Former DOJ Official (John) Yoo Refuses to Testify

[sabra]

Source: ABC News

Former Justice Department lawyer John Yoo, who wrote the controversial legal memos authorizing harsh interrogation programs, will not testify voluntarily before the House Judiciary Committee -- paving the way for a possible subpoena and showdown over Executive Privilege. Yoo's lawyer has just informed House Judiciary Committee Chair John Conyers that he would not appear.

In a letter, Yoo's lawyer told Conyers he was "not authorized" by DOJ to discuss internal deliberations.

"We have been expressly advised by the Office of Legal Counsel of the United States Department of Justice that Professor Yoo is not authorized to discuss before your Committee any specific deliberative communications, including the substance of comments on opinions or policy questions, or the confidential predecisional advice, recommendations or other positions taken by individuals or entities of the Executive Branch," Yoo's lawyer, John C. Millian, wrote in a letter to Conyers.

Millian also noted that Yoo was involved in a lawsuit over the legal memos and that it would "not be appropriate" for him to testify while the litigation was pending.

Conyers invited Yoo to testify before the committee May 6th about the memos. He told Yoo the committee was prepared to subpoena him if he declined to appear voluntarily. Today's letter -- and DOJ's position that Yoo was not authorized to answer Conyers' questions -- is likely to lead to that next step.

Read more: http://blogs.abcnews.com/legalities/2008/04/former-doj-offi.html

[FSogol]

1. Betcha this scumbag gets a Bush pardon. n/t

[Selatius]

2. Wait till after a Dem is in the White House and then subpoena him.

Then that fucker should be grilled in front of the committee. Ideally, he should be prosecuted as a war criminal.

[kenny blankenship]

5. You know Yoo, we have ways of making you talk, and by we I mean Yoo

[quiet.american]

Somehow I doubt that will happen if the Dem in the WH is Clinton.

Seriously. Now that she's openly best friends with Murdoch and Scaife -- Bill's joined at the hip with Poppy Bush -- I'll call it here, first -- I can see her making remarks that call for "putting the past behind us in order to move forward... this is a time of healing....etc. "

[barbtries]

43. if she does i'll join the march

rushing the white house.

i could just as soon go hug and kiss the sorry excuse for a person who killed my daughter as i could remain calm as i witnessed these criminals skate.

[quiet.american]

44. Oh, Barbtries... what to say? I'm so sorry for your loss.... nt

[barbtries]

48. thank you

[kenny blankenship]

3. How's THAT for your Rule of Law!

Where's your Constitution now, Mr. Madison?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. What a huge surprise.......NOT!

Yeah, wait until the Dems are in charge after January...

Then subpoena him...

Some rule of law...:eyes:

[grasswire]

6. Is Yoo a Moonie?

That question is being asked in various places on the Internet. Is he being "handled" by Rev. Sun Myung Moon, whose designs on America are well known? Who will investigate this?

[bluesmail]

36. wow, I'd like to know more about Yoo Moonie MF'er

can you direct DUers to reputable websites? On Edit K&R

[sinkingfeeling]

7. So, the entire mis-named Dept. of Justice is now part of the Executive Branch?

[kenny blankenship]

9. Yes it always has been

the problem is Exec branch people--including fucking lawyers--who ignore and defy the Constitutionally granted powers of Congress.

Disbar him, I say.

[AnneD]

8. Waterboard him...

just short of organ failure.

[elehhhhna]

19. Yep. Waterboard his fat ass on primetime. Seriously.

[Robbien]

10. The next step is that the House take legal steps

Right?

Well, the Speaker and the House is usually very silent on these issues.

So Yoo skates.

End of issue.

[Supersedeas]

46. thus, the law is privileged and only for the privileged: the Oligarchy rules apply

[maxsolomon]

11. this is a tenured professor at BERKELEY?

that still blows my mind.

hey congress, FORCE THE ISSUE. show some spine.

[Turner Ashby]

13. Well, as a fucking lawyer.

I say disbar the yahoo. Of course, the Bar really can't unless it can be proven he somehow violated the law, which I'm not sure that advising the President on novel ways of getting around the Geneva Convention is a violation of the law. Moral turpitude? I would say so. But, then I think I'm a moral lawyer. There are lawyers out there, like Mr. Yoo who would argue that torture is A-Okay. And they work for the Justice Dept. And Dick Cheney, such as David Addington. I would just hate to think that Berkeley is turning out lawyers that think torture is okay. I'm glad I went to a Conservative Law School. And still stayed liberal. Maybe Conservative Law Schools are good for that.

[UpInArms]

27. glad to here how you view this, Turner Ashby!

and welcome to DU!

:hi:

[AnneD]

41. It scares the piss out of me....

to think that Falwell, Oral Roberts and Bob Jones Universities are and have developed law schools. That has such dire consequences for the US legal system for generations to come. What a pox on humanity.

[barbtries]

49. i doubt that

it's a credit to you that you stayed liberal in spite of where you went to school. i imagine that among your classmates you remain a minority

[HowHasItComeToThis]

14. EVEN BERKELEY CAN MAKE ERRORS

ROBERT REICH IS ALSO AT BERKELEY.

MAYBE THEY WILL HAVE A FIST-FIGHT

[aquart]

16. They make errors. Do they correct them?

[The Doctor.]

12. They can't let Obama become president.

.

[aquart]

17. Oh, you think it would make a difference.

LOL!

[The Doctor.]

