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Impeach Jay Bybee
Feingold on Torture Judge: "Grounds for Impeachment"
Torture memo author Jay Bybee, who outlined procedures for inflicting cruel and unusual punishments on prisoners in U.S. custody, should of course be impeached and removed from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals bench.
But how did Bybee, who was either inept or corrupt, win Senate approval to serve as a federal judge?
As it happens, it was not easy.
Former President Bush appointed Bybee, an aggressively ideological assistant attorney general to a position on the nation's largest appellate court on May 22, 2002.
Because Bybee was already a highly controversial figure, a narrowly Democratic Senate refused to act on the nomination that year.
Bybee's nomination died when it was "returned without action" in December, 2002.
Control of the Senate shifted from the Democrats to Bush's Republicans in January, 2003, and Bush immediately resubmitted the nomination.
A month later, the Senate Judiciary Committee split on the nomination, with 10 Republicans and 2 Democrats backing it while 6 Democrats were opposed. So, with a 12-6 endorsement, Bybee's nomination went to the full Senate.
The full Senate vote came on March 13, 2003, when Bybee was confirmed by a vote of 74-19.
Who cast the "no" votes?
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Robert Byrd (D-WV)
Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
Jon Corzine (D-NJ)
Mark Dayton (D-MN)
Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Russ Feingold (D-WI)
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Tom Harkin (D-IA)
Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
Ted Kennedy (D-MA)
Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Carl Levin (D-MI)
Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Patty Murray (D-WA)
Jack Reed (D-RI)
Paul Sarbanes (D-MD)
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
Ron Wyden (D-OR)
Feingold battled hardest, focusing during the confirmation process on gaining Senate access to the memos written by Bybee while serving with the Office of Legal Counsel. During the March 13th, 2003, debate, Feingold told the Senate:
"The administration should be able to agree to an acceptable procedure to allow the Judiciary Committee to review Mr. Bybee's OLC opinions. Given the recent history of many OLC opinions being made public, it is hard to believe that there are no opinions authored by Mr. Bybee that could be disclosed without damaging the deliberative process. Indeed, it is very hard to give credence to the idea that OLC's independence would be compromised by the release of some selection of the opinions of interest to members of the Judiciary Committee or the Senate."
The essential OLC opinions never were released -- until now.
And they confirm that Feingold had reason to be concerned.
What's the senator saying now?
"The idea that one of the architects of this perversion of the law is now sitting on the federal bench is very troubling," Feingold argues. "The memos offer some of the most explicit evidence yet that Mr. Bybee and others authorized torture and they suggest that grounds for impeachment can be made," says the senator.
- Posted in
22 Comments so far
Show AllYes, he should be impeached, but that won't explain why so many Democrats voted for his confirmation. While the Republicans goose-stepped the U.S. to quasi-dictatorship and bankruptcy, the Democratic weasels couldn't even muster a filibuster of Samuel Alito, who thumbed his nose at judiciary committee questions and had such a clear judicial bias in favor of the wealthy and corporations to have made it mandatory for any Democrat to oppose him.
I'll never vote for another Republican or any Democrat who voted to confirm this sadistic creature. Actually I'll never vote for either AIPAC party so long as the Bush administration is at large.
AG Holders # 1-202-353-1555
Prosecute Bush Six and Bush et.al.
The huge curtain that covered "behind the scenes" in the Bush White House, might be beginning to fall to the ground. Hope so.
Thank God for Russ Feingold!
Those of us who knew then what crooks those idiots were, are now somehow vindicated.
Nailing Jay Bye-Bye is entirely doable . . . if the cowardly Obysmalcrats will stop hiding in the bathroom. If nothing else, bringing down one of these cabrones will make the rest sweat for a while.
Oh, yes, and UC Berkeley . . . pay off John Yoo's contract and fire the mother!
John Yoo is a tenured professor and his case should be brought before the University Senate for termination for cause.
You don't have to wait for Congress to act. Many, although not all, judgeships require a license to remain on the bench.
Each of you individually are entitled to ask the state licensing agency or bar association where torture promoter Bybee is licensed to disbar him for his ethical violations, his misrepresentations amounting to malpractice and his criminal conspiratorial conduct. File a complaint as a citizen against ALL his fellow lawyer co-conspirators for their violations of the Constitution and numerous other laws.
Lest we forget, Nazi judges who enabled the holocaust also faced Judgment at Nuremburg.
Signed: Lawlessone [for more irreverence, see resistence-is-possible.blogspot.com]
Still WAY too many Vichy Democrat quislings still in Congress.
Hopefull they will be flushed out next election, along with the reminants of the Bush Fascists
"The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing, to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts." - John Keats
The senate is itself a bogus concept. It's almost as elitist as the office of the president. When Senator Feingold calls for the impeachment of Jay Bybee, we on the far left say: Hell yes, and you're next. All the evidence is in: In both public policy and industrial production, ownership/control by and for the people better serves the better interests of the society. Let's shake these elites off our backs, NOW.
We have been clamoring for Jay Bybee's scalp here and elsewhere. It is such a relief to finally get purchase upon the greater progressive community and get them to understand and to support the need to have Jay Bybee removed and charged and if convicted incarcerated for the remainder of his sick little life.
michael jordan
http://sites.google.com/site/apolloguide/
Conspicuously absent from that list: Harry Reid.
