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Monday, March 9, 2009

News The Heart Breaks

Posted by Dan Savage on Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 8:49 AM

The president you helped to break the law—torture innocent and not-so-innocent people, lock people up without bringing charges—will get 100K a pop to give a speech after he leaves offices. And Yoo? Well, you'll get squat.

When John C. Yoo, a former Justice Department lawyer, was selected by President George W. Bush in May 2004 to join a government board charged with releasing historical Nazi and Japanese war crimes records, trouble quickly followed.

The Abu Ghraib torture scandal was exploding, and fellow panelists learned that Mr. Yoo had written secret legal opinions saying presidents have sweeping wartime power to circumvent the Geneva Conventions. They protested that it was absurd to name Mr. Yoo, who they believed might have sanctioned war crimes, to a war crimes commission.

White House officials canceled the appointment, though it had already been announced in a news release, and kept the episode quiet. “We saved them from incredible embarrassment,” said Thomas H. Baer, one of the dissenting panelists.

But for Mr. Yoo, a Berkeley law professor, the swift exit from the war crimes board was only the beginning of his troubles.

So, hey, maybe all Justice Department lawyers should all err on the side of not helping future presidents violate U.S. and international law, torture people, shred the constitution, etc. Because really, guys, there's nothing in it for you in the long run.

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Well, at least Yoo's unlikely to be actually tortured in the near future. So he's doing okay.

Posted by cdc on March 9, 2009 at 9:30 AM

Yeah, poor Mr. Yoo. He only got to work at a very high level of government for years after that, and now he's a poor, oppressed Berkeley prof. And as the article says "For some of Mr. Bush’s lawyers, the most likely consequence may be wariness from potential employers." God, that's harsh, isn't it?

Yoo belongs in fucking Leavenworth.

Posted by Fnarf on March 9, 2009 at 10:08 AM

@2: I doubt he feels up for a polka. Perhaps some schnitzel.

Posted by Aislinn on March 9, 2009 at 11:05 AM

It disgusts me that that motherfucker is teaching law. Berkeley law students should boycott his classes.

Posted by keshmeshi on March 9, 2009 at 11:17 AM

His first speech is paid for by Telus, so every person in BC and Alberta paying outrageous prices for telephone service is subsidizing this Failure.

Posted by Will in Seattle on March 9, 2009 at 11:48 AM

Aislinn @3, not THAT Leavenworth, you minx.

Posted by Fnarf on March 9, 2009 at 12:26 PM

I'm surprised anyone wants to hear from W. The buzz from the speaking circuit crowd at the end of his tenure was that he was likely to be not in demand at all.

Posted by Jim on March 9, 2009 at 3:29 PM

Yoo's not doing so bad. He had tenure before he went to work for Bush, so he's has a job that pays well, even if there is the occasional protest. Alberto can't even find a job.

Posted by sf gal on March 9, 2009 at 6:36 PM