24. I took him at his word when he said he'd have his AG investigate them. n/t

[Ronnie]

50. Yes, he sorta did that.

Then he qualified it big time. He said he didn't want to play politics. Agh!

[aquart]

15. Waterboard him.

[peacetalksforall]

18. I think this is the end for Bush and that the real culprit, Cheney, will survive it?

They say Bush authorized it when he only does what he's told.

Yoo is now Saint Yoo in the eyes of the lemmings.

OK, what is their parallel term for 'saint' in the Land of the Lemmings of the WH?

So, we will bring honor and integrity back to the WH. We will wear suits while we do it.

[Uncle Joe]

20. Subpoena his ass, both cheeks lest he talk out of the other side of his mouth.

Thanks for the thread, sabra.

[lonestarnot]

33. I recommend your post!

:rofl: :applause:

[damntexdem]

21. Well, if he won't come an lie to them voluntarily, ...

they need to drag him in and ask him the questions. Subpoena the bum.

[JDPriestly]

22. The problem is that our idiot senators in Congress

confirmed the appointment of Roberts and Alito to the Supreme Court -- both of whom believe in Bush's theory of an imperial presidency. The executive has the duty to appear for hearings in Congress if the hearings concern potential legislation. Woo will be in contempt of Congress if he refuses to appear -- like so many others before him.

The nice thing about contempt charges is that, even if Woo and Rove, etc. successfully avoid appearing now, even if they are pardoned as Bush leaves office, they can be called before Congress again once Bush is out of office.

If we have a Democratic president, Bush's having pardoned these guys will not help them. The contempt charges will be new charges, for refusal to appear under the new subpoenas, the new Congress, the new president.

Bush can run out the clock of his presidency. He can pardon everyone, but he cannot prevent a Congress from finding out what went on during his presidency, from obtaining the testimony of these guys under a Democratic White House.

The stakes in the coming election are high. No less than the truth about the past 7 to 8 years is at stake. If a Republican wins, we will never know the truth. If a Democrat wins, we have a small chance of finding out the truth.

So, Yoo can run, but he can't hide.

[LiberalLovinLug]

23. Same old, same old

Join the club. Monica M. Goodling, Christine Todd Whitman, Donald Rumsfeld, Samuel D. Waksal, Karl Rove, Harriet Miers. and on and on. They're all snickering at congress, comfortably shielded by the Bush crime family.

You already know the script. Either congress will just quietly drop it, or they'll issue a subpoena. Then Cheney will immediately declare executive privilege, and the Dems in congress will back away with their tail between their collective legs.

And I agree with others that NOTHING will ever happen to them because the first thing ANY new Democratic president will do will be to 'move on'.

[JDPriestly]

25. The next Democratic president will be elected by our votes.

If we make it known that we finally want a precedent that a president must fulfill his Constitutional to carry out the laws and obey the Constitution, the president will listen to us. Obama will probably listen more receptively than Clinton on this issue. I would not expect Obama to be vengeful or angry about it, but I think he will agree that knowing the truth is an essential element of the reconciliation of the nation that he wants to achieve.

[Elidor]

26. "Not authorized" by DOJ to discuss internal deliberations...

Except when speaking to Esquire magazine, apparently.

[UTUSN]

28. Oh, Representative CONYERS, just when is this GARDEN PARTY INVITATION for?! n/t

[Heywood J]

29. Do they get to crush his balls if he doesn't testify?

I mean, he wanted to do that to children to make the parents testify. Crush his balls if he doesn't show.

[Faygo Kid]

31. What balls? I'm sure he is too much of a physical coward.

Like the rest of them.

I hate the man and everything he stands for, and why the legal profession doesn't disbar him is beyond me.

[alfredo]

30. Why am I not surprised.

[H8fascistcons]

32. Thank You John Conyers...

A precedent has been sent by the ineffectual democrats by letting Harriet Meyers off the hook when she refused to show up and testify. John Yoo will simply not show up regardless of a subopena...

[santamargarita]

34. Drag that Fascist Pig in by his ear!

K&R

[OnyxCollie]

35. Yoo is the key.

His memo not only allows torture, but gives the green light to the whole domestic surveillance program.

[Doctor_J]

37. A year from now when he does that he'll be taken into custody and imprisoned

for contempt of court. Help is on the way.

[Solly Mack]

38. Same old song...but what fucking verse are we on now?

[eppur_se_muova]

39. Another vote to waterboard him. nt

[Senator]

40. So Impeachment Remains The Only Non-Masturbatory Option...

...for the Can't-Do-Nothing-But-Impeach Congress.

And without it, McCain becomes the next neo-fascist stooge.

Pelosi & Conyers -- and Hillary & Obama -- all the effectiveness of Powell & Rice without the embarrassing lapel pins.

It would be as ridiculous as Professional Wrestling if lives were not at stake.

---

[barbtries]

42. after all you're only Congress

fuck you, congress :sarcasm:

they make me so sick and it never seems to end.

nothing changes anything. just last week it came out that torture was orchestrated inside the white house. that was just last week. how can congress keep on sitting on their hands when new crimes are revealed over and over? they should have moved ages ago but how the hell do they rationalize continuing to ignore the violations of law as they come to light? is there a fucking tipping point and how can it be that we didn't pass that point years ago...

frustration and disgust

[fascisthunter]

45. Spineless Chickenhawk Coward

This is the type of weakling prick who makes decisions to go to war. How many are dead because of this freak and his little cult? But oh... he's wealthy and connected so it's ok... sick.

[underpants]

47. .

:kick: