The Obama administration will not prosecute CIA officers who participated in harsh interrogations that critics say crossed the line into torture, CIA Director-nominee Leon Panetta said FridayMeaning, if the DOJ chooses to issue opinions that contradict existing law, all who refer to them cannot be prosecuted?
Asked by The Associated Press if that was official policy, Panetta said, "That is the case."[snip]Panetta, in an interview with the AP after a second day of confirmation hearings with the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that he arrived at that conclusion even before he began meeting with CIA officials.
"It was my opinion we just can't operate if people feel even if they are following the legal opinions of the Justice Department" they could be in danger of prosecution, he said.
Panetta demurred on saying whether the Obama administration would take legal action against those who authorized or wrote the legal opinions that, for a time, set an extremely high legal bar for an action to constitute torture.
What the hell, people?
2 comments:
Not really sure what I really think here. Yes, a crime is a crime, but if the US Attorney General tells you that what is being asked is not breaking the law, what do you do?
The AG and OLC seem to me to be those that should be prosecuted. Can we bring hanging back?
Exactly, you cannot self-immunize.
I would think a DOJ opinion that authorizes some action would hold a lot of weight in a defense, but you could still be put on trial.
The way I see it, the public would at least get the benefit of a trial to provide a check on what kinds of opinions the DOJ is writing.
I'm just opposed to the idea that some DOJ minion can write an opinion that becomes de facto law.
DOJ says conduct X is okay - now we have precedent. DOJ can now say conduct X + Y is okay - etc.
If somebody's re-writing the rules - they should have some check on them so they don't go off all stupid like Yoo and company.
Sure, we got to criticize them - but so long as the executive backs them up, the can give the finger to their critics and keep on keepin' on.
A criminal trial testing a DOJ opinion is a lousy check for lots of reasons (the DOJ being in the position of prosecuting a case and defending it) but at this point - I'll take officers being nervous to the current setup.
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