Yoo: Impeach Bush? Why Not?

[kpete]

Yoo: Impeach Bush? Why Not?
By Paul Kiel - May 13, 2008, 5:54PM

Esquire has posted the transcript http://www.esquire.com/the-side/feature/john-yoo of its wide ranging interview with former Justice Department official John Yoo. While Yoo is best known for his time at the Justice Department crafting jaw-dropping legal opinions authorizing torture, the interview shows that he harbors some unexpected opinions. For instance, who knew that the guy who gave the legal green light to the administration to pursue their most controversial policies takes a broad view of impeachment and Congressional oversight?

This is from the interview, where Yoo is speaking about his time as the general counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee under Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) during the late 1990s:

Clinton certainly didn't make it easy. Same as the Bush administration. Knowing what you know now about what they had done, if they had been much more open and forthcoming coming out of the gate, it would have been better for everybody.

But I will say this: I wasn't in favor of impeachment. I don't think what Clinton did rose to the level of what impeachment is really for. I think if people in Congress wanted to impeach President Bush they could, not because he committed a crime but because they think he's a bad president.

That was the phrase ("high crimes and misdemeanors") that came from Britain, and the British used to, under that phrase, remove people just because they screwed up a war.

There are great examples. Allegedly these were the same standards of impeachments when they impeached a minister because the British suffered a setback in the war with the Dutch. It wasn't a crime, but you were a bad leader. But it has to be something of significance to the state. Clinton, what he did didn't seem to rise to that level.

more at:
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/05/yoo_impeach_bush_why_not.php

[NJmaverick]

1. george bush belongs in jail

[ladjf]

3. Most definitely!

[flor de jasmim]

2. ah...he meant the First Bush, if this is late 1990s...

what jr. has done more than rises to the threshhold...

[sfaprog]

4. Yeah, I was thinking that - What did Bush I do that was impeachable?

I mean winking to Saddam about us not caring about Kuwait and then rushing in with military wasn't the greatest move, probably an impeachable conspiracy in there somewhere, it's just not as evident as Jr.'s crimes.

[Dhalgren]

6. No, the interview is current. He was only talking about

his time spend in the '90 with Hatch. The Bush he is talking about is Jr...

[bdamomma]

5. this idiot is a criminal period

and just think he gave up golf what an asshole response is that, all of our Reps and Senators should be sent this audio to hear how sick this SOB is.