John Yoo's Email Fail
Government investigators can't find the Bush lawyer's emails. His explanation makes about as much sense as his legal rationale for torture.
The Justice Department report released last month on the crafting of the so-called torture memos contained a number of eyebrow-raising revelations—but none perhaps as intriguing as the disclosure that many of John Yoo's emails had been irretrievably destroyed. Given that the former Justice Department political appointee played a key role in composing the legal rationale for the Bush administration's use of brutal interrogation tactics, this seemed suspicious, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and others have pressed the agency to investigate. But Yoo has brushed aside concerns about his emails, and he has criticized those raising questions about the lost messages—including Leahy and Justice Department investigators—for their weak grasp on the "basics of intelligence." Yoo's own explanation for the missing emails, though, doesn't add up, and experts on government archiving and recordkeeping practices say his comments are misleading, if not "nonsensical."
Following a years-long investigation, the Justice Department's internal watchdog, the Office of Professional Responsibility, sharply rebuked Yoo and former assistant attorney general Jay Bybee for cooking up flawed legal opinions justifying the Bush administration's enhanced interrogation program. OPR revealed that during its review "it became apparent…that relevant documents were missing." Among them were "most" of Yoo's emails, which OPR investigators learned "had been deleted and were not recoverable." OPR reported that there was also a gap in the email records of another Justice Department official, Patrick Philbin, which coincides with the drafting of the one of the memos.
The destruction of the messages, at minimum, appears to breach the Federal Records Act, which requires the preservation of a variety of government documents, including emails. But if the messages were intentionally destroyed, there could be criminal implications, too. Leahy and the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington have asked the Justice Department to determine whether a crime was committed.
During a Washington Post online forum last week, Yoo—who's promoting his new book—was asked about the deleted emails. Did he have "any theories as to why those e-mails were not retrievable"? Yoo replied that he was "glad" for the opportunity to set the record straight, and said the controversy was further evidence that OPR's investigation was "biased." He said he was unaware "what happened, if anything, to any of my emails." And besides, Yoo added, "the claim that there would be emails about this shows a lack of understanding of the world of intelligence." He went on to explain: "The email system at the Justice Department is unsecured; it cannot be used to send classified emails. DOJ attorneys could not have emailed each other about interrogation methods or other CIA matters on this email system because those issues are classified at the highest level of secrecy."
In an op-ed published earlier this month, Yoo made a similar case, blasting Leahy, in particular, for demanding answers about his deleted messages. "Leahy's outrage displays how little he and OPR understand the basics of intelligence," Yoo wrote.
But Yoo's explanation raises more questions than it answers. Among other things, he doesn't address the disclosure that "most" of his emails were "deleted"— a separate issue from the methods Justice Department lawyers used to communicate on classified topics.
While Yoo's right that classified material wouldn't be sent over an unsecure network, that's no major revelation. Such information would be routed through a classified email system, which is standard practice. And if Yoo is suggesting that he and his colleagues never discussed matters relating to the interrogation program via email, he's mistaken. OPR's report cites examples of emails to and from Yoo, including one in which he asked whether a particular detainee was "allergic to certain kinds of insects."
Alternately, maybe Yoo's implying that classified messages wouldn't have been preserved. He declined a request to clarify his remarks, but Susan Cooper, a spokeswoman for the National Archives and Records Administration, points out that classified and unclassified records alike are subject to the same federal laws. "All information that's created is a record," she says. Her agency, which is in charge of ensuring that federal agencies comply with their recordkeeping responsibilities, has asked the Justice Department to look into whether an "unauthorized destruction" of emails occurred. And a Justice Department spokeswoman told Mother Jones on Monday that a "review" is underway to "find out what happened" to the emails of Yoo and Philbin. (Currently a partner in the law firm of Kirland & Ellis, Philbin has remained mum about the deleted messages, and he did not respond to a request for comment).
Steven Aftergood, a government secrecy expert at the Federation of American Scientists, called Yoo's recent statements "nonsensical." OPR's investigators, he said, know "perfectly well how the Justice Department email system works and what its limitations are. The fact that they found a gap is significant." Just how significant? Pending the outcome of the Justice Department's inquiry, we may soon find out.
Comments
Gosh! Gee! I would have
Gosh! Gee! I would have thought that so brilliant a facile bullshit artiste like John Yoo would want us, the common rabble, to view his linguistic contortions and parsings so we could swoon with the vapors in giddy awe of his skills. Alas! He chooses to allow us our ignorance.
Lou!
Ask the CIA
Those tapes regarding torture of detainees, Abu Zabaydah and Zacarias Moussaoui, were destroyed in December 2005 prior to an order made by US District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema for prosecutors to disclose whether any interrogations had been recorded. The government refused to comply to a previous order in 2003. On November 3, 2005, Brinkema asked about videotapes of specific interrogations. On November 14, the government reported that it did not have any tapes of these interrogations. Yoo is a master at torturing the taxonomy, semantics and etymologies of the written word. Time will tell if he is as masterful as a lawyer.
