PANIC!
April 21st, 2009 by Nick SaintThe title of Andy McCarthy’s most recent post:
BREAKING: OBAMA OPEN TO PROSECUTION OF BUSH OFFICIALS
ZOMFG WTF!?!?!?!?!?!? Actually, other than the National Review’s decision to adopt the emphasis convention favored by 11 year-old comment board trolls, there is pretty much no news here:
“With respect to those who formulate those legal decisions, I would say that that is going to be more of a decision for the attorney general within the parameters of various laws,” Obama said. “And I don’t want to prejudge that. … There are a host of very complicated issues involved there.”
It was the first time Obama took a question on the matter since his administration released a string of previously classified memos detailing harsh interrogation tactics used against terror suspects. At the time, Obama said agents who followed Department of Justice advice would not be prosecuted.
He reiterated that point Tuesday. “For those who carried out some of these operations within the four corners of legal opinions or guidance that had been provided from the White House, I do not think it’s appropriate for them to be prosecuted,” he said.
So the president still doesn’t think operatives acting in good faith on OLC advice should be punished, still isn’t extending that to those who wrote the memos and others up the chain, and is now explicitly saying that he’ll let the Attorney-General decide whether anyone should be prosecuted, which is what he’s paid for (the hint is in the job title). Is there some fine print about Paris Hilton that I missed? Otherwise, I don’t see a story here.
