Accused dirty bomber Jose Padilla's lawsuit against former Bush Administration official John Yoo can go forward, so says Bush appointee Judge Jeffery White. This creates the following scenario of checks and balances:
a conservative judge putting pressure on the Democrats in Washington to create some system of accountability for the Bush administration.
The judge has argued that private citizens do have the right to sue federal officials for abusive treatment, in this case torture.
Read on ...
Showing posts with label John Yoo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Yoo. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Sunday, April 13, 2008
The Unitary Executive Continues...
In the latest installment of the long running dispute concerning the extent of executive power during a time of war--or the extent of the "commander in chief" powers--a memo has surfaced articulating that argument.
It's author--John Yoo--focuses primarily on torture and states that all but a handful of techniques the "shock the conscience" are not only permissible but are contained within the inherent powers of the president and are beyond the ability of Congress to restrict.
At that time Yoo was a Justice Department official, but the Justice Department itself retreated from the position, which apparently was not accepted by military lawyers either. Democrats in the Senate have been responsible for making the memo public.
Here is a link to the memo part one, and part two.
It's author--John Yoo--focuses primarily on torture and states that all but a handful of techniques the "shock the conscience" are not only permissible but are contained within the inherent powers of the president and are beyond the ability of Congress to restrict.
At that time Yoo was a Justice Department official, but the Justice Department itself retreated from the position, which apparently was not accepted by military lawyers either. Democrats in the Senate have been responsible for making the memo public.
Here is a link to the memo part one, and part two.
Friday, March 23, 2007
John Yoo
John Yoo is an interesting guy, much reviled by some. He was responsible for developing arguments supporting further expansions of presidential power, the unitary executive it is called. He was also responsible for the memos justifying the use of torture, though it's use has been rejected by previous presidents--notably Washington.
The blogs have been on him recently for the logic he has used in further justifying torture. Here's Slate's; here's Balkinization's.
His premise is that war powers imply the power to kill, a greater power which includes within it all lesser powers, including the power to torture, which though it may make you wish you were dead, doesn't kill you.
The above writers take him on. We'll review in class.
The blogs have been on him recently for the logic he has used in further justifying torture. Here's Slate's; here's Balkinization's.
His premise is that war powers imply the power to kill, a greater power which includes within it all lesser powers, including the power to torture, which though it may make you wish you were dead, doesn't kill you.
The above writers take him on. We'll review in class.
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