The judiciary in this country--from the lowliest county judges to some who sit on the highest court--with rare exception, are delivering us into the hands of the facsists. It's time to take away from the legal establishment, its powers to police itself, and when the Bar Associations "endorse" candidates for judicial office, write in your own name. There are all kinds of ways to use the ballot (without committing fraud) to clean our judicial houses of the corruption...if we're as clever as 5 year olds. Know your enemies!
Thank you Russ Feingold. At least someone has some integrity. Bye-Bye ByBee and Yoo. Will the big Dick come to your rescue or will you have a come to Jesus moment?
We all know about neo-conservatives and the Republicans. What really frys me is the way Democrats have acted these last eight years. They should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. That's not gong to happen, but they should definitely be out of government. They should have been protecting us from what can only be called out and out facism. It's time the Democrats did a thoroughly house-cleaning. Unfortunately, that's not liable to happen either. The two party system is defunct, always has been and always will be. If the last eight years haven't taught us that, then nothing will. You can't blame everything on the neo-conservatives with such pliant, weak spined, and/or corrupt "loyal opposition".
It's up to citizens to help their representatives do the right thing. Too many on this web site assume that their legislator will automatically cast the vote we want. Dream on! When this clown was voted in as a judge, we knew he was lame, but we did not know he was downright evil. I'm glad several democrats voted no, apparently on the basis that a weak ass clown should not have a high level judgeship. Our government has been spending time on the economic mess, now it's time to focus on the evil that has infiltrated our nation. The whole torture mess is a good place to start.
It sounds as if you are a senator; let me ask you this even if you aren't:
What was the reason that Jay Bybee took so long to reach debate and vote? He was nominated on May 22, 2002 and was returned without action in December, 2002. He was resubmitted by Bush 1/7/2003, brought to debate March 13, 2003, and debated and voted in on March 21, 2003. The invasion began with the two jet rocket attack and the 4 or 5 guided missiles dispatched to kill Saddam and his 2 brothers and their wives and children at 0530 UTC on March 19,2003 where they were assumed to be vacationing just out of town.
Bybee worked for Bush $41 in the DOJ from 1984 to 1989, first in the "Office of Legal Policy" and then in the Civil Division. From 1989 to 1991, Bybee he was Associate Counsel to President George H. W. Bush. George H. W. Bush went to war in Iraq in 1991. Bybee leaves the West Wing the first time.
Does this represent some sort of anti-war stance on the part of Bybee? Bybee is a Mormon. Does his "faith" not allow death through war but instead allow him to facilitate torture in these memos and in the decisions that he makes daily at the 9th Circuit Court in San Francisco?
Or is he just another naked San Francisco S'n'M freak in a black judge's cassock fondling himself behind the bench as he sends people to Marion and Pelican Bay?
michael jordan
http://sites.google.com/site/apolloguide/
I hope and pray that the lawlessness of the past 8 years does begin to be unveiled and that Bybee will be impeached and removed from office.But after all the years of hearing and hoping that the voices of the American people will be heard in Washington D.C., I some how think the crooks will saved behind closed doors by wheeling and dealing and promises beyond the dreams of avarice by the movers and shakers of the Beltway crowd!
I learned of the news that Obama would let the Bush crime family get away with torture and I wept. It is unspeakably sad that they will get away with torture.
If we all stood up and DEMANDED it it would be a different story, but of course that will never happen.
Hey everyone,
here is a web cite with the addresses of the 9th district court courthouses.
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/information/locations.php
Might be worth sending the following letter to each of these courthouses to Justice Bybee:
Dear Justice Bybee:
Surely you must recognize the conflict between your current position. You are expected to uphold a Constitution that expressly forbids cruel and unusual punishment and provides for the legal defense of detainees. This is in stark contract to your position when you signed the memos as a legal council in the Bush administration; where neither of these principles are in evidence.
I would like to encourage you to consider resigning your position as Justice on the 9th District Court effective immediately. Resignation would resolve this conflict of interest and re-establish your credibility as a man with consistent legal opinions and a respect for the rule of law.
Resignation would save you and your party a great deal of embarrassment as more and more of the details of what we did to these people are released.
Please, for the integrity of your office and for the good of the rule of law, seriously consider this proposition.
Sincerely yours....
Grappa
Its interesting, all the calls for arrests and trials, though I agree with much of the sediment, can anybody tell me the status of the charges against the previous administrative personnel who were responsible for the firing of the Federal Prosecutors who were let go under some very nebulous circumstances. I think President Obama has a point that if we put all our energy in prosecuting, show trials,and political theacter, we will not get on with health care, energy development,etc.
Severely punishing these perpetrators would greatly improve my health; and I venture to guess, the health of other Americans who have had this sickness for 9 years 3 months and 3 days and counting...There is no Obama intention of getting on with single payer. Getting rid of these sickening people by putting them away in dungeons forever is the only relief you will get and only if you push hard, really hard for it. We have stepped over into alternative integrative medicine where show trials become extremely therapeutic. If you don't keep the progressives healthy they won't be able to keep the government together. The progressives are the glue.
We need BIG Showy V-I-C-T-O-R-I-E-S because if we get sick the country is left to the vandals and the Republicans who will stop at nothing short of you and me. If you are not sure that you can do more than one thing at a time and I am sick and tired of defeat of principle after principle at the hands of these monsters then the bad guys win.
Energy development will come with education funding, it's a twofer, -comes with funding K-12 and 13-20.
michael jordan
http://sites.google.com/site/apolloguide/