More fallout from last week’s release of the Bush DOJ’s torture memos…
Both Congressman Jerry Nadler and the New York Times are calling for Jay Bybee, the author of one of the memos, who’s now a federal judge, to be impeached.
Nadler, who chairs the Judiciary committee’s Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties subcommittee, told the Huffington Post that Bybee “ought to be impeached.” Nadler continued: “It was not an honest legal memo. It was an instruction manual on how to break the law.”
And a Times editorial declared that the memos were written in “the precise bureaucratese favored by dungeon masters throughout history.” Later, it added: “These memos make it clear that Mr. Bybee is unfit for a job that requires legal judgment and a respect for the Constitution. Congress should impeach him.”
In 2003, Bybee was appointed by President Bush to the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
Both Nadler and the Times also called for investigations into whether Bush officials broke the law in ordering and justifying torture, citing John Yoo as a potential target. The Times added that Steven Bradbury, who wrote the three other memos, should also be a target.
Neither Bybee nor Bradbury has spoken publicly since the release of the memos last week.