Bush Appointees Need To Follow The Law (Helen Thomas)

[struggle4progress]

Chertoff, Gonzales, Abrams Have Baggage
Helen Thomas, Hearst White House columnist

POSTED: 4:01 pm EST February 4, 2005

<snip> Abrams, who has been appointed deputy national security adviser, does not have to be confirmed by the Senate, and probably never will be nominated for any post that requires confirmation because of his past troubles with the law. <snip>

Chertoff displayed an amazing loss of memory during his confirmation hearing Wednesday and denied he had given advice to other authorities on interrogation techniques.

However, Chertoff did acknowledge reviewing a 2002 memo regarding interrogation methods for terrorist suspects. But his typical responses to several questions from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee were that he couldn't recall whether he had seen the devastating document that defined illegal torture very narrowly. To be outlawed, the abuse had to rise to the level of death or organ failure. Any abuse short of that was OK. <snip>

Like Chertoff, Gonzales' testimony was replete with a lack of recall when senators quizzed him. <snip>

http://www.thewgalchannel.com/helenthomas/4166899/detail.html

[paineinthearse]

1. God bless Helen Thomas

My fantasy is to see her coldcock Jeff Gannon in the James Brady briefing room.

[uppityperson]

2. I am very glad she's around and still working hard.

I thought I heard she'd died last yr, was glad to find out it was only a rumor.

[shraby]

3. I wonder what she knows about Jeff Gannon. n/t

[GetTheRightVote]

4. Helen does good again, good to hear from here.

:kick:

[indepat]

5. Don't appointees have but one job: implement the ideology, hang the law