Re: Tell me it's Not So,
Mr. Yoos explaination about the missing emails can best be explained as faerie tales. Everyone who has taken any history or political classes must be able to disearn fact from hearsey, up versus down, and garbage when a man who knows better. There is not viable excuse Yoo can offer other then same-oh-same-oh.
You are pathetic, Mr. Yoo. Where on this planet did you take the same test that millions of other attorney's had to take ... from a popcorn bag?? You are a man too ignorant to ask the Law School your resume says you attended. Please crawl back into the hole you first came, and pretend you played hooky the day the test was given... In this country we have a saying garbage in, garbage out. Stick that where the sun doe not shine, worm-hole. SwampFox-82nd Airborne all the way.
Yoo
Yoo is not an ignorant sod. He is marginally intelligent and has learned how to wordplay. This is unseemly in a public servant involved in secured issues, and another example of the duplicity of the Bush-Cheney administration. They picked him and set him to do their bidding.
Just like the way Cheney had his own intelligence office make up reasons to justify invading Iraq. They abused the public service apparatus to do whatever they wanted.
And now they are trying to cover up what they did by repeating over and over, louder and louder, in print and on television, how they were fully justified to do what they did.
The dirt will come to light. It always does.
This is just one more example
This is just one more example (as if we needed another) of the profound failure of our legal branch of government, which has degenerated into a Monty Python skit: Sir Bedevere: There are ways of telling whether she is a witch. Peasant 1: Are there? Oh well, tell us. Sir Bedevere: Tell me. What do you do with witches? Peasant 1: Burn them. Sir Bedevere: And what do you burn, apart from witches? Peasant 1: More witches. Peasant 2: Wood. Sir Bedevere: Good. Now, why do witches burn? Peasant 3: ...because they're made of... wood? Sir Bedevere: Good. So how do you tell whether she is made of wood? Peasant 1: Build a bridge out of her. S ir Bedevere: But can you not also build bridges out of stone? Peasant 1: Oh yeah. Sir Bedevere: Does wood sink in water? Peasant 1: No, no, it floats!... It floats! Throw her into the pond! Sir Bedevere: No, no. What else floats in water? Peasant 1: Bread. Peasant 2: Apples. Peasant 3: Very small rocks. Peasant 1: Cider. Peasant 2: Gravy. Peasant 3: Cherries.Peasant 1: Mud. Peasant 2: Churches. Peasant 3: Lead! Lead! King Arthur: A Duck. Sir Bedevere: ...Exactly. So, logically... Peasant 1: If she weighed the same as a duck... she's made of wood. Sir Bedevere: And therefore... Peasant 2: ...A witch!
Now . . . the REAL logic: Everything reverts back to the "Non-Precedential" or "unpublished" Appellate Ruling. Most Appellate decisions are non-published and for very good reason. They are completely contradictory to each other and also to established ("Precedential") decisions. Remove this element from the equation, namely, make all appellate decisions and rulings of equal Precedent and publish them ALL on the internet and 3/4ths of all litigation disappears virtually overnight. Because there would be one set of rules which applied equally to everyone and everyone would well know what those rules were. This would (in turn) reduce the demand for lawyers, who's hourly rate would drop from $300+ to about 50-bucks an hour. The shittiest lawyers would be gone and the best ones would become judges for a pay RAISE to about $100,000.00 (or more). As it now stands, judges make considerably LESS then most mid-range lawyers. That is a recipe for disaster and disaster is exactly what we now have.
Don't blame Yoo.
Monsters like Mr. Yoo have no conscience to appeal to, so pointing out that he is a disgraceful liar is a waste of time.
But other groups have supported Mr. Yoo, and provided cover for him, and they are the true disgrace to our nation.
The Holt School of Law at Berkley is a disgrace for hiring this monster.
The California Bar is a disgrace for not disbarring him.
Any student who attends Holt indirectly gives money to a torturer, anyone who elects to takes his class without comment to this criminal is also a disgrace.
Mr. Yoo personifies every bad stereotype of a tyrannical government official, he is opaque, dishonest, illogical and apparently unaccountable.
And despite Mr. Cheney's comment to Mr. Leahy on the senate floor ("go f yerself") , it is the democrats that are partisan.
Forgive this if you're
Forgive this if you're stating a pun, but the name of the school is actually Boalt.
I agree with your statement
I agree with your statement other than your last sentence.
Consent Form
I bet if he signs a consent form for his own person to get tortured he might disclose those emails in an expeditious fashion.
Don't be a hypocrit!
Don't be a hypocrit! Torturing him in order to get that information would be illegal and morally wrong.
Actually, he should be "interrogated" with "enhanced methods" that would not be "torture". technically.
Rose Mary Woods
Nixon's secretary, the late Rose Mary Woods, ended up taking the blame for the erasures.
Electronic discovery
I believe that no judge would accept any lawyer's claim that his client "can't find" the e-mails that have been sought during discovery. That client would be in a world of hurt.
