Legal News

Under Lingering (and Lingering) Fire, John Yoo Continues to Fight

By Ashby Jones

The attacks on John Yoo, the former Justice Department lawyer who penned memos authorizing the waterboarding of terrorism suspects and the wiretapping of U.S. citizens, have ramped up in recent months. Still, according to this article in the Washington Post, rather than shrink from public view, Yoo has continued to defend himself, often in very public fashion.

Yoo’s headaches continue to mount. Writes the Post:

Last month, a federal judge in California refused to dismiss a lawsuit that accuses Yoo of violating a detainee’s constitutional rights. This month, the Justice Department’s inspector general described Yoo’s legal analysis of the Bush surveillance program as “insufficient” and sometimes inaccurate. Also expected in coming weeks is a department ethics report that sources have said could renounce Yoo’s approval of harsh CIA interrogation practices and recommend that he and Jay S. Bybee, a former colleague, be referred to their state bar associations for discipline.

Despite the attacks and repeated scrutiny, Yoo isn’t backing down. In speeches across the country, writes the Post, he’s countered critics who take issue with his views on executive power. For instance, earlier this month, he wrote this opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal defending his actions. Wrote Yoo: “To limit the president’s constitutional power to protect the nation from foreign threats is simply foolhardy.”

Part of Yoo’s aggressive posture, presumably owes to his firmly held convictions. At the same time, the Post notes that “Yoo is a man with little to lose.” He’s a tenured law professor at Berkeley.

According to the Post, Yoo has severed ties with some former DOJ colleagues. “But he does not shy away from public appearances,” reads the story. “He and his wife Elsa, the daughter of former CNN newsman Peter Arnett, still socialize with friends on the West Coast. In addition to teaching, Yoo writes a regular legal-opinion column, dubbed “Closing Arguments,” for his hometown newspaper, the Philadelphia Inquirer.”

Just last week, Yoo once again drew attention after a video of Australian comedians found itself on YouTube. “How long can I be required to stand here till it counts as torture?” asked one of the comics, dressed like an Abu Ghraib prisoner. Click here for the YouTube clip.

Yoo’s vocal justifications stand in contrast those taken by others who played similar roles. For instance, Jay Bybee, now a federal appeals court judge in California, has told students and colleagues that he has regrets about how the controversial memos have been viewed and how they were prepared. Steven Bradbury, who took over from Bybee but never won Senate confirmation, joined the Dechert law firm in Washington as a partner last week.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on July 27, 2009 (boomark / email).