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Deputy AG Nominee Hedges on Waterboarding, CIA Torture Tapes Probe
Today, Mark Filip, the administration's nominee to be Michael Mukasey's deputy, had his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. And much like his future boss did during his hearing, Filip (like Mukasey, a former federal judge) treaded lightly, seeming deferential while also proving elusive on certain key questions. Here's video:
When Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA ) asked whether waterboarding is torture, he punted, parroting Mukasey's answer exactly. Like Mukasey, Filip called the practice "repugnant." But stopped short, explaining that since Mukasey is conducting a review, he couldn't "get out in front of him on that question." He added: "if I am confirmed... I would view it like any other legal question and take a long hard look at it, and if I had a view other than his, I would tell him so."
Kennedy responded that after what Mukasey went through at his hearing, "We thought you'd be able to give a response."
When Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) pushed Filip on the Justice Department's recent stance that Congress had to sit on its thumbs until the Department finished its probe of the CIA's destruction of its torture tapes, he got pretty much the same result. To Specter, the issue is clear (see video below) that Congress has "pre-eminence over the Department of Justice on these investigations."
Specter asked if Filip agreed. He dodged: "I would hope, Senator, that I don't have to pick between the two." Some sort of agreement could be worked out with Congress, he said. When Specter tried again, all he got was "I would work very hard to find common ground."
The situation right now, to refresh your memory, is devoid of common ground. The Department has asked the CIA to refuse all Congressional requests until its probe wraps up.
But Specter said that he remains optimistic. He spoke with Mukasey the day before, he said, and hoped that conversation was just "the beginning" of more discussions.
Update: Here's a letter Specter sent to Filip before the hearing laying out the oversight issue.
Comments (11)
James wrote on December 19, 2007 3:39 PM:Is there a person in Congress with less honor than Arlen?
phil james wrote on December 19, 2007 3:44 PM:Yadatah Yadatah Obfuscate... Can anyone still wonder whether the political theater of Congressional oversight, advise and consent is any more than perfunctory? AS IF Specter were actually going to vote against yet another Bush water-carrier. AS IF the Vichy Democrats would ever hold anyone in the Bush Administration truly accountable for anything that's gone on. We are paying good money for all of this. Please just adjourn the Congress and cut our taxes by the equivalent savings.
Anonymous wrote on December 19, 2007 4:02 PM:> Is there a person in Congress with less honor than Arlen?
Yes. Joe Lieberman
JA wrote on December 19, 2007 4:04 PM:What I can't understand is where do they find these people that have no regard for the rule of law to work at the Justice Dept.? Is there a special farm where they grow these pod people?
Anonymous wrote on December 19, 2007 4:09 PM:Heaven forbid anyone care about the law at Justice!
I am sure Shcumer and Fienstien will vote for him... of course Arlen Specter and his "token" disapproval will collapes along with the other spineless Dems who are so afraid of Mr. 24%..the elections can't come soon enough....another year of this "chicken-s**t" capitulation, should give the American people a very clear view of who will fight for us (Dodd) who can't be bothered (Clinton, Obama) and every other Congress critter who sits by trembling, while Bush and the GOP wipe their a**'s on the Constitution, and flush whats left of the country down the toilet...
JQP wrote on December 19, 2007 4:42 PM:Here's the line of questioning I want to see :
Were the Japanese prosecuted for water boarding as a war crime after world war II?
Were they wrongfully prosecuted by the United States?
Since that time, have the laws used in that prosecution changed regarding water boarding, torture or cruel and inhumane treatment?
Long Memory wrote on December 19, 2007 5:07 PM:None of that has to do with any current investigation so should be easily answered. BTW I'm not a lawyer so I'm probably off base... but still like to hear how a pro-torture person would answer.
I wanna puke every time Specter goes into this song and dance. He's gonna follow the administration line, but he'll be against it first so he can show that he's independent of the White House. It looks like a GOP strategy: Everyone gets to call the White House out one whatever issue is hot and whenever they need to score points back home. They get some headlines for questioning the White House 'sternly' and then they vote for whatever the White House wants. Torture? Shredding the Bill of Rights? WMD? War, for God's sake? They all get the opportunity to do it. Damn them.
observer wrote on December 19, 2007 5:20 PM:To JQP @ 4:42 PM:
I am a lawyer and that's not a bad cross-exam sequence, although they'd probably weasel on #3. "Not a signatory to the Geneva Conventions," etc...
Anonymous wrote on December 19, 2007 11:23 PM:Perhaps they should waterboard Mr. Filip to get a straight answer.
b wrote on December 20, 2007 1:26 AM:why is frank caliendo throwing away his future by vying for a one year placeholder job as mukasey's coffeeboy. he does such a nice john madden impersonation, its a shame to see such otherwise top shelf talent go to waste.
Roberta wrote on December 20, 2007 9:30 PM:When they programmed Judge Filip, they must not have had time to animate him with body movements and facial responses. Oh well, I guess they're too busy keeping the android body they put Cheney's brain into from spontaneously rejecting Cheney's DNA.