Mukasey Grilled On Torture Interrogation

Attorney General Nominee Is Vague On Whether "Waterboarding" Violates The Constitution

(CBS/AP)  In an intense exchange Thursday with three Democrats, President Bush's nominee for attorney general left the door open for allowing a terrorism-era interrogation technique that simulates drowning.

Michael Mukasey, a retired federal judge, issued highly-conditioned statements that so-called waterboarding violates the Constitution only if it is defined as torture.

The answer is unclear.

In an executive order this summer, Bush allowed the use of some harsh interrogation techniques but his administration refused to say whether waterboarding was among them. Congress has banned waterboarding as part of a detainee treatment law.

During Thursday's proceedings, Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin probed for Mukasey's opinion.

"I'm hoping that you can at least look at this one technique and say: that clearly constitutes torture, it should not be the policy of the United States to engage in waterboarding," said the Illinois Democrat.

"It is not constitutional for the United States to engage in torture in any form, be it waterboarding or anything else," Mukasey replied.

Under subsequent questioning by Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Mukasey said the practice of waterboarding, if defined as torture, can't be permitted by the president.

"If it is torture as defined by the Constitution, or defined by constitutional standards, it can't be authorized," Mukasey said.

Judiciary Committee members, most lawyers themselves, have little tolerance for parsing after earlier hearings in which then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on dozens of occasions either did not answer questions or blamed a faulty memory for not answering them.

"Is waterboarding constitutional?" pressed Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. "It either is or it isn't."

Mukasey again demurred, saying he doesn't know what's involved in the technique.

"If it amounts to torture, it is not constitutional," the nominee replied.

"I'm very disappointed in that answer," Whitehouse said. "I think it's purely semantics."

The president himself has repeatedly said "We don't torture" and argued that intense interrogations are sometimes necessary to elicit information about terrorist plots.

The White House suggested Thursday that Mukasey's answers were vague because he does not know the specifics of the program.

"Judge Mukasey is not in a position to discuss interrogation techniques which are necessarily classified," said White House spokesman Tony Fratto. "He would only be read-in to classified programs after being confirmed."

[zootallures2]

Waterboarding? Who cares? I wanna know if it''s still legal to do a controlled demolition while people are still in the buildings. The toture known as "pull it". When is it the smartest thing to do? The last time didn''t look to smart.

[toldyouso21]

CORRECTION:

America was one of the countries that declared ''''simulated drowning'''', chinese water treatments, sleep deprivation and exposure to intense lights continually as well as stress positions and exposure to extreme temperatures when the Japanese and Germans were on trial after WWII, AS TORTURE

But now...since we do them--we redefine them--look for pulling out of fingernails to be redefined as an "interrogative manicure", Pressing under boulders to be "squeezing a bit of info out" and a time on the rack to be "advanced stress positioning" or "stretching for the truth". The Geneva convention DID define all these things that we presently do as torture. That is why Bush had our name removed from that historic document in May 2005--we continue to be in violation of it. (Rendition is not allowed either).

so much for our moral stance--we are no longer moral--we are just like those who attack us--only bigger. the main difference is we declare our evil--noble and just and the other guys tactics as evil--bet it feels pretty similar to victims of it.

[toldyouso21]

America was one of the countries that declared ''simulated drowning'', chinese water treatments, sleep deprivation and exposure to intense lights continually as well as stress positions and exposure to extreme temperatures when the Japanese and Germans were on trial after WWII.

But now...since we do them--we redefine them--look for pulling out of fingernails to be redefined as an "interrogative manicure", Pressing under boulders to be "squeezing a bit of info out" and a time on the rack to be "advanced stress positioning" or "stretching for the truth". The Geneva convention DID define all these things that we presently do as torture. That is why Bush had our name removed from that historic document in May 2005--we continue to be in violation of it. (Rendition is not allowed either).

so much for our moral stance--we are no longer moral--we are just like those who attack us--only bigger. the main difference is we declare our evil--noble and just and the other guys tactics as evil--bet it feels pretty similar to victims of it.

[kansas1946]

Michael Mukasey, a retired federal judge, issued highly-conditioned statements that so-called waterboarding violates the Constitution only if it is defined as torture.
************************
Good God, will we ever be free of thes psychos. I thought this guy sounded pretty good at first, but who the hell would define water-boarding as anything else but torture?????? Only totally amoral sadists that seem to abound in the Republican party.

[smirk5]

All this education, all this experience, and he''s still too stupid to say up is up, down is down, and waterboarding is torture.

[Krazcarl]

I''m not the sharpest tool in the shed ask anyone who knows me {glad you can''t} but I wouldn''t consider waterboarding a recreational activity so all we learned is he''s a master fudge.

[smirk5]

Just a minute or two of waterboarding on this bum and he''d be screaming "Yes! Waterboarding is torture!" As if simulated drowning isn''t torture for Christ''s sake. Unbelieveable. I suppose he''d have trouble saying it should normally get brighter when the sun comes up.

[Larry Fafarman]

--"The measure also pending defines a journalist too broadly and might inadvertently protect, for example, bloggers who are also spies or terrorists, Mukasey said. "--

This legislation would also unfortunately protect blowhard BVD-clad bloggers (I call them "BVD-clad" instead of "pajama-clad" because Hugh Hefner considers pajamas to be formal wear) who won''t even accept a journalists'' code of ethics, including a rule against arbitrary censorship of blog visitors'' comments. Professional journalists are often granted the "reporter''s privilege" (the right to keep confidential sources secret) because they need it in their work. BVD-clad bloggers don''t need or deserve the reporter''s privilege.

[sgtrds]

The best way to determine what is or is not torture is to subject the yellow bellied coward Bush to it and then have him decide. I''d even pay to watch.

[fiteit1]

"I''m going to have to do what I was told to do when I was a kid, which is ''I have to watch my mouth about this,''" Mukasey said.

I can see the writing on the wall now, he''s just waiting for Bush to fill his mouth with words, and will be in deep trouble if he says anything that doesn''t fit Bush''s agenda.

[fiteit1]

So far, Mukasey has told senators he will reject any White House meddling in Justice Department matters and resign if his legal or ethical concerns about administration policy are ignored.

Sounds like it%u2019s time for him to leave too, he is already sounding like his predecessor.

[fiteit1]

The measure also pending defines a journalist too broadly and might inadvertently protect, for example, bloggers who are also spies or terrorists, Mukasey said.

Now this is just desparation and trying to scare people into believing his side. Total BS

[fiteit1]

Mukasey said that he has reservations about the legislation because it sets too high a legal threshold for prosecutors to meet to overcome the shield. Proving that the disclosure is needed to prevent an attack is difficult in advance, the nominee said Wednesday.

If our reporters can find this information without eavesdropping, wiretaps, sending to third world countries for torture then why can''t our country%u2019s KGB do it? They don''t need the reporter%u2019s source, they just want to find a way to politically embarrass the other party. As in the CIA leak that turned out to be Bush''s own party in retaliation for not supporting the war and the people that actually leaked it never got prosecuted.

[fiteit1]

The Bush administration has issued a veto threat, saying that subpoenas for reporters are relatively rare and that a shield would make it harder to track down leakers of classified information.

The key word here is HARDER, he didn''t say impossible. And if it is rare then there should be no problem making it a law if it is rarely used and there are provisions in the law that the KGB can get around.

[bxazy8]

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[fiteit1]

"One thing about internal procedures is that if you need to change them they''re relatively easy to change,"

That''s Bush''s policy, if we cross the line just move it. Mukasey was once on the right side of the law and now Bush has him under his wing and spell.