Are John Yoo and Jay Bybee facing impeachment over writing the torture memos?”
John Podesta, who oversaw Obama’s transition team and was former president Clinton’s chief of staff, said Sunday that “a simple matter would be to remove [Bybee] from office.” Support for impeachment from Podesta, who heads the Center for American Progress Action, a think tank with close ties to the Obama administration, could foreshadow support for such a step from the president himself. The Center for American Progress is petitioning for Bybee’s impeachment; Podesta this morning sent a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI), laying out the case for impeaching Bybee. The letter, reprinted below, includes the names of nearly 20,000 people who have signed the petition. Right now, the focus is on the impeachment of Jay Bybee. Some people are focusing on John Yoo, saying that he should be fired from his position.
Bush attorneys who wrote terror memo face backlash By TERENCE CHEA, AP Thu May 7, 12:37 AM EDT Loading… Share No Thanks Must Read?Thank YouYes 16 File – In this June 26, 2008 file photo John Yoo, a law professor at the Uni… Email Story Discuss Print Digg Del… Plaxo SAN FRANCISCO — Pressure is mounting against two former Bush administration attorneys who wrote the legal memos used to support harsh interrogation techniques that critics say constituted torture. John Yoo, a constitutional law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, is fighting calls for disbarment and dismissal, while Judge Jay Bybee of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals faces calls for impeachment. Justice Department investigators have stopped short of recommending criminal charges, but suggest in a draft report that the two men should face professional sanctions. A number of groups across the country agree, and some want even stronger action. “We believe there is a lot of evidence to suggest that war
Rescinding the licenses of the likes of John Yoo and Jay Bybee may only embarrass and force torture-tainted lawyers to earn their money as lecturers or cable news pundits instead of by continuing to practice law, but it is a grass-roots start down the long road towards Bush Administration accountability. Citizens have found few paths other than through the ballot box, and even voting for Democrats has brought only mixed results.
