Ethics

My Heart Bleeds for Yoo

By Ed Brayton

Now that the DOJ has released a series of memos written by John Yoo that are equal parts vile and absurdly argued, Yoo is whining that they weren't meant for public consumption. Scott Horton cites an interview Yoo did with the Orange County Register where he says:

These memos I wrote were not for public consumption. They lack a certain polish, I think-would have been better to explain government policy rather than try to give unvarnished, straight-talk legal advice.

No John, legal advice is what you were supposed to give. You just did it very badly in order to come up with a fanciful legal rationalization for what Bush wanted to do. And that is exactly what he still does not understand, what his job was.

Full post as published by Dispatches from the Culture Wars on March 09, 2009 (boomark / email).