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Gonzo: Don't Blame Me For Torture -- I Wasn't At DOJ Yet
TPMmuckraker favorite Alberto Gonzales went on CNN this afternoon to talk Sotomayor.
But Wolf Blitzer also asked him about the ongoing torture debate. And it was interesting to see that Gonzo -- who was White House counsel at the time the torture policies were first formulated -- seemed eager to shift any blame onto the Justice Department he would later go on to lead.
Pressed by Blitzer about his role in approving torture, he first clarified that he wasn't at the Justice Department at the key time, and said "It's the responsibility of the Department of Justice to provide legal guidance on behalf of the executive branch."
In other words: blame Ashcroft, Yoo, and Bybee.
Of course, it's unclear how that stance lines up with a report that Gonzo, while at the White House, personally signed off on CIA requests to conduct torture.
Gonzo also assured Blitzer: "I stand by my record," and "I did my best to defend our country."
Watch:
Josh
Zachary
WHY ON EARTH would anyone be interested in interviewing Freddo???
Isn't it bad enough to see the Cheneys everywhere spewing maniacally their self-justification?
Listening to all these people is a novel FORM OF TORTURE!
Please, please stop!
I'll confess to anything!
May 26, 2009 6:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Were you on the grassy knoll?
May 27, 2009 1:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
No reason to continue blaming the Bush Administration for torture any longer... unless, of course blaming Republicans is more important than preventing torture and punishing those who promote and carry it out.
If we, as a so called civilized nation, despise this behavior as much as we should, we need to rely on the principle that ANYONE who torture or condones torture or protects tortures are just as responsible and need to be prosecuted- even when they happen to be democrats!
This of course accepts the hypothesis that we really ARE civilized and we really DO despise torture.
If not, we can just continue rooting for OUR team... and vilifying the other... on our way downhill.
May 26, 2009 6:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
The major reason that seems to exist for not prosecuting those responsible for crimes against humanity during the previous administration is that it would somehow tarnish our reputation and be divisive. If we look back at historical precedent we see that Germany went through something similar after WWII regarding the Nazi past. What they did was to take responsibility and to do whatever was necessary to make up for past crimes. Thanks to that policy, Germany is now a well regarded member of the civilized world.
We need to do something of the same if we ever want to regain our position as a leading member of the civilized world. That starts with first accepting that these actions were done and then prosecuting those responsible for doing them. So far we haven't even begun the process.
May 27, 2009 10:07 AM | Reply | Permalink
United States foreign policy; Do as we say not as we do.
The way Obama is handling the alleged Bush/Cheney criminality is a disgrace. This is NOT the same Obama that we saw during the campaign.
May 27, 2009 12:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
No reason to continue blaming the Bush Administration for torture any longer... unless, of course blaming Republicans is more important than preventing torture and punishing those who promote and carry it out.
You wanna 'splain, please?
I'm not understanding how an administration that signed off on torture is no longer culpable, just because someone else may reserve the right to do it too.
In fact, failing to hold responsible and prosecute the previous administration is among the key reasons the present administration has that as an option in the first place.
You abhor torture, and believe it is criminal AND morally repugnant?
How the hell do you then justify letting perpetrators off the hook?
Y'know?
May 27, 2009 12:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Gonzo, what a cute pet name. Maybe, "Gonzo vs. Vader" or "Gonzo vs, Buh-bye Bybee" would be more appropo.
But seriously, on what planet is this dude's opinion worth anything? He says that he stands by his record & did the best he could. Does that mean he knows his record is terrible but that's the best he had?
I hear a couple of hundred, I don't recalls, coming on.
He was put in place to serve a purpose, as was the whole bunch, which he willingly & criminally went along with, as did the whole bunch.
May 27, 2009 1:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Gonzo stated:
"It's the responsibility of the Department of Justice to provide legal guidance on behalf of the executive branch."
What possible need is there for a White House Counsel if the legal guidance for the executive branch is provided by the DOJ?
.
May 29, 2009 7:17 AM | Reply | Permalink