Ken Starr blasts Liz Cheney's 'ill-conceived' ad targeting Justice Dept. attorneys

[sabra]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35779528/ns/politics-more_politics/

Conservatives trade barbs over detainee lawyers
Starr blasts Liz Cheney's 'ill-conceived' ad targeting Justice Dept. attorneys


An organization co-founded by the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney is under fire from prominent conservative lawyers who say a new Web ad unfairly questions the motives of Justice Department lawyers who previously represented suspected terrorists.

...

In an appearance on MSNBC’s "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" program on Monday, former U.S. Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr called the ad "very unfortunate and ill-conceived" for questioning the motives of attorneys who work on behalf of accused criminals.

"Lawyers have an ethical obligation to be willing to take on unpopular causes," he told guest host Lawrence O’Donnell. "That is an obligation that goes with the profession. It goes with the territory."

...

Starr’s television appearance was the latest blast in an internecine skirmish among conservatives debating the legitimacy of Keep America Safe's campaign. A group of 19 attorneys – including Starr and several George W. Bush administration officials – cosigned a letter Monday that derided the Web ad as "shameful."

"To suggest that the Justice Department should not employ talented lawyers who have advocated on behalf of detainees maligns the patriotism of people who have taken honorable positions on contested questions," the letter states.

[onehandle]

1. Man did I ever have mixed feelings while I watched that segment.

Good for him.

[louis-t]

2. I still kept giving him the finger.

:hide:

[frogmarch]

3. Good, but I still hate Starr's guts. n/t