"No Rules in a Time of War." Marty Lederman offers initial thoughts on the just declassified, 81-page, March 2003 John Yoo torture memo, obtained by the ACLU today, here and here. Lederman's upshot: "the classification of this memo is entirely unjustifiable."

And it's fairly outrageous that Congress didn't release it when they received it. The classification and oversight systems are hopelessly broken.

2. The memo cites numerous other, as-yet-unreleased memos that appear to contain equally outrageous legal analysis. ... Those memos should be released immediately. ...

And, Lederman asks, when will Congress hold hearings?

5. When will Congress insist upon hearings at which Geoffrey Miller, Jim Haynes, Donald Rumsfeld, and other DOD officials, explain why they kept the Yoo memo and the Working Group Report secret -- undisclosed even to the Working Group itself -- and why they briefed Miller on Yoo's multiple theories of legal absolution on his way out to Iraq? It's no longer very hard to figure out just why, all of a sudden, as soon as Miller arrived in Iraq, everyone there just suddenly and magically came to think the Geneva Conventions, UCMJ, federal assault and torture statutes, etc., simply no longer applied -- that Iraq was a law-free zone and that the gloves had come off. If you were Miller and you had been briefed on the Yoo theories, wouldn't you feel awfully confident that you could get away with, well, murder and everything short of it, in interrogation operations in Iraq? This memo is the source of the Nile for the abuse that occurred in Iraq in 2003.

WP: "Thomas J. Romig, who was then the Army's judge advocate general, said yesterday after reading the memo that it appears to argue there are no rules in a time of war, a concept Romig found 'downright offensive.'"

Senate Judiciary committee chairman Patrick Leahy's response, via the Baltimore Sun:

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has repeatedly asked the Justice Department to release the memo and others like it, had this to say Tuesday evening:

It has been more than four months since I asked the White House – again – to declassify the secret Justice Department opinions on interrogation practices. Today’s declassification of one such memo is a small step forward, but in no way fulfills those requests. The administration continues to shield several memos even from members of Congress.

The memo they have declassified today reflects the expansive view of executive power that has been the hallmark of this administration. It is no wonder that this memo, like the now-infamous “Bybee memo”, could not withstand scrutiny and had to be withdrawn. Like the “Bybee memo”, this memo seeks to find ways to avoid legal restrictions and accountability on torture and threatens our country’s status as a beacon of human rights around the world.

Yoo Torture Memo, Part 1 (.pdf)

Yoo Torture Memo, Part 2 (.pdf).

Update: Asked if Congressional hearings such as those Lederman outlines are plausible at this late date, a former Congressional attorney comments, "Agreed that congressional hearings are warranted. Not sure how likely it is that they will occur, but keep an eye on Senate Judiciary." Asked if it's delusional to wonder if Yoo might ever be held to account, the lawyer commented, "It has been suggested that Yoo could be disciplined by the bar for failing to comply with legal ethics rules. I imagine complaints will be or have been filed against him on that basis. (Of course, he is also being sued by Padilla, although I expect that will be dismissed shortly). Other than that, not sure how he can be held accountable."

Posted by Laura at April 2, 2008 12:11 AM