Ethics

Mukasey's Paradox

By Ed Brayton

Jonathan Turley has a compelling op-ed in the LA Times about new Attorney General Michael Mukasey and the paradox he has created since coming into office:

The recent decisions of Atty. Gen. Michael B. Mukasey to block any prosecution of Bush administration officials for contempt and to block any criminal investigation of torture led to a chorus of criticism. Many view the decisions as raw examples of political manipulation of the legal process and overt cronyism. I must confess that I was one of those crying foul until I suddenly realized that there was something profound, even beautiful, in Mukasey's action.

In his twisting of legal principles, the attorney general has succeeded in creating a perfect paradox. Under Mukasey's Paradox, lawyers cannot commit crimes when they act under the orders of a president -- and a president cannot commit a crime when he acts under advice of lawyers.

Full post as published by Dispatches from the Culture Wars on March 09, 2008 (boomark / email).