Executive Watch’s Christopher Schroeder describes President Obama’s 80 percent problem, rebuffing efforts, by the Left and Right alike, to pin Obama as simply another President Bush. Nevertheless, Curt Bradley and Eric Posner maintain that changes have been more symbolic than substantive. Neil Kinkopf makes the case that it’s still too early to define, let alone judge, Obama’s theory of executive power.
Assuming their respective ideological stripes, Matthew Yglesias and Scott Horton write approvingly of the Obama Administration’s disavowal of the phrase “War on Terror,” while Michael Goldfarb and Andy McCarthy think it marks the end of taking terrorism seriously.
A Washington Post front-page article documents the torture of Abu Zubaida, the series of false leads it provoked, and evidence that it failed to foil any terrorist plots. Harper’s Scott Horton says the article is further proof that torture serves as a recruitment tool for al-Qaeda and has no offsetting benefits for the U.S. National Review’s Marc Thiessen vehemently disagrees and says that the Post article is rife with errors and misinformation. Richard Painter, as a guest contributor at Volokh Conspiracy, has a series of posts asserting that torture is a misguided policy. The Bush State Department’s chief counsel on Guantanomo litigation, Vijay Padmanabhan, joins an emerging chorus of voices from the Bush Administration now speaking out against torture.
Juris notes that in an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes, Obama affirmed his commitment to international law and due process rights when confronting former Vice President Dick Cheney’s remarks that closing Guantanamo Bay makes Americans less safe. The Weekly Standard takes issue with Obama’s reply, asserting that he continues to hide a Pentagon report documenting the high recidivism rates of former Guantanamo prisoners. Thomas Joscelyn of the Weekly Standard also criticizes Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair’s statement that some being held at Guantanamo may be released in the U.S. and receive government assistance. Glenn Sulmasy examines the broader difficulties that come with closing Guantanamo. The story of 17 Chinese Uighurs is perhaps exhibit A. They are seeking to hold Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in contempt of court for refusing to transfer or release them pursuant to a D.C. Circuit order. A Uighur who was released in 2006 writes to President Obama, pleading for the release of those still being held.
The Guardian describes Spanish Judge Baltazar Garzon’s decision to have prosecutors examine the Bush Administration lawyers’ role in developing a torture policy for those held at Guantanamo Bay. Andrew Sullivan sees the move as the wheels of justice turning, while Matthew Yglesias views at as an important symbolic victory. Scott Horton says there is an accountability imperative. The ACLU spotlights the piercing remarks of Jonathan Turley on the Bush Administration’s alleged war crimes and calls for Attorney General Eric Holder to hire an independent prosecutor. Balkinization’s Sandy Levinson senses hypocrisy in the calls for the prosecution of those like John Yoo.
Jurist has the details on President Obama’s nomination of Yale Law School dean Harold Koh to be chief legal counsel at State. Koh has come out as a fierce opponent of torture and, in 2002, declared that a unilateral, preemptive war with Iraq would violate international law. Concurring Opinions is happy to see the influence of the legal academy on the Obama Administration. The Weekly Standard worries that Koh and Obama’s emerging legal team will hog-tie the president in war-time. The National Review raises concerns about Koh’s apparent affinity for transnational legal processes, echoing the sentiments of former ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, who feels that American sovereignty is under siege.
The New York Times chides Republican senators for delaying the confirmation of Dawn Johnsen to head the White House’s Office of Legal Counsel. Writing for Politico, Walter Dellinger makes the case for Johnsen. National Review’s Andy McCarthy sticks to his opposition, chronicling Johnsen’s alleged radical views on abortion and other issues. Weeks back, Executive Watch’s Christopher Schroeder issued a stinging critique of McCarthy’s position. While Johnsen has been held up, assistant Attorney General nominee David Kris moved forward, as did three other nominees for top DOJ posts.
Speaking of nominations, CQ Politics notes that Obama currently outpaces Bush in making nominations to the Senate and having them confirmed. Executive Watch’s Peter Strauss highlights the important role Congress has played historically in the confirmation process.
A rare ideological alliance emerged in opposition to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s proposal to seize non-bank financial institutions that present systemic risks. Left-leaning economists like Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman joined House Republicans in opposing the measure and calling for receivership. NYU Economist Nouriel Roubini, however, thinks the Geithner plan has promise. The New Republic’s Jason Zengerle looks to a 1999 New York Times article on banking reform to credit the public figures who predicted the current crisis. Propublica probes what the Fed knew about AIG before forking over $85 billion last September. Glenn Greenwald bemoans the persistent intermingling of corporate power and government reform. Richard Epstein takes a decidedly different view and argues that the recent bonus tax on AIG is unconstitutional.
Tags: Weekly Web Watch
