04 Oct The New OLC Fall Guy: Steven Bradbury
The NYT is running a very long expose on secret legal opinions by the Office of Legal Counsel endorsing many harsh interrogation techniques that many had believed were prohibited by prior OLC opinions and the McCain Amendment to the Detainee Treatment Act. The article paints the current OLC Chief, Steven Bradbury, as a shill for the Bush Administration by failing to keep OLC independent of the White House.
At the administration’s request, Mr. Bradbury assessed whether the proposed legislation would outlaw any C.I.A. methods, a legal question that had never before been answered by the Justice Department.
At least a few administration officials argued that no reasonable interpretation of “cruel, inhuman or degrading” would permit the most extreme C.I.A. methods, like waterboarding. Mr. Bradbury was placed in a tough spot, said Mr. Zelikow, the State Department counselor, who was working at the time to rein in interrogation policy.
“If Justice says some practices are in violation of the C.I.D. standard,” Mr. Zelikow said, referring to cruel, inhuman or degrading, “then they are now saying that officials broke current law.”
In the end, Mr. Bradbury’s opinion delivered what the White House wanted: a statement that the standard imposed by Mr. McCain’s Detainee Treatment Act would not force any change in the C.I.A.’s practices, according to officials familiar with the memo.
Relying on a Supreme Court finding that only conduct that “shocks the conscience” was unconstitutional, the opinion found that in some circumstances not even waterboarding was necessarily cruel, inhuman or degrading, if, for example, a suspect was believed to possess crucial intelligence about a planned terrorist attack, the officials familiar with the legal finding said.
I don’t have much to say about this now, except that clearly Bradbury is going to get the John Yoo treatment in the near future. Two interesting tidbits and questions for our readers.
(1) Bradbury is said to blocked the appointment of a “liberal Ivy League law professor” to a career post at OLC. Who was this mystery professor?
(2) The key Bradbury legal opinions have not been leaked, as far as I know. But that is only a matter of time. Who and when will be the first to post them online?
“New fall guy”, “the John Yoo treatment” … So you’re implying that John Yoo is some kind of victim? The same John Yoo who rubber stamped the practice of torture, murder and kidnapping? The same John Yoo who still holds his tenured chair at UCLA? The same John Yoo who continues to be lavishly sponsored by conservative think-tanks? The same John Yoo who refuses to engage his critics in any reasoned manner?
The same John Yoo who’s your friend and co-author?
Shame on you.
random,
Before unleashing a tirade, at least get your facts straight.
John Yoo didn’t rubber stamp the practices. He provided a rather elaborate system of legal justifications for the administration’s GWOT practices.
Also, he is at Berkley.
errr, Berkeley
On this topic, I suspected this was going on. I have posted on my website at
I have posted on my website a draft of an article entitled Refluat Stercus:
A Citizen’s View of Criminal Prosecution in U.S. domestic courts of high-level U.S. civilian authority and military generals for torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
I will be presenting it at the American Branch of the International Law Association International Law Weekend in New York on October 27, 2007 (www.ambranch.org).
It has been accepted by a couple of law reviews and I would welcome any comments on the draft over the next three weeks offline at ben.davis@utoledo.edu.
Best,
Ben
(Resending trying to get the link right.)
On this topic, I suspected this was going on.
I have posted on my website a draft of an article entitled Refluat Stercus:
A Citizen’s View of Criminal Prosecution in U.S. domestic courts of high-level U.S. civilian authority and military generals for torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
Refluat Stercus: A Citizen’s View of Criminal Prosecution in U.S. domestic courts of high-level U.S. civilian authority and military generals for torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment I will be presenting it at the American Branch of the International Law Association International Law Weekend in New York on October 27, 2007 (www.ambranch.org).
It has been accepted by a couple of law reviews and I would welcome any comments on the draft over the next three weeks offline at ben.davis@utoledo.edu.
Best,
Ben
If true, I hope he gets more than the “John Yoo treatment.” John Yoo has not yet been prosecuted for helping his “clients” break the law…though he should be. We can only hope a new administration and AG will correct that with regard to him and many others.
Humble law student,
The time line of the entire process and more than abundant proof that this wasn’t proper advice (the specific kind the OLC is required to provide) but a pseudo-legal cover (or, if you may, a rubber stamp) of criminal activity is all in the public record.
I did mix up the UC law school where he teaches.