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Tortured memories and memos: Obama's and Clinton's lawyers are just as 'guilty'
Mark Levin Fan ^ | April 22, 2009 | Tim Sumner

Posted on 04/22/2009 7:17:31 AM PDT by Sergeant Tim

Mark Levin provided a lecture on history last night to President Barack Obama about the law and the decisions made by Lincoln, FDR, and others when American lives hung in the balance. "If we get hit again, that blood is on Obama's hands."

It makes no logical difference that Bybee could have foreseen that the result of his incorrect legal advice would be the commission of a crime. Gorelick could have foreseen that the consequences of her incorrect legal advice would permit the commission of a crime (just read her memo ... and you will see that the warning signs of pending terrorist plots were clear). While there may be differing levels of culpability, both results were foreseeable. ... -- William A. Jacobson, Associate Clinical Professor of Law, Cornell Law School, Ithaca, NY

Eric Holder should join Jamie Gorelick in the dock, if Jay Bybee, Alberto Gonzales, John Yoo, and Stephen Bradbury are prosecuted. In 1997, he replaced Gorelick as the Deputy Attorney General. Three times during his tenure, Holder was made fully aware that intelligence sharing with the Criminal Division was not taking place. In 1997, he allowed the very working group he had formulated to not make a single serious recommendation; then he disbanded the group without action:

In June 1996, a memorandum was drafted for the Attorney General to issue emphasizing that contacts between intelligence and criminal agents were not prohibited. ... This draft memorandum (961) was never issued, however. ... By September 1997, according to Daniel S. Seikaly, Director of the Executive Office for National Security (”EONS”), the Director of the FBI had complained to the Attorney General that, despite the July 1995 memorandum, OIPR was preventing the FBI from contacting the Criminal Division. ... According to a memorandum Seikaly wrote at the time, the Attorney General was “anxious” to see the problem resolved. ... Deputy Attorney General Holder instructed Seikaly to convene a working group consisting of representatives from OIPR, the FBI, and the Criminal Division to address the issue. ... Seikaly concluded that the Attorney General’s memorandum was not being followed, indeed that both OIPR and the FBI “were ignoring the procedures out of an abundance of caution.” ... One suggestion was “simply to ask the Attorney General to … reassert the validity of the Procedures,” (id) but there was some sentiment that it would be inappropriate for the Attorney General to issue a memorandum that essentially said “And we really mean it this time.” ... In the end, the working group was disbanded without recommendation and no significant action was taken. — Bellows Report, page 722, (pdf reader required)

As stated in Chapter 3 of the 9/11 Commission Report, in both 1999 and 2000, “[S]eparate reviews concluded independently that information sharing was not occurring, and that the intent of the 1995 procedures was ignored routinely,” yet again, Holder took no action.

Let's free all the memos.

On January 15, 2009, I called Congress's Legislative Archive. In the course of our conversation over my minor question, I asked if that (about Civil Aviation) was the last staff monograph and the person thought it was. He took my phone number and called me back 10 minutes later with an answer to one minor question. Then, unexpectedly, he called me back 30 minutes later to say there remained one item that had not even been scheduled for review; it had not been totally redacted. Eight Department of Justice memos are currently being withheld, along with the 9/11 Commission's Staff Monograph about 'the Wall.'

If we are going to criminalize the legal opinions of lawyers that sought to save lives during the Bush administration, we should prosecute Eric Holder and Jamie Gorelick for 2,975 counts of negligent homicide. Instead, President Obama should take his lessons from Lincoln, FDR, George W. Bush, and Justice Robert Jackson who defended our nation, not from those whose negligence left America defenseless.


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Government; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 911; 911commission; bho44; bush; bybee; cia; ciainterrogation; ciainterrogationmemo; clinton; democrats; doj; georgewbush; gorelick; holder; intelligence; interrogations; marklevin; obama; olcmemos; september11; talkradio; thewall; torture; torturememos

1 posted on 04/22/2009 7:17:31 AM PDT by Sergeant Tim
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To: Just Lori; TheForceOfOne; SilvieWaldorfMD; Tennessee Nana; ThreePuttinDude; eastsider; del4hope; ..

Ping!


