John Yoo quoted in McClatchy Newspapers, March 19, 2013 “I think President Obama has been as equally aggressive as President Bush, and, in fact, he has sometimes used the very same language to suggest that he would not obey congressional laws that intrude on his commander-in-chief power,” said Yoo…. “This is utterly hypocritical, both when […]
Obama turning to executive power to get what he wants
Why President Obama is losing the drone war
John Yoo quoted by POLITICO, March 8, 2013 “On the substance, I do happen to think Sen. Paul is incorrect,” said Yoo…. “I don’t often say this, but I think the attorney general has the right bottom line. Unfortunately, I think he gets there in the wrong way and he does it in sort of […]
Arrest raises issue of where to try terror suspects
John Yoo quoted in The Wall Street Journal, March 7, 2013 (registration required) “It does and should reopen the debate about the proper place to try high-ranking Al-Qaeda members,” said John Yoo…. Mr. Yoo said if there is a rush to send suspects such as Mr. Abu Ghaith to civilian courts, it could inhibit the […]
John Yoo to Rand Paul: leave Barack Obama alone on targeted killing!
John Yoo quoted in Mother Jones, March 7, 2013 “I think it’s right, if an American joins an enemy with which we are at war, he is, or she is, a valid target as an enemy combatant. That’s been the rule throughout our history,” Yoo said. “People in the Civil War were all American citizens, […]
Same-sex marriage needs voters’ stamp
John Yoo quoted in San Francisco Chronicle, March 6, 2013 “It would be a mistake for the Supreme Court to use this case to basically cut off the political process and impose its own view on a moral and political question that is very divisive.” The savvy conservative believes in states’ rights and voters’ right […]
Death by drone, and the sliding scale of presidential power
Daniel Farber and John Yoo cited in National Public Radio, It’s All Politics blog, February 8, 2013 In an interview, Farber said…. “Presidents, regardless of political party, or liberal versus conservative, they just don’t seem to have a lot of qualms about doing what they think is necessary for national security. So it doesn’t surprise […]
Worse than waterboarding
John Yoo quoted in San Francisco Chronicle, February 6, 2013 “What’s the greater deprivation of liberties?” asked UC Berkeley law professor John Yoo, who wrote some of the Bush Justice Department legal opinions that authorized CIA use of enhanced interrogation techniques―waterboarding or incinerating?
Diminishing the presidency
John Yoo writes for Wall Street Journal, January 30, 2013 Every president should seek to leave the office stronger than when he found it. The Framers understood that the future’s challenges could not be anticipated, and so the executive’s powers should not be wasted for short-term political advantage. Mr. Obama holds the prospect of leaving […]
Four years after Obama’s signature promise, Gitmo is still open
John Yoo quoted in The Washington Times, January 20, 2013 John Yoo, who as a top lawyer in the George W. Bush administration helped craft the legal framework for terrorism policies, said the U.S. will have a place to put detainees as long as it is fighting al Qaeda. “Better to hold them in a […]
Obama advisor who had decried ‘war on terror’ now defends drones
John Yoo quoted in Los Angeles Times, January 5, 2013 John C. Yoo, the Berkeley law professor who was the focus of ire in the Bush era for the so-called torture memo that justified harsh interrogations, said he found much to like these days. “I don’t want to speak specifically about Koh’s record,” Yoo said. […]