EXECUTIVE WATCH

A New York Times’ lead editorial criticizes Obama for hewing “a bit too close[ly] … to the Bush team’s benighted ideas” of executive power.

In the New York Review of Books, Mark Danner enumerates the torture techniques used against 14 detainees held in CIA custody as verified by the International Committee of the Red Cross. The National Review’s Rich Lowry and the ACLU are in rare agreement, characterizing the details as disturbing.  Writing in Slate, torture historian Darius Rejali traces the “long and sadistic” genealogy of the techniques.  Balkinization’s Brian Tamanaha says that any notion that the U.S. did not torture can now only be called hypocrisy and doublespeak. In a pending lawsuit initiated by the ACLU, the CIA this week disclosed that it is withholding 3,000 documents pertaining to the 92 interrogation videotapes that the agency had destroyed.

Propublica argues that the Obama Administration’s decision to no longer use “enemy combatants” is little more than a change in terminology, but still an improvement over the Bush Administration.  The National Review’s Andy McCarthy agrees that the differences are minimal now, but worries that Obama is “rolling the dice that an American president can submit to the authority of foreign, international, and American courts while maintaining national security.”  Balkinization’s Rick Pildes says the decision is part of a larger triumph of pragmatism over ideology in the Obama Administration.

Debate over Obama’s first signing statement has spilled into this week. Executive Watch’s Neil Kinkopf takes aim at Eric Posner’s declaration that signing statements have “no practical effect” and that the Bush Administration’s theory of executive power is comparable to its predecessors.  Orin Kerr seeks a middle ground position between Kinkopf and Posner (Kerr’s Volokh Conspiracy co-blogger).  Cato’s Gene Healy and Kinkopf evaluate the validity of the standard liberal and conservative critiques of Obama’s signing statement.  Meanwhile, Charlie Savage writes about Senator Chuck Grassley’s (R-IA) disdain for the statement, stemming from Grassley’s belief that a provision will chill whistleblowers from reporting fraud and abuse.

The U.S. Senate confirmed former Dean of Harvard Law School Elena Kagan as solicitor general on a 61-31 vote, making her the first woman to ever hold the job. Meanwhile, Obama’s pick to head the Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, Dawn Johnsen, moved one step closer after surviving an 11-7 vote from the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick issues a scathing critique of Republican opposition to Kagan and Johnsen, quipping that “[y]ou need to pedal your intellectual bike hard and fast just to get past the hypocrisy of the sudden rule changes.” National Review’s Ed Whelan issues a comprehensive rebuttal to Lithwick.

BLT has the details on President Obama’s first nominee to the federal bench, Judge David Hamilton, and also reports on the Administration’s decision to bring the American Bar Association back into the vetting process.   Volokh Conspiracy calls the move unsurprising and accuses the ABA of left-wing bias.  Many in the mainstream media have been quick to point out Hamilton’s bipartisan support. Conservative Quin Hillyer gives general advice to Obama in picking nominees and calls for humility.

Scotusblog explores the options available to counsel for the 17 Chinese Uighurs held in Guantanamo Bay.  The Associated Press reports on Attorney General Eric Holder’s statement that they may be released on American soil. The Weekly Standard asserts that the Uighurs pose a serious threat to national security and argues that executive acquiescence in their release would be a mistake.

The looming release of a Department of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility report on John Yoo’s legal advice has prompted some UC-Berkeley leaders to consider punishing Yoo. Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz labels the calls for punishment “a left-wing version of McCarthyism.” Harper’s Scott Horton says Dershowitz’s statement is “absurd” and hypocritical, adding that Yoo’s work failed to meet basic standards of professional competence.

Jurist’s Ximena Marinero examines the importance of President Obama’s decision to join 66 other countries in signing a statement calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality.   Jonah Goldberg wonders why this is not tantamount to imposing Western values.

In lighter news, The Atlantic Monthly reports on the politics behind President Obama’s controversial decision to pick the University of North Carolina to win the men’s college basketball national championship. The move irked Duke University coach Mike Krzyzewski, who retorted that “the economy is something that he should focus on, probably more than the brackets.” Obama later justified his selections, noting that he did not believe Duke had the “inside presence” to win a championship, but said he looks forward to Krzyzewski demonstrating otherwise.