John Yoo Tries Playing Footsie With John Conyers

June 26th, 2008, 5:50 PM EDT

John Yoo, former Deputy Assistant Attorney General,  author of the infamous Bush torture memo, stumbles around upon direct questioning from Congressman John Conyers.

Question one: Is there anything that the president cannot order to be done to a suspect if he believes it necessary for national defense?

Question two: Could the president order a suspect buried alive.

h/t Think Progress

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B5BNeWNShs&eurl=http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/26/yoo-burry-alive/]

Posted in Liberaland by Alan

Responses to this post...

  1. First!

    BOOYAA!

    Posted by FuRyUs
    June 26th, 2008 at 5:59 pm

  2. Could he order a suspect burned at the stake?

    Could he order a suspect crucified?

    Could he order a suspect stoned to death?

    If you think the answer is no I’d like to know why, because if you can incarcerate people for years without due process, and stress them under interrogation until they die, what’s to stop you from just killing them?

    You don’t like the idea of some CIA op putting a bullet into somebody’s head? So put your suspect in the middle of a parking lot and drop a cruise missile on him. Because then it’s just an act of war, which means it can’t be murder, right?

    Posted by RC from Smithtown
    June 26th, 2008 at 6:05 pm

  3. ha ha. i want to see the dysfunctional tree this guy and gonzales came from

    Posted by W F G
    June 26th, 2008 at 6:18 pm

  4. #1 is no. #2 is yes !!!!!

    Posted by jerrysrollin.blogspot.com
    June 26th, 2008 at 6:35 pm

  5. If the boys in the hood can shoot somebody in a drive by shooting [they think this is ok].Then the president can waterboard somebody!!!!
    But: after the waterboarding the guy can eat a steak and taters . The drive by victom prob. cannot!
    Are the guns they use in drive by shootings purchased legally?

    Posted by jerrysrollin.blogspot.com
    June 26th, 2008 at 6:39 pm

  6. IF that would somehow directly prevent the mass murder of thousands or millions of Americans (or people), I think the President as a human being would have to order that, “legal” or not. Torture should not be legal but it should be used in very extreme cases.

    Would you let thousands or millions of people die and sacrifice your humanity because of a law?

    I think rough interrogation methods are not necessarily torture, either. Are we supposed to play nice with our enemies?

    Posted by flap
    June 26th, 2008 at 7:06 pm

  7. I love Rep. John Conyers, but if he wants to know what the President can do I wouldn’t be asking Captain Yoo. America has co-equal branches or we did before Congress and the Supreme Court gave their powers to the President. No Justice Department… No Constitution! Accountability means…No King!

    Posted by Cecil Jones
    June 26th, 2008 at 7:28 pm

  8. Why don’t we just stop calling him a “president” and call him a dictator already? According to these guys, he can do whatever he wants, basically: all he has to do is to say it’s for national defense! And apparently he has no checks or balances on his authority. So what is it: elected dictator, or king? (Hint: his father was one, too.)(Hint #2: he wasn’t exactly “elected” in the first place)

    Posted by sky
    June 26th, 2008 at 7:38 pm

  9. jerryrollinpoopspot

    Posted by FuRyUs
    June 26th, 2008 at 7:44 pm

  10. Being a liberal, I abhore torture of any kind. Not only is it inhumane, but it’s fruitless. During a torturing session, the detainee will admit to anything to stop the pain.

    Posted by DeeDee
    June 26th, 2008 at 9:27 pm

  11. I want the DoJ to be apolitical again. That’s why I think John Edwards would make a great AG.

    Posted by Lucieann
    June 26th, 2008 at 9:36 pm

  12. Those who say that we should torture to “save millions of lives” are on a slippery slope indeed. should we torture then to save mere hundreds of lives? How about two lives? How about one? How about to prevent a few tainted tomatoes from getting through and making a few people throw up? How about to prevent jaywalking? Torture is wrong, period. It should never be used ever under any circumstances. the prevention of its use is why it is specifically banned in the Eigth Ammendment. It is also why we have a Fifth Ammendment–which prevents a person’s own testimony from being used against him in court. That way, coerced confessions were disallowed. But you conservatives can go ahead and ignore your Constitutions, and sacrifice your freedoms to the false hope of preventing another “terrorist attack”. Just don’t bitch when the jack booted thugs kick down YOUR door in the middle of the night, and drag off YOUR sister for “enhanced interrogation”.

    Posted by Paul the Cab Driver
    June 27th, 2008 at 1:36 am

  13. Amen, Paul the Cab Driver. I couldn’t agree more.

    Posted by DeeDee
    June 27th, 2008 at 12:44 pm