DOJ Ethics Report Coming Soon?
The Associated Press reports today that an ethics probe into the conduct of senior Bush administration Justice Department attorneys is coming to an end:
The Justice Department is nearing the end of its probe into Bush administration lawyers who wrote secret memos approving harsh interrogation techniques.We hope this means the release of this report is imminent.
The Associated Press obtained a copy of a letter from the Justice Department informing two members of Congress that a key deadline in the inquiry expired Monday.
Newsweek originally reported on this probe back in February. The internal Justice Department report, drafted by the Department's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), examines the conduct of senior lawyers who authored the legal memos that authorize the torture and other harsh interrogation tactics used on detainees in U.S. custody. The OPR is investigating whether this legal advice “was consistent with the professional standards that apply to Department of Justice attorneys.” According to insiders, a draft of the report sharply criticizes the legal work of former top Office of Legal Counsel officials under Bush — Jay Bybee, Steven Bradbury and John Yoo. In light of these reports, Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) called on the DOJ to release the findings.
According to NPR, the aforementioned letter was sent to Sens. Durbin and Whitehouse from Assistant Attorney General Ron Weich, informing them that Yoo, Bybee and Bradbury had until yesterday to comment on the draft of the OPR report.
Yoo is now a law professor at the University of California at Berkeley. Bybee is a sitting judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, appointed by former president Bush. If Attorney General Eric Holder accepts the findings, the report could be forwarded to state bar associations for possible disciplinary action.
We hope President Obama will make good on his promise of greater transparency, and release this ethics report soon. But while we wait for the release of this report, you can still take action against torture: sign our petition calling on Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint an independent prosecutor to investigate former Bush administration officials who authorized torture.
May 5th, 2009 at 6:25pm
Is the ACLU organization hypocritical just on certain issues?
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=123971086290 8&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
May 5th, 2009 at 7:13pm
Obama is not going to push for this. He is a lot of things but he is not dumb. He has got to protect all the democraps that supported the torture in the first place. That include Nancy. Notice she has not said a word about this in about a week? She knows in the eyes of her fellow democrats she messed up. Or did she?
May 6th, 2009 at 10:06am
I have just heard on the radio (local radio) that the President and his staff will not release the pictures from the New York fly over. If they are just publicity photos what is the problem? Also there was another blunder from the DHS maybe we should check these people out. Not looking well educated in government work. If this is your greater transparency I think the President should look for new help!
May 8th, 2009 at 9:29am
Maggie...The fly-over was a stupid idea. The White House has said so. To me that is greater transparency than the previous administration who hid whatever they could. I agree that the President should look for new help in many places.
I agree that the effectiveness and efficiency of DHS needs to be checked. Same is true of most if not all of our government agencies. Don't forget who created DHS and staffed it for all but the last 4 months.
May 13th, 2009 at 3:00pm
Unbelievable, what the ACLU is interested in. Millions out work, economy in the slump, and you idiots worry about torture, waterboarding and release of pictures that could endanger the our troops. If my son or daughter would be kidnapped and I caught on of the kidnappers, you damm right I would torture and waterboard the guy, until he tells me where they are, or die in the prosses. Have you ever tried to get information by asking nicely? Good luck! Only fear works even for liberals!
Had we acted like this during WWII, we would be speaking German and Japanese now. Obama,is doing the right thing by not releasing pictures, there is hope!
Post new comment