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DOJ not recommending prosecution of CIA interrogation memo authors: report

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] US Department of Justice (DOJ) investigators have concluded that three former Bush administration lawyers responsible for authoring controversial CIA interrogation memos should not face criminal prosecutions, according to Wednesday media reports. A draft report from the investigation has concluded that while no criminal prosecution should be conducted, professional sanctions could be appropriate. The report suggests that two Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) lawyers, John Yoo and Jay Bybee, should be subject to some disciplinary action. The report also concludes that the third lawyer, Steven Bradbury did not engage in behavior that warrants disciplinary action. The recent release of four CIA interrogation memos has renewed calls for the criminal prosecution of the memos' authors. Last week, chairman of the US Senate Judiciary Committee Patrick Leahy (D-VT) invited Bybee to testify before the committee. Leahy wants Bybee to explain apparently contradictory statements in which Bybee expressed regret for signing the memos and then defended his actions. Last month, UN special rapporteur on torture Manfred Nowak said that the US must prosecute DOJ lawyers who drafted the memos. US President Barack Obama has said that he would not rule out the possibility of prosecuting lawyers responsible for authoring the memos. Obama had previously said that he would not pursue prosecutions of CIA interrogators, a pledge which drew sharp international criticism.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on May 07, 2009 (boomark / email).