Tuesday, April 21, 2009

President Obama opens the door to prosecution of Bush officials for legal opinions


President Obama opened the door to prosecution of Bush officials for legal opinions relating to the definition of torture. Previously, Obama had ruled out the possibility of prosecution of any Bush Administration officials. Instead, he released CIA documents relating to the methods used. Barack Obama misjudged his base on this issue. He thought they would be satisfied with the document release and he could put this issue behind him. However, outrage and demands for prosecution grew among his left wing base. Now, Obama is doing a 180 so fast his head will spin. President Obama is terrified of losing his liberal base, but he wishes this issue would go away. According to Yahoo News,
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama left the door open Tuesday to prosecuting Bush administration officials who devised the legal authority for gruesome terror-suspect interrogations, saying the United States lost "our moral bearings" with use of the tactics.

The question of whether to bring charges against those who devised justification for the methods "is going to be more of a decision for the attorney general within the parameters of various laws and I don't want to prejudge that," Obama said. The president discussed the continuing issue of terrorism-era interrogation tactics with reporters as he finished an Oval Office meeting with visiting King Abdullah II of Jordan.

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