Obama leaves door open to Bush officials' prosecution * Story Highlights * President: It's up to attorney general to decide about prosecution on interrogations * President Obama repeats belief that CIA officers shouldn't be prosecuted * "I do worry about this getting so politicized," president says * Administration has released Bush-era memos detailing use of terror interrogations WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama on Tuesday left open the possibility of criminal prosecution for Bush administration officials who drew up the legal basis for interrogation techniques that many view as torture. Obama said it will be up to Attorney General Eric Holder to decide whether or not to prosecute the former officials. "With respect to those who formulated those legal decisions, I would say that is going to be more a decision for the attorney general within the parameter of various laws, and I don't want to prejudge that," Obama said during a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah at the White House. "There's a host of very complicated issues involved there. As a general deal, I think we should be looking forward and not backward. "I do worry about this getting so politicized that we cannot function effectively, and it hampers our ability to carry out critical national security operations." VideoWatch as Obama says U.S. can be protected and live up to its ideals » The president added that any congressional "accounting of what took place" should be done "in a bipartisan fashion outside of the typical hearing process that can sometimes break down ... entirely along party lines." It is important, he said, for the "American people to feel as if this is not being dealt with to provide one side or another political advantage." Obama's remarks came five days after the administration released four Bush-era memos detailing the use of terror interrogations such as waterboarding, a technique used to simulate drowning. One memo showed that CIA interrogators used waterboarding -- which Obama has called torture -- at least 266 times on two top al Qaeda suspects. Obama reiterated his belief that he did not think it is appropriate to prosecute those CIA officials and others who carried out the interrogations in question. "This has been a difficult chapter in our history and one of [my] tougher decisions," he added. The techniques listed in memos "reflected ... us losing our moral bearings." The president's apparent willingness to leave the door open to a prosecution of Bush officials seemed to contradict White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who indicated Sunday that the administration was opposed to such an action. Obama believes "that's not the place that we [should] go," Emanuel said on ABC's "This Week." "It's not a time to use our energy ... looking back [with] any sense of anger and retribution." On Monday, Obama asserted during a visit to CIA headquarters that he had released the documents primarily because of the "exceptional circumstances that surrounded these memos, particularly the fact that so much of the information was [already] public. ... The covert nature of the information had been compromised."
What the hell are the charges exactly? And what set of law are they going to use, US law or are they looking at some international law that nobody follows anyhow? All this talk of prosecuting Bush is just political bullshit to keep the far left loonies on board with Obama after he breaks all his promises to them...
They tortured. They may or may not get prosecuted, but there is no doubt that they tortured. I am amazed at the hypocrisy of the right on this: they go on and on ad nauseum about the tyranny represented by higher taxes, as if they were actually being taxed without representation, as the revolutionaries actually were, but are silent or even complicit in torture and the de facto repeal of habeas corpus under the previous Administration. It is, truly, a sickening spectacle. If you think this crap is what the Founders fought, lost their fortunes and died for, you're quite simply too ignorant to be taken seriously.
Its call tryannty of the majority. Right now 1% paying 40% of the load. Those 1% can only have 1% of the vote and no way can they protect themselves from the tryanty inflicted by the majority. We were afforded fair and equal treatment under the a law. Paying someone pay 40 times his per capita share is not fair and equal treatment under the law. It maybe left up the courts if someone can bring some suit about this. Perhaps some court will declare our income tax code unconsitiutioal and must be changed within 2 years say. Get rid of all income tax, corporate tax, captail gains, charge a sales tax etc. John
I can't believe he sold the CIA down the river like that. He is going there today to give one of his speeches. They are professionals, they will sit there and listen, but they were sold out and they wont forget it.
They probably leaked out the info about the other memo's discussing the benefits from the program. They may have also been behind a California Democrat in the house getting exposed by wiretaps working with a foreign agent wanting lobbying services. Watch for weird stuff to come out.