Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Spanish Judge Goes After John Yoo
Law Enforcement & Crime / People / Politics Robert Gammon — Tue, Sep 8, 2009 at 3:43 PM
Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon has decided to go ahead with his investigation of Bush-era lawyers involved in the US torture program, including UC Berkeley law school professor John Yoo, according to the Spanish newspaper Publico. The decision by Garzon, who is best known for indicting former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, comes in contrast to a statement earlier this year from Spain's leading prosecutor, who said that Yoo and his colleagues should first be investigated by US authorities. However, US Attorney General Eric Holder has since indicated that he has no plans to investigate Yoo, and instead has ordered a probe of CIA agents and contractors who tortured prisoners beyond what Yoo's torture memos authorized.
In addition to Yoo, Garzon will be investigating William Haynes II, the former Defense Department general counsel who now works for Chevron in San Ramon; federal Judge Jay Bybee, who was Yoo's boss in the Bush Justice Department; former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales; Douglas Feith, former undersecretary of defense for policy; and David Addington, former Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff.
Comments (3)
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Sadly, We owe a great debt of gratitude to Baltasar Garzon. Our government is broken beyond repair. Garzon demonstrates a Yankee spirit that has long since departed Washington.
Cheers to Baltasar Garzon!
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Thank goodness that Spain will do what the United States SHOULD but will not do. These attorneys should be disbarred immediately and tried as the war criminals they clearly are. I am myself an attorney and a member of the California Bar, and I am ashamed that these men continue to claim to be members of a profession which is sworn to uphold human rights, due process and liberty. We should all be ashamed of these men and what their very poor legal work has created. It is a sad comment that in our society, not only are they not stripped of their professional credentials and tried as war criminals, but one serves on the faculty of a (heretofore) prestigious law school and another is on the second highest bench as a jurist. I wish the brave and honorable Spaniards all the best in their efforts.
