal DOJ report found that Yoo and Jay Bybee (now a federal judge) had committed"intentional misconduct" but the final DOJ action held that there was no "unambiguous" standard governing Yoo and Bybee's work at Justice. The matter therefore was not referred to state authorities for discipline.
CIA Director John Brennan declared "abhorrent" certain `unauthorized' acts. But it is the "authorized" ones that are the cause of much concern. The "torture memos" were authored by the Justice Department's Office of Legislative Counsel -particularly by Berkeley law professor John Yoo. They were subjected to withering criticism in many places - particularly at the blog Balkinization. Some, like former Attorney General and federal judge Michael Mukasey continue to defend the measures,
Some in Congress - John Conyers and Jerrold Nadler (a Fordham Law grad) referred Yoo to state attorney discipline authorities. An internal DOJ report found that Yoo and Jay Bybee (now a federal judge) had committed"intentional misconduct" but the final DOJ action held that there was no "unambiguous" standard governing Yoo and Bybee's work at Justice. The matter therefore was not referred to state authorities for discipline.
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