The Associated Press reported yesterday that Attorney General Eric Holder is thinking about maybe appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration's pro-torture policies.
In my opinion, he shouldn't just be thinking about it.
Adding to my frustration, the AP quoted Justice Department spokesman Matt Miller as saying, "As the attorney general has made clear, it would be unfair to prosecute any official who acted in good faith based on legal guidance from the Justice Department."
However, in my opinion, it would be unfair to all the victims of those illegal torture practices -- many of whom are known to be innocent -- if we were not to prosecute the torturers as well as those who authorized their actions.
Because of their training, the CIA agents and any others who committed torture in our name had to have known full well that they were violating the Geneva Conventions and numerous other domestic and international laws and standards. If someone offered you some twisted logic to justify murdering your ex-wife, you'd still know that it's illegal to kill her. Same thing. (And you would surely go to prison if you followed through, regardless of the excuses.)
But even if he continues to abide by President Obama's promise not to punish the thugs who actually did the torturing, Holder has no excuse not to investigate and prosecute those who hijacked the law in order to make it happen. And that means John Yoo, Jay Bybee, Alberto Gonzales, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleeza Rice, Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, and anyone/everyone else who may be found to have either authorized the use of torture or jumped through semantic hoops in order to justify it in policy.
It seems like it's been a while since we've had someone in the higher echelons of the Justice Department who actually did their job, which is to enforce the rule of law rather than tap-dance around it. I strongly urge Attorney General Holder to restore some validity -- and some dignity -- to the Department.
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