Obama lawyers set to defend Yoo

[kpete]

Source: Politico

Obama lawyers set to defend Yoo
By JOSH GERSTEIN | 1/28/09 4:18 AM EST


In Democratic legal circles, no attorney has been more pilloried than former Bush Justice Department official John Yoo, chief author of the so-called torture memos that Barack Obama last week sought to nullify.

But now President Obama’s incoming crew of lawyers has a new and somewhat awkward job: defending Yoo in federal court.

Next week, Justice Department lawyers are set to ask a San Francisco federal judge to throw out a lawsuit brought against Yoo by Jose Padilla, a New York man held without charges on suspicion of being an Al Qaeda operative plotting to set off a “dirty bomb.”

The suit contends that Yoo’s legal opinions authorized Bush to order Padilla’s detention in a Navy brig in South Carolina and encouraged military officials to subject Padilla to aggressive interrogation techniques, including death threats and long-term sensory deprivation.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/18063.html

[bluestateguy]

1. Oye

I'm going to pretend like I didn't read that.

[santamargarita]

12. I didn't see a thing

~

[ncrainbowgrrl]

2. ugh.

:headdesk:

[Robbien]

3. If they start throwing around the term "executive privilege"

then something is rotten in Denmark.

Otherwise, let's just hope the lawyers give an adequate (not outstanding) defense.

[EFerrari]

6. Their job is to defend the administration's privileges.

What an awful spot to be in, isn't it? And this is going to happen over and over. Maybe Holder will put together a special office to deal with BushCo so it doesn't overwhelm his efforts to clean up DoJ.

[sabra]

4. this is there job - we'll see how hard they work though... :-)

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2009/01/28/bush-crew-including...

<snip>

Why awkward? Well, for starters, as Politico notes, Obama’s pick to head the Office of Legal Counsel, Dawn Johnsen, wrote an article in Slate last year calling one of Yoo’s memos “plainly flawed” and his defense of it “irresponsibly and dangerously false.”

[treestar]

5. That may be a harder suit than it sounds

Padilla already has a case against the government for it, but to have it against an individual for his legal opinions is an entirely different thing. * didn't have to listen to Yoo's legal opinions.

[Jefferson23]

7. This is just too weird, only a Bush legacy could produce such a situation.

[izquierdista]

8. Mabe they can get some Regent graduates right on it

Are there any of those Regent legal eagles sparrows that don't know a deposition from a preposition still on the payroll that could help Yoo out?

[Wizard777]

9. Obama should direct Mukassey to ask for a postponement .

Until the Obama Administration can get someone into the AG position that actually practices law instead of CYA.

[Piewhacket]

10. War Crimes Must Watch List. rec. But article is SPINMACHINE... wake up.

"The suit contends that Yoo’s legal opinions authorized
Bush to order Padilla’s detention in a Navy"

Haven't read but really... it can't be about a theory of liability
predicated on Yoo "authorizing" Bush.

That's just wishful thinking by Yoo or right-wing spinsters
setting up a straw-man. No serious person thinks Yoo could
"authorize" anything. No case depending on that would stand.
Such a filing would be a product of incompetent counsel.
Aiding and abetting an illegal detention would be more the claim.

So what the article is saying is, Padilla's counsel is stupid
and incompetent and Padilla has no viable case against Yoo.
That has to be soooo much crap....
so damnit I'm now going to look, and if I find any shennanigans
in the reporting ....

right you are... complete bullshit in reporting by politico
(and the WSJ), mis-characterizing the legal arguments for
propaganda purposes. SPIN MACHINE - Wake up people!

Here IS A MORE COGENT ANALYSIS:

http://balkin.blogspot.com/2008/01/much-ado-about-padil...

[Patsy Stone]

11. There's no defense for him.

Blecccch. Very, very sorry to hear this.