Dec 08 2009

White House wants suit against Yoo dismissed.

( – promoted by buhdydharma )

White House wants suit against Yoo dismissed.

Obama administration saying federal law does not allow damage claims against lawyers who advise the president on national security issues. While I do not know if that is actually the case, or should be, in the absence of criminal charges not being brought for the last 5 plus years, is there any hope left that Yoo will face justice for his actions?

Yoo was represented by the DOJ, and now being defended at taxpayer expense by attorney, Miguel Estrada, who says the case interfered with presidential war making authority and threatened to “open the floodgates to politically motivated lawsuits” against government officials.

While the Office of Professional Responsibility has been investigating Yoo’s advice to former President George W. Bush since 2004, which according to the WH has the power to recommend professional discipline or even criminal prosecution, and of course it is now the end of 2009 without action!

The Obama administration has asked an appeals court to dismiss a lawsuit accusing former Bush administration attorney John Yoo of authorizing the torture of a terrorism suspect, saying federal law does not allow damage claims against lawyers who advise the president on national security issues.

In the current lawsuit, Jose Padilla, now serving a 17-year sentence for conspiring to aid Islamic extremist groups, accuses Yoo of devising legal theories that justified what he claims was his illegal detention and abusive interrogation. The Justice Department represented Yoo until June, when a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that the suit could proceed. The department then bowed out, citing unspecified conflicts, and was replaced by a government-paid private lawyer. Yoo’s new attorney, Miguel Estrada, argued for dismissal in a filing last month, saying the case interfered with presidential war-making authority and threatened to “open the floodgates to politically motivated lawsuits” against government officials. The Justice Department’s filing Thursday endorsed the request for dismissal but offered narrower arguments, noting its continuing investigation of Yoo.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/…

12 comments

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    • allenjo on December 8, 2009 at 23:24
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    John “Testicle Crusher” Yoo, says it depends on why the president thinks he needs to do that!

  2. Miguel Estrada, the judicial adviser of Rudy Giuliani’s 2008 presidential campaign, Mr. 9-11 himself, is defending a known terrorist, and is now failing at his duties for a just trial?

    And people are shocked by this?

    Man, I remember why I left this puppetshow.  

    • Edger on December 9, 2009 at 00:15
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    since Obama has already lost all of the left and all progressives and probably most independents, maybe he figures there’s nothing to lose by doing this. And who know, he might need Yoo to help him out of a bind one day…

    He can make up the votes from the republicans and the wingnuts, maybe? Heh. Good luck.

    Gallup.com: Presidential Job Approval, December 08, 2009

    After Brief Uptick, Obama Approval Slips to 47%

    New low follows slight increase after announcement of Afghanistan policy

    December 7, 2009

    After a brief uptick last week following the announcement of his new Afghanistan policy, Barack Obama’s job approval rating has receded to 47% in the latest Gallup Daily tracking poll, a new low. More…

    ……….

    Obama Approval on Afghanistan, at 35%, Trails Other Issues

    Decline from 49% in September far exceeds that for other issues and for approval more broadly

    December 1, 2009

    Before President Obama outlined a new U.S. military policy in Afghanistan, Gallup found 35% of Americans approving and 55% disapproving of his handling of the situation there. That rating is down sharply from September, and is his worst of seven issues tested in the poll. More…

    ……….

    Obama’s Approval Slide Finds Whites Down to 39%

    Support has declined much more among whites than among nonwhites

    November 24, 2009

    Compared with his approval rating during his first full week in office, Barack Obama’s approval last week is down 17 points, from 66% to 49%. His decline in support comes disproportionately from whites — down 22 points to 39%. Approval among nonwhites is down 7 points to 73%. More…

    • allenjo on December 9, 2009 at 00:31
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    that Obama has just announced. What a ******* joke!

    Actions just do speak so much louder than words!

    There is no transparency in this Obama admin….just more of the same.

    In my darkest nightmare, I could not have imagined this president whose rhetoric soared to the heavens to have decscended into the Hell of Bushies.

    Have not seen the change, and have lost all hope in this man.

    • allenjo on December 9, 2009 at 00:41
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  7. Obama has been a fucking coward on this.

    • allenjo on December 9, 2009 at 20:04
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    The below article was back in September, and this past week, the Obama administration invoking state secrets again, in wanting to protect John Yoo from civil case………..

    Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. issued new guidelines for invoking the state secrets privilege in the future. They were a positive step forward, on paper, but did not go nearly far enough. Mr. Holder’s much-anticipated reform plan does not include any shift in the Obama administration’s demand for blanket secrecy in pending cases. Nor does it include support for legislation that would mandate thorough court review of state secrets claims made by the executive branch.

    The rules, which replace a less formal set of procedures used during the Bush years, establish a high-level review process at the Justice Department before a privilege claim may be invoked in court. Executive agencies will have to persuade a Justice Department committee that disclosure of information would risk “significant harm” to national security.

    The new rules instruct the Justice Department to look for ways to avoid shutting down an entire lawsuit and to reject privilege requests motivated by a desire to “conceal violations of the law, inefficiency or administrative error” or to “prevent embarrassment.” The rules sensibly give the attorney general the responsibility to sign off on all state secrets claims.

    It remains to be seen whether, and to what extent, the new regimen will succeed in avoiding flimsy claims of secrecy. Much depends on how the rules are interpreted and enforced, and the Justice Department’s willingness to stand up to insistent intelligence agency demands.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/opinion/29tue1.html

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