A federal prosecutor will not bring criminal charges against any of the Central Intelligence Agency officers involved in destroying videotapes depicting the brutal interrogation of Al Qaeda detainees, the Justice Department said on Tuesday.Torture is a crime. Destroying evidence of a crime is a crime. Nobody should be protected from prosecution because a bunch of ideologically-driven lawyers issued some sort of bullshit memos that said that torture was legal.
After an investigation spanning nearly three years, John H. Durham, the special prosecutor assigned to the case by former Attorney General Michael Mukasey, has decided not to charge the C.I.A. undercover officers and top lawyers at the agency for their roles in the destruction of the tapes.
I doubt that a defense of "but our lawyers said it was OK" would have flown in Nuremberg, for instance.
Later in this century, there might be the equivalent of Godwin's Law that has something to do with accusing someone of being an American.
ReplyDeleteI understand completely that the OLC told W that waterboarding was not torture, even though it fits the very definition, and we have had judicial precedence prior to the 'GWOT', that ruled waterboarding as torture.
ReplyDeleteSorry, but I don't hold lawyers in enough esteem to simply take their word that something clearly against our law is legal. I also don't take someones uncorroborated word that torture worked, when that/those people who state such all have legacies/reputations/careers/freedom from incarceration at stake.
Big surprise that nobody will be held accountable. Welcome to the government we deserve.
This is really Jimmie Carter's second term. Running like George W Bush's do nothing legal team. Has Holder once done something to calm the anger most americans have concerning GITMO? Torture? Cheney War Crimes? And so many others. Remember this was the first administration accused of outing a CIA agent and low and behold a flunky got his wrists slapped. Oh my, we were getting somewhere, weren't we. I wonder what they really are teaching students in Harvard Law School these days.
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