2 posted on 04/22/2009 7:19:28 AM PDT by Sergeant Tim (In the War on Terror, there is no place to run from here.)
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To: Sergeant Tim

the Great One is great


3 posted on 04/22/2009 7:27:07 AM PDT by silverleaf (We live in interesting times: now the entire IRS works for a tax evader)
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To: Sergeant Tim

I’m betting that we are heading back to the Gorelick policy. Just ask Jane Harmon about how she likes NSA and the FBI sharing information. That idea just scared the H out of Bill Clinton and it will not be surprising to see the Obama administration adopt the same position and for the same reasons as Bill Clinton’s.


4 posted on 04/22/2009 7:31:10 AM PDT by InterceptPoint
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To: Sergeant Tim
President Obama should take his lessons from Lincoln, FDR, George W. Bush, and Justice Robert Jackson

Surely you jest. MaoBama, by his mere existence is SO wise, SO knowledgeable, so effing omnicient does NOT take lessons from such inferiors to His Supreme Uh...ummm...Uhhh Greatness.

5 posted on 04/22/2009 7:31:27 AM PDT by kromike
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To: Sergeant Tim
Instead, President Obama should take his lessons from Lincoln, FDR, George W. Bush, and Justice Robert Jackson who defended our nation, not from those whose negligence left America defenseless.

Yes. But likely? No.

6 posted on 04/22/2009 7:31:30 AM PDT by b4its2late (Ignorance allows liberalism to prosper.)
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To: Sergeant Tim
1> Payback to Obamah A.C.L.U. Lawyer friends and supporters!

2> Red meat for his rabid lunatic disciples.

3> Distraction from mounting Democrat scandals.

7 posted on 04/22/2009 7:45:31 AM PDT by TexasCajun
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To: Sergeant Tim
Whew!

We HAVE leaders .... we just don't know it.

The primary leader is (factual) knowledge followed by good conscience.

8 posted on 04/22/2009 7:46:12 AM PDT by knarf (I say things that are true ... I have no proof ... but they're true.)
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To: Sergeant Tim

IMHO, W should have demanded this investigation in 2007, putting ALL the cards on the table. By now, his administration would be viewed quite differently and the nutroots would have little to prattle on about. Still, I say Bring It On.


9 posted on 04/22/2009 7:55:04 AM PDT by sono (Political Correctness Is Tyranny With Manners - C Heston)
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To: Sergeant Tim; silverleaf; holdonnow

Thanks for the ping; posts. OUTSTANDING context and monologue, Mark! Thanks.


10 posted on 04/22/2009 7:55:50 AM PDT by PGalt
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To: Sergeant Tim
The author is correct and it also should be noted that hypocrite Obama has been doing a little document altering for partisan political gain himself.
11 posted on 04/22/2009 8:03:24 AM PDT by ravingnutter
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To: Sergeant Tim
This corrupt rotten Administration does not believe in the rule of law. Nor do they believe in actions that would keep America safe. King Obama and his corrupt RAT party must be thrown out.
12 posted on 04/22/2009 8:08:07 AM PDT by Logical me (Oh, well!!!)
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To: Sergeant Tim
  It's clear to me who's interest Obama represents, and it is not those who didn't vote for him, it is not even those who did vote for him, it is not any of those countries who share American values of freedom and constitutional law, no it is people like this;
 
  19 of the 9-11 hijackers, received their visa at the Consolate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

13 posted on 04/22/2009 9:39:32 AM PDT by antonia (A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves. - Edward R. Murrow)
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To: Sergeant Tim

ping


14 posted on 04/22/2009 10:11:00 AM PDT by PMAS
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To: Sergeant Tim

The Great One hits home runs like this every day! He is one of the most brilliant minds in politics! Thank God he’s on our side!


15 posted on 04/22/2009 1:15:07 PM PDT by oneamericanvoice (Support freedom! Support the troops! Surrender is not an option!)
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To: Sergeant Tim
Excellent.

This deserves a wide reading, especially among our Republican Congressmen and Senators.

We have got to fight back to SAVE AMERICAN LIVES.

16 posted on 04/22/2009 2:43:14 PM PDT by happygrl (Hope and Change or Rope and Chains?)
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To: Sergeant Tim

17 posted on 04/23/2009 8:42:36 AM PDT by Howie
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