Many are outraged at the very thought that Rep. Jane Harman may have interceded with the Justice Department regarding the AIPAC prosecutions (Harman has denied the allegation and no one has stated that she did. To the contrary, the NYTimes reports that "David Szady, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s former top counterintelligence official who ran the investigation of Mr. Rosen and Mr. Weissman, said in an interview Monday that he was confident Ms. Harman had never intervened."), but when it comes to the intercession of President Obama regarding torture prosecutions, many of these same people are quiet as church mice. Why is it okay for, as Glenn Greenwald states it, to interfere with "the very important (and overlooked) duty of the responsibilities of the Attorney General to make decisions about prosecutions free and independent of the political desires of the President" but no okay for a congressperson to ask for clemency?

More . . .

Confirming Rahmbo, via think Progress, WH Press Secretary Robert Gibbs say no to torture prosecutions:

CNN’S ED HENRY: Just so I understand, you’re saying the people in the CIA who followed through on what they were told was legal, they should not be prosecuted? But why not the Bush administration lawyers who, in the eyes of a lot of your supporters on the left, twisted the law, why are they not being held accountable?

GIBBS: The president is focused on looking forward. That’s why.

You think some blogs might call Obama a "shill for Bush," like they did Jane Harman?

Speaking for me only

The day before the due date for the scheduled court ordered release (this is no voluntary act by the Obama Administration) of the torture memos, Sully writes:

The question before the president today is not whether to prosecute his predecessors for war crimes; it is simply whether to allow the memos that the Bush administration drew up describing in gruesome detail the torture techniques they authorized - or to cover them up. . . . If Obama, for some reason, decides to prevent us from seeing exactly what was done then he will achieve only one thing: he will tell the world that the US has indeed authorized and practised war crimes while simultaneously telling the world that America will not be accountable for it. He will betray all of us who supported him to restore the rule of law. . . . There is no compromise possible here, Mr president. Do the right thing.

We'll see tomorrow if we get to congratulate the President for complying with a court order or criticize him for defying such court order.

Speaking for me only

Defending who? Why the government lawyers who wrote this brief (PDF). Actually, this diary is an attempt to defend the Obama Administration for the positions Hertz and Company took on behalf of the illegal surveillance case discussed here by Glenn Greenwald (btw, good on Olbermann. I have ripped him more times than I can count so I owe him a kudo.)

Of course the problem is not with Messrs Hertz, et al. The issue is the POLICY of the Obama Administration that authorizes the assertion of the defenses raised. And yes, the authorization of these defenses does constitute policy. We are all hopeful the courts will reject these arguments but the Obama Administration has embraced these views, which reflect Bushism on steroids.

So congrats dkos diarist, you have done a fine job of defending Hertz and Co. Not so good a job defending President Obama and Attorney General Holder.

Speaking for me only

Glenn writes it up. It looks really really bad. I'll need to read it more closely but at first blush, it looks really bad.

When I get a chance to read the brief, I'll add to this post.

As a believer in American Exceptionalism, I am well aware of how arrogant the phrase sounds. So kudos to President Obama (via Steve Benen) for his terrific answer to a question on American exceptionalism:

Barack Obama and Michelle Obama have landed in Great Britain for the G-20 Summit.

They will have tea tomorrow with Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace, for which they received etiquette lessons over the weekend.

The Obamas will also visit France and Germany. I think the British and European press will be the ones to follow this week.

Update: The Guardian has a section answering top questions about the G20, including why Secret Service agents wear sunglasses. Another factoid I didn't know: Air Force One has a gym.[More....]

On January 14, 2009, Robert Gibbs said that President Obama would lift the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy regarding gays in the military. Gibbs did not promise when this would occur. Robert Gates says not soon:

Don't expect any change soon to the "don't ask, don't tell" policy about gays in the military. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says both he and President Barack Obama have "a lot on our plates right now." As Gates puts it, "let's push that one down the road a little bit."

It's not a top priority for me, but something I hope the President gets to sooner rather than later. But like, EFCA, it seems the repeal of DADT (which was an improvement over the previous zero tolerance policy) is not something that will be addressed this year.

Speaking for me only

President Obama is holding a Town Hall meeting. Here's a thread to discuss it.

The New York Times calls out President Barack Obama for "flinching" in his choice to lead the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

In January, Obama offered the job to well-respected civil rights lawyer Thomas Saenz of Los Angeles. Saenz had an impressive resume:

Mr. Saenz, the former top litigator in Los Angeles for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, ....was a leader of the successful fight to block California’s Proposition 187, an unconstitutional effort to deny social services and schooling to illegal immigrants. He has defended Latino day laborers who were targets of misguided local crackdowns, from illegal police stings to unconstitutional anti-solicitation ordinances.

What happened? [More...]

President Obama disses Dick Cheney, praises Tim Geithner and discusses America's anger at Wall St. tonight on "60 Minutes." On Cheney:

Obama fires back at former Vice President Dick Cheney's charge that his plan to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay and end the torture of terrorism suspects has made the U.S. less safe:

"How many terrorists have actually been brought to justice under the philosophy that is being promoted by Vice President Cheney? It hasn't made us safer. What it has been is a great advertisement for anti-American sentiment."

Did the President accomplish his objectives in going on the show? Was he better here than on Leno? He's also pre-empting regular tv programming Tuesday night with another public address to the country. At least he's not avoiding us.

Elena Kagan, of Massachusetts has been confirmed by a vote of 61 to 31 as Solicitor General.

Kagan became the first woman dean of Harvard Law School in 2003. Prior to that, she was President Bill Clinton's Associate White House Counsel. Clinton nominated her for a Court of Appeals judgeship but Sen. Orrin Hatch killed it.

She's known for being a legal scholar, not a trial lawyer.

Before this appointment she had limited courtroom experience (she has never argued a case at trial) and has not argued before the Supreme Court of the United States.