Maybe Yoo's dog ate them...
Shame on Justice
WTF can account for the fact that the DOJ gave Yoo and company a pass on their clearly illegal behavior? They knew what the law was and what treaties and conventions were violated. They (Yoo and company) obviously made up "law" after the fact to protect the Bu$h WH from accountability. Berkley disgraces its-self by paying this hack a salary and cheating law students out of a decent education. It's a major fail of the Obama admin. that they refuse to investigate dreadful breaches of the law and of the Constitution under the Bu$h administration. It infuriates law abiding citizens.
John Yoo
I wonder did John Yoo have a secretary named Rosemary working for him?
If not maybe a yoga practitioner who could do a big stretch?
John you need to study your history of obfuscation tactics, Nixon would be a good place to start.
John Yoo's email flew
email's are never lost. I wonder how extensive an effort has been undetaken to ID potential recipients of Yoo' mail and all the back up of backed up servers where these documents still reside.
It is amazing, there are so many awful things that the Bush team did that something as critical as a key white house official's emails "gone missing" is lost in the memory of the public and of the press. MJ please keep reporting on this frighteningly dangerous individual and the Bush white house cover up-
WHy doesn't the main/lame stream press mention cover up in discussing missing e docs
Suh-prize! Suh-prize! Suh-Prize!
"Well, gosh oh golly me, Mr. Special Prosecutor, I jus' gots no idear how them e-mails got lost! Why, if you weren't so stupid, Mr. Prosecutor, why you'd realize that they wuz on a super-secret instantly erasin' e-mail server, that has been specially programmed to instantly erase right-wing, fascist criminal communications! Gosh. I thought everybody knew that!"
These files being erased ain't no accident, and John Yoo claiming has no knowledge of it is like Capone being shocked to hear someone has been peddling bootleg whiskey in Chicago. Funny how John Poindexter's Total Information Awareness computer, which records EVERYBODY's EVERYTHING - somehow let John Yoo's e-mails get erased. If they are gone, then they are gone by conspiracy at the highest levels of the fascist Elite who run the country. If I were a Special Prosecutor, I'd ask Mr. Poindexter (that paragon of civic virtue) just exactly how and when the files were erased. I wouldn't be shocked to hear that Mr. Poindexter had personal knowledge on that account. I f they've been erased, then the data on who erased them, and when, and how, is still there, on a back up drive, on a server out in cyberspace... its there somewhere. If they don't find it, its because somebody's been ordered not to find it.
I hate John Yoo, with his passive-aggressive, sociopathic, lying, Heil-to-the-dictator mentality. Read Scott Peck's PEOPLE OF THE LIE, and you will understand this pathetic, irredeemable criminal. He is a traitor to the People, of the highest order. Fortunately for us all, though, the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility has "sharply rebuked" him and his co-conspirator Mr. Jay Bybee. We can all rest easier, knowing that justice has been served.
John Yoo Hoo
I find it disgusting that the Bush/Cheney/Wolfnowitz/Rumsfeld/Yoo/XE regime has gotten away with so many illegal acts. If this is not further evidence of the need for an independent prosecutor of the Caliber of Joe Welch or the Watergate team, I don't know what is.
A Changing America
It's very hard to get a fix on my good neighbours, America.
The place is really weird right now. I was amazed that Bush got relected. I have always been in awe of Mr. Yoo, he's like a modern Josef Goebbels. But after the decision to attack Iraq, my whole view changed. I think that the reason Mr. Yoo and his ilk are not prosecuted is that they have a lot of support in and outside government.
Maybe it's the same reason why the Democrats can't pass universal healthcare for its people - the power that really runs America doesn't want it, however they seem to want the like s of Mr. Yoo.
It's all so sad, even with a Democratic majority in the House and Senate and White House! Still nothing changes for my American friends.
America is now publicly bought and paid for. Mr. Yoo's karmic destiny lies elsewhere.
John Yoo
Waterboarding the guy might help.
Self Indictment
His explanation is ridiculous. I think I understand how classification works.
If the messages are highly classified and must be sent over a special secure network and kept on a secure server they can only be erased with authority at or above the level that assigned the classification.The fact that the e-mails are missing is proof that one of two things occured. Someone without authority to erase them did so and thus committed a crime. Or, someone with the authority to erase them directed them to be erased to cover up a crime.
You people are just biased
You people are just biased against him because he is an oriental
Oriental
you mean Asian, 20-th century guy?
Journey to the West
Yoo had these letters stolen from Sun Wu Kong, an active Buddhist militant that supports a free China & was imprisoned in a mountain stronghold for quite some time.
After Sun Wu Kong discovered Yoo's identity of being the fox demon he chased Yoo from D.C. to the sixth gate of hell known to Chan Buddhist laypeople as 'The Bay Area".
He now teaches law to hippies who want to learn about torture techniques regarding increasing trespassers on their rainbow brothers & sisters ganja fields in Humboldt county.
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