Posted on 04/28/2009 10:00:10 PM PDT by Schnucki
Liberal Democrats on Capitol Hill, including some of its most powerful members, are pressing for the impeachment of a federal judge over the Bush Administration's "torture memos", an aggressive move President Obama has no official power to stop.
The growing calls for the impeachment of Judge Jay Bybee, who as a senior Justice Department lawyer in 2002 approved and signed a legal opinion that said harsh interrogation techniques, including the simulated drowning method known as waterboarding, did not constitute torture.
Mr Obama has made clear that he wants to move on from the issue of alleged Bush-era abuses, but constitutionally he has no power to stop the launch of impeachment proceedings by the legislative branch of government.
Such a move will bring fresh impetus for a wider investigation of the allegations of torture approved by the previous administration, which could conceivably involve George W Bush and Dick Cheney.
Mr Obama yesterday visited the FBI headquarters to address and praise staff there, the day after a former agent claimed that he had gained valuable information, including the identity of the mastermind of the September 11 attacks, from an al-Qaeda suspect without resorting to harsh interrogation tactics.
Ali Soufan said he was appalled by tactics used by the CIA at a secret prison in Thailand in 2002 on Abu Zubaydah, a senior al-Qaeda operative, after he had spent time questioning him. One day, he told Newsweek, he found Abu Zubaydah stripped naked next to a "confinement box" that looked like a coffin.
After the CIA took over the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, they used techniques that Mr Soufan called "borderline torture". He said he told the CIA agents: "We're the United States of America. We don't do that kind of thing."
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
Well then, we’ll have to impeach Pelosi too.
Nonsense, none of this happens with out Obama’s approval.
If he didn’t want it to go forward it would be quietly dropped, which it will if there is enough of a public
outcry.
If on the other hand it goes ahead, there is nothing to stop
them from using these tactics on others they may target.
Make no mistake, all this Obama is helpless stuff is just
for the demorat consumption.
Does the name (Justice)Samuel Chase and (POTUS)Thomas Jefferson ring a bell?
Hell, they’ll probably find a way to impeach all conservative/originalist judges and justices in the judiciary, so Husein can fill the federal courts with radical liberals.
Then their hold on power will be absolute.
"Right" thinking will be rewarded.
"Wrong" thinking will be punished.
The Judge be guilty of thought-crime against the progression. How dare he use reason! HOW DARE HE USE COMMON SENSE! HOW DARE HE USE HIS BRAIN!
How dare I point out that "waterboarding" is practiced on some of our own soldiers, by our own military as part of their training--and thus it makes no sense to call it "torture".
Ah, but the progressives have no need of sense when they have the pointless moral outrage that festers in the cowardly and the lazy as a defence against an honest assesment of their own shortcommings.
I think we need to impeach every liberalo judge when we retake DC
At that point they might be in for a rude awaking.
Think about all the caterpillars that almost were put in danger because of this guy.
Unbelieveable that seven years ago he wrote this legal advice memo, he’s going to be crucified for rendering an opinion on what the limits of the law were. NOT for implementing the policy, NOT for actually making up this policy, but for rendering an opinion on what the limits of the law were.
If they try to impeach a judge because of this, I hope Republicans use all means at their disposal to shut down the House and Senate. Some things are worth fighting for. You have to pick your battles, we know. But this seems like one where you have to take a stand. We can’t let liberal Democrats get away with impeaching a judge who legally rendered an opinion of the law, and followed all legal procedures in doing so, AND ALL OF THIS HAPPENED BEFORE HE BECAME A JUDGE. HE’S NOT ACCUSED OF ANY WRONG DOING DURING HIS TIME ON THE BENCH.
I don’t know all the options Republicans might have, but they should use them if Democrats decide impeachment is just another political tool for them to score their cheap political points.
You bet we will impeach Pelosi too.
Yes, Republicans don’t seem to understand that these guys mean
“by any means necessary.” They plan to crush and stomp out
every vestige of Republicans and in a very brutal fashion.
In the meantime, the Republicans scratch their heads and act
befuddled that the left doesn’t play fair!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.